San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers

on, became incredibly bad at communication. He rarely replied to our emails, missed scheduled phone calls with us with no explanation, and made us feel like the CoF had no interest in our (or anyone else's) business. After weeks of this nonsense, we gave up chasing him and booked a different venue that takes a far more professional approach to communication. It was heartbreaking at first to miss out on our dream venue, but ultimately we feel we dodged a bullet. After our experience in the pre-contract stages, I can't imagine how frustrating and perhaps disastrous it would be to actually try to plan a wedding at CoF. Also note that CoF permits only one caterer (except in special cases of dietary restriction), and that caterer is one of the most expensive in the Bay Area.

front of the building, then people walked through the conservatory as appetizers and cocktails were served. We had dinner outside on the lawn with the art projections viewable at night (which everyone really liked!), and then we had the reception in the Orchid Pavilion, which was the perfect amount of space for dancing and a little bit of seating. I would recommend the conservatory to anyone. Honestly, it's a bit of a hidden gem.

own away! The event coordinator did an excellent job guiding us to pick a date and which space we should use based on our head count. After booking the space >1yr before our event during peak wedding season (that wasn't our intention, but it happened to work out that way), we didn't have too much contact with the staff until about 3-4 months before the event which was great for us. Emails were not frequent, but were efficient addressing many items at once to minimize back and forth. The event coordinator was very accommodating in meeting with us on site as well and we felt that the staff was professional and experienced (despite some of their young ages). I loved that I did not need a wedding planner for our event as the event coordinator helped with many decisions and day of planning. Our decor was dropped off the day prior and their staff set up the tables, arranged flowers and decorations, and moved chairs for venue changes (dinner outside, reception in the orchid pavillion). This is not a one stop shop - if you book with them you should expect to find your own caterer, florist, DJ, lighting, and decoration. They provide lists of vendors who the have worked with before, but are also very open to working with vendors off the list. It was so special to have our wedding at a San Francisco historic site. The cost of the venue ($10-12K) matched most of what we found in SF (Fort Mason, Presidio), the experience was unmatched!

d to and phone calls had voicemail boxes that were always full. After finally getting ahold of them, the manager went on vacation and had us working with her assistant. This also did not work out very well for us. We wanted to stop by for an appointment but never got a response after several emails and phone calls. After about a month of trying to get ahold of them we finally set up an appointment. My fiance and I show up and the event manager is not there, she forgot to add us in her calendar and left home early for the day. We heard she may have been sick but the fact that she did not let us know she was leaving left a bad taste in our mouth. The front desk teenage girl showed us the space but was not able to answer any questions as she had no clue on how to answer them. Unless there is an INCREDIBLE attachment to the space, I would stay away. I can't imagine how bad the communication may be leading up to the wedding. If we were already stressed just trying to get ahold of them even before dropping 15k JUST for the venue then I can't imagine it leading up closer to the date. There are better venues that will gladly take your money.

ding stressful and we felt disregarded throughout the event. The COF is a beautiful location but we do not feel the staff is equipped to handle problems and communicate when things go wrong. Ensure you follow up and monitor any event you have here. Hopefully the staff has learned to manage expectations after our event, we are just disappointed we had such a bad experience at our own wedding.

a venue that provided beautiful views, an outdoor feel, and an iconic San Francisco landmark for our guests to enjoy. For those of you looking for a shorter review know this; our wedding reception could not have been more perfect. If we could go back and re-do our wedding 100 times we would always choose the Conservatory of Flowers over any other possible venue. The Conservatory Manager of Special Events, Samantha Ordway, was an absolute pleasure to work with as she was extremely professional, provided excellent communication, and was attentive to everything we wanted for our wedding reception. She went out of her way to help coordinate the entire event and everything went off without a hitch. This went a long way in relieving our stress with wedding planning as we knew we could rely on her/her team’s execution to get everything done just right. WE EVEN HAD PARK RANGERS PROVIDE SECURITY FOR THE EVENT! Our rental included the entire Conservatory greenhouse for the cocktail hour as well as the Orchid Pavilion for our four hour reception. While we did not get to enjoy that much of the cocktail hour (busy taking photos), our guests raved about how beautiful all of the exhibits were and many remarked that it was the most beautiful wedding venue they have ever visited. We were very fortunate to have superb weather on the day of our wedding which made the photos we took out front of the Conservatory come out incredibly gorgeous. The setup of the Orchid Pavilion was ideal for a wedding of our size. We had enough room for all of our guests to sit comfortably while also fitting our taco bar, DJ booth, bar, and photobooth. All in all, we could not be more satisfied with our choice of wedding venues. The Conservatory of Flowers provided us an experience that felt authentic, unique, and was just a fun place to visit for all of our guests. This venue will always hold a special place in our hearts and we highly recommend the Conservatory of Flowers to other couples seeking a wedding venue.

Summer's Dream/Never Never Land/Victorian garden. The site is well laid out to accommodate the wedding staples: ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception. Guests are able to sight see while they mingle, giving those who do not know one another something in common. The blank canvas of the Orchid Pavilion (where dinner and dancing are typically held) allows for the couple to design their ideal ambiance. Heaters were used to keep the space cozy and warm. We were lucky enough that the CoF let us bring items two days early and pick them up the day after the wedding, greatly reducing the stress of packing in and out. Compared to other venues in San Francisco, the CoF was an economical choice. If I had to choose a venue again, I'd still go with the Conservatory of Flowers!