South Coast Botanic Garden

a five-star review, but the pricing is a little predatory. When you buy a wedding package, it should be the price your told is the price you paid. If you do a ceremony only package like us, you end up paying a lot extra just to have chairs, the required day-of coordinator, the security fee, and the additional damage deposit. SCBG seemed like a great option originally because they advertised ceremony only as so much cheaper than other places around PV. Unfortunately, it ended up being just as expensive.

spond to questions and we’re happy to accommodate any changes we needed to make in the months approaching the wedding. It rained on our wedding day (!!!). The staff at SCBG helped us manage, specifically working with our vendors to arrange a tent in the lower meadow for our reception and to help guide guests through the garden in the rain. Our guests absolutely adored the wedding, and our photos are incredible. I can’t write enough positive things about this venue. Oh and did I mention it’s ABSOLUTELY gorgeous. Host your wedding at SCBG!

1. Gorgeous scenery - You really don't need a lot of flowers because the natural scenery is enough decor 2. There are several options for amazing photo locations - I highly recommend the succulent wall for photos 3. They offer a lot of options for ceremony and reception locations, and each is stunning 4. They have tons of parking for guests 5. There is plenty of space for food trucks, games, photo booths, etc. 6. The event managers were very friendly and helpful, and you can visit the space as many times as you need before the event 7. BYOB. This was hands down the best thing about SCBG. We got our alcohol from Bevmo, and it was so much cheaper Cons: 1. The minimum cost for a wedding is $5,000 for a Saturday. That cost ONLY covers the venue cost, and it doesn't include tables, chairs, security, etc. 2. You have to use their vendors, or you have to pay a hefty fee to bring in your own. This includes the DJ, bartenders, furniture, security, etc. It was a bit of a pain at first because we wanted to use our own food trucks, but the preferred vendors were pretty good (no complaints), so it all worked out 3. Sometimes it was hard to get a hold of the event staff, and at times this caused me some stress 4. EVERYTHING is an extra cost. If you want a bridal suite, it will cost you. If you want more hours, it will cost you. Make sure you get the brochure from them before your visit so that you better understand the potential costs 5. They can book events on the same day as your wedding (this includes other weddings). If you want to have the space to yourself, this will cost you more money. I was pretty upset when I couldn't book the bridal suite or extra hours because SCBG booked their own event on the same day as my wedding without letting me know or giving me the chance to rent both spaces. My advice is to make sure you understand who is scheduled that day and request that they inform you of potential conflicts 6. The window for set up is short - Our wedding started at 5, and we could set up at 2. I had to have our family set everything up because I couldn't do it before getting ready. Thank goodness for my fantastic coordinator FYI: 1. You are required to use a day/month of wedding coordinator, and they have two preferred coordination companies. Note that the events director at South Coast owns one of the coordination companies. At first, I felt awkward about this, but her event coordinator was pretty awesome. Cory is AMAZING, and Christina is super knowledgable 2. Patrons will still be there before your wedding starts (they close at 5 PM). This didn't bother me, and it was honestly kind of cute to interact with people before my wedding Overall, I recommend SCBG because of the gorgeous scenery, friendly staff, and the flexibility to design your dream wedding. My advice is to ask a lot of questions before booking to make sure you are fully aware of costs, conflicts, etc. before booking. If you go with SCBG, I advise that you go with a coordinator that can help you set up your decor on the day of.

garden as a nonprofit. The team coordinating was super helpful start to finish and was very responsive via email for all my questions. Our guests were so amazed at the garden! I even forgot my bouquet while taking photos and they made sure to track it down, which meant so much to me.