Berkeley City Club Reviews

My family and I had such a lovely experience with the Berkeley City Club. I decided to go through with a small wedding this August despite all the limitations of Covid-19. The BCC events coordinator, Heather, really pulled out all the stops to make it a special day for us out on their terrace. Delicious food and drinks were served in a safe and thoughtful way. My guests were able to sit outside with the right amount of distance between us but an atmosphere that brought us together. We even got to dance! Thanks to BCC for making it happen.

Madison was our coordinator leading up the wedding, and was clear and prompt in all of her communications. The venue itself is so classic; we brought in minimal decorations, since the venue itself is so beautiful. Our dinner was fantastic, and the kitchen was extremely accommodating with dietary restrictions.

And the staff is so so so friendly. I can’t stress this enough. During our wedding, we all felt that everyone there was also having a good time along with us. Seeing their happiness and excitement for us really added to the event.

We were married at the Berkeley City Club in November of 2021, and it was the most magical and lovely wedding anyone could hope for!
We started looking for venues in January of 2020, and toured one or two before we visited the City Club. We pretty much knew it was our spot from the second we walked through the door. Julia Morgan's "Little Castle" is exactly that; romantic, elegant, intimate yet large enough for a medium-sized wedding like ours. I haven't seen architecture as beautiful anywhere else in the Bay Area, and the price was on the high end of our budget but still affordable.
Our first point of contact, Heather, was incredibly helpful, knowledgeable, and accommodating. She answered all of our questions and was flexible enough to allow us to customize the packages they offered to our meet our needs.
By July of 2020 it was clear we would not be able to safely hold our wedding on our original date (late November, 2020). Heather and the City Club team were so understanding, supportive, and comforting during a challenging time. They rescheduled our wedding for the same weekend of the following year and helped us feel excited even when things felt pretty bleak.
By the time we got back in touch in early 2021, there had been some staff transitions, but eventually we were put in touch with Yulianna, who was an absolute rockstar throughout the final days of our wedding planning. We threw a ton of questions at her and she answered them in a kind and timely way. At the rehearsal and the day of, Yulianna was with us every step of the way and went the extra mile to make sure every detail was perfect. The serving staff at our wedding were incredible (especially Maria!), and the whole team made us feel like royalty.
Overall, the Berkeley City Club made our dream wedding happen and we would recommend it to anyone looking for their fairytale wedding venue!

I wish I could give this place 10/5 stars for the amazing service, great care, accommodating and kind staff alone... but add to that the stunning building and incredible views... it would break Wedding Wire, I would give them so many stars!
We got engaged the week everything shut down. After searching for somewhere that offered a refund for Covid aka “acts of God” (I think that’s what most places call that kind of cancellation), my fiancé stumbled across this place and their prices were very reasonable, their refund policy beat the other places, the couches in the members lounge make for easy beautiful photos even WITH distancing (each group at a different chair/couch for artistic clustering), and they were really a joy to work with!
In addition to Covid complications, we also had to plan for a family member who had very particular special needs and the hotel staff were beyond patient in figuring out everything and pulled it off beautifully!
The chef is great and the food was very good quality and he was still kind enough to accommodate requests we made on customizing the menu!
The hotel staff and wait staff are beyond kind and made us feel welcome every step of the way! They even remembered my family and asked about my nephew when we came back from our tasting.
Heather (their event coordinator) was our main point of contact and she was very transparent, friendly, professional, and patient the whole time. Planning a wedding during a pandemic is a real challenge and can be emotionally draining but this place and the staff here was the saving grace that made the whole experience possible, beautiful, and they even brought joy back into the process.
On top of ALL THAT, the whole building is gorgeous, photos here are beautiful and the bridal suite we stayed in had these huge, lovely windows that let in a nice sea breeze and overlooked the bay. The night before our wedding, we loved sitting on the couch, choosing our wedding music, and watching the sunset.
This is such a special place! This really is the best place to work with and have a perfect wedding or, really, any event or even to just stay for vacation! We will definitely be coming back to visit more casually.
So, I’d give this about 1,000,000,000/5 stars. Hope that doesn’t break Wedding Wire. 😉

We couldn't be more grateful to the Berkeley City Club team for providing us such a beautiful venue for our ceremony and reception and helping us bring our wedding vision to life! When we first saw the venue, we immediately fell in love. The architecture and classic, romantic atmosphere matched perfectly with our vision. Victoria was incredible to work with and so flexible; ensuring every detail was exactly what we wanted and how we wanted it. The team the day of from catering, to hospitality, executed flawlessly. This venue and the team are the very best and we will be back often to visit and will be reliving our special day over and over for years to come!

We are so grateful to have hosted our wedding at Berkeley City Club last month. Berkeley City Club is an absolute gem of a venue and after searching for some time we found it to be a great deal compared to other Bay Area venues of similar capacities. The venue is special in so many ways, and it is hard to beat the convenience of guest rooms and in-house catering as well. We blocked out most of the hotel for our wedding guests -- and our friends and family loved staying here for the weekend, as did we! The in-house catering made the planning process much easier- and the food ended up being one of the highlights of our wedding!

-We received so many compliments on both the food and the drinks at our wedding! When we discovered that Chef Marcon could provide us an Indian Buffet at our reception dinner- we jumped at the opportunity. We are so glad we did! Our guests could not stop talking about how delicious the food (especially the deserts!) was. BCC will work with you on your menu- which we really appreciated! We had "signature cocktails" - and the bartenders did a wonderful job! We received many compliments about the drinks.

-The events coordinator Victoria Kreckler was wonderful to work with- she is very detail oriented, patient, accommodating and responsive! She worked with us every step of the way to make sure our wedding unfolded the way we imagined. It was clear that she was invested in our wedding and she took wonderful care of us!

-The venue itself is just stunning. We had our ceremony on the terrace with about 170 people, which felt cozy but comfortable. There were so many locations to take photographs throughout the day. I was initially worried about the ballroom feeling to crowded with 18 tables, a dance floor, the bar, buffet, etc. But the room felt well-organized and spacious!

-Every staff member we encountered was incredibly kind. They really went above and beyond and both the wedding and reception went so smoothly.

All in all, we had an incredible experience with Berkeley City Club and are so glad we got married here.

We could not have asked for a better venue for our wedding. This place is a hidden gem and I can’t believe I had not been to a wedding here before my own. We received so many compliments on our choice and working with Ashley Patrick and her team was a pleasure. The best parts about this place that must be seen in person to fully appreciate are the many locations for gorgeous photos and how your guests will be able to be truly together for your entire event. Highly recommend!

I was married here for my ceremony only in the Drawing Room with a guest count of 95 and had the reception at a resturant. All I can say is this venue is great for a wedding in a beautiful building with so much history. The event manager was fantastic from start to finish and very responsive and professional. I had no concerns the day of my wedding as I knew everything was taken care of. The value for this venue in the Bay Area cannot be beat!

My wedding was like a dream thanks to this gorgeous venue! Helpful staff, great coordinator and very good food! All our guests had a fantastic time and the layout was perfect!

We had our annual client event at Berkeley City Club. We were very impressed with the team - especially Sarah - from start to finish. She promptly returned our calls and emails and was patient and accommodating in addressing our questions and concerns. Our event was wonderful - the food, atmosphere, and service- thank you Sarah and her team for making it all happen.

Sandy and the crew at the BCC were great. They communicated with us and made the process painless. I would recommend them again and again.

Sandy was absolutely fabulous as our event coordinator. She is a must-have coordinator for your wedding. She made me feel relaxed about the event and I knew that everything would be taken care of in her hands. Everything turned out gorgeous. Wonderful venue.

We are extremely happy that we choose to have our wedding reception at the Berkeley City Club (BCC). The venue was just stunning and the event turned out better than we ever expected.

We loved that almost the entire 2nd floor of the BCC was designated for our event. We had cocktail hour in the Member's Lounge and the Terrace, with a bar set up in both locations. Our guests were free to move in and out as they pleased. The reception was held in the Ballroom which was large enough to comfortably accommodate our 175 guests and a dance floor. We set up the buffet and another bar in the Venetian Room which worked out perfectly because it was out of the way of the dinner tables.

Working with Sandy, the event coordinator at the BCC, made the entire planning process very easy for us. She was very professional and responded to our countless emails almost immediately. She was extremely organized and very detail oriented. On the day of the reception, she coordinated wonderfully with our outside vendors (florist, rentals, DJ, etc.) to make sure the setup was exactly as we had discussed. Not a single detail was left undone! We were also impressed by the other staff members at the BCC. The chef was very accommodating with some of our requests which we really appreciated. The food served at dinner was excellent. The serving staff was very professional and worked quickly to fill champagne glasses and to clear the room after dinner was over.

In the end, it was a very memorable night. I would highly recommend this venue to others.

Our wedding ceremony and reception was held at the Berkeley City Club! This is a fabulous building originally designed by Julia Morgan in 1929 as the Berkeley Women's Club. It is often referred to as the Little Castle.....its grandeur is reminiscent of the Hearst Castle designed by her as well.

Our wedding was held in December and the BCC was beautifully decorated for the holiday season. Each and every member of the BCC staff, from our event planner and her staff, the Chef, and the hotel staff were fantastic and helped us host the wedding of the century. The set-up and changeovers were seamless, the wedding suite was gorgeous, and the food was over the top! This is an amazing place and we feel so lucky to have found it!

The BCC is a gorgeous and unique venue. We are so happy to have had our wedding there.

The venue is absolutely beautiful! We had our ceremony on the Terrace, our cocktail hour in the member's lounge, and our reception in the ballroom. Crystal and Christina were great. Although, at first, communication was a bit sketchy,they were very flexible and involved all the way through the day of the wedding. It was a wonderful event and the food was to die for!!

I met my husband while I was working at the Berkeley City Club when I was a student. We were thrilled that they were able to accommodate us on our special Saturday in September of 2008. I cried the whole time, and it was a perfect, perfect day. The facility is absolutely beautiful, romantic and one of a kind.
They even let me customize my menu and instead of wedding cake, they supplied the most delicious and appreciated ice cream sundae bar to help keep my costs down. We got married on the terrace and had our dinner and dancing in the ballroom. Our little kid guests got baby sat in the Library, and we had drinks and the buffet set up in the Venetian Room. We also took basically all of the rooms for our overnight guests, and had a brunch on Sunday there.
If I could do it again and again every year, I wouldn't change a thing.

We feel lucky to have found Berkeley City Club not just because they had availability during the time we wanted to have our wedding, but because the value you get for the amount of money you're paying for a wedding is significant. For the venue rental price, we were given reservation of the entire second floor (small library room, ballroom, terrace, lobby area), a complimentary stay in the master suite on the top floor the night of the wedding, a complimentary menu tasting for 4 people, and the ability to correspond with their Wedding and Events Manager.

Additionally, we appreciated the following items featured during the wedding process:

-All of the food was delicious and vegan-friendly, which was important to us because many of our guests have dietary restrictions. It's worthy to note that when there wasn't a vegan option available on the regular menus, the chef offered to make special dishes to help accommodate this need.

-Linens, tables, chairs, utensils, etc. were all included.

-Their events manager, Victoria Kreckler, was always professional, timely, kind, and accommodating. We felt extremely taken care of, and are grateful for her insight and help.

-We had access to the venue the day before the wedding for ceremony rehearsal.

All in all, the Berkeley City Club is a beautiful venue providing unrivaled hospitality and amenities.

We used the Berkeley City Club for our wedding ceremony and reception. The space is unbelievably beautiful. It’s like getting married in a little castle. We had a smaller guest count, so we skipped the Ballroom and had our ceremony in the Member’s Lounge and an intimate reception in the Drawing Room. The team there was incredibly helpful and accommodating during our planning process as well. The food is also delicious! Our guests could not stop commenting about how good the food was and how beautiful the venue was. It’s an amazing location to get married in.

We held our son's wedding with 93 guests at the BCC and this venue was perfect from the planning with the help of the very professional, kind and accommodating Sarah Williams, Event Manager to the overall service, food, and coordination, hotel rooms, parking..it was all perfectly coordinated in just 3 months time. It is a beautiful historical building with many choices for the ceremony, pictures, reception and rooms for lodging. My son and his wife booked without having seen the venue and I coordinated the logistics with Sarah since our son was in NY. They were blown away with how lovely everything was. The ceremony was on the terrace and the reception was in the drawing room. Pictures were done in the many little patios, garden, stairways and by the pool. Excellent prices and food.

My husband and I had been searching for months all around the Bay Area for a wedding venue. We didn't want just another country club, and we also had to keep in mind that at least half of our wedding guests would be traveling in from out of state (so, we wanted the wedding venue to be fairly easily accessible from local airports, and hopefully in an area that is a destination in-and-of-itself). We knew the Berkeley City Club was it immediately after visiting the first time.

The building is unassuming from the outside, but just stunning on the inside. The architectural details are just amazing. Somehow, despite its grandeur, it's not stuffy in the least: it's warm, friendly, comfortable, and inviting.

We had our ceremony on the terrace, cocktail hour in the member's lounge, and ceremony in the ballroom.

Everything was perfect.

Our coordinator leading up to the wedding was Sarah Williams, and she was amazing. She was on top of everything, professional, friendly--and very calm, which is amazing considering how crazy I got in the days leading up to the wedding. She answered every email I sent her within 24 hours and was just a pleasure to work with.

The staff on the day-of my wedding was impeccable, and handled every request with ease. Everything was clean, everyone was friendly, and the drinks and food were out of this world.

If I had to take off one star, it would be because the live ivy that had been growing on the eaves and beams on the terrace died a few weeks before the ceremony, and was removed. Without it, the terrace looked a bit stark, but it was so late in the game (and we were already a little over budget at this point), that we had trouble finding an alternative, affordable solution and ended up just letting the room stay the way it was. I wish we'd either had more time to figure something out, or that the BCC offered something in return for our disappointment. But I do understand that these things are beyond anyone's control.

We had a wedding with 95 guests at BCC in August 2022. It is an exceptionally beautiful, historic venue - not only the wedding spaces, but the entire building where we and most of our wedding party spent the weekend. Between the garden courtyards, the pool, the top-floor balconies, the member's lounge, etc, there are countless gorgeous locations for photos to range from lush to stately to elegant to sunny.

The venue staff live up to the old-world class of the building by providing exceptional services on site: great food at Julia's restaurant, a very complete bar at Morgan's, a well run hotel upstairs. Our wedding weekend felt like a vacation in an old European town center. The venue worked well with all of our vendors, and though there are some restrictions about how the historic spaces can be used, we were able to make everything work.

I would highly recommend the Berkeley City Club for anyone who wants a wedding venue that feels totally unique, yet still classic, elegant, and historic. Your planner and photographer will love working with BCC. Berkeley is also a wonderful place to spend a wedding weekend: great weather, lots of great restaurants and cafes, lovely hikes nearby in the east bay hills, and close to major airports.

A few pieces of advice for those considering a wedding here:
- BCC has done a great job with certain accessibility retrofits, but ultimately it is still an old building. One member of our wedding party was in a wheelchair and found certain parts of the building difficult to navigate.
- The complimentary tasting is limited to 2 first course and 3 entree selections. We arranged to pay extra to be able to try more first courses and entrees.
- If you're designing a custom cocktail and want to make sure that it's just right, reach out to the venue to work out the details early. We found that the bar had trouble reproducing our recipe at banquet scale - it was still delicious, but that detail could have been smoothed out earlier in the process.
- Lodging at BCC and most nearby hotels is pricey. Make sure your wedding guests will be able to afford it. Try to book a room block at an inexpensive hotel nearby early in the planning process.
- Pay attention to UC Berkeley schedules when planning your wedding weekend. Rehearsal dinners and afterparty spots are much easier to book in the summer before the students are around.
- Consider Le Bateau Ivre for your rehearsal dinner, Cornerstone for your afterparty, and Cameron Stanford House for your Sunday brunch. We loved them all.

Just got married here a couple of weeks ago in February! This was a beautiful venue, you really don't have to do much in terms of decor because it is already so gorgeous. We had a wedding of 161 guests with the ceremony on the terrace and the reception in the ballroom. My only issue with this was that it was very cold on the terrace though they say they have heaters. My nose was running during the ceremony because it was so cold! We really should have brought our own portable heaters -but they said it would be fine. Our guests were kind about it but they were cold!

We thought the food was delicious and the catering staff was wonderful. They were very attentive and our guests told us it was some of the best steak they've ever had. There was some miscommunications regarding the bar during cocktail hour (we asked them not to have a tip jar out because we would tip them afterwards) and they had a jar out. We also went through 3 different event coordinators due to turn over at the BCC, even then things still were smooth.

They do require you to have your own event coordinator (which I would have done anyways) but that helped everything to work out especially during the turn over. They were very responsive in terms of answering our questions for the most part. They tried to email back promptly which I appreciated. Lovely venue and I'm very glad we got married here!

We loved having our wedding at the Berkeley City Club. The gorgeous 1920s architecture just can't be beat. It is expensive, however. You have no choice in caterer and you can't bring in your own alcohol, and both the food and drinks are pricey (the food is delicious though!). The bar packages in particular are very expensive, but our guests were very happy with the bartenders and drinks. A big annoyance for me was that they charge you a 22% "service charge" on everything...and this isn't even gratuity! We had to tip the chef and servers on top of that 22%, which definitely added up.

You also have to pay a rental fee for use of the rooms, but you have them all night. They also only do one wedding per day, which is nice. And because it's a social club and a hotel as well, there will be non-guests around the vicinity of your wedding (when we did our first look before the ceremony in one of the courtyards, there were a couple guys on their laptops who didn't leave and got to witness our emotional moment! This was the only time I really noticed that though.). Sandy (the venue coordinator) was flexible and responsive for the most part to my many questions, and even allowed me to reduce my minimum guest number the week of last-minute cancellations (due to fires in San Diego). There is no parking nearby, so you have to have your guests park on the street or rent out a parking garage (we did the former). It's also near BART, which is convenient.

All in all, I would recommend the BCC. Just be prepared to spend!