Santa Barbara Historical Museum Reviews
Reviews
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4.9 out of 5 rating
4.9 out of 5 rating
22 reviews
98% recommend it
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Kasey O. Sent on 08/09/2022
Stunning venue
We picked out the Historical Museum in 2019 for our 2020 wedding and were so excited to be able to use this beautiful space for our dream wedding. Obviously we were unable to have our wedding in 2020, but we were finally able to celebrate in the space in 2022. It was absolutely stunning! Just the most beautiful place to have our wedding. Our guests were just as blown away as we were--the market lights were a huge hit!
Working with Heather was super easy--she was very responsive, and was willing to reschedule our date for us two separate times. We could not have picked a better location. -
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Amanda B. Sent on 03/12/2019Beautiful SB venue
Beautiful venue, our guests all couldn’t stop talking about how pretty it was. We loved the grounds and that we could have both our ceremony and reception in one convenient location. Parking is also very convenient. Couple issues—right now there is no permanent event coordinator. The girl that is running is seems spread pretty thin and I felt like there was very minimal communication and support leading up to my wedding day. Also, they sent an email saying they had to install these plastic balls in the main fountain but that the fountain would be running on the day of the event. In my opinion, the balls are ugly and take away from the charm of the venue. And on the day of our event the fountain was not running until I asked my wedding planner to tell the on site coordinator to turn it on (this was at 8pm our event started at 4pm). After the wedding, I received a bill that a vendor stayed late so when I asked my coordinator about it she said that the on site person was very strict on making sure our caterers cleaned meticulously to the point she felt they were cleaning up things unrelated to our event. I’m hoping the issues I encountered will be resolved when there is a more permanent event manager because I did love our venue. Also note that you have to bring in EVERYTHING when you book the museum—and for lighting you can only you BVD. They are great but add an immediate 2-3k to your cost for just lights.
*photos by Kaylee Chelsea Photography -
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User2387590 Sent on 10/24/2015We had a great experience at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum. We held our ceremony in the lower courtyard and our reception in the upper courtyard with around 150 guests. Erica and Katherine were both great to work with and very flexible- we had an Indian wedding with a horse and all, and the staff at the museum were very accommodating. I liked how we could choose almost all of our own vendors.
The only drawbacks are the museum has a strict cut off at 10pm because of a city noise ordinance. Also you'll need to rent absolutely everything if you want to have your reception here. It's a beautiful space so you don't need to embellish it much, but I was a bit taken back by how expensives rentals were for everything we had to bring in.
Overall it was definitely worth it though and I'm really glad we chose to have our wedding here. It really does offer the best of Santa Barbara with the architecture, open courtyards, and views of the mountains. -
User1440584 Sent on 11/16/2013The Santa Barbara Historical Museum is the perfect wedding venue for a ceremony and reception. The venue is beautiful in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara and everyone who works there is very helpful. -
User1314594 Sent on 09/04/2013GORGEOUS VENUE!!! I'm so lucky to have found this venue. My friends and family loved celebrating my wedding here. Gorgeous views, beautiful outdoor setting, and stellar service...what more can a girl ask for?!?!
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User887554 Sent on 08/03/2012Great Venue! We loved the architecture and proximity to downtown SB! -
User2525721 Sent on 02/02/2016We absolutely loved this venue. The SBHM staff were very helpful, responsive, and customer-service oriented throughout our entire wedding planning process. We made many trips to the venue prior to the wedding - someone at the Museum was always willing and able to help answer our many questions. The staff have lots of experience which we gleaned from when thinking through various aspects of our logistics.
The venue is absolutely beautiful, and quintessentially Santa Barbara. Everything was picture perfect (fountains running, flowers in bloom, property lights turned on, etc.) and in great working order. Our guests are still talking about how much they loved the venue and our wedding.
My only critique is that there are some limitations when it comes to preferred vendors. The Museum was able to work with us on our DJ and caterer, but do note that the company that arranges the lights is the only company contracted to do so (to their credit, they do a great job - our lighting looked fantastic - but just something to be aware of).
In short - I would hands down recommend the SBHM as a venue for a wedding. The venue is picturesque, the staff are responsive and helpful, and it makes for a very memorable experience for all. -
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Kara Sent on 11/28/2015We couldn't end up having our wedding here since it wasn't available for our date, but it's beautiful and they're so friendly and helpful here. We checked it out on a day they were setting up a wedding and it was so rustic and -
User1316185 Sent on 09/05/2013Amazing amazing amazing. With options of all three courtyards, your possibilities are endless and you can truly make this space your own. Could not have asked for a more beautiful site. Only down fall is the price, but you get what you pay for, and the hours are limited, as well as very strict on vendors. It is a historical building so it's to be expected. Truly fits in the theme of Santa Barbara. Wouldn't have had it any other way.
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