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Reviews — 6
Marry me again? My friend, "Our day will come." Love. Love. Love.
Tldr: DO NOT BOOK YOUR WEDDING AT CASA DEL PRADO
Casa del Prado seems like a beautiful place for a wedding. And from an architectural standpoint, it is.
But the public nature of the park, uncontrollable crowds, poor facilities, and rude staff made our experience infuriating.
We knew it was a popular public park when we booked the space. But the rental agreement states "There must always be at least a portion of the park available to the general public during all park uses and rentals. The designated area(s) for this permit are indicated on the General Development Plan or Site Plan." One would think that by paying a reservation fee to rent the space, you would actually be able to reserve the space. We brought ropes to discourage the public from entering the ceremony and reception space, and set up signs requesting they respect our privacy during the wedding. They didn't.
As we were setting up, we asked many onlookers to please leave because we were trying to set up for the wedding and they were in the way. An orchestra group was practicing on the 2nd level of the ceremony space, and the orchestra leader approached us to let us know that their families would be coming and going at 4pm (our ceremony time) but "they will be respectful." He swore up and down that they would be respectful and quiet and we wouldn't notice them. See attached photo of a respectful orchestra family photobombing during our ceremony. No matter what angle our photographers came from, their respectful families were in every single shot. One man stood on the balcony directly above the couple and just stared over the railing through the ceremony while his children ran wild, which was distracting for the guests. On top of that, the orchestra group played loudly through the whole ceremony.
Back to the privacy we expected when we RENTED the space. A parks & rec employee approached us and told us we couldn't kick people out of the space because it's a public park. I stated that we were under the impression that because we paid a rental fee to rent the space (see permit wording above stating that the permit specfies designated areas), we would actually be allowed to have a pseudo private event. She said no, we could not ask people to leave, it was public, and I need to read my contract. Again, see aforementioned contract line stating that "there must always be a portion of the park available to the public." We were not asking for the whole park. We were asking for the 2 courtyards we paid for. If it's a public space, what are we paying a rental fee for? We could've just set up shop and not even bothered signing a rental contract with the park.
In the end, we had many spectators at the wedding. Why people want to stand around watching people they don't know get married is beyond me. We also had people using the (disgusting and filthy) public restrooms throughout the wedding.
We also didn't have electricity upon arrival for the lights, music, etc. We had to call parks & rec, who called someone else...and after a couple hours we finally had electricity. They sure took their time with getting that set up, but were super quick to yell at us for our "please respect our privacy" signs.
Bottom line: When paying to reserve this space, you aren't actually reserving anything. It's a public space that they refuse to let you actually reserve privately. What is the rental fee for? I have no idea. According to the parks & rec, despite paying to rent the space you must still allow screaming children, obnoxious families, and homeless people invade your wedding ceremony and you cannot do anything about it. The pretty architecture isn't worth the headache.
Casa del Prado seems like a beautiful place for a wedding. And from an architectural standpoint, it is.
But the public nature of the park, uncontrollable crowds, poor facilities, and rude staff made our experience infuriating.
We knew it was a popular public park when we booked the space. But the rental agreement states "There must always be at least a portion of the park available to the general public during all park uses and rentals. The designated area(s) for this permit are indicated on the General Development Plan or Site Plan." One would think that by paying a reservation fee to rent the space, you would actually be able to reserve the space. We brought ropes to discourage the public from entering the ceremony and reception space, and set up signs requesting they respect our privacy during the wedding. They didn't.
As we were setting up, we asked many onlookers to please leave because we were trying to set up for the wedding and they were in the way. An orchestra group was practicing on the 2nd level of the ceremony space, and the orchestra leader approached us to let us know that their families would be coming and going at 4pm (our ceremony time) but "they will be respectful." He swore up and down that they would be respectful and quiet and we wouldn't notice them. See attached photo of a respectful orchestra family photobombing during our ceremony. No matter what angle our photographers came from, their respectful families were in every single shot. One man stood on the balcony directly above the couple and just stared over the railing through the ceremony while his children ran wild, which was distracting for the guests. On top of that, the orchestra group played loudly through the whole ceremony.
Back to the privacy we expected when we RENTED the space. A parks & rec employee approached us and told us we couldn't kick people out of the space because it's a public park. I stated that we were under the impression that because we paid a rental fee to rent the space (see permit wording above stating that the permit specfies designated areas), we would actually be allowed to have a pseudo private event. She said no, we could not ask people to leave, it was public, and I need to read my contract. Again, see aforementioned contract line stating that "there must always be a portion of the park available to the public." We were not asking for the whole park. We were asking for the 2 courtyards we paid for. If it's a public space, what are we paying a rental fee for? We could've just set up shop and not even bothered signing a rental contract with the park.
In the end, we had many spectators at the wedding. Why people want to stand around watching people they don't know get married is beyond me. We also had people using the (disgusting and filthy) public restrooms throughout the wedding.
We also didn't have electricity upon arrival for the lights, music, etc. We had to call parks & rec, who called someone else...and after a couple hours we finally had electricity. They sure took their time with getting that set up, but were super quick to yell at us for our "please respect our privacy" signs.
Bottom line: When paying to reserve this space, you aren't actually reserving anything. It's a public space that they refuse to let you actually reserve privately. What is the rental fee for? I have no idea. According to the parks & rec, despite paying to rent the space you must still allow screaming children, obnoxious families, and homeless people invade your wedding ceremony and you cannot do anything about it. The pretty architecture isn't worth the headache.
I want to give a huge shout out to Marcy! She is outstanding! She went above and beyond to make our day special and keep us excited about the wedding. She is such a pleasure to work with and completely saved our wedding. Our original Vendor was set for the Ahwahnee in Yosemite but when Covid hit that venue cancelled all weddings for TWO YEARS! Just by chance we decided to stop at the coffee shop at the Prado where the manager heard our story and referred us to Marcy. We were so sad before but from the second we talked to Marcy she guaranteed us they would not cancel and our day would be special. Boy did she not disappoint! Our wedding was beyond beautiful from the ceremony at the wishing well to the reception in the ballroom, it was magically perfect. They truly know how to do service at The Prado. Everyone was especially talking about the synchronized servers. I would not change a thing, so beyond happy with everything and would highly recommend The Prado at Balboa Park and Marcy.
BEAUTIFUL
I attended a wedding here recently, the venue was perfect! From the lighting/hardwood flooring to the stage/stage performances and catering opportunities; everything was ecstatically beautiful. If I lived in San Diego, I would love to have my own wedding here.
The Ballroom is a nice space attached to the Prado Restaurant center courtyard, and operated as part of the restaurant for Weddings and other events.
We attended a KPRI Private Listener Concert here the other day. I was there early, knowing that there would be hundreds of people at the event. We were told that there would be no seating available for the event, which is not a good idea for the mostly older demographic of the station. Luckily, they did have the smattering of wedding chairs around the perimeter.
It is a pretty hall, with very interesting hanging light fixtures. I'm sure that it would be very pretty set up for a wedding.
We attended a KPRI Private Listener Concert here the other day. I was there early, knowing that there would be hundreds of people at the event. We were told that there would be no seating available for the event, which is not a good idea for the mostly older demographic of the station. Luckily, they did have the smattering of wedding chairs around the perimeter.
It is a pretty hall, with very interesting hanging light fixtures. I'm sure that it would be very pretty set up for a wedding.
