La Jolla Woman’s Club

A big thanks to Auriel and her staff for making our wedding ceremony and reception a night to be remembered. It was love at first sight with this venue! The LJWC approved vendor list made our wedding planning even easier with a wonderful selection to choose from. We were able to plan a vendor walk through a month out from the wedding date, make changes, and lock down a timeline for a well executed ceremony.

I recently had my wedding at the the La Jolla Woman’s Club and Auriel was the best to work with! She was always so helpful and always had a smile on her face. She was very responsive to email and worked well with all of my vendors. The venue itself is beautiful and very private. My guests stayed in La Jolla and appreciated that it was walking distance from their hotel. I would highly recommend the Woman’s Club if you are deciding on a venue for your wedding they really are great to work with :)

My husband and I were married at LWC in mid April. We couldn’t have asked for a better day. Auriel became the venue manager part of the way through our planning process and I was so thrilled when she came on board. We had a few issues prior to Auriel becoming venue manager which she quickly fixed for us. She clearly understands what couples are looking for and was wonderful in helping us to achieve our idea of a perfect day. Auriel was very much on the clients side and was willing to work with us to negotiate pricing and helped us with vendor relationships, including giving us new suggestions for caterers after we were not liking what was on their original list (it has since been revised). Venue staff were on site throughout the event to ensure everything ran smooth and our security deposit was returned and waiting for us before we event got home from our honeymoon! The only downside to the entire process was the bar tending company which the venue requires. Overall a top notch experience and I would definitely recommend them to friends!3

My husband and I were married at the La Jolla Women’s Club in July. The venue is located in La Jolla Village right across from the ocean. It is walking distance from many hotels, which worked perfectly for us since most of guests were from out of town. Although it is located in a busy area, it is very peaceful and private. The venue itself it absolutely beautiful, with all the flowers surrounding the gardens, very little decoration is needed.
Sharlene was excellent to work with. She was so helpful throughout the planning process. She is very knowledgable about the area and vendors. She provided us with a helpful list of suggested vendors. The only required vendor is BarWorks, but the prices were reasonable and they provided excellent service. Sharlene was always very warm and welcoming during all of our visits to the club and gave us a lot of extra suggestions to help us during all of the planning.
I would definitely recommend the La Jolla Women’s Club for weddings and events!

«My husband and I loved having our wedding at the LJWC! It was truly a special and magical day — and better than we imagined it to be. The venue was perfect — we loved that it was historic and set back from the street. There are also so many places around the venue for photographic opportunities that each had their own character. We felt like the club was a special guest at the wedding. I am still in love with your oak tree and that we could hang a chandelier in it! All the vendors worked well together and as far as we know, there were no problems! We really appreciate all the communication we had with you throughout the process and I know it helped to make our day flow seamlessly. We received positive feedback from our guests about how special and beautiful the wedding was and people even commented that parking was not a problem. We had worried that it might be. We also loved how walkable La Jolla is and that guests were able to enjoy a mini weekend in LJ and not have to worry about renting a car to get from their hotel to the venue since there are many wonderful hotels within walking distance. We would highly recommend the LJWC for any couple looking for an elegant and historic venue. We would also recommend all of our vendors: Wedding Planner — Andrea with A Diamond Celebration, Cute Cakes in Escondido, Crown Point Catering, Bar Works, Haydee’s Creative Flowers, Michael Tiernan with Still Listening Productions, Anika London for Photography, XOXO Wedding Studio for Videography, Kristen at Rock and Royal Make Up Studio, the Holiday Suite at the Bed and Breakfast Inn at La Jolla (next door to the LJWC!), and Mario with Best Rentals.»

La Jolla Woman’s Club captured us as soon as we walked through the gates and never ceased to amaze.
The historic building and the outdoor landscape design instantly welcomes you into this intimate private setting for all your wedding guests to enjoy. The 100 year-​old building enhanced our 1920s vintage/​modern themed wedding too. It was a perfect location for us; walking distance from the hotel (Inn By the Sea — highly recommended as well. Can’t beat the location, service and price point) and all the weekend activities. Plus a quick drive to La Jolla Cove for wedding pictures. We have absolutely no regrets on this venue and would chose this place if we had to do it all over again.
Working with Sharlene Thompson, the Executive Director for LJWC was a nice experience. She is professional, responsive, and fair; and will give it to you straight (something I appreciate). Tip: She holds weekly open houses, so you can drop in for a visit as often as you’d like. I took full advantage of these open houses. It’s always fun to check out your venue in the months leading up to your big day.
We hosted our ceremony in the South Garden, which had this loving, intimate feel with beautiful natural scenery. Cocktail hour was planned for the North Garden, but at the same time a colony of bees decided to build their new nest around their Queen, so it was relocated to the South Garden (Guests could have cared less). We like to think of it as good wedding-​day fortune. The reception was held in the ballroom. The space allows for people to dance the night away and/​or enjoy some fresh air while watching the La Jolla sunset.
A great time was had by all. Go check this place out!

LJWC is a beautiful venue. Our wedding was amazing with the venue was perfect.
Sharlene was great to work with, had some great vendor recommendations, and was always super responsive and professional to work with. She worked very well with our wedding planner and other vendors to help make sure our wedding day was perfect. When we initially looked at venues, we looked at ~10 locations throughout San Diego. We immediately fell in love with the La Jolla Woman’s Club and booked it on the spot. I would highly recommend this venue for a wedding — it’s a beautiful place to celebrate!

The moment I walked into this breathtakingly pristine place, I knew I was meant to get married there… and I did just a few weeks ago! There is something just so enchanting about this place, as if you’ve walked into a different time. We had our ceremony in the south garden, which is this gorgeous, cozy nook with looming trees and greenery lit with delicate string lights. It gave such a magical, romantic vibe to our occasion. We loved that we found a venue that could be a one-​stop affair for both the ceremony and reception. After the ceremony, there’s an amazing terrace where we had a cocktail hour and set-​up the bar for the evening. And our guests loved it because they could see the ocean, which is only a block away. The ballroom is the center of the building and has a wonderfully inviting warmth that adds to LJWC’s charm. Now, you’d think that to have your wedding here would cost a fortune but we were pleasantly surprised at how reasonable the price was, especially since you really don’t have to do much to decorate for your special occasion. It’s that beautiful.
One of the greatest bonuses of getting married here? Sharlene, the manager of the venue. She is one of the most caring, helpful, patient, informative, and generous people we had the honor of working with during our wedding preparations. To have someone so delightful, professional, and available to assist us in our wedding process is nothing short of a gift. I cannot say enough things about how positive and incredible our experience was and how much she played a part in it. We truly had the wedding of our dreams. I highly recommend this stunning historical venue for your big day.

we had our wedding at the LJWC this past weekend !! From start to finish it was incredible. The architecture and grounds are beautiful, and the location is superb!
Sharlene, the manager, is such a sweet lady! She is very kind and very easy to deal with. She was a big part of why we chose LJWC for our wedding. She was very helpful, very sweet, very loving and very accommodating. She helped make every experience a pleasant one. Even just before the ceremony, she wanted to make sure that everything was perfect and suggested a last minute change that would have been more work but she wanted it to be perfect for us. Sharlene paid attention, she made it a point to get to know me as a person so that she could help facilitate my dream wedding! That meant the world to me. She treated me, my now husband, and our friends and family so lovingly. Sharlene, you will never be forgotten.
We had an outdoor ceremony and an outdoor reception. It was PERFECT ! Everyone was commenting on how gorgeous and perfect the whole event was. When i imagined it, it was gorgeous and perfect. When i got there and saw the final presentation, it was so much better !!! unbelievable!
Many thanks to Sharlene at the LJWC for all of her help and love. We didn’t have a single bad experience. It was PERFECT !!

I would highly recommend La Jolla Woman’s Club as an exceptional wedding venue in the village of La Jolla, California, one block from the beach. When my daughter and I first visited the venue, we fell in love with its old world charm and versatility for a wedding. The historical setting is classy, romantic, and offers gardens, arches, dressing areas, parlors, ocean peek views and breezes, and a lovely ballroom with a grand stage. You can easily cross the street to take photos at Cuvier Park on the beach before, during, or after the wedding.
Every aspect of the early planning stages and day of coordination was made seamless with the professional direction of the club’s manager, Sharlene Thompson, who is a veteran event organizer and an absolute pleasure to deal with. As far as value, after viewing numerous venues in and around San Diego, I wouldn’t hesitate to say that this venue was by far the most cost effective. All tables and a large screen for a slide show are included in the rental which was a great money savings. We were also able to use approved caterers and a bar company allowing us to personalize our party and save money. The wedding was on a Sunday in February which also lowered costs.
There was ample free street parking on Sunday.
The La Jolla Woman’s Club is a premier San Diego venue and the location offers conveniences such as nearby restaurants, boutiques, and services. We chose the boutique style Empress Hotel for our guests, which is a two block walk to the club. The rehearsal dinner was next door, at The Cottage, and that was also so convenient. Our guests raved about the entire event. Please disregard older reviews, as any problems incurred by previous management are no longer applicable.

I had a great experience with the La Jolla Woman’s Club! I looked at many venues for my upcoming wedding, but the Club was exceptional – it is beautiful, unique and private, and allows for both a ceremony and reception in one location at no extra charge.
Sharlene, the Club manager, was incredibly helpful, informative, and available to me… she answered my dozens of questions cheerfully and offered great advice and ideas for the wedding.
Ultimately, I ended up choosing a venue in Northern California due to family members’ traveling constraints, but highly recommend La Jolla Woman’s Club to anyone looking for a wonderful venue to hold their special event!

I had my wedding here in September. Sharlene and her team were so helpful and very professional. We got our whole deposit back the week after the wedding. The venue is so beautiful. I loved that it was so convenient to hotels and restaurants in the village. We had our ceremony in the south garden, cocktail hour on the north patio, the reception indoors in the main space, and a photobooth area in the side room. I loved that there were distinct spaces. The gardens are so beautiful. Our pictures turned out really well.
Its a bummer that the noise ordinance forces weddings to be over by 10, but that’s not the fault of the venue. And with such close proximity to bars and restaurants, an after party is easy to do.

I had LJWC as my wedding venue last month, and I have to say, Sharlene was a superb help in the whole process. She was very knowledgeable about everything, cautioning me on several things I have overlooked and helping me with others. She is super nice and also very reasonable.
On top of it, I fell in love with this venue when I saw it. It has the quaintness and old charm of a victorian house, but the elegance of a country club, adorned with beautiful courtyards and flowers all around. I’m so happy with my venue, and I think it did a lot to make my wedding the magical day I’ve always wanted. Would recommend it to any wedding couple with good taste.
I got my security deposit within days after my wedding, and Sharlene has follow up emails to make sure I got my deposit back. They are a historical site, so I respect the rules in the contract which are not at all unreasonable. It’s understandable for them to maintain the beautiful state of the club. I was cautious given the previous reviews, but I have to say, things have changed, and I have great confidence that anyone who books this club would be happy.

I had my wedding here last week, and I think a lot has changed since previous reviewers’ weddings. Sharlene met with us before the event and we talked through every detail, she promptly answered all my calls and emails, and she did a great job supervising during the wedding. The fee was $ 2500 for 8 hours on a Sunday, plus $ 300 for an extra hour of set-​up and get-​ready time (that was totally worth it.)
The grounds are beautiful. It’s such an intimate, pretty setting, and it makes for gorgeous photos. We got a ton of compliments on our choice of venue.
As far as strict rules are concerned: The time limit is firm, and music has to stop at 9:45. The lights come on, party’s over. If you’re doing an official «last dance» you’ll want to watch the time carefully. It was early for some people, but we just went to a bar afterwards and it was fine.
You can bring in your own alcohol (including liquor), which is awesome. I chose all my vendors and Sharlene was fine with them– band, caterer, rental company, florist. A previous reviewer said she couldn’t have her makeup artist there, but that wasn’t the case for us.
A tip for those using iPods instead of a DJ: The club is not equipped with speakers for playing dance music. I realized this kind of last-​minute because the previous manager, who was running things when we signed our contract, had made it sound like they were all set up for this. I don’t think she knew what she was talking about. Renting speakers is easy, but plan in advance.

I’m really glad I hadn’t Unilocaled before booking this venue for our wedding held there this past April. I may have second guessed my choice… as it turns out, I couldn’t be happier! This venue is so beautiful on its own, but you can dress it up too. The garden surrounding the actual building is gorgeous and the perfect setting for an intimate, outdoor wedding. We had about 100 people and it still felt intimate! The inside of the building was just as incredible. We had so much fun planning because it really is a blank canvas inside. Not to say it’s plain, but the layout doesn’t dictate where you have to put what. You can be as creative as you like. Also, when we booked a manager for the club from a handful of candidates hadn’t been chosen yet. Just before our wedding, Sharlene was named the manager and she is such a lovely person. I can’t imagine who ran the club before, according to the other reviews on here, but Sharlene was so sweet and considerate and polite. She felt like an extension of the family (no exaggeration!). I would highly recommend the Woman’s Club for a wedding, anniversary or birthday celebration. It’s perfect.

My husband and I could not have asked for a more beautiful wedding at the La Jolla Womans’ Club. We had a wonderful experience working with everyone at LJWC and would highly recommend this venue. The grounds are one-​of-​a-​kind; our guests were raving about how much they loved the unique, peaceful, and historic atmosphere. Thank you, LJWC, for affording us a day that we will treasure forever.

I had my wedding here.
See, the management is severely anal retentive. There are so many restrictions for this place. You can’t even hire your own make-​up artist! You have to use their’s or face paying $ 1000 extra to them! I also had to use their rental company, etc. To save costs and use my friends who are top notch make up artist and hair stylists, I had to get ready at a friend’s house. It’s a bit of a racket, I think.
The wedding, though, was beautiful and everything went wonderfully. I felt that things were really perfect! The grounds are gorgeous and the location and proximity to the ocean is something I could have only dreamed about.
Then, one of my guests brought a thing of glitter without my knowing. Said guest brought it on the dance floor where it exploded.
At the time of the reception, this wasn’t a big deal and it didn’t ruin our special day, thankfully. I was told later that the woman who was the manager was watching with this shocked and pissed look on her face.
You see, glitter and stuff like that is not allowed inside the venue. Totally understandable. We knew about that ahead of time. It was in the contract. Heck, we couldn’t even have real rose petals on the tables because of the risk to the floor. We were 100% responsible for that sort of thing and any damages that would possibly ensue. We signed a contract to that effect and I understood fully.
When the glitter exploded on the dance floor though, my wonderful caterer cleaned it up after the event was over. NOT the woman’s club. They did an amazing job cleaning it up and we didn’t have to worry about a thing. He charged us slightly more for this, but that was fine and totally understandable.
Since the woman’s club didn’t have to worry about a thing, thanks to my caterer, you’d think I’d get my deposit back right?
Wrong! They kept the whole darn deposit because of the glitter that they didn’t have to deal with at all and didn’t cause any damage what so ever. My caterer had made them whole again because he didn’t want us to get charged and they took the money and ran anyhow.
I just find that incredibly dishonest.
So not only did I pay my caterer extra for cleaning up after one of my guests (which I understand I’m responsible for and he totally deserved compensation for cleaning that up – he didn’t even have to!) but the Woman’s club kept my money too for no other reason than the glitter — that they didn’t even have to so much as touch!!!
If this didn’t happen, I would totally recommend this place to other people. Unfortunately, though as I said my wedding ceremony and reception were perfect (hence the 2 stars) I’m gonna have to warn anyone thinking of having an event here to STAY AWAY!
Don’t do business with a bunch of crooks!
It’s a shame too, because it is such a beautiful place to get married!

Disclaimer: We were wedding guests only; not the ones paying for the event.
But as wedding guests, we were impressed with the venue at La Jolla Women’s Club. The nuptial ceremony and reception were held outdoors, while the formal dinner was seated indoors.
Food was fine and the ocean view setting was fabulous. Husband was not feeling well, so we left before last dance – or any plugs were pulled.
Our experience was terrific – and hope parents of the bride and groom end up agreeing with us:-)

My husband and I recently had our wedding reception at the La Jolla Woman’s Club, and it was definitely NOT a wonderful experience. Don’t get my wrong, the place is very pretty and the grounds are nice, but the manager is AWFUL! My husband and I felt like we were being treated like children the entire time, and Betsey acted like she could care less if she had our business or not.
I completely understand having rules, but we felt like we couldn’t do anything at our reception. We had to have special permission to have red wine, we had to hire a babysitting company if more than 5 children came to our reception (not sure why their PARENTS couldn’t be the ones watching them), and if we went even 5 minutes over our allotted time it would cost us $ 500… those are just a few of the minor inconveniences that were put on top of the outright rude attitude Betsey had. To me, if someone is spending $ 3500 for 8 hours (that’s including 2 hours of set up and 1 hour of breakdown by the vendors, not 8 hours of reception time) that she could at least PRETEND like she even remotely liked her job or the people who were putting out thousands of dollars at her establishment.
One last thing I would like to say… Due to the unprofessional and rude attitude Betsey had with some of our guests, they actually left our reception early! Last time I checked, that’s bad business practices.

I recently got married here. Early in the wedding planning process, after picking this venue, several vendors (e.g. DJ’s, caterers) warned us that the management is extremely strict and will literally pull the plug on the music if you go just 1 minute over your contracted time.
So we were not surprised when, 5 minutes past our official end time, the manager pulled the plug on the DJ during our last dance.
What was surprising and really troubling is the number of reports about the RUDE and very unprofessional behavior management had toward guests and vendors. Not only did management pull the plug on the DJ, she slammed the door on him and said «Get the F* out of my house!!» to him.
Also, we had a slide show and a guest was in charge of running it. I had asked LJWC manager to add the rental of their large screen to our contract at least one month before the wedding. But when our guest went to run the show, he was very rudely told «UHN UH, it isn’t in the contract, so you can’t use it!!» Now there are so many other ways she could have handled this, i.e. asked someone to verify whether the bride and groom planned on paying for the screen, or just matter-​of-​factly informing him not to use it, rather than being so rude, OR going ahead and letting the guest use the screen and requesting payment from us at closing time.
So, please think twice about having your event, especially a wedding, here. I plan on writing a complaint letter to the venue’s board of trustees because they may not have a clue about the management’s track record toward their clients.