Sausalito Campbell Hall & Garden

We had an outdoor ceremony in the Garden and our reception inside Campbell Hall this summer. It was the perfect venue for us and we couldn’t be happier with how everything went! We have nothing but wonderful memories of our wedding there.
We loved being able to have a gorgeous outdoor space for the wedding and then have such a close by space for the reception. The terrace is also perfect for cocktail hour. The staff was very helpful and flexible. They answered my questions promptly over email and let us come by the venue several times before the big day for planning meetings.
All of this at a very reasonable price for a Sausalito wedding. If you are on a budget and would like to get married close to SF or in Marin County, I definitely recommend Campbell Hall. Lane was a new receptionist hired mid-​way through our planning process. She was great — so helpful with all our questions despite being new. Chip, the Church Rector, was very knowledgable and helpful throughout the entire process as well. Very warm and friendly. He made our non-​religious, multicultural family feel very comfortable using a church fellowship hall for our wedding.
Campbell Hall was perfect for us, but here are some pros and cons to consider if it is the right place for you:
Pros:
–Outdoor, indoor, and church space available. Beautiful terrace for cocktail hour.
— Reasonable price
–Guests tables, chairs, and multiple tables for event set-​up included in price (if you aren’t picky about the look of these items). We loved using some of antique style furniture for our serving tables. We only ended up renting more comfortable guest chairs.
–The staff are very friendly and warm. I understand that the staff is entirely new in recent years.
–The staff are very flexible. Although their materials read a bit rigid in their rules, I found if I asked about certain policies they were usually able to be flexible.
— They allowed non-​amplified music in the Garden during the wedding. We had a lovely string duo.
–They were willing to be flexible with allowing us to bring a caterer that was not in their pre-​approved list once they met with them. They liked them so much I think they are now added to the list (Park Avenue Catering).
— Private, spacious, changing area for bride. Great for a private moment after the ceremony.
— Beautiful surrounding neighborhood for photos.
Cons:
–The wind was very high on our wedding day and made the outdoor ceremony a bit challenging for decorations to stay put and people to hear. Consider an officiant with good projection :). Microphones aren’t allowed outside.
— With a small wedding of 50 people, parking was fine and we did not need a shuttle. If you are having a larger party, factor in the expense of a shuttle.
— While the staff are very friendly and helpful, weddings are only one part of what they do and there is minimal day-​of support. Likely you will need to hire a day-​of-​coordinator or have family/​friends sign up for some serious DIY help on the day-​of.
— No DJ’s allowed. We used an Ipod on their stereo and it worked out just great. For us, who didn’t want a DJ it was perfect.
— Receptions must end by 9pm. We wanted an early wedding so it was fine for us, but not right for everyone I know.

My partner Nilo and I were married in this incredible church on July 4, 2014. Christ Episcopal Church and Campbell Hall and Garden is the most incredible, beautiful place for a wedding. We had three places to choose from for our wedding and Christ Church was by far the best place imaginable!
Nilo and I never dreamed of having a church wedding. We have been together in a committed same sex relationship for 19 years. When the law prohibiting same sex marriage was toppled in June 2013, we knew immediately we wanted to marry in Sausalito as it was the site of one of our first dates back in 1995 and figured prominently in our lives since then. While looking for a venue, we stumbled on Campbell Hall using a Google search. I sent an e-​mail to the address listed inquiring about the Hall and within minutes received a response from the rector, Father Chip Larrimore, saying that not only could we use the Hall, we could be married in Christ Church and he would be honored to perform the ceremony. I was floored. Nilo and I, both Catholics, stopped going to Church some years ago. We had no idea the Episcopal Church was so accepting and welcoming. We went to see this incredibly beautiful church last July (2013) and met Father Chip. We knew as soon as we walked in that we would marry there and booked the date for July 4, 2014. We also started attending this beautiful church built in 1882 and became members in January 2014. Neither Nilo nor I had ever experienced such a welcoming community in our lives. We live in South Hayward and drive 57 miles every Sunday to attend Mass there with our new «faith family».
While some of the reviewers listed «cons» along with their «pros», I have no «cons» to mention. Everything was incredible. While parking is limited, we hired a shuttle service which was quite reasonable to bring our guests up to the church and take them back. Pure Luxury was the service and they did a wonderful job. It took all the stress out of parking for our guests and they all had a great time on the short ride up the hill. Our reception was held at the Spinnaker Restaurant in Sausalito. Guests parked at Spinnaker and were shuttled to and from the church from there. We used Campbell Hall for lunch for our wedding party and for a short cocktail hour immediately following the wedding before our reception began. The Garden, which is adjacent to the Campbell Hall and across the street from the Church, is so beautiful and the best of our wedding photos were taken there. The entire wedding was everything I dreamed it would be and more. I am attaching some photos of the church and our wedding day there. We videotaped the wedding (although the first 6 minutes were lost… UGH!); the link is
. Listen to Father Chip’s sermon if you want to know how incredible he is as a person and as a priest.
I know you will love this church as much as Nilo and I do. 100% recommended for your wedding and if you have never really been into going to church… check it out. You might be as surprised as Nilo and I were by what you find there!
Feel free to contact me directly via email at
if you have any questions.

My husband and I were married at Christ Church and had our reception at Campbell Hall in October 2012. We had a fantastic wedding and reception here, with great support from Fr. Chip Larrimore and the administrators of the church. Getting married can be super stressful and the last thing you want is a venue that adds to that stress — luckily for us, we couldn’t have been more pleased with our experience.
We were looking for a space that felt cozy and elegant and beautiful all at the same time. Booyah: The church is stunning, historic and fits about 80 comfortably, I’d say. The stained glass windows and red carpet create a majestic feel and my British family all felt very at home there. We didn’t need to decorate at all really, but did decide to hang some light white organza fabric from the beamed ceiling and some fresh flowers at the alter/​hanging off the pews. Chip was perfect — kind, witty, light enough to encourage fun, but serious enough about the sanctity of marriage and the journey we were now on. We really felt that we gained a friend through the experience and it was a pleasure getting to know the Christ Church community.
Campbell Hall with its gorgeous woodwork, patio and gardens was great in the gorgeous Sausalito fall. We had a cocktail hour with a jazz quartet outside and comfortably fit about 75 people to a seated (buffet) dinner. We did lots of the traditional first dance, cut cutting, etc. and the whole affair felt intimate and special. We had some lights hung up in the hall and some up-​lights to soften the feel.
We didn’t have any issues with the on-​site coordinator, who mostly peered in from the entryway and didn’t intrude in any way. We didn’t have a valet service, but if you had more guests and/​or more cars, I might recommend one for your ease. It is true that this spot is in a residential area, so there are noise restrictions, and this isn’t the place for an all-​night party. There are lots of hotels locally in Sausalito for guest accommodations, too.
All in all, we had a really positive experience and I can’t recommend the church and hall enough!

My husband and I were married here on 7÷13÷13 and we could not have had a better experience. I was wary of Jill C.‘s review from 2008, but they have changed rectors since then and their new one, Chip Larrimore, is nothing but kind and courteous. He checked on us once in the morning while we were setting up and then again in the early evening to give us his well wishes. There was an on-​site coordinator, but she mostly just observed from the entryway and we honestly didn’t notice her much. We got so many compliments from guests on the space. It’s so beautiful there! We had our first look in front of the church and those are some of my favorite photos (I’ll post some for you guys!) We had our ceremony in the garden, cocktail hour on the deck and then the reception in the hall. A couple notes: we had about 80 guests, and it would have been cramped for more than 100. It’s also a little hard to find based on online directions… tell guests to take the first exit after the bridge! We had an iPod playing for most of the night as well as some live music (acoustic guitar and a trumpet) but the coordinator said we were fine, noise-​wise. Also, we received our deposit back in full after about two weeks. I would highly recommend Campbell Hall and Garden for your wedding venue!

So there are some big pluses, and some significant minuses about this venue. This place is owned by the Christ Church across the street.
Summary:
Pros: It’s beautiful, and it’s affordable. You can bring your own alcohol, and your own caterer.
Cons: Very restrictive on sound, limited parking, you have to leave by 9pm, you can’t really use the kitchen, and they have a difficult rector who is in charge now, and a system where you never get to talk to the person who makes decisions.
Pros:
1. Beautiful — There is a lovely garden, with cobbled-​surface courtyard to hold the ceremony. It has a dramatic staircase, and lots of gorgeous trees and flowers. The hall is lovely, with older architecture, very elegant, and has rows of french doors that open up onto the terrace — where you can sit overlooking the garden under hanging wisteria. It’s a beautiful place, with a few odd items here and there, but just the gorgeous spot we wanted.
2. Affordable — it was not too expensive (although if you want to use the gorgeous 120 yr old church across the street that belongs to them as well — expect to pay almost double), and they allowed us to bring our own caterer and alcohol, which saved us a lot of money. They are also fairly easily accessible by public transit.
Cons:
1. Difficult rector & hard to talk to those in charge — this is a tiny little church which owns some beautiful property. They don’t have someone who coordinates the whole thing, but instead rely on part-​time secretaries and volunteers, as well as an interim rector behind the scenes who vetos things. It’s a bit informal and occasionally convoluted process. My issue is mostly with the fact that I put down a deposit to reserve a Sunday date for our wedding. Several weeks later (which, by this time I’ve been getting estimates, starting on reservations, etc), I get a call from the Church wanting me to switch my date to a Saturday, however, there are only a few Saturdays left in the month I need. I told them it was a possibility, but considering the effort I’d have to go to in order to change it, was there any way they could make it easier for me — ie, they were asking me for a favor, and I wanted a discount, or to be able to use their linens, or something in exchange for all the trouble it was going to cause me to switch. No go. The rector (who never spoke with me directly), said basically I could switch or that there were plenty of other people who wanted the date… which seemed a bit threatening to me. In the end, I switched to the date they wanted, and was able to change everything accordingly, but the whole thing seemed very unprofessional and left me feeling rather resentful.
A smaller incident was this — certain people may tell you things are ok on your tour, but then have the rector veto it later. I was told we could ring the churchbells — but no, we can’t. No idea why not either, since they ring them every week for church.
2. Restrictive on sound — basically you can’t have any amplified music, although they were a bit fuzzy on this and sounded like they might make exceptions. Even without using mics, they were not really happy with the idea of me bringing in a 6 piece swing jazz band — they thought the horns would be too loud. To be fair, this is not entirely their fault — the city of Sausalito has a very restrictive sound policy, and they have neighbors who complain about the trash cans making too much noise. However, the city noise ordinance — article 20.16.090 — states that the noise cannot be more than 55 decibels at the property line, which would be reasonable, but the church will make you keep it to that inside the hall — and not let you open the doors while the music is playing.
3. Parking is limited and you can’t use the kitchen — they have a tiny parking lot (about 16 spots) and the rest is on-​street in a neighborhood. If you have elderly or handicapped guests, make sure you put signs up to save them spots. You may also need to get a shuttle, or have guests walk up from the city parking (about ½ mile away, but very steep). They have a beautiful, large, industrial kitchen, but you can’t use it for liability reasons — you can heat food up, but not cook it there, and you can’t use their coffee-​maker, or other equipment (apparently they’ve had too many people break it). You also can’t have candles.
5. You can’t stay past 9pm — We had to have an afternoon wedding because you cannot stay past 9pm, and your clean up crew must be done by 10pm. It was beautiful, but not the same as the dusky reception we’d imagined.
In short — gorgeous spot, very affordable, but with some significant restrictions and difficult communications. We had a wonderful wedding, and enjoyed it immensely.

Campbell Hall was the perfect spot for my wedding reception! I loved the Arts & Craft design and the beautiful garden. And on top of that, the gorgeous view of the San Francisco Bay at twilight was unforgettable.
The building itself has a traditional feel and high ceilings, and the French doors on each side let in the breeze. We put the bar on the veranda, which was a great spot for those who wanted to step outside and enjoy the evening air.
There’s a huge, newly renovated kitchen, which my caterer loved, three bathrooms, and even a small nursery with a crib in it for babies. The music (sound) level was fine from my acoustic trio, and there’s a built-​in speaker system for those who want to use it.
Many of my guests stayed in Sausalito Hotels and walked to the wedding, in historic Christ Episcopal Church across the street. I’ve gotten loads of compliments from guests on my unique and charming Sausalito wedding. Thank you Campbell Hall!

While this is a beautiful venue for those of us on a budget, watch out… this venue has rigid music restrictions!
My husband and I got married here and had an acoustic group approved ahead of time by the rental manager. The pastor associated with the church of campbell hall came twice to complain about the music volume during our wedding and despite the fact that we kept the doors closed, adjusted the volume and were respectful to his requests, more than half of our deposit was withheld. They claimed that they used my deposit to purchase gifts for the surrounding neighbors of Sausalito! What a scam!