Los Angeles venue guide

Updated

Los Angeles wedding venues: historic spaces, gardens, and estates

Los Angeles has a bit of everything, from a former cathedral and grand historic buildings downtown to Beverly Hills gardens, Malibu ranches, and golf clubs across the county. The first price you see here tends to grow more than in most of California, so this guide covers what gets added and what to ask before you compare.

We've gathered details on 19 Los Angeles venues. Pick a starting point and Sage will rank them for your day, with cost estimates wherever the venue publishes its prices.

What should you budget?

Venues with catering for 100 guests

Use − and + to reprice every figure below.

$26k

Typical estimate

The median cost for Los Angeles venues that include their own catering.

$15k–$52k

Typical range

A wide range, from golf clubs at the low end to downtown landmarks and Malibu estates at the top.

These are our estimates, not quotes from the venues. They include service charges and tax when a venue lists them, but not extras like valet, security, or overtime. Your date, guest count, bar, and rentals will also change the final total.

Source: SagetheDate.com

Every filled dot is one Los Angeles venue that can host 100 guests, shaded by its own estimate on the same scale as the Californiaguide's map; grey ones don't publish a venue-with-catering price. Outlined dots are venues in neighbouring regions.

Narrow it down

See which Los Angeles venues fit your guest count and budget, and why

Guests

100

By budget and guest count

Los Angeles wedding venues by budget and guest count

How many Los Angeles venues come in under common budgets for the venue and food, at the guest counts couples plan for most. Each row counts the venues that can host that many guests and publish a full price for the venue and the food, so the list gets shorter as it grows.

Los Angeles wedding venues under each budget, by guest count
GuestsTypical venue and foodUnder $15,000Under $25,000Under $35,000Under $50,000
50 guests$19k4 of 129 of 1210 of 1211 of 12
100 guests$26k1 of 125 of 128 of 1210 of 12
150 guests$35k1 of 123 of 127 of 129 of 12
200 guests$43k0 of 123 of 124 of 128 of 12

Our estimates for the venue and food, including service charges and tax where the venue lists them, on a Saturday in peak season. Not quotes. A typical figure is shown only where at least five venues publish a price. On their cheapest published date, usually a weekday or a winter month, 2 more venues come in under $15,000 for 100 guests.

Los Angeles venues by price for 100 guests

$50,000–$75,000
Cielo Farms, Vibiana
See which fit your guest count and budget

How venues price weddings

Two venues can quote the same number and mean very different things

Pick one to see what its price contains, what it leaves for you to buy, and what it typically comes to.

You pay for the space and their kitchen

Venues with catering

Venues publish their price in two ways: as a site fee plus a per-guest menu price, or as a bundled package (venue + food).

At100guests

$26k

typical for venues with catering

$15k–$52k

where 80% of these 10 venues land

What makes up the billTypical80% of venues
Venue rental9 of 10$5.6k$2.7k–$13k
Catering9 of 10$13k$6.8k–$23k
Service charge & tax7 of 10$4k$2.8k–$12k
Each line is typical for the venues that charge it separately, so they don’t add up to the figure above. At 4 venues drinks are priced together with the food, so they sit inside the Catering line rather than a separate bar charge. At 3 venues the bar depends on which package tier you choose, so it isn’t in these figures.

And then you still buy

  • Bar, where it isn’t included
  • Rentals and décor beyond the basics
  • Every other vendor

Good if you

don’t want to worry about sourcing a caterer or any outside catering fees.

What you’d still need to find out

Whether drinks are inside the menu price or billed separately, and what the service charge and tax add at the end.

What changes the math here

The first price is only the start. Los Angeles venues add more on top of their quoted price than venues in most of California. Service charges and tax come first. Then many venues require things you pay for separately, like valet parking, security, or a damage deposit. They also tend to have more rules about what you can do on the day. None of this makes a venue a bad choice, but it does mean two quotes can't be compared until you add everything up.

Added on top of the price
+30%

Typical service charges, admin fees, and tax, compared with 23% across California.

Compare full estimates, fees included
Have booking requirements
63%

Most often valet or managed parking, a refundable damage deposit and a licensed planner. These cost extra and won't show up in a quote.

See each venue's rules
Rules that limit or ban
94%

Of the rules venues publish on sparklers, candles, confetti, and décor, compared with 79% across California.

See each venue's rules

What kind of place

Start with the kind of Los Angeles wedding you want

Historic downtown venue

A former cathedral, grand historic buildings, and garden event spaces with city character, in downtown LA and Long Beach. Some rent you only the space, so ask what's included, which caterers you can use, and how parking and security work.

Garden or estate

Mansion grounds in Beverly Hills, botanic gardens, and hillside estates and ranches from Malibu to La Verne. Ask where you go if it rains, and when the music has to stop outside.

11 of 19 venues here

Venue and food, typical
$27k (7 venues)
Find venues like these

Golf or country club

Lawns, a ballroom, and a kitchen on site, often at some of the lowest prices in the area. Ask whether another event could be on the property the same day, and what the package leaves out.

4 of 19 venues here

Find venues like these

What different types of venues cost in Los Angeles

The same wedding costs different amounts at a barn and at a hotel — and so does the shape of the bill. Three ways to look at it, for 100 guests.

What just the space costs

The venue rental across every venue that charges one as its own line — whether or not they also sell you the food. Just the room, nothing else.

  • Country Club / Golf Club$4.5k (4)
  • Event Center$9.5k (6)
  • Estate / Mansion$13k (4)

Every venue that itemises a rental, including the ones that cater. Venues quoting a single package over the room and the meal never name a room price, so they aren’t here — and this is a part of a bill, not a whole one, so it can’t be subtracted from the next chart.

What a wedding costs when the venue handles catering too

The whole bill — the room, the meal, and the fees on top.

  • Country Club / Golf Club$20k (4)
  • Event Center$27k (4)
  • Estate / Mansion$37k (5)
  • Winery / Vineyard$42k (3)

Venues behind each figure in brackets. A venue can be more than one kind of place, so it may appear in more than one row.

How much of the cost is for the space vs the catering

Every bar is one whole bill, so what changes across the list is the split. A country club / golf club earns it back on the menu; a estate / mansion charges you for the space.

The roomFood and beverage
  • Country Club / Golf Club32% (4)
  • Event Center41% (4)
  • Estate / Mansion48% (3)

Only the venues that price the room and the meal separately, with how many in brackets. Another 4 quote one package covering both, so there is no split to show for them.

Before you tour

Three decisions to make early

Add up the full cost

For each venue, add the service charge, admin fee, and tax to the quoted price. Then ask about the extras no estimate includes, like valet, security, overtime if the party runs late, and a corkage fee if you bring your own wine. Compare venues only once you've added it all up.

Compare full estimates for your guest count

Pick your part of town

Malibu, downtown, Long Beach, and the San Gabriel Valley can be a long drive apart, and few venues here have rooms for guests. Choose an area that works for where most guests will stay, then look at venues there, so nobody spends the evening on the freeway.

See venues across the region

Ask about the rules on the first call

Sparkler send-offs, candles, confetti, and what you can hang on the walls are often limited here. If a tradition involves fire or candles, or you have your heart set on a certain exit, ask before you tour. And ask about weekday dates: they typically cost 19% less than a Saturday.

See each venue's rules
How Los Angeles compares with California
  • Let you bring your own caterer32% vs 30%

    of venues that say either way (19 here)

  • Have rooms for guests on site16% vs 31%

    at least, of all venues (19 here)

  • Give you the whole property26% vs 28%

    at least, of all venues (19 here)

  • State a rain plan47% vs 55%

    at least, of all venues (19 here)

  • Require something extra63% vs 47%

    a planner, insurance, security or similar, of all venues (19 here)

What affects the cost of your wedding

Your date can change the price a lot

Wedding venue pricing is seasonal. 13 of the 19 Los Angeles venues we track charge differently depending on the day, and 5 charge differently depending on the month. Every figure below compares a venue with itself, so it says what moving your date does — whatever kind of venue you pick, and whatever the size of your wedding.

Day of the week

Months you’d consider

Peak months are selected to start. Tap any month to compare.

Saturday, peak season

The most expensive date most venues sell, and the date almost every published price assumes. Choose a different day or month to see what typically comes off.

How much less than its own most expensive month a typical Los Angeles venue charges, comparing Saturdays all year (5 venues price a season)
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

What part of the bill your date actually changes

Not every line on a quote moves. These are the ones that do, measured at the venues that move them.

The venue rental

What they charge for the space itself.

Weekday37% lessat 8
Fri or Sun23% lessat 8
Off-peak month20% lessat 4

Inviting fewer people saves you less than you’d think

5 of the 18 Los Angeles venues that can host 100 guests put a floor under what you spend — a minimum on food and drink, or a headcount they bill for. It is the one charge that feels worse the smaller your wedding is, and it is rarely made clear on other platforms that show venue pricing.

At100guests

1 of 5

would bill you above what your own 100 guests come to, by about $6.3k typically.

Bill above your count4 clear it

At your guest count most of these floors are already met, so at most of these venues what you spend is what you chose. The ones that don’t clear are the first to ask about.

The 5 floor-setting Los Angeles venues big enough to host every size on this chart, priced at each one. Where the lines part, you are paying for guests who aren’t coming.
What you’d be billedWhat your own guests cost
$0$30k$60kyour 1004075100125150175200 guests

What kind of floor, and how high

A venue can set more than one.

A minimum headcount they bill you forYou pay for this many plates whether or not that many people come. At 1 of them the floor is above 100.
50 gueststypical

What gets added at the end

Taxes and fees mark up a Los Angeles quote typically by 30%

Every pricing model carries them. At the 11 Los Angeles venues that publish their fees, the middle result is 30%, with most landing between 21% and 37%.

Food & drinkVenue rentalService chargeAdministrative feeSales taxon the bill and on the fees
Solid lines are what a fee is always charged on; dashed lines are charged that way at some venues only. Sales tax comes last, on the bill and usually on the other fees too.
Various fees to considerTypical
  • Service charge7 venues

    23%

    The venue’s charge for its staff. Not a tip.

  • Administrative fee5 venues

    22%

    Charged instead of, or alongside, a service charge — and usually taxed as well.

  • Sales tax8 venues

    10.3%

    Set by the state, and charged on the service charge too at most venues.

Dots are sized by how many venues charge that rate. The gold line is the median rate, and every fee has its own scale: read the spread within a row, not across them.

Places worth a closer look

Six Los Angeles venues to start with

These examples cover the area's historic spaces, estates, and clubs, priced in different ways. Open a venue to see its pricing, capacity, spaces, vendor rules, and other planning details.

Find venues that match your vision and budget

Describe your guest count, your budget, and anything you can’t compromise on. See a ranked list of venues, with why each one fits, trade-offs, and what to double-check.

Try:

Sage the Date reads each venue's own published details, including pricing, catering and alcohol rules, music curfews, rain plans, whether you get the whole property, and how many guests each space holds. Every estimate uses your guest count. When a venue doesn't say, we tell you instead of guessing.

Before you book

Three questions worth asking

  • What will the total be after service charges, admin fees, and tax, and what else might we pay for, like valet, security, overtime, or corkage?
  • Do we have to hire a planner, security, or valet, or pay a damage deposit, and how much do those usually cost?
  • What are your rules on sparklers, candles, confetti, and décor, and when does the music have to stop outside?
See all 19 Los Angeles venues we track
How this guide is built

Sage reads each venue's own published pricing and policies, puts different kinds of quotes on the same footing, and estimates the cost for 100 guests. If a venue doesn't say something, we treat it as a question to ask, not a no. Venues can't pay to appear or to rank higher here.