South Bay & Peninsula venue guide
Updated
This region stretches from the hotels and historic properties along the Peninsula to the wooded hills around Woodside and Los Gatos, then south to San Jose, Morgan Hill, and Gilroy. Where you look changes the whole plan: whether guests can stay nearby, how much driving the day requires, whether you can choose your caterer, and how long music can continue outside.
We've gathered published pricing and policies from South Bay and Peninsula venues. Pick a starting point and Sage will rank them for your day, with cost estimates wherever the venue publishes enough detail.
What should you budget?
Use − and + to reprice every figure below.
$19k
Typical estimate
The median cost for the South Bay & Peninsula venues that include their own catering.
$16k–$31k
Typical range
This compares venues that publish enough to estimate the space and food together. A price for the space alone is not included in this range.
These are our estimates, not venue quotes. They include service charges and tax when a venue publishes them. Your date, guest count, bar, rentals, and staffing will change the final total.
Every filled dot is one the South Bay & Peninsula 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 the South Bay & Peninsula venues fit your guest count and budget, and why
Guests
By budget and guest count
How many South Bay & Peninsula 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.
| Guests | Typical venue and food | Under $15,000 | Under $25,000 | Under $35,000 | Under $50,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 guests | $18k | 6 of 15 | 14 of 15 | 15 of 15 | 15 of 15 |
| 100 guests | $19k | 1 of 15 | 11 of 15 | 15 of 15 | 15 of 15 |
| 150 guests | $25k | 0 of 14 | 7 of 14 | 12 of 14 | 14 of 14 |
| 200 guests | $32k | 0 of 14 | 4 of 14 | 10 of 14 | 14 of 14 |
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, 4 more venues come in under $15,000 for 100 guests.
How venues price weddings
Pick one to see what its price contains, what it leaves for you to buy, and what it typically comes to.
You get the venue, food, and other vendors
A package covering the venue and food & beverage, plus at least three things you would otherwise hire and pay for yourself — a coordinator, a DJ, the florals, the cake, the invitations.
$28k
typical for the package
$16k–$31k
where 80% of these 3 venues land
And then you still buy
want the fewest decisions and the fewest separate contracts to sign.
What you’d still need to find out
Bundles differ a lot between venues so know exactly what you’re signing up for and what’s flexible.
You pay for the space and their kitchen
Venues publish their price in two ways: as a site fee plus a per-guest menu price, or as a bundled package (venue + food).
$19k
typical for venues with catering
$16k–$26k
where 80% of these 12 venues land
And then you still buy
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.
You buy the space, then the food
You hire and pay a caterer yourself. Any fee the venue charges for letting an outside kitchen in is already in this figure.
$9k
typical for the venue rental
$2.1k–$22k
where 80% of these 5 venues land
And then you still buy
want a specific cuisine, a caterer you already love, or real control of the food budget.
What you’d still need to find out
What your caterer will quote, and whether rentals, staff and the bar come through them or the venue.
You buy the space and the drinks
Mostly wineries and event spaces that serve no food of their own. The price covers the space and drinks from their bar, and you hire a caterer for the meal.
$19k
typical for the venue and bar
$11k–$20k
where 80% of these 3 venues land
And then you still buy
want your own caterer but would rather not run a bar yourself.
What you’d still need to find out
Whether they have a minimum beverage spend and what your caterer will quote for the food.
What kind of place
A venue can look close on the map and still be hard for your guests to reach. Start with the setting you want, then check the drive, nearby rooms, catering rules, and the indoor plan before you make a shortlist.
Half Moon Bay and Burlingame make guest rooms easier to find, with hotels, historic properties, and golf clubs near the coast or bay. Ask whether rooms are at the venue or simply nearby, what happens to an outdoor ceremony in fog or rain, and whether other guests will share the property.
Woodside, Saratoga, Los Gatos, and San Martin offer redwoods, vineyards, and hillside views. These properties can be farther from hotels and rideshares. Ask how guests get home, where everyone moves if the weather changes, and when amplified music has to stop outside.
8 of 26 venues here
Find venues like theseSan Jose, Coyote, Morgan Hill, and Gilroy have gardens, estates, farms, and clubs with easier access from the valley. Some let you bring your own caterer; others include food, rentals, and planning. Ask what comes with the venue before comparing prices.
16 of 26 venues here
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.
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.
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.
The whole bill — the room, the meal, and the fees on top.
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.
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.
Only the venues that price the room and the meal separately, with how many in brackets. Another 3 quote one package covering both, so there is no split to show for them.
What changes the shortlist here
A venue in the hills can look close on a map and still be a slow drive after dark. Check the route from the hotels you would recommend, whether large shuttles can reach the property, and where they can turn around. If guests will drive, ask about parking and when the gates close.
See venues across the regionIf you want a particular caterer for family, cultural, or dietary reasons, make that a filter before you tour. Ask whether you can hire anyone or must use an approved list, what kitchen access is included, who provides the staff and rentals, and whether the bar follows a separate rule.
See how each venue handles foodThe typical published cutoff for amplified music here is 10pm. Ask whether that time applies outdoors, indoors, or everywhere. Then decide whether you'll move inside, end with a quieter final hour, or arrange an after-party closer to the guest hotels.
See each venue's rulesof venues that say either way (25 here)
at least, of all venues (26 here)
at least, of all venues (26 here)
at least, of all venues (26 here)
of venues that publish a cutoff (11 here)
a planner, insurance, security or similar, of all venues (26 here)
What affects the cost of your wedding
Wedding venue pricing is seasonal. 17 of the 26 South Bay & Peninsula venues we track charge differently depending on the day, and 11 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.
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.
10 of the 25 South Bay & Peninsula 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.
2 of 10
would bill you above what your own 100 guests come to, by about $4k typically.
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.
Cutting 20 guests takes $263 off the bill, even though they actually cost $2.3k — because of the minimum spend
A venue can set more than one.
What gets added at the end
Every pricing model carries them. At the 15 South Bay & Peninsula venues that publish their fees, the middle result is 22%, with most landing between 16% and 35%.
Service charge11 venues
20%
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.
Gratuity3 venues
18%
The tip that does reach the staff. Ask whether it replaces the service charge.
Sales tax12 venues
9.4%
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
These examples show different settings and different answers to catering, lodging, planning help, weather backup, and weekday pricing. They are an editorial starting point, not a paid ranking. Open a venue to see its pricing, spaces, and policies.
San Jose · Up to 300 guests
Music, planning, and rentals come with the venue
$25–35k · All Inclusive
See pricing and policies
Coyote · Up to 5000 guests
You can bring your own caterer or use theirs
$15–25k · Venue Fee + Catering
See pricing and policies
San Jose
Guests can stay on site
$15–25k · Venue Fee + Catering
See pricing and policies
Menlo Park · Up to 140 guests
Outdoor ceremony, with an indoor space if it rains
$25–35k · Venue Fee + Catering
See pricing and policies
San Jose · Up to 200 guests
Helps you plan the whole wedding
$15–25k · Venue Fee + Catering
See pricing and policies
Saratoga · Up to 180 guests
Weekdays (Mon–Thu) cost 44% less than a Saturday
$5–10k · Venue Fee Only
See pricing and policies
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.
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
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.
