We celebrated my daughters quinceañera here last weekend. It was magical! The garden is beautiful. Booking: the booking process was quick and efficient I met with Mike he showed me the place and we rented the outdoor gazebo area. They reserved our spot and we signed the contract via email. I dropped off the check at their mail box. done! Set up: they sent me a diagram of the place I indicated where I wanted the tables and when I arrived the day of the event it was done as I requested, they were very kind and advised more tables and chairs in the closet and I can use as needed. The staff: super friendly and helpful I had a great time we couldn't ask for more! The pictures are amazing no need for a lot of decorating since the garden is beautiful. I highly recommend the San Mateo garden center it was the perfect place for us, affordable, beautiful and Mike and Sarah a pleasure. Lovely! read more

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This place is so magical and beautiful! What a hidden gem!! My parents threw an engagement party for me and my fiancé there and we couldn't have asked for a better staff or place to have that event at. Everyone was so willing to work with my parents on setting up and getting everything ready. I should have had the wedding here too! What a great place! read more

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We hosted our baby shower here and our friends and family had a great time. My husband and I got super lucky as this was the last venue space with availability and can accommodate our party size of 100 guests. This was the perfect space for our party with the indoor Redwood hall and the beautiful gazebo with a pond outside. It was great to have a park next to the venue where the kids can play. Parking was not an issue as there are two parking lots in the front and back of the venue. Tiffany was awesome to work with as she was accommodating, organized and responsive. I would definitely recommend this space and come back again! read more

Let me start off w/ saying that i'm planning my wedding at this venue on Sept 10 2011 of next year. Linda Guevara (office manager) was very sweet and helpful and made the reservation go very smooth and easy. Also, to reserve the venue just for the wedding ceremony, and the use of the gazebo, was a deposit of $500,and $230 is due 6 weeks prior to the wedding date. Keep in mind the $500 is a fully refundable deposit. The $230 is for the full use of the gazebo for 2 hours and provides 75 chairs. The one down side but not really a downside is the venue only fits up to 75 people which was perfect for me but might be likewise for others. Overall this venue was perfect for me and my fiance! There's a rose garden, and a cute little koi pond right underneath the gazebo. I can't wait to update this review after the wedding and i'm pretty sure i will be quite happy the day of the wedding =] read more

San Mateo Garden Center - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - San Mateo, California

This is a Beautiful place. We had our daughter's engagement party here. This place has so much character and if you have creativity it has so much potential and it can be transformed into something amazing! The staff here is Awesome and so accommodating. Tiffany and Sarah are so kind and willing to help in any way that they can. read more

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I think this is a hidden gem in the Peninsula. This is a perfect venue for a small and intimate wedding. My cousin hosted her wedding here this past weekend and everyone loved the location. The garden, gazebo and Koi fish pond make it very charming. The outside space is spread out very nicely for the cocktail reception. There's wooden benches all around the garden too. From what my cousin said... it seems the staff is very friendly and easy to work with. They allowed her to bring any outside caterer and bring her own alcohol for the bar. You don't need to hire security for the venue either since a staff member is present at all times during the event. read more

Just went to my friend's wedding here. It is a really nice space for a very intimate wedding. The garden is small, but very cute. In the back they have tons of plants for sale. I saw a couple that caught my eye. During the week they have meetings for people in their community rooms. read more

We had our wedding at the San Mateo Garden Center and had an amazing experience. When we first saw the place, we were immediately greeted and quoted reasonable prices for rental of the gorgeous facility. Tiffany was very responsive anytime we had questions and was very accommodating when we needed to rent the place for an additional 1.5 hours last minute in order to make sure we had enough time to get the hair and make up done. She would get back to us in under an hour, and sometimes within minutes, of calling or sending out an email. This is an amazing site for a small and intimate wedding! We took some great photographs in the gazebo, downstairs shop area, and a park nearby. read more

Lovely rose garden; awesome prices on rescue and other, succulents and orchids: peaceful mini Redwood and water feature walk. The annual June SBBK Bonsai show is simply amazing! Free, outstanding shopping, well staffed with informed club members. Most significant, of course, is a beautiful showing of trees! Lots of clubs and community and volunteer opportunities here. Enjoy. read more

We had a memorial reception at the San Mateo Garden Center. Tiffany, Office Manager is amazing to work with. I think she started working at the garden since early 2019. She is compassionate, thorough, responsive and professional. The garden center is beautiful as described by others - the ponds, the shaded gazebo, etc. Listening to the fountains is so calming. It really is an excellent venue for a special celebration. The ballroom is spacious and has 2 sliding doors that open up to the garden. The guests simply enjoy the garden. The rental rate is very reasonable too. It really is a gem and I feel lucky to have found this venue through Nextdoor's recommendation. read more

I can't believe no on has reviewed this place yet!! We got married here June 3, 2006 and it was perfect for us. LOVE IT if you have a small party (we only had less than 80), want to have the reception there and only $1,000.00 to reserve for 8 hours. They even provided us with a referral sheet of people who were familiar with the place like caterers and musicians. We chose a great minister and caterer and owe it all to the San Mateo Garden Center. The pictures turned out great and people still tell me what a nice wedding it was. You will not regret it!! We sure didn't... read more

We visited this beautiful garden for the first time today. However, we were confused by the staff members who were constantly watching our every move. Two ladies kept coming out of their office telling us to stop doing things, every time they thought we were doing something inappropriate, like: hanging out near stairs with my son, playing on the bench of the picnic table, counting small pebbles on the gravel. Older lady even told us to go away and play outside of the garden if we want to play with pebbles, she was incredible rude to us. I have never seen such a place where families with kids were treated so rudely. How are we supposed to teach our kids to appreciate nature if they are discriminated against by people like the staff of this place? read more

My and I family hosted my baby shower this past weekend and I'm extremely happy that we did! It is such a beautiful, magical place from the gazebo to the beautiful garden. Upon booking, we worked with Linda Guevarra who was so helpful, so nice, friendly, and awesome. I'm so happy to have met her. She gave us the best recommendations from the cake to the caterer and my guests kept raving about the food, cake and the garden center. You rock Linda! I know we will host future parties and we will use the same vendors. Thank you!!! read more

I had an outdoor wedding reception here and it was absolutely amazing. The weather is great all my guests loved it! Linda and Sarah are amazing, helpful, willing to work with you, and very responsive. They have great recommendations for anything you need for your event. It was very affordable and came with the tables and chairs set up. I would highly recommend this place! read more

My wife and I had our wedding at the San Mateo Garden Center this past Saturday and it was a dream come true. the location is stunning and Linda is the BEST. not only is she professional and friendly, she makes you feel at ease and is so helpful. she gave us the best recommendations for catering, ect and I am so happy we followed her advice because people are still raving about the food (Ulisess Catering). Thank you for making our big day a special and memorable one. read more

A few years ago, my cousin got married in a church and had the reception in the basement, complete with paper tablecloth decorations, scratchy music on a boombox, and Jello with fruit suspended in it for dessert. The conference room I was in for a workshop at San Mateo Garden Center was similar to that church basement. The audio equipment kept cutting out, the decor was early 1970s, and they didn't have a DVD (or even VHS) player for the speaker. That said, the garden is lovely, and I'm sure that for fancier events, they dress the place up very nicely. And I'm sure they won't serve Jello with fruit it in unless you ask them to. read more

Recently had my "minimony" here. We originally had planned our wedding to be in May, but because of Covid we had to postpone until October. They were very accommodating and flexible with changing my dates. They were responsive and helpful. I can't wait to come back next year for our big celebration with our whole family! read more

This is the site of the Most Fantastic Annual Cymbidium Orchid Show in the Entire San Francisco Bay Area! You will find more beautiful, past award winning cymbidiums packed in one spot, then you could hope in a month! You can also BUY some of these past winners - Well, read about it at www.GoldCoastCymbidiumGrowers.com! The Garden Center has been perfectely set up for our needs as it has 2 large rooms, a full kitchen, a beuaitful private Garden and a medium sized parking lot. It is located next to to the public softball sites though, so we often have to share parking with them. The center is a great place for any event ! read more

Stopped by to inquire who was in charge of booking events (my wedding anniversary is coming up). There was a sign that said private event, so I had no intentions of going beyond the front door area of their office; from that area I was content to admire their beautiful, entry garden area. Before I could even utter a word about who I would speak to regarding having an event here, the maintenance man rushes out of the office area and basically treats me a like criminal and aggressively tells me to LEAVE NOW! I felt very threatened, my dog with me was getting upset and crying. It was a ridiculous scene. This old bully intimidating a woman on disability and her 12 lb. dog. I even mentioned that I was going call the police to clear things up for him. He said he didn't care and to go right ahead.... I stood there stunned and shaken. When I asked to speak with his manager, he said he was the manager. Ummmm, no. I don't think so. At this point, I realized that this person was not right in his head and left very upset. I called and left a shaken, upset message on their voice mail. Based on the treatment I've received thus far, I highly doubt I will get a call back. Flat out unacceptable, heavy handed and unprofessional. If their staff treats first time visitors like this who are simply wanting to ask a basic question about booking an event there, I can't even imagine trusting them enough to be treated properly and do any kind of business with them. Will not be back nor recommend! read more

this is a looong over due review but I just had my 3rd event here at the garden center. My first event was my baby shower in 2014...and it was amazing! the outside garden and gazebo was such a beautiful setting that I continue to always look back at my pictures to admire that special day! the staff there was so awesome to work with--Linda who helped me coordinate everything and Jose who was so sweet and helps me set up and gets everything out and going for me! They gave great referrals from caterers, to florist and linens! My 2nd event was planning an other baby shower for my best friend! I knew when we were looking for locations we just had to use the garden center again! They just make everything so easy and we can not get over how beautiful it is to sit outside admiring the scenery. Sadly this weekend, I hosted a memorial service for a very special person and all though this was a very tough time for the family, when i knew we needed a location for the gathering there was no hesitation to call the garden center and see availability! of course everything came together so beautifully and with the support of once again the team there they made this day very special for the family. with so much going on to get a service like this together the second I turned around Linda (the manager) and Jose had everything set up for me already! tables, chair, all linens center pieces..everything was organized! I give this place 2 thumbs way up! After every event, my guest always ask for their info for weddings or other events coming up! its such a beautiful place and I thank the Garden Center for being there and hosting my special occasions...with more to come! Thank You ~~Very happy guest! read more

Absolutely a gem hidden in the park! I've grown up going to Beresford park and have never noticed the garden area until we planned a graduation party for my son. The gazebo was perfect for an intimate party. The garden was beautiful and best of all, Linda and Jose were so great! She recommended everything -caters to setup to decorations! Highly recommended venue for an intimate party. read more

This place is great! Linda is amazing and very helpful. We had event for 100 and it was perfect place. Set-up perfect. Outside area great and beautiful location. Caterer recommended was amazing and everything was just perfect. Thank you kinda and Ulisess catering! read more

We attended a cute little baptism at the Garden Center. Nice little place. Fun. Could be a bit cleaner on the floors and restrooms. Parking is a little tight. Nothing too special, just unusual. Also, they could use air conditioning, or at least spend some money and turn it on. read more

I am so happy with this place. We got married on June of 2008 and it was perfect. Sheri (spelling?) was great and very helpful. Our wedding was small and simple. They provided the chairs and tables. We had the place for two hours for the ceremony only and they can also provide a small room or a larger room for a bigger party. I just love it! So if you are thinking of a small and simple wedding, you have to see this place. read more