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    Serra Plaza

    4.0 (45 reviews)
    Closed 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

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    Recommended Reviews - Serra Plaza

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    Stephanie T.

    Serra Plaza was absolutely the most perfect and beautiful venue. The space was so transformative it honestly felt a bit magical watching it all come together. Being apart of the Jays Catering family meant that so much was included and taken care of. They did our appetizers, food, cake, desserts, bar, linens, and took care of all the staffing needed to set up the venue and make it all happen. Our wedding day was perfect and it was so largely attributed to Serra Plaza and the Jays Catering Team. The food was DELICIOUS! Which is not something you usually hear about weddings. We were able to do a food and cake tasting with them as well. Arielle was our point of contact and she was so helpful with every question and reminder along the way. Also, can we talk about the bridal suite? It was huge and amazing for getting ready in! I can not speak highly enough about Serra Plaza. Thank you for making our day so memorable!

    Reception Reveal
 
 Photo by www.kimfilms.com
    Weddings K.

    Beautiful venue! As a wedding photographer and videographer we had a big pleasure to shoot at this amazing wedding venue. The staff were great, the layout and lighting was perfect! I would highly recommend to the couple who is looking for a unique look.

    Manzanita trees arch entry and chuppah for September 3rd, 2017 wedding.
    Adriane G.

    I recently had my ceremony and reception at Serra Plaza on September 3rd, 2017. Working with Mary and her team was truly one of my favorite experiences of planning a wedding. Mary was a complete professional from start to finish. She was so accommodating, responsive, organized, detailed, and overall made me feel at ease with having my event at her venue. Our guests were in complete awe of how beautiful the location was and how we transformed it into our vision and dream for this spectacular day. From the beginning, the design and look of our event took shape at first sight of Serra Plaza. Seeing the numerous arches and the beautiful Tuscan color palette, we were completely speechless, and understood quickly what we were going to create. We had a long engagement and booked the venue a year and half in advance. While most people do a vintage or rustic look who book this venue, we built our vision as classic with modern touches, a romantic, elegant, 'black-tie optional' event. It felt like we were all in Italy in a secluded Villa. Our family and friends are still raving about our wedding and how absolutely beautiful and perfect the event looked. I cannot thank Mary enough for her support and expertise. She exceeding every expectation I had when working with vendors. She was my absolute FAVORITE to work with, made this a wonderful creative process, and I wish I could have an event every month there just so I can keep in contact with her! If you are looking for a wedding that is classic, modern, rustic, romantic, vintage, casual, whimsical or just DIY this venue is PERFECT for any vision you have!

    Classy and elegant ambiance
    Kitty N.

    I had the pleasure of being invited to a wedding reception held at Serra Plaza last month. The ambiance was very romantic and different from the usual catering hall on the east coast. It was outdoors in an enclosed courtyard and felt like I was on a set of a movie! At night, the drapery and lights mixed with the beautiful flowers and water fountain made for a perfect backdrop for a night to remember. I didn't plan the wedding so I can't attest to the planners, packages, etc, but I can tell you this venue is gorgeous! I wish I took more photos, but I guess I'll have to rely on the pictures engrained in my memories. Go check it out if you're looking for a venue!

    Johana T.

    We had our wedding here, Sept 6, 2015. Our wedding planner Monique from A signature Wedding, brought us here as a venue option, and I knew this was the place. At first glance, it may not seem like a "dream wedding" site, but once we surveyed pictures and talked more with the people in charge, we were excited about this venue. When things fell into place and came together, we were SO happy we booked this venue. It's about 5 minutes from the San Juan Capistrano Mission, in a beautiful area. Be aware, they have a sound ordinance at 10pm, so music cannot be played in the outdoor setting. We circumvented that by ushering our party to the indoor area at 930-10 pm, and partied in there until midnight. Also, if the wedding guest count is greater than 200 people, there is an incremental fee for security which is mandatory. You also have to get insurance for the venue. Shots of alcohol aren't allowed due to their liquor license. But, we didn't notice this as an issue. Shots were still served, but everyone was adult and very appropriate. Parking can accommodate big parties. Our contact at the plaza (forgot her name, but she was very sweet) was very helpful and informative. We had a great experience, and would recommend this place to others as well.

    J C.

    Serra Plaza is a beautiful venue. It is not for those who want a glamorous wedding but those who want something rustic and quaint. They have a list of 10 caterers that you have to choose from. If you don't go with Jay's catering for food service you will be left with ONE choice for bar service, Cocktail Concierge. What we found through research was that Cocktail Concierge's prices are 2x more expensive compared to what other comparable bartenders charge. But with the contract, couples have no choice if they want alcohol to be served at their wedding. It's either Cocktail Concierge or no alcohol. We wish that the venue would have provided some alternatives to give more choices, instead of allowing CC to monopolize on bar service. Mary Lallande, the Serra Plaza coordinator, is extremely tough to get ahold of. The reviews about her are correct. She takes awhile to answer emails as well. She recently hired an assistant named Katie Messig. Our dealings with Katie were negative. We communicated to her that we told our guests to arrive at 5pm for the wedding ceremony but doors opened at 4:30pm. It is standard procedure for Serra Plaza staff to get ready and open the door 30 minutes before the wedding ceremony start time. But for some reason, Katie was adamant about wanting to charge us $200 for the extra 30 minutes. This was about 4 weeks before the wedding. We emailed Katie a copy of our wedding invitation that states our wedding ceremony start time is 5pm. Coincidentally, Katie said she could not open the file, which our day time coordinator had no problem opening. She requested that we send her a hard copy of our invitation. The Serra Plaza contract does not state that you need to show a physical copy of the wedding invitation. Either way, we physically mailed her the wedding invite and she said she would follow up with management. With wedding planning, you want to work with professionals who make your planning enjoyable and stress free. We felt with Katie, the experience was not enjoyable, and definitely not stress free, instead it made us more stressed out as we got closer to our wedding date. I have to say, the ONLY person we enjoyed working with was Andrew. He showed us the venue when we were prospecting and also was the last one there on our wedding night. He even advised us on some garbage that may have been left behind, so we wouldn't lose our security deposit. Best guy to work with!! In retrospect, if you are going to have a wedding here, make sure you negotiate everything in writing prior to signing the contract. That's something we learned. They control the entire venue, processes and caterer/bartender selection and things are not flexible. So once you sign the contract, you are bound by their rules. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!!

    Courtyard
    Adriana G.

    Serra Plaza is a beautiful venue to get married at. There are several chandeliers available on site to rent and sheer draping. Utilizing these items created a romantic Italian villa style feeling. This venue also has an indoor space available that can hold about 150 people. It rained a little on our wedding day and it was a great feeling to know that we had the indoor space available to use, as renting tents could have been very costly last minute. Serra plaza also has lots vintage style furniture that is included with site rental and Mary (the site coordinator) allows you to use as many pieces/items as you. My husband and I felt we got our money's worth.

    Our gorgeous set up of our sweet heart table done by Cindy and her team from A Touch of Lavender! Photo by Full Spectrum Photography.

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    Page 1 of 2

    Ask the Community - Serra Plaza

    Review Highlights - Serra Plaza

    Mary, the owner, really helped us achieve our vision and was very very accommodating to our needs.

    Mentioned in 17 reviews

    Read more highlights

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    The Tea House on Los Rios - Scone

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    The Tea House on Los Rios is located in downtown San Clemente. A ton of neighboring bars and…read morerestaurants so parking can be tough but they do have valet. We had reservations at 2pm on a Saturday for tea time. The restaurant itself is cozy and incredibly charming. The patio is large and beautiful as well-- to get the full experience I recommend requesting patio. Otherwise check in and service was attentive and quick. My girlfriends and me had opted in for the royal tea experience for $79 per person which included a glass of champagne, kettle of tea, scone, 6 sandwiches and 3 desserts. All incredibly filling and delicious! Definitely recommend this experience. The scone was absolutely delightful with the jam. I also paired my experience with the strawberry silk tea and it was unreal, so good! Overall a fantastic experience and will definitely recommend!

    My boyfriend and I decided to go on a date here because we've always wanted to try tea time. We got…read morethe spring fling tea option available for the season. We got our choice of tea (we chose Belgian chocolate + strawberries and silk) I would say the Belgian chocolate tea was sweet and delicious. The strawberries and silk was refreshing but still warm, sweet and enjoyable. Our server Noel was very patient, kind and helpful explaining to us how tea time works. The scones with butters and jam were great, I'd come back for those alone with the tea too! Our soups were good, plenty of options to choose from. We'd come back for a special occasion, wonderful spot to go! Outdoor seating is beautiful on a nice day.

    Jewel Of Ortega

    Jewel Of Ortega

    (2 reviews)

    This location sits at the uppermost part of a vast citrus orchard and, as you can see by some of…read morethe pictures, offers unparalleled sunset views to the ocean. The reception area is level and well-lit although it's recommended to wear comfortable shoes (i.e. thicker heels like wedges) in order to safely wander around the property. As a guest to a wedding, I didn't receive all the details of the venue but it does look like the property will rent out some of the dwellings for the party guests, etc. via Airbnb. We were provided event restroom rentals (limited restroom access inside the buildings) and guest parking is at a lower level of the property in which you are shuttled up. To get to the reception location itself, you'll have to drive Ortega Highway (74) and turn east into their gated property entrance which is very close to Caspers. Once you enter the gated property, you'll be guided via caravan up the 5 miles of dirt road to the beautiful reception area. The dirt road drive is about 20 minutes from Ortega Hwy so keep in mind. The dirt road was in good condition even though we drove over 2 "stream" crossings - AWD/4WD not necessary. On your drive up, you'll go through old growth forested area, drive by some exotic animals as well as hundreds of citrus trees. The drive in itself was a treat! For an early spring event, we were thrilled with the weather although I do understand many of the guests were chilly - so bring a nice coat or blanket in case there are no heat lamps (there were not any available for our event but we could step inside the house to warm up).

    The Jewel of Ortega is an absolute dream. From the minute the venue manager responded to our…read moreinquiry, we were over the moon about this place. It checked all our boxes for a retreat style wedding for our wedding party, parents and grandparents, in a nature-filled spot in Southern California but not difficult to get to, customizable to our vision and desires, and with an authentic and laid back team. Before we left our first venue visit we knew we would sign. The previous venue manager was very flexible with our requests and everyone we worked with on the approved vendor list was incredible and excited to go back to The Jewel, although we did appreciate that we had the option to choose others too. A month before the wedding, said manager left the venue and we were so nervous about how the transition to the new manager Sally and her team would go, especially as we were planning a DIY wedding from abroad and had only visited the venue twice. The handover was absolutely seamless and turned out better than we could have ever imagined - which is a testament to the ownership. Sally and her crew worked their tails off from start to finish that weekend and looped us into every decision in a productive manner. They stepped up big time when our wedding coordinator didn't deliver. They made all of our guests comfortable and we all felt like we were home for the weekend, which everyone complimented us on. It was just a pleasure to get to know them as people too, really. Before we even left the venue, we were coming up with reasons to come stay again. Thank you and we will be back!!

    Plaza de Magdalena - Our simple setup.

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    Plaza de Magdalena is a lovely venue that is perfect for a holiday party. First off it's in the…read moreheart of San Juan Capistrano which is a good and bad thing, mostly considering the traffic if there are other events going on and parking. I'd also caution in case there's road closures like this particular time I was there which made it hard to get into the parking garage. There is an option to take the train since it's right by the tracks if that's your cup of tea. The venue itself is a perfect blend of indoor and outdoor space, starting with the cocktail hour outside under the string lights with very tasty appetizers and was pleased that they also had outdoor heaters. A short walk inside opens up to a large space, in this case it was set up for dinner with festive red and green lighting. The catered food was pretty good with a nice variety of salmon, chicken and prime rib. The staff were also so friendly and did a good job serving and keeping everything tidy. I heard quite a lot of feedback from others that they liked this venue and had a great time at the party. I would have to agree.

    I wanted to give a HUGE thank you to Abi and her Sundried Tomato staff for all of their hard work…read moreduring our baby shower this last Saturday 5/2. Abi went above and beyond to personalize and make this day feel special for our husband and I. She made the planning process as easy as possible, and even enjoyable which is rare planning these huge life events! So much gratitude for Abi and her crew on that day. We've joked about coming up with things to celebrate at Plaza de Magdalena in the future.

    The Fish Tank Capo

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    We truly could not have asked for a better venue owner than Cate for our son's wedding. From the…read morevery beginning, she was warm, kind, and genuinely invested in making the day special. She went above and beyond in ways both big and small, and it made all the difference. Her space is absolutely beautiful. It has such an artsy, welcoming feel and was perfect for our 80 person reception. The lighting created a magical atmosphere, the sound system worked flawlessly, and the indoor outdoor flow gave guests room to mingle, relax, and celebrate comfortably. One of the most generous touches was allowing us to use her home for staging the bride and groom. That level of trust and hospitality meant so much to our family. Throughout the entire process, she was accommodating, helpful, and always available with a calm, reassuring presence. If you are looking for a venue with heart, creativity, and an owner who truly cares, this is it. We are so grateful for everything she did to make the celebration unforgettable.

    We recently had the opportunity to DJ an event at The Fish Tank in Capistrano Beach (34233 Via…read moreSanta Rosa, Dana Point), and it immediately impressed us. Start with the owner. Cate is professional, responsive, and genuinely collaborative. Communication is clear. Load-in is organized. The space is clean and well maintained. When a venue runs this smoothly, it reduces friction for vendors and creates a better experience for clients and guests. That kind of operational competence doesn't happen by accident. The design is what makes this venue distinct. The short-throw projectors transform the walls into a fully immersive aquarium or fishbowl environment. It's not a novelty effect; it's a production tool. For weddings, the room can feel atmospheric and romantic. For corporate events, branded visuals wrap the space in a way that feels custom and high-end. Few venues at this size offer that level of visual flexibility. From an audio standpoint, the room performs extremely well. We run MagiCali, a Southern California mobile DJ company specializing in weddings and corporate events, and we evaluate every room through a production lens. We look at ceiling height, wall material, reflection patterns, power distribution, and how low-end energy travels across a dancefloor. We've worked in luxury ballrooms, outdoor coastal venues, private estates, and converted industrial spaces. The Fish Tank is one of the rare venues where you don't have to compensate for the room. Speeches are articulate and easy to understand. Dinner music sits comfortably without overwhelming conversation. When it's time to transition into dancing, the room holds energy evenly instead of creating hot spots or dead zones. That tells you the space was built and tuned with care. For clients, that technical quality translates into confidence. You don't have to worry about muddy sound during toasts or harsh reflections once the music turns up. The venue supports the event instead of fighting it. There are many event spaces in Orange County. Very few combine strong visual identity, flexible projection capability, solid acoustics, and hands-on ownership. The Fish Tank is an undiscovered gem, and for what Cate currently charges, it represents exceptional value. It would not be surprising to see this venue commanding significantly higher rates in the near future. If you're planning a wedding, private celebration, or corporate event in Dana Point or Capistrano Beach, this space deserves serious consideration. It's distinctive, technically sound, and professionally run -- exactly the kind of venue that allows a well-executed event to shine.

    Serra Plaza - venues - Updated May 2026

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