Berkeley City Club

My husband and I had our wedding at the Berkeley City Club in October 2010. When it comes to the look and feel of a venue, the Berkeley City Club is certainly among one of the most dynamic sites in the Bay Area. Its everyday decoration and design really lend themselves to a romantic environment, and the rooms are all distinct and graceful. The wedding itself went off without problems, and the staff was very courteous and helpful from the beginning of the event until after the guests left. All the food was well presented and tasted good, and many of the guests commented that they were really impressed that the catering was so accessible, given that we served an all-vegetarian menu. The problems we had were in the planning and communication stages, basically from the point at which we asked for a contract until the day before the wedding. The event management, catering, and sales staff all proved very difficult to work with throughout the process. The biggest problem was that they were extremely non-responsive. The second big problem was inconsistency in messaging. We had some problems with things like menu selection and food service options, and we were told several conflicting things by several different people without much clarity on what our actual options would be in the end. A low point was asking for revisions to the contract prior to signing, which they refused to make, then having to deal with the possibility that the City Club would breach its own contract due to its initial unwillingness to make changes. To the staff's credit, they made good on some of the key commitments in the end, but it felt like pulling teeth in the process.Last, and most important, was the renovation that started about eight weeks prior to our event and about which we were not notified until after it had already begun. This turn of events was initially handled terribly, and the staff was not consistent, thorough, coordinated, or transparent about its process or response. In the end, the wedding turned out beautifully, and the management and staff made good on several key commitments. However, dealing with the City Club during the six months leading up to the wedding was incredibly stressful and filled with uncertainty and anxiety. Looking back, I'm impressed at how well everything was executed on the day of the actual event, but I don't think I had a moment's peace or confidence in the interim between signing the contract and getting married. I enjoyed my wedding immensely, largely because the Berkeley City Club is such a beautiful space and the details were just right. However, I can't recommend that another couple plan a wedding at the City Club because my experience working with the management staff was just far too stressful and unreliable.

The BCC is a beautiful venue with a lot of unique charm. The wedding coordinators there (Doree and Crystal) are excellent and definitely willing to work with you and be flexible. However, I found them somewhat unresponsive to emails (a week or more to respond). Also, as a previous commenter noted, the front desk staff is downright rude. The hotel was full of our wedding party and family, and they still treated us poorly. [Example: We called down to get a champagne bucket and some glasses to have champagne in the bridal suite, and were told that we could come down there and get it ourselves if we wanted it!]

We recently had our wedding at the Berkeley City Club. There are so many details to the event. The details that we were happiest with: It's a beautiful venue that made for great wedding pictures- not a lot of decoration needed; the food was very good; we had a Friday wedding so enjoyed some great discounts. Most challenging aspects of having our wedding at the BCC: the front desk people were very rude to my husband and I and to our guests (we received complaints from several of our guests); though the BCC identifies as a hotel, they do not offer the same services as a hotel though they charge a comparable price; also there were several times that our event coordinator (Crystal) dropped the ball. Overall, I the pros outweighed the cons, but it's definitely a good idea to keep these details in mind if you're planning on having your wedding there.

This is the place we eventually picked for our wedding. The Julia Morgan-designed building is beautiful. Jennifer, the site coordinator, was helpful and responsive to our inquiries and needs. The only thing that may help us more was probably the parking coordination. We were provided with a list of parking garage/lot that we could contact. Non-responsive would be an understatement for some of those places. Nonetheless, I realize that this is not the fault of Berkeley City Club, as the parking entities are not associated with the club. The menu was on the conventional end; we did hope for more adventurous menu, but were required to use in-house catering. Overall we were pleased with our choice and the service provided for us.

I was in a wedding here & let me just say, this place leaves MUCH to be desired. FUTURE BRIDES - BEWARE!
Yes, the venue is beautiful, it's filled with history, the rooms are quaint & sweet & Julia Morgan was the architect. We get it. But when the staff is rude & unaccommodating, it ruins everything! Even though they were getting paid for renting out the ENTIRE venue for the WHOLE DAY, they did not try to meet any expectations or make sure the bride & the groom were kept happy throughout the day.
First issues; when a venue tells you that you have to use their in-house catering they should be accommodating in getting you samples from the menu. They should not tell you to crash another wedding to sample some of their food. And please don't charge the bride & groom to try food at someone's wedding. That is just flat out tacky.
They are not very accommodating for parking. They have a lot, but it's reserved for residents & guests of the hotel/club only. So if you're getting married, you get 1 space. Hope your family all fits in a large van! Since the BCC is very close to Cal Berkeley, take a look at their sporting event schedule because the BCC will not tell you that the wedding date you have chosen is also the same day as Cal's homecoming game so there will be no parking. Granted, it's not BCC's fault, but a little heads up would have been nice.
Keep copies of all documents & contracts with the BCC. That should go without saying, but sometimes employees of the BCC quit a few months before your wedding & take all your documents with them. The BCC has no record of you, so they're not going to call & alert you to the problem. The bride had called to check in & was asked to fax copies of her contracts. Professional!
On to Saturday, the day of the wedding. We arrived to check in to the bridal suite. No one came out from behind the desk to help us with our stuff, nor did they even have a bell cart or any cart for us to use. This is not really a hotel. It's more of a high priced, but very beautiful hostel. And that's how they treat you.
My purse was stolen while we were taking photos. The BCC has locked doors & you cannot get in unless you have been buzzed in, so I know it wasn't some hobo off the street who took it. I went to the front desk & asked the clerk if he saw anyone in the last 10 minutes go into the room where we were taking photos. He said no. I told him that my purse had just been stolen & asked if he could help me look for it. He said, "Well, I don't even know where it is, so I can't help you". Great customer service. After searching the entire downstairs floor we found nothing. As a last resort, we searched the employee lounge. I was very doubtful it was going to be in there since it's the employee lounge... but sure enough, there it was, behind the door, on a stack of chairs, open, with my wallet laid out on top! All my stuff was there, but it doesn't take much to write down credit card info. No wonder the staff didn't want to help me! I'm not accusing any one person, but doesn't that seem a little shady? I'll have to monitor my stuff from now until eternity to make sure that no one is trying to use my identity or credit card.
The ceremony site was very nice, but you would think that they would change some of the light fixtures inside the terrace on the second floor. The ceremony was taking place at night & besides the little twinkle lights intertwined with the fake ivy overhead they had three FLORESCENT bulbs to light the room (which were at the alter in the front of the room). Really, BCC? With all the fund raising & weddings you have, you couldn't have managed to cough up enough dough to find some period correct light fixtures & put in softer, more attractive lights? Wow, talk about cheap. Hope the pictures turn out OK. If someone from your staff hadn't tried to steal my purse, I would buy some for you.
Once we were done taking pictures it was finally time to enjoy the reception. But I hope you don't actually want to enjoy any of the food you just purchased. By the time we were done, so were the crab cakes, skewers, cheese & most of the food. The bride had asked the wedding party if we had seen any of those items. Sadly, everyone answered no. The bride had to ask for the food she had ordered, but they were out. They had already served it to the guests. Bummer. I guess its fruit & cold, soggy stuffed mushrooms for the family & wedding party! Thanks, BCC, for making the day special!
Future brides & grooms, really think it over before deciding on the Berkeley City Club. This may have only been a one time issue (& hopefully their last) but it just goes to show that overall, this place really has the potential for something to go wrong.
**01/04/09: mysterious charge on my credit card for $750 - wonder if it was the BCC thief?

I had quite a negative experience with the BCC. I was attracted to the venue right away. I liked that it would have been a "one stop shopping" kind of place, because they have in house catering, a piano, some wedding coordination etc. However, it turned out that the person in charge of handling weddings (and I won't name names) was absolutely terrible. First, she left us waiting 40 minutes when we came for a tour. Then, she took weeks to answer phone calls or return e-mails. It was like pulling teeth to get her to get back to me. Finally, even though I was quite taken by the place, I realized that this was not the kind of service I was going to pay big bucks for. I was very disappointed, but in the end we decided on the Brazilian Room up at Tilden Park, which will make a wonderful wedding venue for us.

I met my husband while I was working at the Berkeley City Club when I was a student. We were thrilled that they were able to accommodate us on our special Saturday in September of 2008. I cried the whole time, and it was a perfect, perfect day. The facility is absolutely beautiful, romantic and one of a kind. They even let me customize my menu and instead of wedding cake, they supplied the most delicious and appreciated ice cream sundae bar to help keep my costs down. We got married on the terrace and had our dinner and dancing in the ballroom. Our little kid guests got baby sat in the Library, and we had drinks and the buffet set up in the Venetian Room. We also took basically all of the rooms for our overnight guests, and had a brunch on Sunday there.If I could do it again and again every year, I wouldn't change a thing.

Our wedding at the club was AWESOME. Our day-of coordinator, was a huge help planning the wedding. The Julia Morgan-designed building is beautiful.

The food was excellent!

If you want gorgeous wedding photos, but rooms that aren't *quite* as gorgeous, book with Berkeley City Club. This Julia Morgan-designed building (she of Hearst Castle architect fame) is beautiful with graceful arches and fabulous spots for pictures on the stairway and in the tiny garden on the first floor. Unfortunately your wedding won't be in those places. But it's still a super elegant place to get married.

The reception room has pretty architectural windows, but at the same time there's a stage, and it has a little bit of a high school auditorium feel. (Albeit a really pretty high school auditorium). Choices for rooms for the ceremony range from the first floor drawing room (blah) to the second floor library (better, but ideal instead as an intermediate room for drinks after the ceremony) to the terrace room (best; it's small but the roof is covered in ivy filled with lights).

Of all the 11 wedding venues I toured and a couple more that I contacted, the Berkeley City Club by far had the best coordinators. There are two there, Jennifer and Crystal, who are always there to take calls and are very friendly. In addition, they actually give tours on the weekend! (Unheard of! Wedding venues could take a lesson from them.) Jennifer led us on a tour on a Saturday and was amazingly friendly and knowledgeable and really, you couldn't ask for more.

Catering is in-house, and I have to say the menu sounded a bit musty and uncreative. However, a friend had her wedding her and said the food was great. Most caterers don't charge for tastings, but they charge $25 a person.

One major problem with this site is game day parking. If you're getting married in the fall try not to pick a day that coincides with a game day. Unfortunately they fill up fast. Otherwise you'll have to rent out part of a parking garage and pay $15 a head, or offer shuttle service to a hotel like my friend did.

This is the only place I found where it's actually cheaper to get married on a Saturday! They charge 5% more for catering services on Sunday.

I was there for my friend's wedding last year and I looved both the outside and the inside of the club. They have beautiful old style windows and halls, nice banquet rooms. Although the waiters were really nice, I thought that the food at the dinner was just OK. Also, their parking lot is tiny, I was really glad that we arrived there early and didn't have problems with parking.