OC Sailing & Event Center

I wanted a venue that was a totally blank slate and one that allowed me to bring everything in on my own. This venue allowed me to do that at an extremely reasonable price. I was able to select all of my own vendors and use some friends as vendors and decorate myself reflecting my own style. The downside is some of the restrictions (must be cleaned up and out by 11pm). Also, it was supposed to air-conditioned in the reception hall, but it was very hot! Still, everything went perfectly and I wouldn't change the location if I had it to do over.

We chose this location because we thought the cost was low and there was more flexibility. They gave us a list of suggested vendors. Turns out we had to jump through hoops to use the vendors that we wanted that were not on the list. We ended up paying a lot of unexpected fees to use the vendors we wanted. What we thought was a great flexible place, turned out to be much more stress and $ than we thought. Other than that, it is a beautiful little place. Jason (maintenance supervisor) helped us a ton on the big day and with advice beforehand. He gave superb service. They were helpful in some areas but extremely non-flexible in others (licensing, etc.). I would still recommend them but only if the person knows all the complications that could arise.

I loved this venue. It was the best deal for the cost and it is just a clean slate. You must submit your vendors and pay a extra fees, but I saved over $2k by having my wedding and reception here versus other venues we looked at (like the Historic Cottage or Ole Hansen). So the extra $70 didn't seem like a big inconvenience to me for a fee. Any state park you have your wedding at will have various rules to follow, including having to shut down by 10 PM. Also, they allow you to bring in your own alcohol as long as you have a certified bartender (we paid $250 for a bartender and it was no problem at all)

My advice to having a great wedding here is to hire a wedding coordinator who has worked at the venue before. I had Priscilla from At Your Service Caters and she made working with this venue a breeze.

This is a beautiful venue but please remember it is a community center first and they just rent it out on the weekends for weddings. If you are looking for a full service venue with a lot of service, you should not book this place. But if you want a great, inexpensive venue by the water, you should check this place out.

Being that i had shopped and shopped around for the right venue for our budget i thought $198.00/ hour was a great deal for the space...WRONG! I could have gone to the yaht club across the harbor for cheaper, classier and extremly more flexible guidelines. It was a good location sinse it had an outside area for the bar however the rules & regulations, as well as "help" was rediculous

This a great water front location at a great price. There are some guidelines but none that are outstanding. I picked it because I wanted waterfront and I wanted to do my own catering. Loved the place and the people and especially the cost!

Be prepared for alot of rules not jus with the venue but the County as well, If i has enough time I would have changed my venue in a heartbeat. The county and their permit fees were ridiculous.

I highly recommend this venue for its value! Because it's a part of the parks and rec system it is really really cheap. Plus, the facility can handle both ceremony and reception. What I loved most is that it is in Dana Point Harbor, so your ceremony can overlook sailboats and the beach. You really won't find a venue like this for any cheaper elsewhere. Downsides: Because it belongs to the parks system, if you want alcohol they jack up the rental price and require their own security guards (not something you want, trust me); you have to get property permits from the county and all of your vendors must have insurance filed with the county (most vendors will purchase the single day insurance, but they will give you a list of their preferred vendors as well). The facility can accommodate up to 150 people, though it would be pretty tight and hard to fit a dance floor in. All in all, I highly recommend it for anyone on a budget.

This was our reception site (the ceremony was at a nearby park). Some guests enjoyed taking pictures behind the sailboat/ocean backdrop. This was definitely the best value of the whole wedding. We had a dry wedding, so we didn't have to deal with the added cost involved with bringing in alcohol. Only one of our vendors wasn't already insured with the County, and it was real easy to get them the one-day insurance. We had the sweetheart table and the cake table up on the stage, and I threw the bouquet from there (though I threw too high and hit the rafters!). The cocktail hour was arranged on the patio, which had white christmas lights already set up. The caterer had full access to the kitchen, it was fully wheelchair accessable, and had designated smoking areas and restroom facilities. The only issue we had was that we forgot to pick up the cleaning deposit the next day, and they wouldn't mail us a check for it, so we had to drive down later to pick it up. But it's a scenic drive and it was nostalgic for us newlyweds, so we didn't really mind making a day of it '=)

This was my ceremony site. It was perfect with a beautiful view of the ocean and sail boats. The price was also amazing - 35.00 bucks per hour!! You cant find that anywhere else in So Cal and on the water! We held the ceremony outside and parking was super easy.