Sharon S.
Yelp
My husband and I were married here just a few weeks ago. I honestly can't believe we almost passed on this place because I thought it was an actual gambling casino! (I've since learned that the term "casino" just means a place for social entertainment - and the Casino San Clemente has gone through a lot of social venue incarnations over its 80 year lifetime!)
We had a Sunday wedding with a reception in the evening: Rock Garden for the ceremony, Patio of the Stars for cocktail hour and the West Wing for our reception. We went back-and-forth between renting the WW or the ballroom but for 90 people the ballroom was just too...spacey and big, we loved the idea of a more intimate environment - and the WW is just that. It may not be for everyone, but it felt cozy to us and it has these beautiful exposed, rustic beams and white washed walls (which were uplit with amber lights during the reception - stunning).
Our dancefloor was the Patio, and it was perfect for an August evening. Dancing under the stars? Come ON! It did start to rain on us toward the end of the evening, but it was so warm that most everyone stayed out to dance in the drizzle (hey, they say it's good luck!) - and only when it started to come down a little hard did our DJ have to pack up his equipment. But it was a Sunday evening wedding, and by 9/9:30pm people are starting to leave anyway - particularly if they have a commute back to LA.
This place is perfect for a couple looking for something with some character and history - it has that California-vintage quality, and the views from the Patio are stunning. The bridal suite here is so charming and great for pictures (we took some pre-ceremony shots here), and it has a private, BIG bathroom, a rolling rack for clothes and a private, back entrance with first-come, first-served parking spots (this was really useful for unloading). It's fairly roomy in the bridal suite too - there were about 12 people in that room milling around at one point! There is also a quaint groom's room (complete with mini-fridge) that's right off the ballroom. Bonus: Ellie's Table is a coffee shop that is attached to the Casino, on it's back side. It was perfect for coffee and gatorade runs throughout the morning. (The pastries there are delicious also.) I also appreciated that the Casino only does one event a day. I had been to other venues where the rooms of a venue were available for rent by multiple couples for the same day.
The staff here on-site are great and very professional. The only thing I would bear in mind here is that in the event of inclement weather, the options at the Casino are limited to exactly what it says in the foul-weather clause of the contract - there is no wiggle or negotiating room here at all (unless you want to pay to wiggle ;) ). We had to consider changing venue rooms the night before due to thunderstorms (who could have predicted thunderstorms in California in August?!), and per contract we could move into the ballroom for the ceremony at no-charge, but if we wanted to continue using the ballroom for the cocktail hour (also outdoors) & reception (outdoor dancing), we would have to pay $500 (which we were informed was a discount from $800, I believe). At the time we vaguely understood the logic but it seemed a rather odd, dare I say grabby, response given the circumstance and given the fact that the room was no-charge one moment and then suddenly $500 just an hour later. Eh. Who knows. In the end we just stuck to our original game plan, and as it turned out things worked out great for us. Like most couples we still coo over how wonderful and perfect our wedding was. The inclement-weather "experience" with the Casino owners certainly wasn't the highlight of our experience there, but it definitely didn't sully the day (or evening prior, in fact) and it didn't affect our impression of the Casino at all - it's just something others should keep in mind when reading contracts, or working with vendors. And in spite of that roadbump, I would recommend the Casino for events - it's just so beautiful and the owners have done a beautiful job renovating it.