Franciscan Gardens Reviews

Josh and I were SO pleased with our wedding at Franciscan Gardens! They were so helpful and attentive at all times. The whole team and staff made our event seamless and flow perfectly. Our dream came true!!!

Not only was the venue incredibly beautiful, but Melissa Keller was so helpful and went above and beyond anything I could have expected. She was so quick to respond and answered every question we had. The staff at the venue was so on top of it as well on the wedding day. King (the bartender) was so much fun and we received so many compliments on how great he was! Can't recommend this venue enough!

We've been signed with them for 4 years since we planned ahead and COVID pushed it even further and every step of the way they nailed it. Melissa and Kayleigh were rock stars and made sure everything was put together for us and everyone said it was the best wedding they had ever been to. Thank you for everything!!

Venue was beautiful, good as wonderful. The responsiveness of the team up to the day was great. I couldn’t recommend enough. So happy I did my wedding here.

I fell in love with this venue the minute we saw it. It was our dream venue and it was the best night. Melissa and Kayleigh helped us a lot with everything and were so patient with us planning from another state. They made video calls with us and answered SO MANY of my emails with copious questions. Through it all they stayed so pleasant and professional!
The courtyard was beautiful and the guests fell in love as well. We had 115 people and there was more than enough room for us to dance, chat, whatever! The cocktail hour inside was beautiful as well, with the chandeliers and brick accent wall!!

Can't say enough great things about Franciscan Gardens! It will forever hold a special place in our hearts!

The moment we walked into Franciscan Gardens, I knew this was the place we would be getting married! My now husband was very kind in letting me take the reins in most of the planning, and I wanted to have a garden feeling outdoor wedding. The tall greenery of this venue is breathtaking and once the lantern lights go up, the centerpieces glowing, it was honestly the most perfect setting. Melissa and Haley were both very helpful and instrumental on helping us get everything finalized and making revision after revision to the contract. The final meeting to pick all of the little details went really smoothly, they were there for the taste testing, and made sure to answer all of our questions and concerns along the way. As far as the catering… We still have people telling us this was the best steak they had ever had at a wedding! During the tasting we were suspicious how they could make all of the food taste as delicious as it did for just the two of us for over 100 people but I must say that it was (all bias aside) probably the most delicious menu ever! The catering and bartending staff was perfect and even dedicated one waiter to the bride and groom for the whole evening to keep us boozed up and partying all night without having to stand in line for a drink or a bite. Thank you everyone!!

First I wanted to get married on a beach until I came to this venue. It was perfect, and magical. The space was perfect and there is not much more you have to do to make it a beautiful wedding. I wanted to keep it simple and it still turned out incredibly beautiful. The backdrop for pictures when you’re standing at the alter is breath taking! The hanging lanterns are a perfect touch! You can’t beat beautiful fountains as a decoration. But I can’t tell you how many people came up to me after to tell me how amazing the food was! I was beyond pleased with everything! Sarah also is so fun to work with. She caters to you and makes sure that every one is happy. She’s professional and easy to work with! I would do it a million times over at this venue if I could!

My husband and I had our wedding at Franciscan Gardens last month and it was everything that we dreamed of for our big day! Melissa and Haley are SO organized, sweet, and knowledgeable. They truly made the entire process from the initial planning to the little details of our day fun and stress free. It was really nice to have a venue that gave you a vendor suggestion list to choose from if you wanted. All of our vendors except one were from that list which made it easy because they were super familiar with the venue. I loved every single second of our wedding and HIGHLY recommend Franciscan Gardens as a venue. You will not be disappointed!

This was the perfect venue for us! Beautiful rustic gardens, perfectly manicured for our ceremony and cocktail party with an urban type loft for the reception. The best of both worlds! Melissa was a dream to work with and the food was well, amazing! Definitely NOT banquet food. This venue created a magical experience and the comfort the staff provided was excellent. We would highly recommend this venue.

For our wedding, my husband and I wanted to find a venue that could host an outdoor reception, had a bridal room to get ready, allowed a live band, and allowed a reception that ended at midnight (other venues with outdoor space did not permit a reception ending past 10 due to noise ordinances). Franciscan Gardens checked all the boxes and had offered several additional perks.

One of the best part of picking Franciscan Gardens was working with Melissa and Haley. These girls are professional, responsive, and have the sweetest personalities. My vision involved renting furniture and decorative pieces from several different vendors. At FG, all of the rentals are coordinated through the venue. Essentially, I just had to tell Melissa and Haley exactly what chairs, chargers, chandeliers, etc I wanted and they made it happen! Having the venue in charge of rentals saved us the trouble of having to reach out to several companies and coordinate services.

As many previous reviews have mentioned, 24 Carrots is the exclusive caterer for Franciscan Gardens. For hors d'oeuvres, we selected mini grilled cheese served with tomato soup shooters, coconut shrimp lollipops, seared ahi on crispy wonton spoons, and pulled pork sliders. For our dinner, we started with an arugula salad, and served a duet of filet mignon and shrimp with broccolini and potato gratin dauphinoise for dinner. Every single food item was AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS and had the most BEAUTIFUL presentation. Since my husband and I currently live in Chicago, we wanted to bring a taste of home to our wedding. 24 Carrots was gracious enough to make mini Chicago style hot dogs and pass them out as our late night snacks. Every detail down to the bright green relish was spot on!

All in all, we are so thankful that we chose Franciscan Gardens as our wedding venue and we could not have asked for a better experience. THANK YOU Franciscan Gardens for making our dream wedding possible!

We had our wedding at Franciscan Gardens in March 2017 and we honestly could not have asked for anything more! Working with Melissa and Haley was a breeze, from the initial meeting, to the tasting, to the day of. They were both so sweet and helpful at every meeting and throughout the entire planning process. The venue is gorgeous and is right around the corner from The Mission and Los Rios street which provided the perfect backdrop for all of our photos! Their staff was incredible on the day of and our wedding went off without a hitch! We are so thankful we chose Franciscan Gardens as our wedding venue. It was the perfect day! xoxo

Franciscan Gardens is managed by 24 Carrots, who was able to take our vision and deliver an experience better than we ever imagined. The food was perfect, the service was excellent, and the staff leading up to the wedding were responsive, helpful, and great to work with. We are so happy we went with 24 Carrots and highly recommend the beautiful Franciscan Gardens venue. It was perfect for our size wedding (90 people), not feeling too spaced apart or too cramped.

If anyone is considering getting married in San Juan Capistrano, they should take a look at Franciscan Gardens and speak to the wonderful people at 24 Carrots!

Franciscan Gardens was the BEST place to get married!! It was the only venue we toured because it has everything you could ever need! The venue was beautiful on our big day with greenery everywhere and a beautiful courtyard to house our about 100 guests for the wedding ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception. The bridal suite and groom's lounge upstairs were perfect and spacious for getting ready and holding all of our things during the ceremony and reception. Melissa and Haley were absolutely amazing throughout the year of prep and planning! They were always so easy to get ahold of and quick to respond with any and all questions and changes that I had. The details meeting two months prior helped to make sure everything was going to go smoothly. 24 Carrots, the catering service associated with the venue, has the most delicious food I've ever tasted!! It was the best! All our guests kept coming up to us raving about the appetizers, food, and s'mores station! We were so happy with our big day here and know you will be too!

My husband and I fell in love with Franciscan Gardens on our first visit. It was everything we were looking for in a venue: outdoor, private, and beautiful!! In addition to the gorgeous space, the catering company 24 Carrots owns the venue and has a kitchen onsite with the amazing food. The menu options are extensive and fully customizable which we loved. The bridal and grooms suites on site are also The professionalism of the staff was also excellent from the timelines of the setup to the attentiveness throughout the evening. My husband and I always had our glasses full and they were constantly checking up on us to see if we needed anything. We had 160 guests attend and people were constantly telling us how beautiful and intimate the space was, I couldn't imagine a better venue for our wedding!!

Franciscan Gardens was everything we wanted in a wedding venue and MORE!! First, the venue itself is GORGEOUS! When our guests were dancing under the Italian lights and stars it felt magical! The tall green shrubberies (which made for AMAZING wedding pics) made it feel like you were in wine country but you’re right in downtown San Juan Capistrano. The bridal and groom suite were also a huge selling point for us because it eliminated having to get ready somewhere else and then transport the entire wedding party to the venue. The bridal suite had ample room for my 5 bridesmaids, my mom, hair and makeup team, and myself. Second, throughout the wedding planning process Franciscan Gardens and 24 Carrots were true professionals and a joy to work with. Hayley and Melissa were WONDERFUL and always so quick to respond to any of our questions. We found the fact that Franciscan Gardens works exclusively with 24 Carrots to be a HUGE convenience from a planning perspective. 24 Carrots really roles out the red carpet with their menu tasting. Their tasting room is so cute and elegant! It made our menu tasting a fun and memorable experience. Finally, on the day of the wedding the entire staff went above and beyond to ensure our day went off without a hitch! The food was delicious!! This is not your average wedding food! We served the chicken picatta and the hangar steak-both were phenomenal. The entire wait staff and bartenders were so attentive, accommodating, and friendly to all our guests. We are so happy we chose Franciscan Gardens for our special day and 24 Carrots was the icing on the cake!

A beautiful venue with the most amazing service! This venue is a 10 out of 10. Franciscan Gardens is set in a gorgeous courtyard, perfect for an intimate wedding. The lights that surrounded the place make it magical at night, with bistro lights hanging above and twinkle lights wrapped around the lush green vines. It is a perfect venue for a bride who wants to get creative. With so many greenery, you could do just about anything, and it makes for the greatest pictures. Though the venue sold itself, what helped me make the decision to pick the venue was the team at Franciscan Gardens. We absolutely loved the team and their high quality service. Melissa, the event manager, was the best coordinator to work with. From start to finish, Melissa helped make my wedding day absolutely perfect. She was so accommodating, responsive, and her dedication to her craft is very apparent. Being an indecisive bride with many questions, she always answered my questions with a smile, a helpful tip, and with promptness. She was thorough throughout the whole process and made sure that every detail I had in mind was executed. Melissa is so organized that in the midst of the crazy wedding planning I would get reminder emails updating me about upcoming events or things I had to do. On the day of the wedding and during rehearsal, she made sure to check in with me to ask if everything was going okay. I loved that Melissa was with us every step of the way, from giving us the first tour to wishing us a happily ever after. The service team was wonderful too. The transition/flip time during cocktail hour was flawless, I didn't even notice it happening. During cocktail hour, the catering team made a good effort to attend to the bridal party separately than the guests which I thought added a nice touch. So many guests commented on how charming the venue was, how intimate it felt, and how beautiful it was with the fountains, the pergola, and the backdrop. Thank you FG!

Our wedding was here last night and was truly remarkable. Everything went absolutely according to what we wanted. Both the Franciscan Gardens staff and the 24 Carrots staff were amazing. I would absolutely recommend having a wedding at this venue.

There are no words to describe how happy I am that I chose to get married at Franciscan Gardens!! I received so many compliments from all my guests and family! It was just what I wanted and more!! Melissa and Breanne are a pleasures to work with! Professional, fast responses, and always so nice!! I've been telling everyone what a great venue it is and recommend it to all my friends!! All I heard was "Beautiful" Thank you Franciscan Gardens and 24Carots!!

Our wedding was absolutly perfect, thanks to Franciscan Gardens. The outdoor garden setting created that romantic atomsphere. The staff was a pleasure to work with from start to finish. We are so lucky to have had such an amazing team of people. The ambiance was perfect. Price was reasonable for a Southern California wedding. We received so many compliments from guests. Everyone loved the venue. Parking was easy with a parking structure just a few feet from the venue. Local hotels nearby made it easy for out of town guests. The foot supplied by 24 carrot was delicious! I only have positive things to say about this venue! I wish I can do it again! Highly Highly recommend getting married at Franciscan Gardens!!!!

Our daughter's wedding at Franciscan Gardens was amazing! Melissa Russell is absolutely wonderful to work with. We were happy from start to finish. Highly recommend this Venue.

Beautiful Beautiful Venue. I was looking for something outdoors and a little country feel. The courtyard made it feel so intimate and not spread out, with everything right there, the ceremony and reception. For my wedding, the venue switched managers through my planning process, and it was a seamless transition. The new managers took over and made me feel valued and where just as responsive and professional as the previous managers. The food was delicious, and my guests were raving about the venue. Having the head table sit under the pergola was a highlight and made me feel close with my wedding party and husband. The grounds around the venue were beautiful to take photos at, many choices to choose from. One waiter even followed us when we took our photos to bring us appetizers and water to make sure that we felt taken care of. I definitely recommend this venue!

My name is Eric and I own an entertainment company by the name of Extreme DJ Service. Franciscan Gardens is a preferred venue that we have had the privilege of working at for many years. If you are looking for an beautiful unique space along with great food and professional service... look no further, FG is the place. We highly recommend the venue and their staff.

Eric Morales
Extreme DJ Service

Such a beautiful venue! This was the first (and only) venue my husband and I toured; we were in love at first sight! The ambience they create is wonderful - so romantic. Aimee was so sweet and worked closely with us to ensure we got the wedding of our dreams. Thanks for making our wedding day memorable!

I have only great things to say about Franciscan Gardens. The venue is beautiful, the coordinators were very professional and the location was very convenient for my guests.

We were able to take the venue and add in our touches to create OUR wedding. It was amazing how fast the venue was able to "flip" the ceremony site and make it into a reception. Our guests felt so comfortable in the venue and it seated 100 guests very well.

The food from 24 Carrots was delicious and very satisfying. Our guests loved the beef brisket and the variety of hors d'oeuvres. Picking a menu was tough because there were so many great options!

We initially worked with Ashley Pyle, and she was awesome. She helped us make a timeline for the day, walk us through the planning process and accommodate to us being on the other side of the country. Alyssa was the contact that was there for us on the wedding day, and she was equally awesome. She even helped fold menus for the reception tables! From the big to little tasks, these girls can help any bride do anything!

Absolutely amazing! Aimee, Ashley and 24 Carrots made our wedding so special and they are so wonderful to work with! Absolute perfection!