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August 2024 by Cheryl Elizabeth - LIZ Banks
I used to come here about once a month knowing I would find nice things for good prices. I haven't been in several months but came today in July 2024 and this one time destination resale shop has turned into a junky, cluttered "Goodwill-type" thrift store. There is absolutely no tasteful discrimination about what they accept. If there are any nice items they are obliterated by the amount of cheap discards I'd be more likely to find in Oceanside or Vista. It's a disappointment and no longer a nice little destination for rambling for treasures then having lunch at Thyme in the Ranch. Such a shame. Probably won't be back.
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September 2023 by K G.
I started attending some of the Garden Club events this past couple of years and they are exceptionally well- organized, educational, a good variety of activities, and fun! The club facilitator really does a great job at switching things up. I especially love the annual holiday events. Garden Club grounds are lovely. I always go without expectations; I know that I'll learn something, I'll meet new people, and I go with an open-mindset and fun attitude! Great way to spend the day!
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February 2023 by Lucy Z.
We just had our wedding at the Secret Garden in January, and it was everything I hoped for AND MORE. I toured quite a number of other venues in Orange County/San Diego, but the all-inclusive factor is what really drew me in. I currently live in Boston, but it was so easy to plan with the team while being remote. The entire Secret Garden / Epic Events team is amazing! I loved working with all of them - Laura, Mary, Kristina, Brian, and others. I know they're super busy with many people's weddings, but they really make you feel like you're ~special~. We had our food catered with Eco Caters, which is something I was SUPER nervous about. My family can be really picky about food, so I was concerned about how they would react to it. Turns out, they loved it so much they even ate all of the leftovers that was packed for us. We had so many compliments from guests on the food! I also loved working with our main point of contact Christine. There are a couple small details I'd change about my wedding if I could redo it, but having it any other venue is definitely not one of them.
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January 2023 by Diana W.
HIDDEN GEM. I had my wedding here in December of 2022. From the moment that we sent an email to the venue I knew they were the one. The professionalism that they provided was truly amazing. The upfront costs and all questions answered in such a timely manner was what initially pulled us in. Meeting Christian was another story. He was remarkable, we did not feel pressured at all and he really connected with us on a personal level, listening to what we were looking for. To be honest, on our search we only looked for a venue that was all inclusive. We only had one requirement. This one was that and so much more, the beautiful garden setting had natural greens. The gazebo really popped in our ceremony photos, and my favorite was the reception room. The elegant chandeliers coming down from the high vaulted ceilings and the all-around such a majestic scene. Of course, we couldn't say any less for this hidden gem in Rancho Santa Fe. On top of this, we worked with such an amazing team. We felt the love, and the care with each individual that we met. Christian was the initial person, then we talked to Mary, we met Bianca to do the first meeting. SHE WAS SO FUN! Made us feel really comfortable and gave us so many pointers. We have never planned a wedding before and she really put us on the right track. Then we used the provided caterer ECO Caterers, Christine was so informative and made sure we were taken care of. The food tasting was so filling and delicious. Our guests loved the food. We went with the crab cakes and pork belly apps, braised brisket and blueberry chicken, and then mac and cheese and grilled veggies. Our fun and lovely bartenders! Our guests really enjoyed the beautiful concoctions in their cups. During our final meeting we met with Laura, she really got down to work and finalized everything. From insurance to final décor and extra vendors, she made the last month really easy for us. And of course on the day of, we were so excited to see both Bianca and Laura there greeting us. It really made the whole process come in full circle. The day of our wedding, it was not what we had envisioned ...it was SO SO MUCH BETTER than what we had in our minds. Thank you so much for this once in a lifetime day that you provided for us. I am so blessed to have walked on this path with the EPIC team at the Secret Garden. And we cannot forget our amazing photographers Brittanee and Brian. They captured our laughs, tears, and love in such a spectacular way. I loved that they caught all the candid shots between my husband and I, and our guests. I would 200% recommend this venue to any couple! We had made many appointments all over San Diego and Temecula to look at other venues and this one closed the deal! It was all inclusive, and most importantly we were stress free. The pricing was outstanding compared to a lot of the other venues that we saw. We did bring in a few outside vendors and everything meshed perfectly. The whole process was so smooth and easy. A million THANK YOUs to your team and I wish you only a more prosperous future in your business of making dreams come true!
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November 2022 by Kyley S.
These people BENT OVER BACKWARDS to make our day special!!!!! I was pregnant with our 6th child and gave birth a few weeks before our wedding. (We had to change the date to accommodate the birth) talk about a stress free planning process. They have mastered their craft and have an amazing communication system in place between the coordinators, catering, photo, florist. Nothing fell through the cracks. We were even allowed to add a video package the DAY BEFORE our wedding! The photographers were literally holding my toddlers while taking pictures of the groom and I. The photos came out absolutely gorgeous! We had somewhat of a themed wedding and the florist, Jerri, really jumped on board to help us bring our vision to life. I can't say enough great things about this venue and their Allstar team.
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October 2022 by Kayla P.
I can not recommend this venue enough!! I just had my wedding here and my day went by so smoothly, honestly this team made my vision come to life & more. Beautiful venue ran by beautiful organized friendly and helpful staff! Made everything less stressful for me thank you all for your work my wedding was so beautiful and I couldn't have asked for a better day!
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September 2022 by Grace N.
We came to the Secret Garden over the weekend for our dear friend's wedding. Let me tell you, what a lovely and beautiful venue! The hall itself is beautiful with very high vaulted ceiling. They have a pretty big outdoor area for cocktail hours that has tons of tables and chairs, lounge places. My friend's wedding has two beautiful llamas during the cocktail hour, I heard it was an add-on option from the venue, how cool was that?? The wedding party catered food and services from another restaurant so I can't really comment on how their service here. But bathroom and the venue itself were very clean and beautiful. It is also located in a very enchanted and quaint little town. I would recommend this for small intimate wedding!
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July 2022 by Melissa L.
(12/2021) My husband and I chose this venue because of the garden setting and intimate space. The outside of the venue didn't disappoint and was gorgeous day and night. Overall, our experience was fine but there were a few things that could have been done better. Staff: When we signed on, we were told that the planning process would be smoother and easier because the venue was run by an event company and used exclusive vendors, but that was not the case. There was disorganization, a lack of proactiveness and general confusion surrounding details of my wedding leading up to it. Despite the fact that the venue uses exclusive vendors, I had to ask for all of the vendor contact information and reach out to them all on my own and repeat details of my wedding. It was no different than if I had just hired them all myself, except that I didn't have the benefit of choosing them. The venue team did not always respond timely to my emails and sometimes gave me contradictory and/or incorrect information. I complained to the owners about the lack of organization and while they were nice about my feedback, they indicated that their team was experiencing high volume due to covid rescheduling, so it didn't really change anything. I was disappointed that after I complained, they assigned a day of coordinator to me who appeared to be a new employee. Despite taking notes during our meeting, when we corresponded after the meeting, he got a number of details wrong. I was assigned a new coordinator, which I welcomed but that was only confirmed a week before the wedding. Jazmine was my day of coordinator and she did a great job. She was detail oriented and a good communicator. I did end up hiring an outside day of coordinator to help out because I felt like I needed someone to be my eyes and ears, who could answer any questions that Jazmine's team had, and who could assist me with anything I needed. Caterer: Eco Caters was great. I thought the menu options were a bit unconventional at first glance, but worked. We went with apps: burger sliders, chicken and waffles, and the home made ricotta with veggies; mains and sides: braised beef, stuffed bell peppers, jambalaya, market veggies, and mac n cheese. Guests loved the less conventional food and made a point to comment to us about how good it was and that they went back for second. The food was delicious at the tasting and even better at the wedding. My catering coordinator, Christine Sheffield, was also proactive in reminding me of dates and deadlines and responsive to my emails. I would definitely work with them again. Florist: Jerry Disney is hands down awesome! She works SO hard and is SO cool and calm under pressure. The florist who worked with her quit right before my wedding so she called me and had to get caught up on what I wanted since my floral meeting was with her associate. I was concerned because I never got to actually meet her before the rehearsal date and I was looking for bright vibrant florals -- not the boho look that is so popular right now. She nailed it. I loved my bouquet and all of the florals. Photographer: Photos were really important to me and I would have appreciated a more personal experience. I disliked that I never got to have a meeting with my assigned photographer before the wedding so I wasn't able to have a conversation about what I wanted to capture. Although I did send her a few emails, the process was very rote and impersonal feeling. That said, the photos turned out better than I expected. I enjoyed the romantics that were taken but was disappointed with the reception photos especially since I paid extra for a second photographer. I would have liked to see more composed group shots of my guests versus so many random shots where people had food in their mouths or were talking to each other and not looking at the camera. Also, most of the reception photos were taken in the indoors when it was dark and just aren't very nice. I was told that evening photos outside were discouraged because of the lighting but that was terrible advic
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July 2022 by Erin A.
The Secret Garden is a true gem in the wedding industry! My husband and I recently were married there, in June 2022. Choosing the Secret Garden was one of the easiest wedding planning decisions we made. Julie assisted us from the first day up until a week before. She is exceptional! Julie is so kind, responsive, helpful... it was a gift having her as a line of support. In every way, the staff at the Secret Garden worked with my husband and I to give us the day of our dreams. The venue site offered everything we needed. It is a charming wedding location! Aside from the beautiful location, the all inclusive package made our choice an easy one. We had so much less stress because of this, and we were able to seamlessly plan our day, even living out of state. I cannot recommend the Secret Garden and its friendly staff enough!
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April 2022 by Christina W.
I just got married at The Secret Garden this past weekend and I can't recommend this venue enough!! What sold me on this venue was the hoop swing and the all inclusive package that made wedding planning a LOT less stressful. The package included chairs, tables, linens, florist, photographer, in-house props, DJ/emcee, and coordinator - such a great price for all these essentials. :) Everyone at The Secret Garden/ part of Epic Events (Julie, Christian, Mary, Kristina, Jerri, Christina, Kristin, Mike Di E.), were so friendly and helpful in the planning process - I had sooo many questions and they answered them all!! One of the best parts of this venue is that you can bring in outside vendors which allowed us to have a photo booth, dessert bar, and a boba bar. Another thing I liked was the BYO alcohol option which saved us a lot of money since we weren't paying per person like so many other venues. The day of coordinator Christina was so good at her job that I didn't even know about some of the smaller issues that came up throughout the day until after the wedding - she definitely allowed me to enjoy my wedding day without worrying about the logistics of it all. So so thankful for her! All of our friends and family loved the venue and thought it was so beautiful and dreamy especially with the drapery and chandeliers in the reception hall and the hoop swing that you can add florals too! The florist Jerri was so wonderful and easy to work with - she understood what her vision was only after 1 hour for our first consultation and by looking at the inspo pictures I sent over. She was easily reached by text which I appreciated so much. :) I haven't gotten photos back yet of course since my wedding was just this past weekend but the photography team (Kristina, Kristin, and Mike) were so great to work with. They answered all my questions with such patience and thoroughness. Kristin and Mike were my photographers and they were so kind and calm through the whole day making sure we captured all the photos we wanted. Julie, Christian, and Mary were the main contacts for logistical issues as well as any and all wedding questions! If there was someone that was better suited to answer my question, they also connected to the right person/team! I honestly couldn't have planned my wedding without them - so so grateful for them. :) Overall, our wedding day went as smoothly as it could have and we couldn't be more thankful for The Secret Garden and Epic Events Co!
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January 2022 by Joanna M.
This post is long overdue, as I got married just over two years ago. But now, I'm helping my friend plan her wedding, and I keep on reminiscing about my wedding day so here goes! I loved getting married at the Secret Garden - it was absolutely perfect. Christian and his wife, Julie, were so warm from the beginning and practical as well. Jerri, our florist, is incredibly talented and made these beautiful arrangements for our wedding. Daniel, our architect and coordinator, was calm, cool, and collected. He ensured that everything ran seamlessly on our actual wedding day, despite having quite a few vendors (see below) to deal with on the day of. The team really went above and beyond to make my husband and me happy on our wedding day and I couldn't have been happier with the venue. What really sold me was the degree of flexibility they allowed so that I could carry out my vision for the wedding. I'm a litigator--and a bit of a control freak--so I really wanted to take a hands on approach to my wedding and do a lot of the design myself (plus, it's fun). This entailed using many outside vendors--even though this was totally unnecessary--for table cloths, chargers, goblets, napkins, etc. I also made my own food/bar menus, table markers, seating chart, etc. (with the help of Etsy and Alphagraphics). In addition, I wanted a bar with the wine/hard liquor that my (now) husband and I like specifically. In other words, I wanted a highly customized wedding without having to deal with the expense of a wedding planner, and the Secret Garden was my blank slate. The team at the Secret Garden totally ran with it, unlike most other venues I considered. The end result was even better than what I dreamed. Of note, I had my rehearsal dinner and after party at the Inn (the Azalea lawn and Library, respectively). The Secret Garden and Inn as my two venues really "meshed" together perfectly--to the point where guests thought the Secret Garden was an extension of the Inn. I highly recommend this approach!
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December 2021 by Alona V.
I was so excited to attend my brother's wedding this month because the venue is beautiful! However, the food was ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE!!! I have eaten meals at many weddings, including my own... I've even attended a budget wedding at a not that nice Mexican restaurant and the food that the Secret Garden's caterers served was hands down THE WORST food I have ever eaten! I tried both entrees and both were horrible! There was vegan pad Thai made with spaghetti noodles and it just tasted like garlic and nothing was pad Thai about it. The fish entree was the fishiest, un-freshest, mushiest, obviously frozen, gross and it was the tiniest portion I had ever been served anywhere. The rice was cold and undercooked!!! How do you mess up white rice?! Well ask them because they sure did that! I was only able to stomach the tiny side of veggies and thank goodness there was a salad or I would have passed out from hunger. My husband and many if not all the other guests felt the same. I looked around the room as we ate and could see the looks of un-tastiness as they tried their tiny plates of yuck. My new sister-in-law asked me what I thought about the food when she returned from her honeymoon because she was debating on whether she should complain. She proceeded to tell me that they charged her $80 a plate!!! What?!!!! There is NO way that those tiny and unappetizing plates of food should have costed more than maybe $25! And I'm only saying $25 because I'm adding wedding meal inflation to it. It was a $10 plate at best. I was honest and firmly encouraged her to reach out for compensation in the form of a refund. She was robbed!! She also told me that the caterers refused to squeeze fresh limes for margaritas so she had her bridesmaids squeezing limes before the wedding!! Wow! Just wow! The food certainly did not match the venue. Secret Garden ought to be ashamed of recommending/offering this caterer's services in their space. I'm leaving 3 stars because the venue is lovely but really that food deserves a ZERO! So disappointing to spend the evening hungry.
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October 2021 by poppa bear
It is a very beautiful spot! Great for weddings and anniversary
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August 2021 by Christopher MacPhail
The thrift shop has great deals, especially during their frequent sales. Good amount of interesting inventory, pleasant staff.
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July 2021 by Ray Alto
Great wedding venue. Nice layout and wonderful catering company. Highly recommend.
