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Brownstone Gardens
Categories: Event Planning & Services Venues & Event Spaces Event Planning & Services Party & Event Planning Venues & Event Spaces, Party & Event Planning [Edit]
91 Brownstone RdOakley, CA 94561
(925) 418-4532
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 9 am - 2 pm
Sat-Sun 10 am - 2 pm
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
15 reviews for Brownstone Gardens
15 reviews in English
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Review from Lauren F.
San Francisco, CA
1/12/2012
We were married here in August of 2010. The wedding was beautiful, the staff was friendly and helpful, and everything went just perfectly. A few times we were a few days late on our payment and were really worried about it, but everyone at Brownstone made it seem like it was not a problem.
Another time, we went to meet with their preferred officiant and drove all the way out to Los Gatos (from Walnut Creek) before finding out he wasn't at his office due to a family emergency (he forgot to inform us, not Brownstone's fault). We brought the issue up to Brownstone to let them know and they immediately handled the situation and even got the officiant to preform our ceremony FOR FREE because of the mistake. (That's a $400 savings, all thanks to Brownstone.)
And finally (and this is the kicker...) Brownstone issued our deposit back promptly, but we were unable to cash it because they put the check in both our names. Since my husband and I decided not to get a joint bank account with both of our names on it, no bank would allow us to deposit it. Since they had been so helpful before, we contacted Brownstone and asked if we could have the check reissued to just one of our names. They agreed to send us a new check after we sent them back the original. My husband then lost the check. For A YEAR. When he finally found it again, he contacted them to see if it could still be re-issued. And they said it could be! A few days later, we had our full deposit back, over a year after it had initially been issued. Tell me that's not amazing.
Moral of the story? Kay Kay and Jacqui are the BEST. No one else would have put up with our shenanigans, let alone with a smile on their face. Thank you, ladies! -
Review from Eric L.
Updated - 2/3/2012 1 photo
I've received an email from Brownstone Gardens describing some improvements and changes they have done since I last visited.
-Additional indoor bathrooms have been built for their customers.
-5 Outdoor heaters provided to their guests free of charge if the weather is cold
-Cleanup of unsightly hose to fountain
Since I have not verified this for myself, I'll move by review rating to a more neutral rating. I do recommend you check out Brownstone Gardens yourself to see if it meets your requirements for your wedding. Remember that internet reviews can never be a substitute for doing your own due diligence.
I also commend Brownstone Gardens for improving their faculties to provide a better venue for their customers and guests.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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10/2/2007 First to Review
I visited Brownstone Gardens recently to be the best man in my friend's wedding. His wife had a lot… Read more »
Comment from Kay-Kay H. of Brownstone Gardens 11/2/2011
We built 2 new bathrooms 2 years ago and they are beautiful… More » -
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Review from Vanessa B.
Concord, CA
10/20/2011
From the moment I saw this plac i knew I wanted to get married here. Good price, and i love the ceremony site.
I was concerned about a couple things:
1. only one bathroom. Good thing i was the bride, because i had a bathroom in my bridal room
2. The owner. Not "builder Bob" the husband but the wife. The lady is a ding bat. I shouldn't have been suprised when she didn't follow up on anything she said she would, and of course never remembered minor details
3. it's in Oakley. My family being from Antioch had a n idea of what the surrounding area would be like though.
Suggestions:
A. Get your own coordinator!
B. dont expect to have anything other than Beer and Wine
C. Everything is an upgrade, and it costs ton for any upgrade. Do the minimum package, and find your own suppliers for upgrades.
D. dont let them cut your cake for any fee. They ruined my cake while cutting it. I wish i could post picturesComment from Kay-Kay H. of Brownstone Gardens 11/2/2011
1. There are two very nice restrooms for the guests… More » -
Review from Dawn M.
Oakley, CA
5/28/2011
I went to a wedding here last year- it was beautiful. I have nothing but praise for this place. Perfect for weddings!
[Begin Rant] I just want to say to Missy h. - this is NOT the "ghetto" and I can't believe someone who lives in Hayward is so ignorant they can't see the difference. Honey- this is where your FOOD comes from. It's called "rural" because it's mostly FARM LAND here. If you expected it to be high class- well, you came too far from your comfort zone where people get killed every night. - [end rant]
Ps- it's "far" from the freeway but it's 3 feet from Hiway 4 -
Review from Renee S.
San Francisco, CA
6/23/2011 14 photos
We got married here last year. What can I say... Brownstone Gardens really exceeded our expectations. From the moment we walked in we fell in love with the venue. It was beautiful, lush, and romantic. Kay Kay was SUPER helpful!!! I was able to count on her on everything. The support I got from them definitely made our wedding possible. Jacky (day of wedding coordinator) was super hands on! She did above and beyond! There were a few things that slipped my mind but Jacky was right behind me to say "don't worry honey, I got it!". I recommend this place to anyone. You can truly transform this venue to whatever you like.
Sincerely,
The Rodrigues' -
Review from Ann C.
Sparks, NV
8/2/2008
My husband and I were among the first to be married at Brownstone Gardens. We loved it! They were everything I hoped for. Like some of the other reviews have mentioned, I was thrilled by the way they took care of everything. It has been almost five years since we were married and I still think about how beautiful our day was.
A few weeks ago we went back to Brownstone for a friends wedding. Wow! I cant believe how much has changed! we thought is was utopia 5 years ago, but now its even better.
They have gorgeous lights in the trees over the dance floor and incredibly luxurious bathrooms. and of course all the plants and trees have five more years of growth on them.
I am giving this review as both a bride and also as a guest. I give two thumbs WAY up for both. -
Review from Katherine M.
Fairfield, CA
7/25/2009
Seriously, this place kicks major ass! Alas, has my search for the perfect wedding venue ended??
Here's the lowdown:
The property is HUGE! It has THREE different areas of the garden that belongs to the wedding party.
*The Grand Courtyard with AMAZING stone pillars for a 'grand' ceremony;
*The Willow Grove with rose gardens with a bridge that leads to a gazebo thats used for Cocktail Hour;
*The Bridal Falls for the reception. It has a sunken dance floor (tables are set up on an upper level overlooking the dancefloor) with a waterfall in the background. Totally dreamy!
They also offer photography, dj, officiant, florist and 'day of' coordination (with added fees!).
BYOB (alcohol) that totally rocks!
Military discount!! We saved $500 on non-alcoholic beverages: soda, iced tea, coffee
SIX in-house caterers that you can choose from.
The ONLY drawback is: Oakley isn't the most prettiest town around. Most of the place looks rundown...hopefully things might start to look up in a year??Listed in: Here Comes the Bride's Guide!
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Review from Natalia H.
San Jose, CA
7/26/2011
My cousin had her wedding at Brownstone Gardens. The venue itself was pretty- especially later on at night when the lights went on. The waterfall was cute and the little bridge and shack thing in the back makes good photo op. The food was alright- the salad and the meat was delicious but the fish was really dry. They promised that they would have someone cutting the meat but they didn't keep their promise. The meat was pre-cut. One major turn off was the ONE BATHROOM on site (well 2 for me since I was able to use the bathroom in the bride's room....but I can't imagine how painful it must have been for the guest to line up to use the ONE bathroom). The on-site coordinator WAS A NO SHOW as well. WHAT THE HELL. Venue was nice but unless you have a very responsible personal wedding coordinator, I wouldn't recommend this place.
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Review from Grant L.
Santa Clara, CA
8/1/2011 1 Check-in Here
Came here for a wedding. Scenario was great, small and very quaint so you can relax. However I have to ding stars for the lack of bathroom for a party of 200, you only get 2 bathrooms to use and the food was okay, I would had been happier if McDonadl's catered it since the fish was dry and the tri-tip was colder than my beer.
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Review from Dave V.
Danville, CA
10/3/2009
I've been DJ'ing at Brownstone Gardens for the past 3 years now and I can honestly say that this is THE BEST VENUE for ceremonies and receptions in the Bay Area. The grounds are always beautifully maintained in the Willow Grove, Grand Court and Bridal Falls.
Kay-Kay and her staff are always friendly and courteous and provide top-notch service to all of their guests. Working with them is a real treat for me!
If you're looking for quality and affordablity for your wedding, then you need not look any further...you found it! -
Review from Missie R.
Hayward, CA
11/21/2009
First things first, this was my very first tour for our wedding. I braced myself from the Yelp reviews to not have such high expectations. Good I did that bc it braced me.
Came here w/ a friend & warned her I read the road going there is pretty unpleasant and ghetto. When exiting the freeway my friend and I said that it wasn't "unpleasant" it just had an old town vibe which was bearable. This place is SO far from the freeway, I had to check GPS a million times to make sure I was going the right way. & along that long way to the venue, the surrounds get more & more sketchy looking. You know when you're in a small town when every business along the road has it's town name within the business name (Oakley Bike Shop, Oakley Dental, etc. Yeah okay, I know I'm in Oakley!). Anyways, when we turned right into the street I wasn't really sure where to go, where's the parking lot? The little sign wasn't that helpful. Also the property itself is a lot smaller for what I had envisioned, however I believe Kay Kay & her family live there (her daughter had just gotten home from school) so in that case, the property is rather large for it being a private home. So anyways here is a list of the pros & the cons of the place:
Pros:
-Surrounds seemed pretty nice. I mean it is fall & most the trees are bear & there weren't much flowers in bloom, so I bet in the spring & summer this place is beautiful.
-The small koy garden is so NICE! Very cute & a great place to take pics.
-Lighting around reception area is REALLY nice.
-There's lights at their ceremony site built into the Grand Court temple.
-I like their idea of having their cake cutting on the dance floor so everyone could get a good view around the couple. Very smart!!
-I wanted to mention this: there is actually a total of 3 RESTROOMS on site. 2 for the guests (& the bathrooms there are NICE!!) & 1 inside the bridal room which is all very nice.
-Kay Kay was nice and answered all of our questions.
Cons:
-There is a rose garden to the right when you enter. I'd hate to say this but this is the saddest attempt to a rose garden ever. Perhaps because it was the season or perhaps bc it just sucks, but its not pretty. There random rusting furniture there & it was such a sore eye.
-In the koy garden to the right of the wooden gazebo, near the water there is visually a wood covering to hide whatever electrical stuff that's there. Something that caught my eye and looked like a ghetto attempt to hide whatever's there.
-If you are standing from the Koy garden you can see the unattractive main road & the town's sketchy surroundings. Not a pretty sight & be careful, it may be in your photos.
-The seating is weird. The tables are around the dance floor which makes everyone so far and spread out from the head table. That I don't like.
-They don't allow a cloth runner for the ceremony bc it's a tripping hazard. They do however let you buy this THICK carpet which is $25 per a square foot. And that's one LONG walk, so you're runner is going to cost you a couple of thousand of dollars. This was a major down side for me because I'm allergic to grass.
-They do charge for cake cutting. I don't understand why places do this, is it really that hard to cut a cake & charge $2-3 dollars per a slice?
-Their upgrades are pretty expensive for a place so far from the city.
Here are a few good yet bad things about the place:
-They do let you BYOB however it can only be wine & beer. They do not allow any hard alcohol on site. If you want like a signature beverage, you need to give them the exact recipe & it has to have less than a certain amount of alcohol for the drink to be allowed on site.
-They will let you bring your own catering but you have to pay $16 per a person to do that. That's because you use their staff & tables & what not. However, if you purchase their food & you want to bring outside food, you can at no additional fee unless they need to get more equipment for your food (such as plates, tables, etc).
-The fountain is really random where your cocktails would be but it is pretty.
-The waterfall near the head table is so pretty, but it's kinda wasted bc it's too dark to see it at night. They should invest in spot lights to allow it to be seen better. Why have such a beautiful waterfall and have it to dim to be seen?
-There are 2 hard heavy non-removable lions at the grand court. I don't like them. But if you like it then you're in luck bc they come included with your ceremony no matter what.
The place overall is pretty nice. Lovely property, great flowers (except for the rose garden) & nice people. But it just wasn't for us. If you aren't as picky as I am this maybe the place for you. Kay Kay kept expressing how their motto was whatever the bride wants, but to be honest I didn't feel like it was bc they had more restrictions than any other venue. Which was the #1 reason why we didn't chose this venue.
1 star for the pretty koy garden & lit up reception.
1 star for Kay Kay's kindness. -
Review from Polynesia Z.
Foster City, CA
6/23/2009
my sister had her wedding here. was sooo romantic....staff were very accomodating. its actually a house with a big garden....i think ppl live in there??? which is kinda weird
pros - very pretty at night. back gardens is like an oasis.
- byo alcohol rocks!!
- amplified music yes!!
- special room for bride and her own bathroom
- checkout their site....its actually a very very cool place
cons - 1 bathroom for all the guests? Yuck!!
- Oakley is sooooo ghetto...we kinda got disgusted with our first view of the place....looks like a dump from the outside
i would love to get married here.....but the town is so ghetto...so maybe not.... -
Review from Mike V.
San Ramon, CA
9/18/2009
As a professional DJ who has played at thousands of venues in 20 years of business, I can say WHOLE HEARTEDLY that Brownstone Gardens is one of my ALL TIME FAVORITES. Not only do they cater to the every wish of the bride and groom, but they make everyone feel like they are a part of something ultra special. Their beautiful landscaping and gorgeous surroundings are simply breath-taking; if you want to make your wedding a cut above the others, this is venue to consider FIRST. Kay Kay and her entire staff go the extra mile to superserve everyone, and best of all, they do it at an amazing price. My wife and I swear by the incredible staff and management of Brownstone Gardens who consistently prove to us, as well as hundreds of newlyweds, that they are amongst the BEST IN THE BUSINESS. Call them immediately, you will not regret it!
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Review from Jyoti T.
San Jose, CA
8/9/2011
We had a wedding on 2nd Jul 2011 the site is beautiful specially the reception area full of shades and comfortable in hot summers! other than the wedding site... the service was not rating as good as there were lots of discomfort experienced by the services provided by Brownstone Gardens on site.
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Review from Vera P.
Alameda, CA
6/27/2010
I had to write a review for Brownstone Gardens. I recently was the bridegroom's proud mom at his wedding being held there. After a tedious search his fiance and he were nearly quitting the search for the perfect venue for their small wedding of about 100 guests. Voila! Brownstone Gardens!
The place is a little drive from the Bay Area, but there is a Comfort Inn nearby that can easily accommodate the wedding party and guests at a special group rate.
The place is an incredible, beautiful outdoor venue with several different areas to meet every need for the service,photos and various reception needs. We adored the lush greenery, flowers, lighting. The catering was superlative and delicious.The service was exemplary. The lower level garden setting next to the sound of the waterfall was cool for a late June wedding and also just a beautiful place to dine and mingle with the guests.
Afterword we went to the front entry to see the bride and groom off and were able to enjoy the koi pond and other lovely features of the gardens.
My only wish was that the parking lot was paved instead of gravel- to prevent the tearing up of high heels. It could use a larger changing area as well.
We would choose this place for a wedding again in a heartbeat!
