Montclair Women's Cultural Arts Club

As a local venue for special events, this is the best it gets!

After attending several weddings and countless special events here, I have grown used to this venue and I enjoy it very much. It is very difficult to find a space like this in the hills so it is much appreciated.

On another note ... the owner's dog, Little Bear, won the Pet Mayor of Montclair last year. Little Bear is so sweet and lovable and a great addition to the high rankings of the city of Oakland. If you see the infamous Little Bear hanging out at the Women's Club, give him a big bear hug from me!

My wife and I got married here in July of '11 and while it was beautiful, dealing with Barbara was something else! We were quite taken with the ambience of the place, but 3 months after paying our deposit, we still hadn't received our contract. After many unreturned phone calls and e-mails, we finally got ahold of Barbara and signed a contract. Everything we had originally discussed was incorrect and had to be changed. She was consistently late to our meetings, and 2 weeks before our wedding when we were supposed to meet her at the location, she stood us up. The day of the wedding, she got in the way of everything we wanted to do. Luckily my aunt was acting as a wedding coordinator and could be harsh with her. Otherwise, nothing would have gotten done.
Beautiful Place, but proprietor is out to lunch!

We had our wedding here on March 20th and it was amazing! Barbara is so easy to work with, and guided us through the whole process of planning the wedding. She is so open to different ideas and makes great suggestions. All her recommendations were perfect, and her attention to detail is exceptional. She was very responsive to any questions I had, and let me visit the site with various vendors and family members whenever I wanted. She was always so positive and excited for us.

The site itself is gorgeous, and our guests loved it. I highly recommend checking out this site!

We just celebrated my wife's 60th birthday last week, and the best decision I ever made was to have it at the Montclair Women's Cultural Arts Club.

The club: Absolutely beautiful. Wonderful Arts and Crafts-style, elegant, comfortable. I knew as soon as I saw the main ballroom that this was the place. Excellent stage for music. We had a smokin' blues band playing, and the acoustics in the room are great. Several of the musicians had played at the club before, and they love the venue.

The owner: Barbara Price just plain rocks. She certainly knows a lot more about putting on a big event than I do, and I just followed her advice on everything. She was kind enough to talk me down after I received the first caterer's really expensive quote. She ignored my hyperventilating, calmly suggested another couple of catering options, and restored my confidence. She was right on about both the big picture--how to arrange a great presentation for 80 guests--and all the little details, from the number of servers to the number of wine glasses.

Yep, 5 stars, and as soon as I can come up with a reason to do so, I'm gonna plan another party at the club.

We were married here in 2013, and being local, looked forward to returning for future parties and visits to such a lovely and special place for us. Sadly, Barbara has retired, and this venue has since closed. I very much hope someone takes it over so other people can still share memories and enjoy such a beautiful and historic little spot.

Came here for a wedding this past Saturday and the place is beautiful! Everything was very clean and reminded me of an old library. There was even a bar area replete with fake fireplace, leather arm chairs + coach, and an upright piano!

Since it was a small wedding (~50 guests), the patio area was very spacious, so much that there was a de facto smoking corner (the smoke still drifted, but not terribly offensive). The space was also nicely shaded with surrounding trees. As for the main dining/dancing space, I think the staff did a good job spacing out all the tables to prevent bumping into chairs and tables when walking around. I loved the vaulted ceilings (good for hanging chandeliers and other ornaments/decorations) and the lighting, too!

And as always in Oakland, the parking is kind of awful, because there's only street parking, thankfully it was all safe residential parking, no permits required either! :D

We had our wedding reception at the Montclair Women's Club in October 2012. The venue is absolutely stunning. All of our attendees were blown away.

We did have some issues with getting correct information on the contract and a few other little details, but at the end of the day everything worked out just fine. Barbara knows exactly what she's doing when putting on an event, even if she isn't the most fastidious record-keeper! She worked with all of our vendors to make sure every single detail was taken care of and nothing was overlooked.

We had about 90 guests, which was perfect for the space. We were able to host cocktail hour outside and move inside for dinner/dancing. We also used the stage space to have a jazz band play during dinner, but there was still enough room on the floor for a DJ to set up to mc and play for the dancing portion of the night.

I really can't recommend the Club enough for your own wedding or party. It's a fantastic alternative to boring hotel ballrooms or ridiculously expensive venues in the city. The Club is unique and has loads of character. Check it out!

We just had our wedding here on March 31st. Being SF residents, we really wanted something in the city, but I fell in love with the Montclair Women's Cultural Arts Club when I saw it and knew it would be the perfect venue for us. It has so much character and charm! Barbara was a blessing to work with. She's so easy going and an industry expert. We didn't have a wedding coordinator, so I really appreciated all of her suggestions and advice!

The building is nestled up in the Oakland Hills, surrounded by trees. It has a beautiful color palette, making it very versatile to work with. Our theme colors were red and gold and every room complimented our colors wonderfully. That's one of the great perks of the building...there are many spaces for you and your guests to explore. Besides the main dining hall, my favorite is the Salon/bar area. It's painted a rich red and has a working fireplace in it. For evening events, definitely opt for the candle package. The place looks magical all lit up.

Another favorite of mine is the bride's dressing room! It was so nice to have that space to change and relax and just have a moment, complete with its own bathroom.

We had about 100 guests and the venue felt perfect for our size, but I know it can accommodate up to 200. The courtyard is spacious and the garden is perfect for photos.

There was a high probability of rain during our ceremony, which we wanted outdoors in the courtyard and Barbara was so patient and willing to work with me. I was super stubborn and she kept coming up with ideas to make sure we had options. Thankfully, the weather gods smiled upon us! I remember looking up at the cover for our chuppah during the ceremony and noticing the beautiful gold ribbon Barbara had used to tie it to the gazebo frame. She also provided us with the perfect chairs for us to be lifted up during the Hora. I was terrified of being dropped and had inquired about renting chairs with arms. She informed me that they are very expensive, but she had some we were welcome to use in the Salon. All of these reasons and many more make we want to host another event there. Maybe for our future child's bar/bat mizvah.

In the meantime, you should book your next event there!

this is a wonderful venue to hold an event, weddings in particular. their garden is simply amazing, and a perfect spot for an outdoor ceremony. the oakland weather makes for warm sunny day weddings. the hall itself can be dressed to fit any theme. the high ceilings make the place spacious and airy.

the landscaping of their garden made the wedding i attended look so romantic!

I just had my wedding here and am beyond pleased. Barbara is a pleasure to work with and has turned this old women's club into a magical venue for an event. All the color, candles, twinkle lights and decor are amazing and it was the PERFECT place to have my wedding. Every guest commented on how beautiful and interesting of a venue it was. Thanks again Barbara!