Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara - Santa Barbara, California

Anna V.

Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara is a perfect location for a wedding ceremony and reception! We had a wonderful micro wedding at this location in October. Joanie, USSB event manager, helped us the whole way to organize the wedding of our dreams. I like this location cause they offer a verity of packages for the weddings of different size. The church is absolutely stunning!!! Joanie has an awesome vendor list that will save you tons of time doing research. The location is so convenient and close to all best photogenic locations in Santa Barbara. Make sure you include the organ in your ceremony. It’s sounds stunning!

Anthony K.

We had our wedding reception at USSB last month and it was such a wonderful experience. Joanie was a pleasure to work with from the moment of booking through the reception, and the information sharing and planning is easy through their portal. The venue and their rentals are affordable, especially for being in the heart of Santa Barbara. And it is such a beautiful location and venue. It hardly needs more in the way of decorations. Everything went beyond our wildest dreams and we're so thrilled we had our wedding at USSB!

Jacquelyn N.

This was the venue of our dreams. We got married in May of 2024. Everyone who works at USSB was very attentive and responsive leading up to the wedding. All our questions were answered and no details were left out. We rented the entire ceremony and reception area. There are so many options to choose for your special day. The venue is very ornate so no need to go over the top for decor. We did a Polynesian style wedding and the decor mixed with the venue well. My vendors also enjoyed the space and clean up was seamless. My pro tip would be to reserve parking in the front of the venue and the cross street. You can do this for a fee with the City of Santa Barbara public works department. This helped immensely with older guests and our parking spot for our 'get away car'. Overall, this venue had it all!

Team

Unitarian Society is a great wedding and event location! They have versatile event spaces at their location for either indoor or outdoor options, which best accommodate up to 100 guests. We have done a wedding of 120 guests but you need to get a bit more creative with some of the space layouts. They do have a commercial kitchen available and have provided lighting and some rentals for our couples in the past, which is always helpful. The staff that works with you for both planning and as the contact on the event day are kind and helpful. We look forward to many more events partnering with the Unitarian Society!

Nadia F.

My husband and I had a “mini/micro-wedding” at USSB December 30th, 2023. After being together for almost 7 years and 2 years engaged, we decided to move forward and elope! We spontaneously made the decision about 3 weeks before the date we chose to do it on. After so much searching and favor from the Lord, we fell upon USSB and fell in love with the sanctuary space. It was absolutely beautiful and perfect for what we were looking for. We had a small, intimate ceremony with our immediate family and a couple friends followed by a dinner at a local restaurant.

THE SPACE:
The indoor chapel is stunning. We are so thankful to have our ceremony and forever photos in a beautiful space like this one.The arch detailing of the architecture and the large stained glass window made our ceremony photos look like a dream. It was just the perfect space for an intimate ceremony. Our family sat in the first two rows of seats. We decided not to mic up or use the sound equipment the church provides, but our guests could hear everything and it was nice to have everyone close to us. The sanctuary also has a beautiful grand piano so we hired a close friend who is a professional pianist to play before & during the ceremony. That was a beautiful touch.

We were also provided a space for myself (the bride) to get ready in. With it all being short notice, we did not arrange for a rehearsal or a tour of the property before the day-off. I was not able to get an early hotel check in to get ready in SB before the wedding, so it was really useful to have somewhere to change and touch up hair & makeup before walking down the isle. The exterior of the church was absolutely beautiful for photos after the ceremony.

THE PROCESS:
Incredible! We worked with Joanie who is just wonderful. She worked very hard to flip the space for us since it was so close to the holidays, AND she did it on short notice! Joanie made our dream come true. She was kind, excited with us, and so generous with her time. Joanie always got back to me very quickly even though we were communicating in between the holidays.

POST-WEDDING REGRETS:
The only thing I wish I could have had the opportunity to do would be to have a large wedding at the USSB! The property is just stunning and truly makes the perfect wedding venue inside and out. I’ve said it a million times already, but the sanctuary was the perfect space for an intimate, romantic ceremony. I cannot have pictured having our “mini/micro-wedding” anywhere else.

I don’t have all of my photos yet, but I will attach the ones I do have!
So-Cal Photographer Instagram: @leenanesh

SOHO T.

SOHO TACO had the pleasure of catering a beautiful wedding at the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara. The venue’s charming and serene ambiance perfectly complemented the celebration, and it was an honor to be a part of such a special day. The staff was professional and accommodating, and the experience was seamless from start to finish. We look forward to the opportunity to work there again!

Anna M. R.

Just did a wedding here and love the space and staff. Helena and Courtney were the BEST! They went above and beyond to help with the day. Very attentive

Katherine P.

A beautiful sanctuary. The people who gathered to celebrate a beloved friend were warm, loving and kind. I'll always remember this place as the spiritual home of someone I loved.