the lawn area where they hold events is beautiful and shannon is a great coordinator and person in general

My son held his wedding there May 17 and the venue was absolutely beautiful! Shannon was so helpful and assisted us through the entire process. I would highly recommend the Optimist Club for any event! read more

Optimist Club - The happy newlyweds! - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Vista, California

What a great venue, gorgeous Inside and out. Shannon was the best host possible. She made the Engagement Party an event to remember for life. She helped set up, staff, and even helped clean up afterwards. And the price, has to be hands down the most affordable venue in Vista, or even California. When you need a place to host an event (Engagement, wedding, holiday party) from an intimate setting to groups over 250, this place has it. Easy setup for catering, and many great caterers on the list of vendors Shannon can recommend. Thank you Shannon for making our daughters special evening so wonderful. read more

I could not be happier with how my daughter & son-in-laws wedding ceremony and reception turned out! Shannon is the coordinator of the venue and she was the most amazing host! From the booking of the venue to the day of the event and everything in between she was always there to help with anything we needed! The venue is HUGE and totally customizable for your needs. We had over 300 guests and used the outdoor area only and it was plenty of space with room to spare! The market lights are already set up and at night the glow was so magical! If you are looking for an outdoor venue (or indoor) with a great price tag and lots of space to create your dream wedding go check out the Optimist Club! Give Shannon a hug from me, she's such a gem. I can easily say if it wasn't for her that day might have flopped big time! read more

See all

This was our wedding venue and it was like we found gold because not only were they available on my dream date 11/11/22, but Shannon was the most amazing venue director to work with. She opened up doors for several visits, was accessible by phone and email for questions, and is super friendly. We had an amazing experience and it would not have happened at all without her. Here are some pictures taken by Stevie Dee Photography at Optimist Club. read more

See all

We had a fabulous experience having our wedding at the optimist club in June 2024. Shannon was wonderful to work with and always responsive to answer any questions we had. The venue was gorgeous. We couldn't have asked for a better venue. We loved how we had the flexibility to bring in all of our own vendors and all of our guests couldn't stop talking about how gorgeous the place was. Highly recommend. read more

See all

We go here often for events and it's a great place. The facility and always clean and green. The volunteers that work there are always great. The Easter event is one of our favorites and so is the pancake breakfast. The Optimist club really helps a lot of local groups by donating time, place and/or food to a good cause. read more

The Optimist Club is one of the most beautiful and inviting venues in San Diego. The grounds are nicely manicured and the grass is green as can be. Shannon who runs the venue is simply wonderful and that along with the venue makes this a perfect combination. I coordinated a wedding at the club and Shannon was absolutely amazing and accommodating as well as cheerful and friendly. She made everything so easy and was always offering a helping hand. The Optimist Club and Shannon are a winning combination and I find them hard to beat. If you are looking for a venue and an amazing venue manager, then look no further. This is your dream location! read more

Optimist Club - The Beauty of the Optimist Club!!! - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Vista, California

I went for an evening event and it was such a sweet place, great people, good ambiance and very pretty location. Enough to be loud with friends and not be obnoxious to others. read more

Great venue with a wonderful facility for any of your celebratory needs!!! Schedule a tour soon!!!

One of the best secrets in San Diego is this gorgeous venue! I had my fiancé's memorial service there last Sunday... Everything about it is top-notch from the incredible event director Shannon, to the shady trees and market lights, to the full catering kitchen, to the ample parking. Dealing with the sudden death of someone you love is shattering, but when you know you're in good caring hands it makes all the difference in the world! Thanks to Shannon and her crew it was a magnificent, tearful, humorous, fabulous event that I will never ever forget. Book this venue!! read more

Really sad to say they kept our deposit of $500. They said we had too many people for a funeral/memorial held at the optimist club. the service was low key no dancing or loud music. We did have about 200 people show up, but were only expecting 150. Rsvp are NOT used at Funerals. We got chairs and line the back of the hall. We did all the labor. At the end WE put all the chairs away and cleaned the hall. there was no spills or stains. There was no damage to the hall. We used the kitchen a little and it was cleaned up. Everything was and we found it, and they kept our Deposit. Be Careful . read more

If you are in the market for a wedding venue at an extremely affordable cost you should check out the Optimist Club. When we were looking for a wedding venue we contacted a ton of them locally and looked at quit a bit. As a groom i just showed up and observed while my wife did all the approving. The Optimist Club was extremely affordable and just charges by the head so that keeps the cost down if you have a small guest list. It ended up being $20 a person on the weekend and that was about the cheapest you will find for such a nice venue. You also have the ability to bring in your own food and drinks so that as well keeps the cost down. Compared to most wedding venues that tries to sell you worthless packages of overpriced food and drinks the Optimist Club gives you the flexibility to bring in your own so you can set your own price points. Working with Jenny was extremely easy. Every question we had she answered in a timely manner. She was extremely friendly and very useful. From the first time we looked at the wedding venue to the wedding day she was really easy to work with. She gave us a ton of freedom to make the venue our own and make our wedding the way we wanted too without someone constantly telling us what we couldn't do. For the wedding ceremony we had it in the front yard and there was plenty of room to spare and we had around 150 guest. The plants make an awesome backdrop for a wedding and some photos. The backyard was perfect for the reception. The bar is off to the side with plenty of room to stock it with whatever you want! The backyard has plenty of space to have a large wedding reception and lots of room for dancing! read more

Optimist Club - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Vista, California

See all

The Optimist Club will always be near to my heart because it is where we got married. But it's not just the beauty of this place that makes me feel like that. Jenny Bescher truly made this place worth every penny and more. She is a talented, kind and loving person. She made everything leading up to our wedding seamless. And on our wedding day, she worked her ass off for us, smoothing everything out when we had some crises. She truly wanted to make our day special and her being apart of our big day, was so special to both my husband and I. I am forever grateful for her hard work, but also her spirit and kindness. She gave me a sense of security and took care of my anxieties. Thank you times a million Jenny, and thank you to the Optimist Club for letting us hold our wedding there! read more

Team Optimist Club all the way!!! If you're looking for an affordable, beautiful, customizable wedding venue, you found it here. My husband and I were on a budget for our 180 person wedding, and didn't think we would find anything we could afford for that size party. My sister found the Optimist Club on Yelp, and we went to check it out. It's a blank canvas inside, which is exactly what we wanted for our wedding. Something we could make our own. The front lawn is beautiful! That's where our ceremony was. The back lawn was perfect for our daytime wedding with lawn games, and the bar back there. The banquet hall sat all 180 people very comfortably, and everyone had a great seat! The bridal suite was HUGE, and fit all of us girls, no problem. With AC! The best part? JENNY! Keep in mind, she is really just there to be your point of contact, not a wedding planner, BUT she helped with all! I loved her the moment we met her. She was so knowledgable, and really helped us get everything we wanted for our big day. She was so communicative, always delivered on what she said she would, and helped SO MUCH the day of! She helped pick up trash during the wedding, helped our bartender, even gave the DJ cues when we were walking down the aisle. We couldn't have asked for a better point of contact! THANK YOU JENNY! I look forward to the next time I can celebrate at the Optimist Club, and refer them to all of my friends looking for a venue! read more

Shot a wedding here on September 22, 2019. It's a beautiful venue with plenty of space and options for your wedding day. Jenny, the coordinator was very helpful even weeks out. I asked if I could tour the facility so I had an idea of what to expect and she was more that happy to meet me there on an off day to allow me to walk around and get a feel for the place. She was also available to answer any questions I had. Fast forward to the wedding day... The lawn on the west side of the facility is a beautiful backdrop for the ceremony and the patio on the east is the perfect size for an outdoor reception. The venue is very clean and the staff very helpful. I would definitely recommend to any of my upcoming clients. read more

See all

Held my parents wedding here and let me say the venue is beautiful inside and out. Jenny is amazing and wonderful to work with! She was really helpful throughout the process. I would definitely love to have my own wedding here for myself one day and definitely recommend this place. read more

The Vista Optimist Club was a PERFECT venue for our wedding. I researched literally hundreds of venues in Southern California for a budget friendly sort of DIY venue and this was by far the best pricing and most flexible venue we could find! Jenny was truly the selling part for me. She responds to every email so promptly, goes out of her way to be super helpful and accommodating and is simply the sweetest. I cannot begin to say how thankful I am for Jenny and this venue. Our day was magical and hope others will enjoy it for their wedding venue as well! read more

See all

We just had a wedding here. This is a BEAUTIFUL venue. I love that they have a kitchen you can use so you can save tons of money with your own catering company. They have outdoor and indoor options. The beautiful front lawn was perfect for the ceremony. They have huge double doors that the bridal party walked out of. We did the reception in the back and we had tons of room. They have a bar area patio space and lawn space. They have a nice bridal suite at the venue as well! Jenny the coordinator is AMAZING!!! She is very helpful. She helped us every step of the way! read more

Optimist Club - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Vista, California

We had my fathers memorial service here and as someone with event planning experience I was appalled with how Jenny treated my family the week leading up and on the day of the event. Some of these actions included: 2 days before the event she tried insisting we needed permits(typically these are included in event contracts), overhearing her telling the bartenders "She doesn't want to be here all night", making multiple guest feel unwelcome/uncomfortable, and when we would ask Jenny questions regarding the contract she would reply with "ask your mom for it" and refused to elaborate. Overall I would not recommend this venue solely based off my experience with Jenny. read more

We had the wonderful opportunity to utilize the Optimist Club for a Celebration of Life this past weekend. I, also, cannot say enough about the venue and the Shannon, the Event Manager! She is amazing to work with! Incredibly personable and eye for detail! As someone who is in the industry and done so many events, knowing that "Day Of" can be challenging! It was so easy and effortless with even time to really relax before guests arrived. She is so flexible and accommodated our every need! I would highly recommend this venue! It is truly beautiful! read more

We used the Optimist club for a memorial. I cannot say enough about the venue and the Event Manager, Shannon. Everything was perfect and Shannon was so helpful and easy to work with. As someone who is in the event industry I highly recommend this location for a variety of events as you can't go wrong. Shannon will do everything she can to make it a wonderful experience. This venue is a hidden gem. read more

I had my wedding here in December 2016 and it was extremely affordable and beautiful for my winter wedding. I loved this venue because of its straight forward pricing and it provided a blank canvas for my wedding design. It was so hard to find a venue in San Diego with a ballroom that wasn't ridiculously expensive or offer packages(food and alocohol) that was so over the top! They were also friendly to military weddings, which was helpful for mine! We used the grass area in the front for our ceremony and the backyard for the cocktail hour, and held the reception in the ballroom. I was able to use the glassware and round tables from the optimist club so I saved money on rentals. I did rent white folding chairs for the reception tables and ceremony area, but I am happy I did since the white chairs really lightened up the room. Jenny was so helpful in reminding me of my payments and answering any questions I might have! My wedding day went so smoothly, even my bridesmaids said it was the lest stressful wedding they had been a part of, big compliment to me and all my vendors! I used the bridal suite to get ready and it worked perfectly for my bridesmaids and I to prep and primp for the day. I am so happy to have had this landscape for my day, thank you Jenny and Vista Optimist Club for all your help! read more

See all

DON'T DO IT!! DON't HAVE YOUR EVENT HERE!! I was helping my best friend plan his wedding and he looked at several venues and the Optimus club seemed large enough to accommodate the 175 guess they were going to invite. As negotiations were underway with the management there, I think her name was Jenny? The groom kept getting bad news after bad news about the caterers, photographer, DJ and band, he wanted to use his own and they were making it extremely difficult for him to do that. They were exorbitant costs being added on top of the deposit and other fees. Not to mention all the insurance and liability issues he was having to sign and get all of his vendors to do the same, there was a lot of overlap with all that stuff. The arrogance from management really started to show after he was thinking of backing out and going to a different venue, she was making it extremely difficult every step of the way after being very nice at first, she showed her true colors as he walked out of the office to look at other venues. The groom tried to contact the Board of Directors at the optimist club to tell them about his experience and couldn't even get a phone call back after trying three times, if the board is directing management on how to handle the day-to-day operations at the club, no wonder why Jenny acts like that. This place is beautiful from the outside, but it's very very ugly on the inside. There are way too many beautiful venues in San Diego county and most of them are cheaper, more accommodating and seem to want your business versus being told how to have your wedding instead of getting your wishes on your most special day ever, so please think again and don't do it!! read more

This is a really nice venue! There is lots of room inside, and a lovely, large outside back area. The party I just went to accommodated a bouncy house, and a food truck as well as lots of places to sit. read more

Anyone looking for an outstanding venue for a wedding and reception? Look no further than the vista optimist club! The venue sells itself. What anyone needs to understand is that with the fee for the venue, you get Jenny!! Who's Jenny you ask? Only the single most important person that will make your wedding and reception run smoothly!! This was our first wedding for one of our children and thank God for Jenny! Jenny was with us every step of the way and made herself available to us anytime we had questions! This post does not accurately describe what Jenny does for you as I could be here typing all day. All I can say is we would definitely use Jenny and the optimist club again, and would highly recommend Jenny to anyone who is looking for a coordinator that is kind, courteous, professional, understanding and most of all caring! Once you meet Jenny, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about! Just remember I told you so!! read more

Our wedding reception was here in February 2011 and it was all perfect. We selected the venue because we were looking fr a place that would let our party go later than 10PM and they took great care of us. They allowed us to have the reception until midnight and I think the room is perfect. We had about 200 guests and with the large room and beautiful year there was plenty of space. Most importantly Scarlett was so wonderful to work with. She kept in touch with us, answered all of our questions, and was very flexible. The security guards were very nice..the only concern they had was that we have designated drivers which is a good question. If you are looking to plan a special event...check it out. Very reasonable on the price and so very nice to work with. read more

Fantastic Venue! We had a wonderful experience hosting our daughter's wedding here. Amazing staff and gorgeous grounds

Jenny is absolutely wonderful!!! We just had our wedding at this venue on the 6th of May (after we went to a friends wedding that was also here and we loved it). The pricing is great, actually amazing for what you get. Also, Jenny is so helpful and is great at providing suggestions/advise regarding any question or idea you might have. My husband and I had a great experience having our wedding here. It even ended up raining the day of my wedding and Jenny was able to help us coordinate moving the whole thing inside last minute and it went off without a hitch. read more

I had my wedding reception here. WHAT A MISTAKE!!! The location is beautiful. You'd think it would be a breeze to put something together. It isn't. There is so much red tape to work through in order to get anything accomplished. You can't bring any of your own items in-- no food, no drinks. All food has to arrive by a catering truck. They want any person working there to be from the catering company, which means you'll pay a fortune not only for catered food, but also for their service for the length of the event. I tried so hard just to keep this simple, and it ended up being madness. By the time you try to organize something, you have to have multiple sheets of insurance, liability, proof of licensing of the caterer, a couple of double-checks on insurance policies, copies of the guest list, xeroxed copies of form after form after form. It was a nightmare. I wanted a restaurant to come and just drop off the food and we would take care of it from there. Nope, not here. I wanted to make some things at home and bring them. Nope, not here. Optimist Club basically forces you into paying a fortune due to all the hoops you have to jump just to have an event here. I could have gone to any little "women's club" and brought my own food and done my own cleanup for an eighth of the price of this place and none of the headache. Rosemary is the representative and arranger of all affairs at the Optimist Club. I found her to be just awful to work with. She made everything more difficult than it needed to be. They insist that you have a security person on-site. I assured her we didn't need him, but we had to have him anyway... and pay for him. The day of my wedding Rosemary told the women I hired to do the set-up that we weren't allowed to use the dishware, though the Optimist Club gives use of the dishes when you rent the place. This is lunacy. There were many calls of panic. I don't know if Rosemary just needs to retire or what, because it turned a delightful day into a stress attack for everyone. To make matters worse, Rosemary and the security guy showed up at my reception and mingled with my friends, and even ate the food we paid for. Were they invited guests? I think not. If I hadn't been the bride and been distracted with everything the whole day, I would have been livid. Instead I just got to see them chowing down on my homemade desserts (which had to be snuck in... liability issues of course) in my wedding video. Lovely. Don't waste your money here. GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. Rosemary will give you a heart attack. read more

I had my wedding here let me just say I wouldn't recommend anyone to this place. It's a beautiful place in North County San Diego. But I had horrible experience with Jenny who at first was very nice but after my contract was signed and my wedding got closer she started to become very difficult to work with. I did notify her Boards President but I don't believe they will be taking any actions. She was rude to my caterers, guest, & my self at my wedding. For me to say that the day I've waited my whole life is ruined because the stress she put me through week of my event & day of. I hope no one else has to experience this but as for myself I will not recommend any one the this venue. read more

I had my wedding reception here in October 2010 and I found it to be great. Scarlett is great to work with and super sweet. I chose this venue because (1) they fit the budget, (2) they were available, (3) they didn't have any crazy rules about which vendors you could or couldn't use. Don't let the fact that it's in Vista throw you off, the location is really beautiful. One thing I loved best was that I was able to have my ceremony, cocktail hour and reception all in one place and we were the only wedding there. The one, and only complaint I had was that they took forever to deposit our checks :) All in all, great experience there. read more

We just had our wedding reception here and we loved it! We worked with Jenny who was super patient and easy to work with. Before the wedding, I was thinking that we should have had our reception at a different site, but this ended up being perfect!! The hall looked beautiful!! :) read more

For the money, you can't beat this place. It is very pretty, has a full kitchen for your caterer, complete table settings, bar, back and front areas, nice bathrooms, center dance floor, indoor tables and chairs as well as a private parking lot. There is even a bridal room for the ladies to get ready. Excellent place to hold a wedding or any other event. read more

This venue is he best place to hod your wedding. It's affordable, beautiful and private. My husband and I had our May 25, 2013 wedding here and were so pleased with the venue. We held our ceremony on the front lawn, cocktail hour and bar on the back patio and the reception in the hall room. Everything was beautifully set up, fit all our guests comfortably, and was a gorgeous day and set-up. I also had the bridal suite (which you can purchase) and it was the best idea to do so. My bridesmaids and myself all stored our belongings in the suite and hung out in the suite pre-ceremony. A security guard guards the suite at all times too, so it makes you feel safe with all your stuff in there. Great place to hold your wedding! read more

My wedding went off without a hitch. What a great place to have a wedding. Scarlett was wonderful and guided us through the whole process. The grounds are beautiful, like having your wedding at a private country club. you don't have to share your wedding with any others. Like the other reviewer said you can have the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception in the same spot. They also have a beautiful Brides room that is spacious enough for you and your attendants to get dressed in. Scarlett was also on hand for our wedding and reception and made sure that everything went smoothly. People are still talking about our wedding and how personal it felt. read more