Chabot Space & Science Center
Limited services venue
The venue will provide the space, plus a few extras.
Full wedding (ceremony and reception) pricing
Starting at $4,900
Packages
Prices start at $1,700
Guest capacity
Up to 1500 seated guests
About this venue
Whether you want to get married under the stars or just party among them, Chabot specializes in Celestial Ceremonies sure to dazzle. Imagine getting married in the Planetarium on a spot-lit stage beneath a 70-foot dome of gorgeous night sky thick with stars, while your guests sit spellbound in comfortable tiered seats. The Observatory Complex offers incredible a breath of fresh air with stunning views. Your guests will delight in the sunset over surrounding Oakland Hills forests. Join us for our Open House on March 26th to see the Center brought to life for an event, and meet our vendor partners!
Our event spaces
- Astronomy Hall
- Planetarium
- Observatory
- Spees Building
- Courtyard
Chabot Space & Science Center packages
Across the Universe Package
1-241 guests
Peak pricing $10,500-12,900
Off-peak pricing $10,500-12,900
Celebrate a celestial ceremony by getting married on a spot-lit stage beneath the gorgeous night sky thick with stars, while your guests sit spellbound in comfortable tiered seats in the planetarium. Guests enjoy our most popular spots across the museum with cocktail hour on the 2nd Floor of Spees among interactive exhibits, and dinner and dancing in Studio 3: Astronomy Hall. »» Accommodates up to 241 guests »» 2-hour Planetarium rental with 7-hour rental of reception spaces
Written in the Stars
1-241 guests
Peak pricing $8,900-11,500
Off-peak pricing $8,900-11,500
Celebrate throughout the night with dinner, dancing, and drinks among the levels of interactive exhibits and the architectural magnificence of the Spees Building after a starlit ceremony in the Planetarium. »» Accommodates up to 241 guests »» Two levels of exhibits with the outdoor courtyard »» 2-hour Planetarium rental with 7-hour Spees building rental
Moonlight Package
1-175 guests
Peak pricing $7,900-9,900
Off-peak pricing $7,900-9,900
Dazzle your guests with a stunning ceremony at the Chabot Observatory with a view of the sun setting over the surrounding forests. Enjoy dinner, dancing, and toasts in neighboring Studio 3: Astronomy Hall. Guests will have easy access to our three historical telescopes for evening viewings with our astronomers. »» Accommodates up to 200 guests »» Largest contiguous space for reception »» 2-hour Chabot Observatory rental with 7-hour Gruener Astronomy Hall rental
Open Sky Package
1-100 guests
Peak pricing $5,500
Off-peak pricing $5,500
Say your vows at the Chabot Observatory overlooking the majestic redwoods. Watch the sun go down as you wine and dine on the Observation Deck before telescope viewings. »» Accommodates up to 100 guests on Sundays-Thursdays »» 2-hour exclusive Telescope Viewing with 7-hour Observation Deck rental
Available services that can be provided by Chabot Space & Science Center
Services & amenities
- Dressing room / Bridal Suite
- Pet friendly
- Wifi
Transportation & access
- Self parking - free
Reviews
Write a review- Zola (10)
5.0 (10 reviews)
The best venue your guests won’t forget!
Words can express how wonderful it was to have our wedding at Chabot! My husband and I were looking for a venue that was different than your traditional wedding location and Chabot was the perfect place. We booked the “Across the Universe” package which allowed us to have the ceremony in the Planetarium, cocktail hour upstairs & the reception in Astronomy Hall, 3 different places! We were in love with the idea that our guests could enjoy different settings all in the same location. The ability to customize the Planetarium in terms of lights, music & projections allowed us to really personalize the space. We got married October 7, 2023 and Chabot was able to project the sky from October 7, 2016, the day that we met which was super special! We had 150 guests and Astronomy Hall had the perfect amount of space where everyone had enough room to be comfortable to sit down but also move around and dance. We decided to go with their recommended vendors for wedding coordination (Simply Elegant by Diana), catering (Blue Heron), and lighting/DJ services (Verducci Event Productions) which really made the coordination process so easy! The Chabot team, Alex and Chelsea, are very organized and great to work with. They did an amazing job bringing our vision for the wedding to life and we are truly grateful for them! And because they are a non-profit, the rental cost of the venue goes back to fund the center, it was a no brainer for us to choose Chabot! If you’re looking for a unique and fun wedding venue, you will not regret picking the Chabot Space & Science Center!
An out of this world experience!
We are very happy with how our wedding went! Chelsea, Alex, Rasheda, and the rest of the Chabot staff were an absolute joy to work with. They are knowledgeable, professional, and shared our excitement. They guided us on every step of the process from vendor walk throughs of the venue to the lighting and content for the planetarium dome. Their planning packet made helped make the process easy to navigate as well. The venue itself is very beautiful and we would absolutely recommend it for couples who love space or just want a cool location that is different than the norm. Our guests enjoyed mingling in the unique space and interacting with the exabits during cocktail hour. Being in a redwood park, the venue makes a perfect indoor or outdoor wedding location. While we booked an indoor space for our wedding, we absolutely had to use the outdoor spaces at golden hour for a our wedding photos. We can't recommend the Chabot and the wonderfully staff there enough!
The Best Unique Wedding Venue
We could not have asked for a better venue than Chabot. It was such a fun unique space to celebrate in and all of our guests had the best time. It really was one of the coolest experiences ever to have a science museum all to yourself to explore and enjoy with all your friends and family. Getting married in the planetarium was absolutely amazing! Alex and Rashida are wonderful! They were both very helpful during the planning process. Rashida went above and beyond on the day of to make our day perfect. She really cared so much about our happiness and made the day really special. We love Chabot and can’t wait to keep coming back and reminiscing for years and years!
Gem of an Oakland wedding venue
I have shared this review on The Knot and Wedding Wire as well: This venue was a great space for our needs/desires for our wedding: indoor/outdoor space, surrounded by nature but modern/accessible, lots of space for tables, bar, food, dancing, band...the staff was extremely organized, nice and professional. We planned this wedding from France and they were very helpful with everything that comes with planning an event from abroad. Our guests all raved about having access to the telescopes, and the volunteers made it that much more fascinating by going above and beyond with their explanations of what we were gazing at.
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