Camron-Stanford House

We had our wedding and reception here on the afternoon of June 20, 2015 and had a wonderful experience.
The house and garden were beautiful and authentically victorian, very well kept, and picturesque. Inside the house we were allowed use of a sitting room (which we used a bridal ready room), and the spacious basement area. We had our ceremony and reception out in the yard/​garden and on the very large veranda. In the afternoon, the large eucalyptus tree kept the whole garden and yard shaded and comfortable. We had over 100 guests, which were easily accommodated.
The head docent, Ann Swift, was outstanding, a real delight to work with. She helped us out frequently, even accommodating unannounced visits by us to check on something, take measurements, show the place to vendors, etc. She was also on hand the entire day of the wedding (about 10 hours or so including set-​up, the ceremony, and clean up) to offer support. The Camron-​Stanford house is also very flexible about vendors and caterers. We were able to use any caterer we liked, rather than working from a list of approved vendors.
The parking lot at the house was also made available for our exclusive use (about 20 cars can fit), and was patrolled by a guard provided by the Camron-​Stanford house. Very handy for vendors and caterers, etc. There is also a (cheap) parking lot about two blocks away on Jefferson St. and the Lake Merritt BART station is a short walk from the house.
We really can’t compliment the Camron-​Stanford House enough. The house is gorgeous, the people are wonderful, the location is fantastic, and we were treated exceptionally well. And the cost to rent the venue was very reasonable, and much less than many places without half the perks. If you’re getting married in the east bay, check this place out.

My boyfriend and I went there today for their latest exhibit, Morbid Desire. It was a very informative and entertaining experience. I absolutely loved it! The Victorian house has been lovingly restored to its original grandeur of the 1800s. Amazing how much of the restoration that happened in the 1970s is totally amazing like etched glass windows.
The exhibit itself was very informative. There are actual mourning dresses on display as well as the accessories worn. Interesting that some of the jewelry worn during mourning had human hair woven in it as a way to feel closer to loved ones who died and are still alive.
I did not know that there were three transitions for women who were in mourning. First transition was when the women wore all black. Second transition was when the woman would wear black with some other color and/​or shiny black. Third transition was when women wore all purple and that meant that she was going to be available to remarry again. Interesting!
Pros:
–lovingly restored Victorian house with historical significance
–variety of events and exhibits throughout the year — present exhibit is — Morbid Desire (all about the significance of death and fashion in Victorian times)
–informative staff that seem to enjoy sharing what they know about the house and Victorian history
Cons:
–too bad not the whole house has been restored and open to guests. Apparently, the third floor where the bedrooms were are used for offices. From what I heard today, there has not been enough funding to include that part in the restoration.

My wife and I recently held our wedding here, and it was a wonderful experience. Not only is it a gorgeous venue, but the coordinator, Ann, is an absolute delight to work with and be around!
The grounds are bigger than they would seem, and fit our guests with plenty of room to spare. They have tables and chairs already, and a wonderful lighting set-​up. Ann helped us decide our layout and gave us plenty of helpful recommendations for vendors (but you’re totally allowed to use any vendors you choose). The whole experience was one of the smoothest and easiest parts of our wedding planning, and was quite affordable to boot! I would definitely recommend it to anyone for their event.

We got married here last week and couldn’t have had a better experience! The venue was beautiful and Ann was great to work with. The venue is also affordable but just keep in mind that you have to bring everything in yourself (rentals, staff etc.). We really loved our wedding, the lighting is beautiful and the space of the venue made it great for the kids to run around as well!

They have tours I believe once a month, so try to catch them. It’s cool going inside this house. The only bummer is that you can’t take photos. LAME…
There’s also an annual FREE garden tour that I missed because I was out of town…

We got married at the Camron-​Stanford House in June 2013, and we couldn’t have asked for a better venue. We wanted a place in Oakland that would feel homey and low-​key but still offer beautiful views of the city we love. The prices were very competitive for the East Bay, Ann was delightful (and so was her adorable corgi), and the setting was lovely (amazing view of Lake Merritt from one of Oakland’s most historic buildings).
We had the ceremony on the balcony, then had the guests carry their chairs down to the lawn and gardens where we had dinner. We also set up a dance floor outside in the garden and the guests rocked the dance floor until it was too dark to see. The house was able to accommodate a food truck (Chairman Bao), which was a fun and convenient way to cater the wedding. The guests enjoyed the house, including the docent-​led tours of the period rooms, and when the weather turned unseasonably sour everyone crowded into the house for whiskey tasting!
Overall, we had a very positive experience. We recommend it for anyone looking for a low-​key (mostly) outdoor wedding with all the charms of Oakland.

The house is beautiful, our wedding reception was lovely, the location is great. Those are the only nice things I have to say about the Camron-​Stanford house.
The staff is incompetent, disorganized, unhelpful and intentionally dishonest. We worked with Neshtor (who I am SHOCKED still has a job) who promised us things he had no intention of delivering on, told us to ignore parts of the contract as they were «out of date» only to demand money for them after we agreed to rent the space, made up fees that were nowhere in the agreement we signed (example: asking for an additional $ 500 deposit for «the house» three days before the wedding when it was never mentioned before and was nowhere in our contract) and then refusing to return our full deposit because of a typo in our agreement that he had acknowledged was a typo three days before.
I would never recommend renting this venue because of how poorly it is run. Its gorgeous and our guests loved it, but it was nowhere near worth the kind of headache and heartache we went through dealing with these awful, incompetent people. There are lots of gorgeous venues in Oakland, and I strongly suggest you choose another one.

Great place to rent to have a party. We had our wedding reception here and it was perfect. A functional kitchen to warm up or finish off food items was an added bonus since we had a potluck. The price to rent was super reasonable.

I remember as a youngster coming here to look at the stuffed animals and birds habitating here. there’s been a venue change. this historical landmark is now home to a trio of attorneys at law.
(comment seif-​edited to avoid legal action)
it’s nice to see the owners of this nice property retain the integrity of the historical landmark and receive some renumeration for their efforts.
win-​win.

I’d love to give this place a better review, but it is hard to give a place any stars when they never let you give them their business.
I called and emailed them 4 times and had my mom try twice but no one ever called either of us back. We would have loved to hold our wedding in Oakland in the last Victorian left standing around Lake Merritt, but it looks like they don’t want our help in maintaining history.
Edited 11÷2÷2009: Evidently they have hired a new person to be in charge of events who is more responsive.

The lady that works/​runs the museum at the Camron Stanford House has been living in Oakland for a long time and has many personal Oakland stories dating back to the 1920s. She even shows you a photo taken at the Oakland docks with her late husband in it!!! How cool is that?!? The one down side is that the lady will keep you there with her stories for like 3 hours. Be prepared to invest a chunk of time here if you go. If you are at all interested in Oakland’s history, it’s definitely worth it.