Bel-Air Bay Club
A 1927 cliffside club in Pacific Palisades, where the Ceremony Lawn and courtyard fountain look straight out over the Pacific — and one of the venues we’ve returned to most often over the years.
A 1927 Mediterranean clubhouse on the Palisades bluffs
Financed by developer Alphonzo Bell as part of the real estate venture that created Bel Air, the Bel-Air Bay Club opened in 1927 and split into two properties on either side of Pacific Coast Highway — the Lower Club, a private beach facility, and the Upper Club, the cliffside clubhouse where weddings are held. Red-tile roofs, white stucco, and wrought-iron details carry the same 1920s Mediterranean character throughout, and the building sits positioned so PCH itself stays out of the ocean sightline from the lawn and terrace.
The cliffside Ceremony Lawn faces west toward Catalina Island for sunset vows, a Spanish-style courtyard patio centers on a multi-tier fountain and outdoor fireplace, and the Grand Living Room — vaulted ceilings, a wall of windows, its own fireplace — doubles as the weather backup. Only one wedding is booked per day, and nine ocean-view guest rooms on-site make it easy to get ready without leaving the property.
A venue we keep coming back to
We’ve photographed weddings at Bel-Air Bay Club many times over the years, including multi-day South Asian celebrations with a Nikkah ceremony held here as one leg of a longer weekend. A few things we’ve learned firsthand: the club requires a Certificate of Insurance naming Bel-Air Bay Club as additionally insured, plus a signed vendor agreement, well before the wedding date, and coordinators ask for an exact vendor headcount in advance so catering can plan meals accordingly. Coordination here almost always runs through a professional wedding planner rather than the couple directly.
Good to know before you book
- COI (min. $1M) naming Bel-Air Bay Club as additionally insured, plus a signed vendor agreement
- In-house catering only, with the one common exception of an outside wedding cake
- Valet parking is required — the on-site lot is limited
- Only one wedding is booked per day
Where we like to shoot
- The cliffside Ceremony Lawn at sunset, facing Catalina Island
- The courtyard patio’s multi-tier fountain and string-lit pergola
- The Grand Living Room’s wall of windows on marine-layer mornings
- The grand staircase and foyer for formal portraits
What couples and guests notice about Bel-Air Bay Club
Named coordinators come up again and again in reviews as going out of their way for couples — a real point of difference from a larger hotel venue.
Guests specifically compliment the food unprompted; the in-house executive chef is a consistent standout.
It sits at the luxury end of LA venues — a peak Saturday commonly runs well into six figures all-in with catering and service charge.
Planning your day at Bel-Air Bay Club
Sample wedding day timelines at Bel-Air Bay Club
The club looks west over the Pacific from the Palisades bluff, so sunset is the fixed point of the day and everything else is planned around it. These are drawn from the weddings we have photographed here, and seven to eight hours is the coverage window couples book most.
Seven to eight hours with a sunset walk-out
- 2:30 PMCoverage begins. Details, then getting ready on both sides in the club's guest rooms.
- 3:30 PMFirst look and couple portraits on the lawn and ocean facing terraces.
- 4:15 PMWedding party and immediate family photographs, then you are tucked away before guests arrive.
- 5:00 PMCeremony on the Ceremony Lawn, with a short buffer built in for guest arrivals.
- 5:30 PMCore family photographs at the ceremony site, kept quick.
- 6:00 PMCocktail hour. Reception room details photographed before guests go in.
- 7:00 PMGrand entrance, first dance, toasts and dinner.
- 7:30 PMAround sunset, a ten to fifteen minute walk-out for the two of you.
- 8:00 PMOpen dancing, with coverage concluding around 10:00 PM.
Seven hours, earlier ceremony and a smaller guest list
- 1:30 PMCoverage begins with details and getting ready.
- 2:30 PMFirst look, plus first looks with family or friends if you want them.
- 3:15 PMPortrait block. Couple, wedding party and immediate family.
- 4:00 PMYou are tucked away. Guest arrivals and ceremony details.
- 4:30 PMCeremony with the ocean behind you.
- 5:00 PMMust-have group photographs, then couple portraits in the late light.
- 5:30 PMCocktail hour on the courtyard patio.
- 6:15 PMReception. Entrance, first dance, toasts and dinner.
- 8:30 PMCoverage concludes after about thirty minutes of dancing.
Two days, a temple ceremony then the club
- Day 1, 8:45 AMArrival at the temple. Exteriors, family arrivals, attire details.
- Day 1, 9:00 AMCeremony, photographed within the temple's guidance on flash and movement.
- Day 1, 10:00 AMFamily formals and a few couple portraits outside, then coverage wraps.
- Day 1, 6:30 PMAn optional evening welcome gathering, often photography only.
- Day 2, 1:30 PMGetting ready at the club, details and attire.
- Day 2, 2:15 PMFirst look on the lawn, then immediate family portraits.
- Day 2, 4:00 PMCeremony or main celebration with the ocean behind you.
- Day 2, 6:00 PMEntrance and dinner, then toasts, first dance and open dancing.
- Day 2, 9:30 PMCoverage concludes.
What is specific to Bel-Air Bay Club
A bluff-top club facing due west, which is both its great advantage and the thing the timeline is built around.
Where couples also photograph nearby
Settings at the club and places along the coast that recur on these wedding days.
- The Ceremony Lawn
- The bluff overlook at sunset
- The courtyard fountain and pergola
- The grand staircase and foyer
- The Grand Living Room windows
- Pacific Palisades bluffs
- Will Rogers State Beach
- St. Matthew's Parish, Pacific Palisades
- Los Angeles temples and churches
Questions couples ask about Bel-Air Bay Club
How many hours of coverage do most couples book?
Seven to eight hours is the common choice and covers getting ready at the club through the first stretch of dancing. Longer windows come up for multi day celebrations, where a temple or church ceremony is covered on a separate day.
When should the ceremony start?
We plan backward from sunset on your date. A ceremony that finishes an hour or so before sunset leaves room for family photographs and still protects the best light for the two of you. In the cooler months, a 4:30 PM ceremony often works well.
What is a sunset walk-out?
A short break during the reception, usually ten to fifteen minutes, when we take you outside for portraits in the last of the light. Guests barely notice, and it produces the frames the club is known for.
Should we build in a buffer before the ceremony?
Yes. A five to fifteen minute buffer between the invitation time and the processional keeps everything after it on time.
Can we get ready at the club?
Yes, and both sides can. The club has ocean-view guest rooms, which removes travel from the day and gives us the ocean light for the getting ready coverage.
We are having a church or temple ceremony elsewhere. Does that change the timeline?
Mainly at the start. If the ceremony is the same day, coverage begins there, family formals happen there, and portraits at the club fit into the window before guests arrive. If it is on a different day, we plan it as its own shorter coverage.