Notes on the light
The Forum sits on the bluff at Scripps Institution of Oceanography with its lawn facing west, Scripps Pier just to the north and open ocean to the horizon. The sun goes down into open water in every month of the year. In June it sets toward the far end of the pier; by December it has moved south, landing just to the right of the La Jolla headland. Either way the last light comes straight across the water and onto the lawn.
The spaces, and how they film
The Lawn. The ceremony space, on the edge of the bluff. A patio, then roughly thirty feet of grass to the edge of the bluff, so the widest frames come from the patio and the glass wall looking west.
The Auditorium. A fan-shaped room of warm wood with a glass wall to the ocean, and the indoor room in every wedding rental. It seats two hundred at dinner, and toasts given in front of the glass are backlit until dark.
Nearby, the beach by the pier. A public beach rather than part of the rental. For Gina and Jeff the portraits were made on the sand beside the pier, which puts the pier, the bluffs and the water in the same frame.
The film, so far
We have made one film here: Gina & Jeff, with portraits at the waterline by the pier and a dance in the Forum beside its glass wall.
Filming here
The sound rules are strict. Music stays under seventy-five decibels inside and out, so toasts record cleanly over a quiet room. The bluff is the opposite: it is exposed to wind and surf, so the officiant and the couple are on microphones for the ceremony. Confetti, petals in the aisle, sparklers and fog are all restricted here, so we plan the exit shot around something else, for example the walk back up from the edge of the lawn.
Have you filmed a wedding at Scripps Seaside Forum before?+
Yes. Gina and Jeff’s wedding film was made there, and you can watch it on this page.
Can you fly a drone at Scripps Seaside Forum?+
Only with advance approval from the university. The rules require an FAA Part 107 certified pilot and a drone-specific liability policy, and flights over the pier are not allowed. We hold the Part 107 certificate. Tell us early and we will start the approval well ahead of the day.
When is sunset there?+
About eight in late June, a little after six in mid-October, and before five in late December. The sun sets over open ocean all year, so we build the timeline around it.
Do you travel to La Jolla for weddings?+
Yes. San Diego County is part of our regular Southern California coverage, alongside Orange County and Los Angeles.
Planning notes, and the eight o’clock rule
Checked October 2026
The Forum is a university venue and runs like one. The rules are published, specific and enforced, and the one that shapes a summer wedding most is the time the music outside has to stop.
- How it is rented
- Fridays to Sundays only, one wedding a day, from two until ten for five thousand five hundred dollars. An hour to eleven adds a thousand. It arrives empty: tables, chairs and linens come in with your vendors, and the event manager is not a coordinator. 2026 handbook
- Guest count
- Two hundred and twenty is the published ceiling for a wedding. The auditorium seats two hundred at dinner. The lawn has no published capacity of its own, and older listings quoting two hundred overall are out of date.
- Food and drink
- Catering comes from the Forum’s approved list, with no exceptions. You may supply your own alcohol, but the licensed bar service is the one that pours it.
- Sound
- Outdoor music ends at eight. Volume stays under seventy-five decibels, and the side doors stay closed. The doors facing the ocean may stay open.
- Getting there
- Guests park in the campus lots closest to the Forum on a digital permit, about ten dollars on weekends and evenings. Vendors load in at the loading zone, never on Kennel Way.
- Where the eight o’clock rule meets the light
- In late June the sun goes down at about eight, the same minute the outdoor music stops, so sunset portraits that month mean a short break from dinner. From September on, sunset arrives well before the cutoff and the best light lands on the ceremony or the cocktail hour instead.
Rental terms, capacities, sound rules and catering from the Forum’s 2026 wedding handbook, its rates chart and the Scripps Venue Rentals pages. Parking from the venue’s September 2026 parking sheet. Drone rules from UC San Diego’s published requirements for visiting photographers. Sunset times are calculated for La Jolla. Confirm all of it with the venue.
