Oh, those Victorians were so smart. They new that in…
Wedding Wednesday: Locations
The hunt for a wedding venue continues! Jean and Trent are looking for a low-key, fairly inexpensive ($1,000 to $2,500) place that would seat 100. In Northern California, near an airport and hotels. And ideally, in a wooded area, near the ocean and/or mission style.
Here’s what I’ve found so far:
La Perla Del Mar – A sweet little mission style church and reception hall in Shell Beach near our hometown and the ocean.
Lucie Stern Community Center – Another mission-style venue, this time further north in Palo Alto.
Mission on the Hill – In Vacaville – near Trent’s hometown – and with very few details on the site. Looks pretty though.
Oz Farm – Expensive, but a lovely farm location up in Mendocino.
Mountain Home Inn – I’ve had lunch here before – pretty fancy – but a nice location up on Mount Tam in Marin. Here are other outdoor wedding sites in the region.
Presidio – San Francisco’s own woodland, ocean-facing, historical area. We have friends who were married in the little chapel by the cemetery and had their reception at the log cabin. It’s nice because you’re in the city, but it is an open space with lots of parking.
Know of any other hot locations we should be considering?
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How funny – I grew up in Vacaville (my sister still lives there) yet it took reading a blog while I sit at home in Louisiana to learn about a place in my hometown I didn’t even know existed! Pretty crazy, don’t you think?
It does look pretty. Of you’d like, I can see if my sister or any of her friends are aware of it and get their thoughts on it.
We got married at the Firehouse at Fort Mason. Super affordable and perfect for a more casual wedding. And it’s right on the water, with a great view of Alcatraz. For a sit-down dinner their suggested limit is 90 or so. We had 87, and figured we could have easily had at least one more table comfortably. And caterers usually have some creative ideas for fitting more people in. The other good thing about the FH is that you can bring in your own catering and alcohol.
I’m getting married at the UC Berkeley Faculty Club in June. It’s affordable – they set up the ceremony outside on the lawn (surrounded by trees and shielded from other buildngs on campus), then have the reception inside and on the veranda.
My friend got married in Stern Grove and it was a great wedding for about 100 people. They were able to bring their own beer & wine, which saved a ton on money. The ceremony was in the grove and the reception in the clubhouse. It was one of the best wedding venues I've been to. I had trouble finding much info online, but looks like you can rent the clubhouse and the surrounding outside area for just under $1200.
Try parks.sf.gov
Treasure Island?
They are all lovely. I’m not sure if you’ve check out Mills College in Oakland, but my MIL went there, and they have some gorgeous spaces!
you might want to call on your local convention and visitors bureau they have all sorts of information. or you might want to contact your local mpi group. (they are meeting planners and would probably know of some other locations)
Stern Grove is so pretty and very affordable. Also, I recently attended a wedding (also Mexican themed) in Pacifica at the Pedro Point Firehouse (http://www.pedropoint.org/) — it was lovely, near the ocean, and *super*-affordable! The venue is a bit of a blank slate, so the bride’s family dressed it up with Mexican blankets, custom bride and groom pinatas, and lots of papel picados.
I would hate to discourage you from looking at the Vacaville location-but I’ve seen it and it’s a very pretty building, but not exactly a picturesque location. We have a lot of family in Vacaville, so I’ve driven by it a number of times. The website makes it look pretty good though! Our venue is a little more rural, but I just love it. Taber Ranch in Capay.
Tell them to look into Tiburon, CA which is about 10 minutes north of the Golden Gate Bridge. It’s BEAUTIFUL! Here’s a link to my friend’s wedding there last summer at Old St. Hillary’s Church.
Best of luck!
http://megperotti.com/blog/?p=561
I am not familiar with Northern CA at all being from Boston but we visited San Francisco a few years ago to go to a wedding at the Brazilion Room in Tilden Park, Berkeley. It was a great wedding, nice patio outside for the ceremony and cocktail time and then the room inside had lots of windows overlooking the trees/mtns. It was a really pretty setting!
Morro Bay has very pretty sites, I know the Inn there is lovely. There is also something in Avila for weddings, but I’m not sure of the name.
fyi, Stern Grove is 1240 for 5 hours. They book 2 time slots per day, 10a-4p and 5p-10p. They are having a really bad mosquito problem right now, but the Trocadero is a cute victorian building. There is a nice redwood grove where the ceremony can be held.
There is a really cute lodge outside of Tahoe on Highway 50. We were thinking about doing our wedding there. Site fee is $1500.
http://www.strawberry-lodge.com/
I meant to comment when you posted this, but forgot.
I attended a wedding in Moraga last September and it was absolutely beautiful!
http://www.moraga.ca.us/production/moraga_hacienda.php
My friends (both of whom are young, so I expect it’s not too expensive) had their ceremony in a beautiful open outdoor amphitheater and we all feasted on a buffet of fresh Mexican food. They had servers making tortillas right then and there…it was magical. I highly recommend it.
Hey, I'm in that hunt too for what sounds like a similar venue. The city of Oakland has a few community center/lodges in park settings up in the hills. I like the Sequoia Lodge, it is has a unique and charming design, wrap around deck, sunken fireplace, kitchen facilities, etc. It might be a little small for what you're looking for…just check it out. The oakland airport is pretty convenient from there.