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Gypsy and other Napa/Sonoma brides

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LtlFirecracker

LtlFirecracker

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I am looking for recommendations for ceremony/reception venues in CA Wine Country. I know Gypsy got married there, and I remember the wedding was very much my style.

Any suggestions would be great, I got some leads, but I am going up there this week, so I got to figure this out fast.
 
Gypsy didn't actually get married in the "traditional" CA wine country...she was in the East Bay (Livermore/Pleasanton area) which is southeast of Oakland.

But if you are willing to not be in Napa/Sonoma and further south you could check out Wente Vineyards, Deer Ridge, and Garre Winery. Gypsy got married at one of those...can't remember which one it was but I am sure she'll pop on and tell you! They are all beautiful locations and I would venture to guess a heck of a lot cheaper than Napa.

We got married in SF and it was beautiful-Fort Mason park overlooking the GG bridge. Just in case you decide to go for a city wedding!
 
Hi LF,

FI and I are getting married in June at Healdsburg Country Gardens. It''s a beautiful venue (private estate). A little pricey but the perks are bringing in all of your own vendors and no corkage fee for wine etc.

We also looked at Cornerstone Gardens in Sonoma (but they had a list of caterers to choose from and a corkeage...yadda yadda), Beltane Ranch--a beautiful B&B, Churchill Manor B&B...we didn''t actually look into wineries because I really wanted to drink my favorite wines and not have to pay a premium to do so.

...and Yes Gypsy''s wedding was beautiful!

Oh and Murrietta''s Well (which is Wente owned) was another option I was considering because of the rustic barn feel, but we didn''t like the fact that the parking lot was right in front of the reception area.

Anyway, I''ve gotten a lot of help with referrals and suggestions from PS so I''m sure you''ll find this forum as helpful as I have in wedding planning!
 
My bff got married at Auberge du Soleil in St. Helena - she had Dee Merz as her wedding planner and used Adeline and Grace, too!

Everything was STUNNING.
 
Date: 12/22/2009 1:05:19 AM
Author: sillyberry
My bff got married at Auberge du Soleil in St. Helena - she had Dee Merz as her wedding planner and used Adeline and Grace, too!

Everything was STUNNING.
Click to expand...
Too funny. I guess that is what you get when you hire a really expensive planner.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. I am open to other areas other than wine county, I just know I want the wedding in N Cal. I will look at all of these options when I get home from work tonight.
 
I think as neatfreak noted, you will generally find locations outside of traditional Napa/Sonoma wine country to be somewhat less expensive. The East Bay is a good option, but you could also consider the following additional off-the-beaten-path areas:

- Russian River valley wine country - its a little more rustic/less developed than Sonoma, which is in turn less developed than Napa, but has some stunning areas, and lovely wineries.

- Mendocino coast - a little further North, so more of a drive outside San Francisco, but breathtaking natural beauty along the coastline and in that whole area
 
Why does it always take so long to pack!!!! I didn''t get a chance to look into anything tonight, oh well, I know I need to get to CA first ;-).

These are such great suggestions. I love the fact there are other N. Cal brides who were on a budget. I didn''t get any of this information from looking at the wedding sites.

I will have lot to look into over the Christmas weekend.
 
Firecracker, what's your budget and what are you looking for? I got married at Hans fahden vineyards in northern napa valley, it has a lovely English garden feel and is not as $$$ as some wine country venues, but still not exactly inexpensive. But you can bring your own wine there, which is nice. We also liked the Kunde venue on a beautiful hilltop in Sonoma, but it really does depend on what you are looking for. Mendocino is also really beautiful in a fog-encrusted CA coast way but it is far for guests to drive, far for you to drive for planning purposes if you live somewhere in the regular portions of the bay area. Our friends just decided to have a closer wedding after spending forever kicking around various Mendocino options.

Anyhoo, congrats and good luck!
 
I'm getting married in St. Helena at a [Removed by Moderator -personal blogs not allowed. Please follow our policies when using the forums.] but I didn't visit many venues before choosing mine. I would recommend looking at Nicholson Ranch (in the Carneros region on the Sonoma side) and V. Sattui, both venues are beautiful and wedding friendly. Please keep us posted on how your selection process goes, it will be nice to know another Napa bride in waiting :)
 
If you''re on a budget my photographer is fantastic and very reasonably priced. A few other PS brides used her too after me and had wonderful experiences as well.

She''s so sweet too-we''re still in touch and she just came to my twins'' 1st birthday party this week and made a beautiful slideshow for us. She''s awesome.

http://www.elleyphotography.com/

Do you know what your budget is like? Obviously we are giving you a HUGE range of options from inexpensive places outside of Napa to the Auberge du Soleil ($$$$). It would help to know what kind of budget you''re working with to help narrow down the suggestions for you.
 
My Dad is actually going to be able to help me much more than I anticipated.

I have about 25k to play with.

I am open to a Friday night wedding, especially since I want a smaller wedding and a lot of the places I looked at have high minimums on a Saturday night.

I will look up that photographer for sure.

I can't believe the twins are one already!!!!

ETA: I know that 25k may not sound like a budget, but thought I had less, and some of these sights charge 8-10k just to rent it, which is crazy to me!
 
Hi LT, I got married at Deer Ridge Vineyards in Livermore. We looked in Napa and Sonoma, but found we could get more in Livermore and outside Napa.

My florist is a doll: www.floraldesigner.com and my photographer rocked (though Neatfreak''s is amazing as well. So was Violet02''s) www.artofemotion.com .

Deer Ridge was great and beautiful. The wines were also fantastic. You can tell the owners Cherie and Lyle that Layla said hi if you visit, they were really nice. They justg changed caterers for the facility, but Haps, which catered my wedding had fantastic food.

We had a Sunday wedding. Totally recommend it. And we had 68 final count. The facilty is perfect for a wedding of that size or slightly larger. It''s really one that needs to be seen to be appreciated.

Yelp anywhere you want to consider.

Between me and Violet02, Goldenstar, and Neatfreak we can help you find whatever you need. Just drop a page and I''ll keep an eye out.
 
We also considered a wine country wedding- two places we really liked were Viansa and Auberge du Soleil. I would *highly* recommend checking out Auberge. It''s surprisingly more affordable than many people think, the ceremony space is SO gorgeous (the view is incredible), the food is spectacular. Had we felt more confident about people flying out to CA, we would have booked with them in a heartbeat.

I''ve also heard good things about many of the other places mentioned above, but we only visited for a long weekend, so we only considered Viansa and Auberge.
 
Thanks all,

I got a few Napa/Sonomas on my list -

Hans Fahden Vinyards

The Meritage Resort and Spa

The Lodge at Sonoma - They have a package deal that is very tempting


Of all the places outside of napa, the Deer Ridge winery was my favorite, so that is on my list. The thing is most of my guests are OTT guests. I am from North Cal, but I have lived in several different places and FI is from AZ. So I was thinking Friday night wedding and than offer to arrange a wine tasting tour on Saturday for anyone who was willing to do that.

Ms Googles, I will check out Auberge, I missed that one somehow.

I think my plan is to look into the photographers today, tomorrow I am heading out to wine country to see the venues in person. Gyspy, I will keep those florists on my list too.

Thanks for you help everyone, I would not have gotten this far without all the nice responses.
 
I hope I''m not too late to be helpful with this. We just got married in Sonoma a month ago. It was FABULOUS! Our venue was the Viansa Winery and I can''t say enough about how gorgeous it was. They supply a day of coordinator and she was the best. Photog was Jason Bennett who took amazing shots, was great to work with, and who gave us a great price. Florist was Brice at Vantal Florist - they imported Peonies from NZ for me because it was the #1 most important detail to me. Cake was by Fleur De Lisa cakes and was gorgeous and delish!

We and all of our guests stayed at the Lodge at Sonoma. They upgraded us to a cottage for free and gave our guests a great rate. Honestly I wouldn''t change a thing. We planned everything from a distance and our great vendors didn''t let us down.

Good luck - you will have an amazing wedding in Napa/Sonoma!
 
pugsmama - thank you it is not too late as I am looking now.

Today was stressful. All of the sales reps work from Tues-Sat, so I mostly drove around today. I saw almost every place you guys listed, and they are all beautiful. Tomorrow, I am hoping to make some apts first thing in the morning and get some formal tours. I hate having so little time.
 
This isn''t much of a help, maybe, but if you do end up getting married in Healdsburg/Sonoma...

If you''re looking for a place to stay up there, the Grape Leaf Inn is the most fabulous B&B ever, and I loved every second I spent there. The food was freaking phenomenal every day, and we felt so welcome! We were there on our honeymoon, and I was half serious when I asked Richard (owner) if I could just move in!

Just a totally unsolicited recommendation! Feel free to disregard ;)
 
Thanks for your help everyone. I have it between two places. One of the places was recommended by one of you ladies and I would have never looked at it without the recommendation because it is a bit further out than napa/sonoma.

I am settling on one for a Friday night ceremony. I am just running the final numbers to make sure it would work.

I kind of want to announce it, but I am worried about putting my wedding date (on the BIW list) and venue on the same public forum. Is that stupid?
 
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