I''m stumped...So Cal Winter Wedding

[Alison P]

Hi everyone - I''m the one who had a bridezillla moment and wanted to make all my guests come to a cerremony one day at wayfarer''s Chapel and then drive back 2 and a half hours to Palm Desert for the reception. I knew I was on the wrong track when someone said, "I think you should do it, it''s all about you anyway. Who cares about the guests." My dad jokingly mentioned he couldn''t wait to go broke so that every guest could have a miserable time driving all over the Calfiornia freeways. Funny. And maybe sadly true.

So, with some sadness, I''m choosing between Wayfarers and ???probably La Venta??? and $85/head all inclusive deal at a Golf Course out here that my fiance works at. Better than a family and guest revolt! Can anyone give me some answers to the following:

1. Has anyone been to a wedding at La Venta in Palos Verdes? Is the two room thing wierd? What about the music level? We have a great band lined up but I''m not sure about the non-amplified sound system that run through the house speakers. No outside speakers allowed. Opinions?

2. The weddings the 2nd or 3rd of January. What are my chances of it being foggy or raining there this time of year? Has anyone been to a winter wedding at Wayfarer''s Chapel or an ocean side winter wedding in general? What''s it like?

I''ve always wanted to get married in nature around the ocean, so it''s hard to let it go. The desert may just be a smarter option though. Any feedback would be sooooo appreciated!

 

[noelwr]

sorry I can''t give you any tips, but I love SoCal and jealous that you''re getting married there. no way to push your wedding date to spring?

 

[Alison P]

Spring is beautiful out here, but January is pretty much a set thing. His parents have tickets to come out for a month already...

 

[Alison P]

Maybe I''ll add some visuals for those people who have no idea the places I''m referring to...

 

[Alison P]

La Venta, Palos Verdes


http://youtube.com/watch?v=zQ66OrIYm10&feature=related

 

[Alison P]

Wayfarer''s Chapel, Palos Verdes




http://www.wayfarerschapel.org/

 

[Alison P]

Indian Wells Golf Resort (Palm Desert Area)



http://www.indianwellsgolfresort.com/sites/courses/layout9.asp?id=315&page=7537

 

[Gypsy]

The knot local boards, project wedding, and yelp might help you. Good luck!

 

[Selkie]

I''ve never been to La Venta, so I can''t help you there. I do live about 10 miles from Wayfarers, on the coast. January can be beautiful here, sunny and clear, but it also is more likely to rain in the winter months. However, if it''s raining here, it''s most likely raining across SoCal. I don''t think I''d let the possibility of rain stop me from getting married there. Check out the wedding weather planner on www.weather.com, it will give you historical weather info for your wedding date.

 

[Alison P]

Thanks for the weather planner - I''ll check that out.

 

[rockzilla]

One of my best friends had her wedding at Wayfarer''s and reception at La Venta this past January, so I may be the right person to ask about this!

Everything was so beautiful...my fiance and I were not yet engaged at this point, and we found ourselves (Jokingly, of course!) saying to ourselves "well, this one is going to be the one to beat!"

To answer your questions:

1. I didn''t find the multiple room thing to be weird at all - it was slightly difficult to see the toasts depending on where you were sitting, but that is always going to happen to some extent when you have round tables, etc. Music level was fine, no problems with their speaker system.

2. Weather that time of year is always going to be iffy - her wedding turned out beautifully (I''ll try to post some non-identifying photos) but the weekend before would have been foggy/rainy. Luckily both locations are technically indoors, so even if you don''t get the same pictures, you won''t really have to worry about rain.

 

[rockzilla]

la venta set up - they also did the cake

 

[rockzilla]

Final photo - here is the view from la venta. I am limited in what I can post b/c I don''t want to put up pictures of my friends.

Like I said, if you are concerned at all about la venta, they did a really fantastic job. Food was amazing.

RZ

 

[rockzilla]

oops one more

PS apparently the costs for La Venta in jan were MUCH lower than regular...make sure you ask about this

 

[MustangGal]

If you''re still considering Palm Desert, I might be able to make some suggestions. Indian Wells is nice, we looked at it for our wedding, but the prices were a little high compared to other golf clubs. We got married at Montery CC in 2001 (ceremony on the golf course, reception in the club house) it looks like an old Spanish mansion. Some of the other places we liked were Desert Willow (beautiful patio on the back for a ceremony location), the Marriot Desert Springs is alwars nice, La Quinta CC, Westin Mission Hills, and my BIL got married at Heritage Palms. There''s tons of locations in the desert, and you really don''t have to worry about the weather, since it only rains a couple days a year, and even then not for very long!

Good luck!

 

[MustangGal]

Here''s a pic of Montery CC in September 2001...

Just ignore us in the front

, you can see the pretty lake and mountian views

 

[Alison P]

Wow! Thanks everyone for such GREAT feedback. I can''t say how much I appreciate it!

What luck to get pictures of La Venta in Winter!! Risky weather wise, but beautiful. I think I''m going to get final pricing from both places. That may help in the process...

THANKS AGAIN!!

 

[Vote4PedroToo]

It''ll be beautiful no matter what.

 

[luckyfish]

Hi Alison! Just wanted to give you my two cents.

I''ve been to a wedding at La Venta Inn. It''s beautiful, but I really didn''t like the split dining room. From where I was sitting, I couldn''t even see most of the other guests, much less the couple. As for the two-room thing, my husband and I actually got married at Verandas (New York Food Company''s other property) where there is also a dance floor in a separate room. At first I didn''t think it would be that great, but it actually worked really well for controlling the flow of the event. Even though the views aren''t as nice, I really preferred Verandas over La Venta because the dining room isn''t divided like La Venta''s, and the dance floor has lounge furniture and a lot of room for cocktail tables so that guests can dance or sit. Also, New York Food Company is AMAZING, and they do really excellent work on their events. I loved our coordinator.

As for a January wedding by the beach, I think it''s generally not rainy until mid- to late January in SoCal, but it can still be pretty COLD. We went to our tasting at La Venta Inn in January and I had to wear a thick coat the entire time. Also, we had our wedding in March and our ceremony was in the outdoor garden at Verandas (which is also near the beach) and it was really cold and extremely windy.

All that said and despite the weather, our wedding was still beautiful and my best day. Your wedding will be perfect no matter what the winter weather brings, and PV is a beautiful location to have a wedding no matter what time of year. Good luck with your planning!

 

[zoebartlett]

I haven't been to any of the venues, but hands down, I'd choose Wayfarer's Chapel. It's gorgeous, and it's a little more unique than the other venues (at least to me). The others are very nice too, but Wayfarer's Chapel is my favorite.

ETA: Okay, I think I misunderstood you first post. I think you're trying to decide either between 1) the golf course for the ceremony and the reception OR 2) the Wayfarer's Chapel for the ceremony and La Venta for the reception. I'd still go with Wayfarer's and La Venta. I originally thought you were trying to decide between three places, but now I see that Wayfarer's would only be used for the ceremony.

 

[noelwr]

ceremony definitely at Wayfarer''s Chapel! it looks beautiful.

I don''t like that La Venta place at all. but this opinion just comes from your youtube posting. it looks like the view outside is nice, but if it gets dark early in the winter and your guests can''t enjoy that view it looks like they won''t be able to enjoy the view of the other guests either as there are multiple rooms and walls!

the golf course you posted... that''s the one your FI works at? unfortunately no photos of what it would look like inside but usually club houses have fancy interiors. if it''s near the Chapel and you like it, go for it.

definitely don''t do the 2 day wedding or 2 hr drive thing. you''ll lose people. some will go to one and not the other.

 

[DMBsGirl]

the wayfarer''s chapel looks magical!