Recommend Napa Venues!

[Ms.Goggles]

Hi everyone! This is my first BWW post- my FI & I were engaged on the 18th! We live in Chicago but love the idea of a small destination wedding. Although we''ve never been, we really think Napa might be the place for us. We''ve booked a long weekend in February to go out & do some wine tasting & scope out some venues. Right now the only place on our list is Auberge du Soleil, which looks gorgeous in the pictures we''ve seen, gets good reviews from its brides & is supposed to have amazing food. My only concern is that the actual space for the wedding ceremony might be too small. Our guest list will probably be around 40-50 people, which I know is small in & of itself but I don''t want us all to have to be crammed together.

We have a moderate budget so we can''t go over the top. Does anyone have any recommendations for a small, gorgeous Napa wedding?

Are there any Auberge du Soleil brides here who can share their experiences? Thanks!

 

[FacetFire]

Hi there and welcome to BWW! Congrats on your engagement! My hubby and I honeymooned in Napa and actually stayed at Auberge. It was lovely and the food was very good, but for the money I wasn''t overly impressed...it''s very expensive. Where do they hold ceremonies? I''m having trouble picturing a natural spot for a ceremony there.

We did eat dinner at a restaurant called 25 Brix, which had fantastic food and I could totally see a wedding there! When we were there, they were hosting a rehersal dinner on the patio/garden and I remember thinking that I wished we had gotten married there. http://www.25degreesbrix.com/privatedining/spaces/

Where are you staying on your long weekend? In addition to Auberge, we also stayed at the Milliken Creek Inn, and I thought it was a fantastic value! I want to go back so badly! http://www.millikencreekinn.com/

Let me know if you have any questions, happy to help! (And a little jealous!)

 

[Ms.Goggles]

Thanks FacetFire! Wow, your ring is stunning I must say!

I hope we have a good experience there- we''re going out specifically to check out this place so I hope it won''t be a "waste," though I doubt it will be just for the fact that we need a mini-getaway! I think we''re going to try to do lunch at Auberge to test out their food when the prices are a little lower. Do you have any other restaurant recommendations besides 25 Brix? I want to make reservations soon!

They hold ceremonies on the terrace at Auberge which, I believe, is below the restaurant level. There''s a rounded area that juts out a little further than the rest of the terrace & it has the same view as the rooms & the restaurant. They say you can have 75 people seated. Their food & beverage minimum is $9500 but that is probably how much we would be spending in Chicago & I have to assume the food will be better than the catering companies we''ll find out here! Plus, with a smaller guest list we will be able to enjoy a little bit more & go a little more decadent.

We definitely wouldn''t be able to afford to stay at Auberge, though I''d probably try to get FI to splurge for a night or two. I was just looking at Milliken creek earlier because of a special my soon to be SIL sent me, but they are out of our price range.

We actually don''t have lodging booked yet for our long weekend- it''s a long story but we had to cancel the reservation we made due some issues with the B&B owner.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Have you considered Sonoma as well? Its right nearby, but a little less touristy and built-up than Napa (every bit as gorgeous though), but because its not quite as built up it tends to be more reasonably priced.

I know if you go by the Sonoma Visitor''s Center at Viansa Winery when you are driving in they should be able to give you info about possible sites in Wine Country for weddings - my DH and I considered a wedding up there and we found their listing to be extremely helpful.

If you do go to Sonoma, highly recommend the Girl and the Fig and the El Dorado Kitchen for food - both excellent, and pretty reasonable compared to a lot of the fancier places over in Napa.

 

[Mediterranean]

The Auberge is gorgeous, but expensive. Do you know how many people, roughly, will be on your guest list? Are you strictly limited to Napa, or would Sonoma or St. Helena be OK, too?

I went to a wedding over the summer which was held at a winery in Sonoma called Sebastiani. It was absolutely beautiful, they had their reception in "the wine cave" and the ceremony out in vineyards. Relatively small wedding...about 70 people. The food was wonderful.

The weekend we were out there, FI and i did a little bit of exploring on our own too and visited a place called "Hans Fahden Vineyards" which was breathtaking...also fabulous food. I think that was in Calistoga, though, and not Napa. I don''t know if they do weddings.

Maybe they have websites? It would be a start, anyway. I think that area of the country is BEAUTIFUL. Your wedding will be amazing no matter what, it''s just such a lovely, romantic setting.

 

[FacetFire]

Date: 1/9/2009 7:42:53 PM
Author: Ms.Goggles
Thanks FacetFire! Wow, your ring is stunning I must say!

I hope we have a good experience there- we''re going out specifically to check out this place so I hope it won''t be a ''waste,'' though I doubt it will be just for the fact that we need a mini-getaway! I think we''re going to try to do lunch at Auberge to test out their food when the prices are a little lower. Do you have any other restaurant recommendations besides 25 Brix? I want to make reservations soon!

They hold ceremonies on the terrace at Auberge which, I believe, is below the restaurant level. There''s a rounded area that juts out a little further than the rest of the terrace & it has the same view as the rooms & the restaurant. They say you can have 75 people seated. Their food & beverage minimum is $9500 but that is probably how much we would be spending in Chicago & I have to assume the food will be better than the catering companies we''ll find out here! Plus, with a smaller guest list we will be able to enjoy a little bit more & go a little more decadent.

We definitely wouldn''t be able to afford to stay at Auberge, though I''d probably try to get FI to splurge for a night or two. I was just looking at Milliken creek earlier because of a special my soon to be SIL sent me, but they are out of our price range.

We actually don''t have lodging booked yet for our long weekend- it''s a long story but we had to cancel the reservation we made due some issues with the B&B owner.

Thanks! Hmm..thinking of other places we ate. EVERYTHING we ate out there was so good. Even the little cheap places! As for the nicer restaurants, we ate at Bouchon in Yountville, which was really yummy and you need to get reservations well in advance. And Celedon, which had a great atmosphere and I loved my entree though hubby''s was just okay (though I would go back just for the atmosphere anyday!). There was also a really fun burger diner type place in downtown Napa that I am having trouble remembering the name of. It has great sweet potato fries! I''ll let you know if I remember.

Also, DH and I saw the Napa River Inn when we went to dinner at Celedon, and it looked really cool. No idea of pricing, though.

 

[Ms.Goggles]

Woo hoo! Lots of good advice! I am SO looking forward to this trip & we JUST booked the hotel. I actually was considering the Napa River Terrace Inn but we managed to get a room at the Fairmont Mission Inn & Spa for half the normal rate on Travelocity- an amazing deal! It''s in Sonoma so it will take us a little longer to get to Auberge but now we''ll definitely see Napa & Sonoma.

Ohhhh, I definitely have too much on my plate- I teach full time, go to grad school at night, plan the wedding and NOW I have to find fun wineries & places to eat! Thanks for all the recommendations! I am so excited!

 

[Clairitek]

I''m so glad you started this thread. I was about to start one of my own because FI and I have changed our minds and decided on doing a small destination wedding and wine country is the only common ground we have. He wants Ireland, I want Italy, we both love the idea of Napa/Sonoma/Santa Barbara County and then honeymooning there afterwards!

Post what you find out if you don''t mind!

I did find this site www.herecomestheguide.com that seemed to have a decent list of places.

 

[FacetFire]

I forgot to mention that what made the atmosphere at Celedon so cool is that we sat on their terrace. You have to make your reservation specifically for the terrace when you call because it fills up more quickly. Anyway, hope that helps!

 

[newbie124]

Hey Ms.Goggles,
Welcome to the board! I''m actually also a Chicagoan planning to get married in Napa this year (There actually seem to be A LOT of Chicago couples who get married out there...I personally attribute it to the dreary weather driving us all to CA...well, and not to mention our exorbitant taxes!)

Anyway, I''m getting married at the Harvest Inn, which is a lovely site, but they do have some issues. The site fee is also on the high end, although Fri/Sun/midweek weddings they usually give a break on. But they also changed management around the time we were signing the contract, so I''m not sure if anything has changed since.

As someone else mentioned, too, another option would be to rent out a space at one of the area''s restaurants. There are so many great ones and many of them are very pretty and intimate. That''s actually what first got me to think about moving our wedding out there...I was making reservations for one of our favorite restaurants (Martini House in St. Helena) and noticed that they''re available for special events, including weddings.

Here are some of the places we looked at in person:

Buena Vista Winery (oldest winery in CA wine country) - Sonoma
Sebastiani - Sonoma
Nicholson Ranch - Sonoma
Viansa Winery - I''m not sure if they count themselves as Napa or Sonoma...it''s at the very southern end just as you''re entering wine country
V. Sattui Winery

Other options we considered:
Hans Fahden - They have a wine cave where most people hold the dinner, and for your size it would probably work. The grounds look beautiful, too, although the front room leaves a little to be desired
Calistoga Ranch
The Lodge at Sonoma
BR Cohn Winery
Cline Cellars
Paradise Ridge (Apparently they recently updated their rooms. I saw one pictures from one bride''s wedding and it looked much improved. If I''d known they were remodeling, I probably would''ve given this more serious consideration)
Dawn Ranch Lodge

You will come to find that most wineries in Napa do not allow weddings b/c of local ordinances. The few that were grandfathered in tend to have a lot of restrictions as well. So for us, Harvest Inn (as a site) offered the best of both worlds...the property is next to a vineyard so you get that wine country feel, but we had some more flexibility being that it''s a hotel.

Let me know if you have any other questions! I''ve been planning since last March (our wedding is in April), so I''ve already gathered a ton of information and would be happy to share if it''s of any help

 

[hoorray]

Congrats on your engagement!

I just returned from a couple of days in Napa. I live in Sonoma County. Both Sonoma and Napa are really beautiful. I was surprised at how expensive everything was in Napa compared to Sonoma. Sonoma isn''t cheap by any means, but everything in Napa was really pricey. We stayed at the new Westin in the town of Napa which was very nice and has one of the best restaurants around (which says a lot for that area and all the great food.) We had a terrific lunch at Bistro Don Giovannis in Oakville (I think) on Hwy 29. Not as pricey as a lot of places, and busy, so reservations would probably help -- especially on a weekend. I also love Tra Vigne and think they do weddings there.

If I were you I''d look at places in Glen Ellen, Kenwood, Sonoma, Healdsburg (great little town), and the Russian River Valley also. I think you will get more for your money. The Fairmont Mission Inn is a nice spot. It''s been years since I''ve stayed there, but it was beautiful then. Give yourself time to check out the various valleys/towns if you can. The areas are spread out, so doing some homework before hand will probably help.

I haven''t looked into it, but off the top of my head, you might check out

- Madrona Manor (one of the best restaurants around in a victorian inn in the middle of the Russian River valley vineyards),
- Santa Rosa Country Club - pretty clubhouse and outdoor setting outside of town, probably more affordable than some of the big name places. Very good food, and nice event spaces. Not a winery, so if you want that, this wouldn''t be the place.
- Bed & Breakfasts in Glen Ellen -- I think there are several with gorgeous grounds.

www.herecomestheguide.com seems to have a lot of good information on places around here.

Good luck!

 

[emelia]

Date: 1/10/2009 3:07:35 PM
Author: lop
Congrats on your engagement!



If I were you I''d look at places in Glen Ellen, Kenwood, Sonoma, Healdsburg (great little town), and the Russian River Valley also. I think you will get more for your money.

We attended a wedding at the Trentadue Winery and it was lovely. It''s in the Russian River Valley. Here is the website: http://www.trentadue.com/