june 11th.

It's a date! After all of my shenanigans (and a venue that couldn't get their -ish together), a location has been reserved for the wedding celebration of Vanessa and Matthew. Oh snap.

Anyhow. The venue: Rush Ranch, Suisun City, CA.

poop!

hella cool.

Dimitri's Lounge is Suisun City's first attempt at achieving coolness and I have to say, it's helping. Matt and I went by early one Saturday to ask about renting the place out. Of course, they need to get their plans together but I'm liking the idea. Wouldn't a vinyl invite be killer? Um....

this story

makes me happy...

and a little bit jealous.

{read it here}

Venue tour: Farm at Putah Creek, Winters

I found my farm!

Pretty cool stuff. I was happy with everything I saw there. All except the price anyway. 3k to rent out the whole place from 7am to midnight. (Not so bad) Another $250 buys you a half day before, after, or the option to camp out the night of the wedding. Tah-hee.

http://www.landbasedlearning.org/rental.php

Other than weddings, the property serves as an agricultural research and learning center for farmers, students and community leaders. You'll find row after row of fruit trees, vegetables and herbs.

Olive tree-lined driveway. It can be closed off to have a ceremony.

The barn. Each of the doors open up to reveal a
space that could be used as a dance room or dining area... if it's not too hot.

The other side of the barn.

Farm house and lawn. Reception site, maybe.

So pretty.

Yeah...

Remember when I said "the last two places on our list." I was just kidding. I just noticed I didn't explore the Point Reyes Area. And then after that I'm done!

We'll see how that goes...

*UPDATE: this went no where. oh well.

Venue tour: My secret place

I really don't want to say where it is, just because they don't do very many weddings. Maybe after we get in the mix of things. It's kind of a private residence. I can say that it is awesome, I loved it. Of course, my brain was running a billion ideas per second trying to figure out how I could make this work.

The cost to rent the place... our time in volunteering plus a refundable deposit.

tall redwoods

the reception location, might need to consider renting a tent

the hill that goes down to the grove

may or may not use the picnic tables, I think it could be cute and cheaper. I forgot to count how many tables there were...

Venue tour: Christian Brother's Retreat, Napa

We both really like this place. Prices range from 1-2.5k per area reserved. Guestrooms range from $145-200 a night.

christianbrosretreat.com

Catering per person:
Breakfast $14+ (not sure if this is wedding pricing)
Lunch $50+
Dinner $72+

Pros:
16 rooms (some sleep 2 and 4)
well kept garden
two separate courtyards that could hold a reception and cocktail hour
a very cute picnic area to over looks the pool
a pool
in the middle of a winery
lots of photo ops
no corkage if you bring our own beverages
they include soft drinks, coffee and teas
tables, chairs and house linens included.

Cons:
events must end by 10pm
no hard liquor
china, glass and stemware are only included if you use their food services
very little parking, will need to shuttle guest from town

Venue tour: Pippo Ranch, Vacaville

We went to visit Pippo Ranch today. It was ok, the fact that it has been raining all day couldn't have helped. They were setting up for a wedding so we got to see everything all set up.

Pros
Private property
Tiki bar-like hut
Catering on site
Nice white chairs included
Tables and arch
Tent and a (plywood) dance floor

Cons
Patio and dance floor is unsafe (my sneakers were wet and I slipped)
Not much variety for photo ops
The restrooms are port-a-poties (ew) with a sink around the corner
Coming up the driveway you see everything you might see at a working ranch, not the most warming entry

The lawns are nice and green, with lots of potted plants. I would say it's not for us. A bit too homemade for my taste. Old rusty farming equipment/piping was very visible. The food, raw meat and all, is prepared outside in a patio type thing. I'm sure they take extra precautions but still... In the end, it just didn't fit our style but I could see a fun BBQ happening there.

Venue tour: Cornerstone Gardens

cornerstonegardens.com/pages/weddings.htm

click image to see larger view

Beautiful place. $1,000. It has that unconventional/artsy feel while still following the format of an event venue. I loved it. There are 20+ different gardens which consist of both flowers and trees, but also artist installations of various materials as well. Lots of parking with a house that sleeps 7 in the back corner of the property. The price to rent the full facility is out of our range so the more affordable option (and most private) would be to just rent the house for our ceremony.

Amenities include:
3 bedroom, each with a private bath
Living room and kitchen
Clean modern decor
Manicured lawn
Private patio facing the vineyards and Napa hills
Full willow-like trees shade the area
35 minute -ish drive from home

I think this is THE place. We could have a small rehearsal dinner/bbq the night before. Mingle on the lawn and take our wedding photos in the main property gardens. Yay!

Another option would be to have the ceremony on the main gardens before 12pm, but I think that would be a waste if you don't have the time to utilize all of the space.

Poke around the website for photos of the gardens. It's super neat. I'm over the Di Rosa not being able to weddings and the Allied Arts Guild's high rate...Cornerstone fits the bill! :D

Venue tour: Rush Ranch, Suisun

the overlook on Marsh hill

this is rush ranch around 6pm about a 10 minute walk from the parking lot and up a hill. There's a carriage ride available for people who can't take the walk, but everyone else...put on your walking shoes. It's wasn't too bad. just windy.

we didn't make it to all the way up the suisun hill trail. Matt didn't bring the right shoes. tisk tisk


anyway, it could be nice.

Pulling research from a far away place

So, I've started to regurgitate all of the research I did a month ago when I decided Napa was out of the question. It still is, but I've found a new place that just might be the redwood forest I had being looking for:


Archer Taylor Preserve
With tall redwood groves, orchards, and a river, this place would be mostly green throughout the year. I don't know exactly were it is...it's a private property where you have to make appointments to hike. The conditions are said to be "primitive". We shall see...


I'm also going back to Rush Ranch (off Grizzly Island Road) as they have listed some areas that sound like they could work. I might just suit up and go today. It's an easy/flat hike, so I've heard. Although, it will be smoldering hot and the grass will be golden by summer, it still could be nice. Sites include: the picnic area, the garden area, the meeting room, the south pasture hill, the marsh view hill and Suisun Hill Trail. The last two hills are said to have panoramic views.



Connolly Ranch
Matt brought up a good point: where there are animals, there is poop. I'll have to schedule a tour on the way to Archer Taylor Preserve.

Di Rosa Art Preserve
Oh, I almost forgot about this place. It's always in the magazine and I have always wanted to go check it out. There are a few open spaces that would allow for a ceremony to take place. Now, if only they would call me back! Grr... Permit restricts them from having weddings! Lame!

Pippo Ranch, Vacaville
We'll be stopping by May 2nd to see a wedding being set up. Should be fun.

Side note to remember: there is a county wide ordinance in Napa that prohibits most wineries from holding weddings...sooo lame. If they are allowed there are way to many rules. Of course, all of the places that are allowed have a 10k site fee.

Venue: I'm excited, but don't want to jinx it (cont.)

We checked it out.

Clock tower
Washington St, Benicia, CA

$60/hr residents • $95/hr non-residents

Pros:
all the same as before
large kitchen with an elevator from top to bottom (used only for cater and equipment, no people)
his and her restrooms with 3 stalls, two sinks
industrial size ice maker, refrigerator, stove
huge, full bar complete with sink, refrigerator, and shelves
includes rectangle tables and chairs, I think I saw a mobile stage

Cons:
Tons of decorating potential
no air conditioning, but has huge fans... kinda ghetto
kitchen is in the middle of the room ... bad feng shui
smells like a gym, but nothing a scented candle can't handle
not wild about the rectangle tables, but it'll do

Final thoughts
I think the convenience overpowers most of the cons. The only thing that really bugs me is the location of the kitchen, but I'll figure it out. Matt isn't completely sold but he agrees the location, price, and size is ideal.

and for the pics

outside, near plenty of parking
http://www.parks.ca.gov

a sharp left (or right) into the doors to make your way up

entry way, vendors can pull in and unload on to the elevator

view from the front side

bar behind the kitchen, i wan't to offer to touch up the base lol I have some black paint!

Tables, chairs and ... stage? in the back
(i should have asked)

now... where to have the ceremony...

Venue: I'm excited, but don't want to jinx it

So, every time I find a new venue that looks perfect on the website and fits perfectly in our budget I blab all about it—either make contact with someone with the venue or take a tour—and get my heart broken every time. The latest whoa will be unnamed until I take a look at it on Tuesday.

we'll see...

• looks cool on the outside
• fits double the people we'll have
• fits waaay under budget
• it's local
• free parking
• away from residents so we can get as rowdy as we want (within reason)
• byo everything
• tons of photo ops in the area

seems like just what I'm looking for, right?

i'll post pictures after the tour with my final thoughts.

(crossing my fingers)

Venue tour: Wednesday Club, Suisun, CA

$500 refundable deposit - $100/hr or $800 8am to 8am the next day

It was very nice inside. All recently painted so the whites were nice and crisp.

Pros
• Small lobby area with a couple benches
• 3 restrooms/powder rooms with a chair in 3 corners of the building
• Nice size room with two stage areas. One could be for band/dj, the other for the bridal party
• Full kitchen with 4 ovens, a stove, and 2 sinks
• Industrial size freezer and refrigerator
• Large stone fire place

Cons
• It doesn't look like it could fit 100+ people comfortably with the dance floor, bar, and food area
• Small "garden" in the back with a driveway that goes around the building
• Very small bridal dressing room, probably could only fit 4 people comfortably.
• It's in a residential area so noise levels must go down before 10pm
• Not much parking, but there's lots of free parking down the street at the marina

All in all is very clean and could work for the reception. Not sure what I would do for the ceremony.

->Click for more info and building pic

"garden"
ballroom facing performance stage.
That room on the right is the bridal suite

the stage I'm standing on in the pic before this

each of the restrooms look like this. I'm standing in the powder area

Ceremony sites to visit in San Francisco

Inspiration Point: $700 + 10% preservation fee
• Wow...be-a-utiful
• Limited but free parking
• Only available on Saturdays 2 to 5pm...sooo lame...


Shakespeare Garden or Fuchsia Garden: $200 + $50 per hour
• Within the Golden Gate Park
• Gated but, might have some unwanted visitors peeking through the iron gates
• Not sure if there are any limitations on days or times or if insurance is needed



Sutro Heights Park: $340 + $85 per hour
• An ocean overlook with panoramic views of the city
• Must purchase insurance regardless of # of guests and hire a park ranger ($?)