Location is everything when it comes to a wedding, and so many factors come into play. Not only are a beautiful view and a nice setting high on the priority list when selecting a venue, you also have to think about how many people it can accommodate, how accessible it is by car or shuttle, what the parking situation is like, if there are kitchens/bathrooms onsite, and more... Lots (too much!) to think about!
To save the headache, I thought I would highlight just a few of my favorite venues in the Bay Area. Places I found were easy enough to work at, and really impressed guests aesthetically.
Cavallo Point is one cool place. It was an old military post in Sausalito, but has now become a hospitality hot spot. It is a really dynamic venue, with a hotel, restaurant, and multiple separate indoor and outdoor areas where a ceremony or reception could be held. A wedding I did there utilized a beautiful, shaded grass area for the reception, a quaint outdoor courtyard area with a live pianist for the cocktail reception, and an elegant indoor area with bathrooms and a kitchen for the dinner reception. The weather is always fabulous on this side of the bay and provides really great views of San Francisco. It's hard to beat!
Image from I Do Venues
The Bently Reserve is a great venue in the heart of San Francisco's Financial District. Nothing feels more city for your guests than to be in this area. The building itself is regal (huge!) with gorgeous pillars and high ceilings. It has a classic, clean style. The first floor has one, large event room, plus multiple other good sized rooms that I haven't personally used. It's so big, in fact, that I did a wedding there once where the ceremony was held on one half of the main room, the dance floor with a large stage for a 10-piece band was set up on the other half of the room, and large rented hedges barricaded the two sides from each other's view! It was awesome to say the least. There is also a gorgeous staircase leading to a smaller second story where I have seen cocktail hours be done as the ceremony space gets flipped for dinner tables. Accessing this area is easy as there a numerous high-end hotels in the area-- major bonus!
Image from Gustavo Fernandez
The Rengstorff House is a true gem in the peninsula, located in Mountain View! It's an old house, right on the water of an outlet of the Bay, and a really cool space for a wedding. The house itself is accessible to walk through and view its historic-ness. It also has a great front lawn area; we used this space as the cocktail reception area and set up a guest book table and bar. It was a great, shaded grass area on one side of the house as well where the ceremony was held. It has great tree branches overhanding the grass that we hung adorable Chinese lanterns from, and a desk with steps leading directly into the house makes for the perfect processional. The other side of the house is an open dirt and gravel space where we set up the dinner tables and dance floor. The back has a cute lighthouse-like structure, and had ample room to make a kitchen. It literally has it all!
Image from I Do Venues
One amazing thing about the Bay Area is the complete and utter variety of venues it has to offer a couple. From wineries to historic landmarks, classy hotels to barns, we definitely are not short on spaces to hold an amazing wedding.
