The first thing anyone who has planned a wedding will tell you to do is be sure to choose a venue first! We knew that without a venue and an actual date, there would be way too many moving parts. We wanted to at least get these 2 very major things down and done early on!
We honestly didn't tour too many places because we had a good idea of what we were looking for. Here's what the musts were:
1) Must have an outdoor ceremony AND reception area (especially because our wedding was going to take place during COVID-- though of course at the time we didn't know COVID was coming) And we also wanted a venue that had a beautiful spot for both ceremony and reception so that our guests wouldn't have to drive to another location
2) Must be able to bring in our own alcohol (major money saver!)
3) Must be located in a close-enough area for our families and friends so they don't have to drive too far
4) Must be able to accommodate ~175-200 guests
And that was pretty much it!
The first stop on our venue-looking journey was...
QUAIL RANCH | SIMI VALLEY, CA
PROS:
- Beautiful stairs that the bride walks down before the aisle. Lined with gorgeous flowers during the Spring-time.
- Very spacious bridal room to get ready in
- Nice groom's room too with pool table. Could envision a lot of great photos being taken in there
- Has a pool that would be great for photo ops as well and nice to dip your feet after hours of dancing or just chill by with a drink and a chat
CONS:
- Reception area is very small. The dance floor would've been very squished.
- Parking was also limited for guests.
OVERALL THOUGHTS:
We thought the place had a lot of potential, but it definitely was missing some of the major things we were looking for-- mainly that it was a little small for the number of guests we were anticipating. I think we could've made it work and had everyone fit but seeing how small the reception area was made me want to keep touring other places. I liked the stairs leading down to the ceremony space, but during a hot July day, there would be no shade for our guests.
EDEN GARDENS | MOORPARK, CA
- Absolutely gorgeous place! Just stepping foot into this place makes you feel like you're somewhere else.
- Fit a lot of what we wanted such as bringing in alcohol, ceremony and reception outdoors, close by.
- Plenty of parking
- Had bistro/hanging string lights in the ceremony AND reception area which I loved!
- Catering packages were very straight-forward and offered variety
- We liked that it was a semi all-inclusive venue that included all tables, chairs, linens, plates, cutlery, bartender, wedding coordinator, catering
- The bridal room is extremely small. It's a little tiny trailer
- The groom area is a small outdoor patio. Definitely way too hot for our summer wedding. The guys would roast out there.
- Bathrooms are also trailer-type portable bathrooms which to me was a minor turnoff since the rest of the venue is so amazingly beautiful.
- Must use their catering vendor and doesn't allow any other food vendors. I really wanted to bring in a taco stand or other Asian snack food vendor.
- A tad bit confusing to find since when you pull into the street that says "Eden Gardens", to the right is a different venue. Must keep driving up the pathway to find Eden.
OVERALL THOUGHTS:
We loved this venue even before touring it since we had the opportunity to attend a wedding here for a friend a few years back. We toured it specifically because we loved it so much back then. There are so many little hidden pockets to explore with lots of shady trees, a huge lake/pond in the middle, water fountains, flowers, exotic birds and peacocks to see, and is just a gorgeous place! The pros of this place definitely outweigh the minor cons. We wish that we were able to bring in our own vendors for food since the majority of our guests have a more Asian taste palette and we weren't sure if they'd enjoy the options offered, which were more American/Italian/Fusion Asian.
WALNUT GROVE | MOORPARK, CA
PROS:
- Very spacious and lush grassy area for ceremony
- Also semi all-inclusive with everything that Eden Gardens included since Walnut Grove and Eden Gardens are neighbors.
CONS:
- Bridal room was extremely small-- almost like a shack. Definitely can't get ready in there.
OVERALL THOUGHTS:
Walnut Grove was our 2nd choice if for any reason Eden Gardens didn't end up working out. We enjoyed how spacious it was, that they offer the beautiful wooden chairs and tables, and that it was semi all-inclusive as well. I did prefer a place with more of a walk-through kind of vibe where you can feel like you're being transported somewhere as you walk. At Walnut Grove, it's a vast open space (which is great!) but you can already see the reception area from it. I prefer for the 2 spaces to be a bit separated so that guests can be wowed when they walk into the reception.
ORCUTT RANCH | WEST HILLS, CA
PROS:
- is 100% a DIY bride's dream because you bring in EVERYTHING.
To some, this could also be a con.
- Definitely the cheapest option when it came to venue cost. Since it's considered a park, the renting fee was like $2k.
- Had so many different scenes in the space and could envision lots of awesome photos in all the different backdrops. There's an orchard, a red farmhouse, grassy area, and greenhouse.
- The bridal suite is huge and has really cute photo op spots/props like a pink sofa, lots of natural light
CONS:
- Due to noise restrictions, no speakers allowed outside. So, the DJ would have to play inside of the actual venue where you could barely hear the music outside.
- Reception area was on the smaller side.
- I believe there was only 1-2 bathrooms for guests which would be a major inconvenience.
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That was it!
We only toured these 4 and we knew we were done.
We (especially me) knew that I would keep comparing anything else I saw to...
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AND THE WINNER WAS....
Eden Gardens!!
If you ever get a chance to visit it, you'll understand my love for it. They are open to the public as well I believe if you just wanted to stroll around for a bit. You just have to check that they don't have any events going on. I do recommend getting an official tour though if you are considering them as a venue so that they can show you all the different areas.
Pictures of the place definitely don't do it enough justice. The second you walk in, you'll feel like you're in some kind of paradise. The calming background Classical music, the sounds of the exotic birds, the peaceful trickling of water flowing... sigh. It just takes your breath away.
HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend you to check them out and add them to your list of wedding venues to tour! You won't be sorry! :)
Till next time then!
with love,
Julia 💜
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