Hello and Happy Monday! I had a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend, and am back to submitting beautiful weddings and answering emails – yes I have a fabulous job!
The Central Coast Venue Hunt
Although we’d gone all over the East Bay looking at venues, we felt there was more to explore. The fiance originally wanted the wedding down in Southern California: where the venues are bigger and the weather is more temperate (not to mention more ocean views!) but that was a little too far for my parents, so we went to the next best thing: the central coast!
San Luis Obispo, dubbed by Oprah the happiest place in the country, is where Chris and I met and fell in love, but our relationship is spread out all over the central coast. We took many moonlit walks on Avila and Pismo’s beaches, drove up into the back roads of Atascadero and Paso Robles, and spent weekends visiting Hearst Castle and the elephant seals in Cayucos. So it’s natural to want to look for venues in this idyllic setting, where we have so many favorite haunts and good memories.
Venues
Robert Hall Winery – Paso Robles
Robert Hall was definitely our favorite – and the first one we saw. Online it fit the bill – gorgeous Paso Robles wine country, right off 46 (so it would be easy to get to) and a giant amphitheatre to decorate however we liked. The rolling hills that surround it are covered in vines, and the weather was perfect, even in March! It’s easy to see why most of the Saturdays for the next year and a half are already claimed for weddings.
There are so many places to have your ceremony at Robert Hall Winery it’s hard to choose! They have multiple patios that surround the properties, some overlooking the vineyards, others more enclosed. The giant fountain on the front of the property is a popular spot for photos. 
The reception hall was unfortunately too small for our wedding group, which is why we thought the amphitheatre (on the right) was the perfect fit for our big wedding. Lit up at night it’s the perfect romantic spot for a first dance!
Our only negatives were that, like most places in the central coast, a strict 10:00pm curfew is put on all outdoor music, and that it didn’t “quite” fit the modern, glamorous theme I had in mind. So many other weddings would work here, and it is still a beautiful venue.
Villa San Juliette
This slice of Italian heaven is a bride’s dream. Even though the drive back into Paso wine country is seemingly endless, you end up feeling entirely transported. If you have a small, intimate wedding (aka less than 80 people) in wine country you can’t do better than San Juliette. A sunny yellow villa emerges after about 20 minutes off the main freeway, the entrance lined with Cypress trees, and you can spy chandeliers on the balconies and marble statues scattered throughout the patio areas. They also have excellent wine!
Creator and Executive Producer of So You Think You Can Dance and American Idol Nigel Lythgoe actually owns San Juliette, and he and his business partner have divided the house in half to each have second homes in Paso Robles’ beautiful wine country.
What a gorgeous entrance! The villa is still incredibly new, and this picture was taken before they added a lot of flowers and statues! Also they have a bridal suite in the works, and plan to fill it with all Ralph Lauren furniture: talk about some fab “getting ready” shots!
The rotunda of columns is the perfect spot for a grand “I do”. There is also an upstairs pavillion for ceremonies with a giant outdoor fireplace and chandelier. The patio on the right photo is usually where they hold receptions; in the future they hope to have permits for bigger weddings and their two huge barrel rooms will house larger parties.
Ventana Grill
We wanted to check out at least one purely beachy venue, since we both are drawn to the ocean. The ceremony site is simply beyond gorgeous: Ventana Grill has a bluff overlooking the ocean with a little white gazebo at the tip, with palm trees that gently sway on either side. The bride and groom stand in front of the gazebo with the ocean view behind them, making the photographer’s job look easy. We met with their coordinator, who was very thorough and even drafted up a sample quote for us with catering included. Considering hors ‘d oeuvres are extra, and the food is fairly standard, the prices are a little on the high side. I suppose when you have claim over a view like that though, you aren’t getting many complaints.
Can you believe how beautiful this ceremony spot is? We stood out here for at least a half hour, admiring the view. 
The reception room was a little small for our wedding, but it could easily house a group under 150. If you’re lucky enough not to get fog, the view is fantastic!
Monarch Club
Considering it’s all the way in Nipomo, I almost wrote off this gem of a venue – I’m glad we took the time to check it out! It’s a country club nestled in the middle of a new housing development that has modern, earthy details and plenty of options for how you want your wedding to flow. They have a large ballroom, a sheltered courtyard with outdoor fireplace, and a beautiful patio area outdoors that is usually used for ceremonies in addition to an “art garden” that has numerous glass sculptures that can be used for ceremonies, cocktail hour, or even an outdoor reception! The staff is very flexible and accommodating (while we were touring, they were setting up for a wedding they fully planned in four weeks!) and offer complete packages that leave nothing to the imagination -even lighting, music, and flowers!
The terrain and venue are so different – and the curved walkway to the ceremony area adds a bit of drama. The getting ready rooms here are completely gorgeous – the bride’s room even has a little patio with cute furniture and string lights – perfect for champagne before the big day! 
An outdoor ceremony is completely doable here – though you’re not very sheltered from the elements. In the end we decided that it had too much of an earthy vibe for our glamorous wedding dreams. Stay tuned and next week I’ll reveal where we (very recently!) chose our venue! I’ll give you all the fabulous details. Until then!!
xoxo- Morgan
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