A few weekends ago I spent with new clients venue scouting…as it never fails to do it seems, it poured rain the entire time. Thankfully they had fantastic attitudes as we trudged along, in and out of the car with umbrellas in hand. One might wonder what goes into venue scouting like this and compiling the list of locations to visit when you only have two days. First, budget plays an important role…whatever it is, you have to tailor your list accordingly. Next, the bride told me that Calistoga Ranch was her dream location from all of her online searching. Now, this is someone speaking my language….as most of you know, Calistoga Ranch has always been one of my absolute favorite locations and I have been blessed to plan many gorgeous weddings there. However, it was going to be a stretch financially so we had some work to do to find a spot that had a similar vibe but one that was more in our budget range.
The first stop was Copain Wines in the Russian River Valley. Even though it was absolutely miserable out, the view was incredible and we all felt “it”. The groom was ready to sign the contract within a half hour and then spend the rest of the trip wine-tasting however I had to convince him we needed to do our due diligence and continue the search. After 12 more locations over two days, we all agreed with that initial gut feeling and back to Copain we went. As the groom’s family will be traveling from Europe and the bride’s family will be coming from the Midwest, it was important that the location be comfortable and welcoming for everyone while still maintaining that take your breath away feeling. We were able to accomplish that with Copain and the best part….the bride and groom are going to spend their first few married nights at Calistoga Ranch.
Here is a picture of the stunning view at Copain (taken on a sunny day…just like it will be at the wedding
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xo
Amy
