Weddingbee

Now that I’ve shared with you some of the small details of our wedding, let’s talk about the BIG stuff - the venue! We were told that our first choice venue, The Crocker Art Museum, was to be going under renovations for the next 2 - 3 years - so we began our search online, looking for galleries and other interesting wedding sites in the Sacramento Valley area. I’ve compiled our first round of venues in an Idea Board to make it easier to list the pros and cons of each.

We were looking for:

1. Enough space to hold 150 guests comfortably.
2. Close proximity to the Sacramento area for ease of travel.
3. Something modern or quirky about the space.
4. Preferably close to nature.
5. Not too many restrictions on vendor selections.
6. A low catering minimum (if catering was included).

First Row (left to right):

1. The Firehouse Restaurant and Bar, Sacramento, CA.
Located in charming Old Sacramento, The Firehouse Restaurant patio dining area is swathed in strings of lights, brick facade and the beautiful trees Sacramento is known for. Bonus: Their kitchen cooks up a mean steak.

2. The Crest Theatre, Sacramento, CA.
Not your typical wedding setting, this historical old theatre is elaborate in its decor and boasts an almost magical setting for any event.

3. The Historic Hotel, Woodland, CA.
Beautifully maintained, this historic wedding venue has a gorgeous exterior. However, no wedding site interior pictures were available on their website.

Second Row (left to right):

4. The Grand Ballroom, Sacramento, CA.
An amazingly vast ballroom with beautiful period detailing including large pendulum lighting hanging over the marble bar and inlaid ballroom floor.

5. Tsakopoulos Library Galleria, Sacramento, CA.
This venue can hold up to 350 seated guests on its main floor - and you can rent the balcony as well as the entrance. Its soaring ceiling and proximity to the popular Capitol Rose Garden ceremony site makes it a big contender for larger parties.

6. Lake Natoma Inn, Folsom, CA.
Right next to - you guessed it - Lake Natoma, this Inn has gorgeous wedding gardens nearby a spectacular view. The ballroom can hold a mighty number of guests and out-of-town guests have an on-site place to stay.

Third Row (left to right):

7. John Natsoulas Art Gallery, Davis, CA.
An alternate to our ideal art museum location, this gallery boats a permanent collection including some of our favorite local artists like Wayne Thiebaud. The top-floor sculpture garden is amazing - but will it hold enough seated guests with room to dance?

8. Old Sugar Mill, Clarksburg, CA.
I adore the brick interior of the Old Sugar Mill. It has a beautiful gallery feel - but on the exterior it has a nice, worn-in, country feel with many architectural interests for photo-ops.

9. Pamela Skinner Gallery, Sacramento, CA.
Another art gallery alternative, Pamela Skinner is a beautiful light-saturated option. It’s midtown location would be a perfect centrally-located venue for our spread out families. I’m not sure that they host weddings here, but I thought I’d try to find out!

Fourth Row (left to right):

10. Sacramento State Alumni Center, Sacramento, CA. A good friend of ours renewed their vows here - and it was gorgeous. However, neither the FH nor I are alumnus - does it make sense that I feel odd renting this for our reception?

11. Monte Verde Inn, Foresthill, CA. A beautiful, elegant, but rustic locale for a wedding. The outdoor gardens are fantastic - and would look lovely surrounded in paper lanterns.

12. Wine & Roses, Lodi, CA. This was a huge contender because of its reputation alone. I’ve heard fantastic things about this venue and on top of it having an on-site spa, beautifully decorated guest rooms and a gorgeous patio - the wedding planner stated that it has fantastic food.

As you can see, there are a lot of fun interesting venues in the Sacramento Valley area - and I didn’t even list them all! In fact, our wedding coordinator suggested we also check out a winery in the Dunnigan Hills area that I had never heard of before. Stay tuned to find out how I narrowed our selection down to THE ONE.

Are any of you getting married at a unique venue?

• I Have Issues With Food
• Specs!