Zebras Are Coming to Our Wedding
August 5th, 2008 @ 5:00 pm by Mrs. Margarita
I just flew back to LA tonight to work on our wedding, which is coming up in less than 30 days! It’s freaking me out a little bit, but some deep breathing, Coffee Bean and So Cal sunshine should help. 
I am going on a site visit/inspection tomorrow with our wedding coordinator, the fabulous Mary Sushinski from Occasions To Remember and a team of our vendors (DJ, caterer, elephant person (ha), photographer, videographer, etc). With this appointment coming up, I realized that I never told the hive about our wedding venue.
Our hunt for a venue was long and full of struggles. A lot of options were crossed off our list right away because we had certain restrictions:
1.) Had to hold at least 350 people
2.) Allowed outside catering (Mr. Marg insisted on Indian food)
We made a ton of appointments all over Southern California. The Hyatt in Huntington Beach was the first hotel that we considered seriously. It had gorgeous Spanish-inspired decor, was close to the beach and fit our two main criteria. Though for some reason, I just wasn’t feeling it. I wanted that feeling you are supposed to get when you find the wedding dress but for our venue instead. Although the Hyatt was gorgeous, we wanted a location that was unique and would be something our guests would remember.
The Hyatt
I stumbled upon Saddlerock’s website when I was looking up winery venues in Southern California. I wasn’t totally sold from the pictures so after a slew of emails, the site coordinator wrote me and said “You really do need to see the location in person! It’s breathtaking!”
She couldn’t have been more right. My best friend from high school, my Mom and I drove the hour from my house in Orange County to Malibu and were floored. Well actually, at first we were a little weirded out. The gates to the property opened and the first thing we saw was a small pack of bison roaming around. Seriously, bison. We kept driving, passed some horses and then got to some zebra. Horses are sort of normal but zebra? Then we finally got to the garden setting we were considering for our wedding location. Once I saw the huge willow trees, the sprawling lawn, the pool and the wooden bench swing I was sold. It was so beautiful and unique. Even though I always thought I wanted to be married near the beach, I couldn’t walk away from Saddlerock.
The Semler family owns the entire 1000-acre ranch and have lived on the property for over 27 years. The ranch has 65-acres of vineyards and is home to dozens of horses and many exotic animals (zebras, peacocks, etc). I can’t really explain the exotic animals but it fits in with Mr. Margarita riding in on an elephant, so we’regoing with it.
One of the Zebras courtesy of Elizabeth Messina
A wedding couple with one of the horses courtesy of Elizabeth Messina
Pics from Saddlerock’s website
The tree we are getting married under
I can’t wait to recreate this picture!
Saddlerock has been an ideal location for us because it gives us the freedom to pretty much do anything we want. Our blank canvas is definitely a lot more work than a hotel because we literally have to bring everything in from napkins to a kitchen. I think/hope in in the end all this work will be worth it.
Has anyone else chosen an unsual location for their wedding?
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18 Responses to “Zebras Are Coming to Our Wedding”
I love Saddlerock; it’s going to be such a beautiful location for your wedding! I can’t wait to see Mr. Margarita and his elephant riding pass the zebras!
seriously i cannot wait to see your photos!
I love the idea of a blank canvas reception site — you can really personlize it and let the character of the unique place shine through!
For me and Mr. MagPie, it’ll be the FUEL House in Philadelphia — it had a former life as the Real World house, and is now a modern art gallery in an old bank building next door to the Betsy Ross House. SO not what I thought we’d end up with!
oh my goodness, it’s going to be SO lovely! I can’t believe it, elephants AND zebras?! That’s just too cool!
I love that tree!
Mouth open. Drool everywhere. How breathtakingly stunning! What a romantic place to get married. WOWZAS!
ooh la la.. very pretty!
I went to a wedding at Saddlerock Ranch and it was beautiful!! You are going to have a stunning event!!
I can’t wait to see the pictures!
We’re having our reception in a barn built in the 1800’s. It’s gorgeous and there is so much potential in regards to decorating. It’s a bit daunting at times to decorate and plan but it’s going to be sooooooo worth it. Your location is absolutely stunning. Your wedding is going to be beautiful!!!!
@tberry: That sounds SO cool! You are going to have such a unique wedding and I love that its on your family farm. Definitely link me to the pictures when you do get married!
@Miss Hot Cocoa: Me too! I won’t get to see it in person since I won’t be present when he rides in on an elephant so the pictures will have to do
@Miss Sweet Tea: I thought your wax sculptures were sweet! Imagine the hilarious pictures you’ll be able to take.
@MagPie518: That sounds sweet! I loved that house on the real world. I cannot wait to see you pictures now!
@Valerie: I totally understand feeling overwhelmed with all the possiblities. It sounds like your location is going to be gorgeous though! I love pictures of brides and grooms all dressed up in unusual/rustic locations.
Ooh, weeping willows are my favorite tree, they are sooo romantic. How beautiful to have one as your backdrop.
We had our reception dinner in a wine cave. The doors to the cave were closed and we kept it a secret. The guests were shocked (in a good way) at the big reveal.
PIB
We’re having our reception at a funky Moroccan themed restaurant/lounge. It will work really well for our “magic carpet ride” themed wedding I’m so excited.
What a lovely location for you! All that wildlife around is sure to be good juju. Congrats!
I’m SO excited for your wedding!! It’s going to be amazing! I think you found the perfect location for you and Mr. Marg to get married…
Miss Margarita, Boston/Los Angeles
Age and Occupation: 26, Healthcare Consultant
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Doctor
Engagement Date: March 21, 2007
Wedding Date: August, 2008
Blogging Since: June 18, 2008
Venue: Saddlerock Ranch
About Me: I grew up in Southern California, moved to Boston for college, New York for grad school, back to Boston and now I travel the northeast every week for work. When I'm not on the go, I love to read, draw, shop, sleep and spend quality time with my fiancé, family and friends. We're long-distance planning for our "big fat brown wedding" in California and are excited to unite our Sri Lankan and Indian cultures and Buddhist and Hindu religions in a unique and modern way.
We are having ours on an airport runway. OK, so it’s not the big blacktop runway ya’ll are picturing. There is an old grass runway for cropdusters on my family’s farm (unused for cropdustin for since I was a young child - my dad went organic long ago). It’s perfect with it’s view of fields, the river and a nice long flat, hard piece of ground. No muddy wedding for us even if it rains the night before! Plenty of parking and flat space for a huge tent and set back from any neighbors so as not to disturb them. We have to bring in power, kitchens, everything in order to have it all work out (my bank account is already whining!)