Wedding hunting

On Saturday we checked out two venues to have our wedding. It was really fun and we liked both places, but we haven’t made a decision. Both are in the Santa Cruz area. I was sad that I forgot my camera, but through some Internet stalking I found some pics to share!

Place #1: A conference facility in a condo community right on the beach. This venue has a great view. We’d be able to have our ceremony on the beach, then walk down an adorable wooden walkway to have the reception on a deck with a view of the mountains. It’s really pretty!

However, the only thing we get for the rental fee is the space. We’d have to hire a caterer, carry chairs down to the beach, rent space heaters… it all sounds like a lot of work. And more importantly, a lot of money to pay people for these things!

The beach we'd get married on! It's beautiful, but the waves are really loud...

The condos are right behind the sand.


Part of the condo area. It's about a mile long.

The deck where we'd have the reception.

Same deck.

Place #2: A nice restaurant without a great view. It has a nice view of trees and a creek, but no ocean or mountains. The event coordinator is really, really nice and helpful. On Saturday nights they even have a band playing – free live music! It’s probably more affordable because they take care of setting everything up, food, and lots of other things. We'd have everything outdoors on the patio.

Ceremony on the back patio.

Cocktail hour on the front patio.

The same front patio.

Reception on the back patio.

Cute back patio again.

We’re going to keep looking, but both of these locations are possibilities. Please share any opinions!