First stop was Kunde Family Winery. Robert and I visited this winery in July 2011 (there is a blog post here about our trip) and decided we wanted to come back to have a tour of the venue. My dad really liked their Syrah, so I figured that at least the wine would be drinkable for our guests, which is always a plus. We looked at their Boot Hill site and the view was amazing. The entire site is out doors, which for September, shouldn't be a problem and you have a 360 degree view of the Sonoma Valley. There are giant oaks that give just enough shade.
The positives of the venue:
- Wine is good, not great but good.
- Views are incredible
- The site is picturesque
- The winery is close to a lot of lodging and other attractions
- Price is affordable at $8,000-$10,000 depending on season and day
- Limited electricity is available
- Bathrooms are on the site
- Dog friendly
The negatives of the venue:
- No indoor area at all in case of inclement weather so we would have to rent a tent
- The site is all lawn and a bit uneven, but there are plans to fix that for next season
- You have to hire a shuttle to take guests from the parking lot or hotel up a dirt road to the site
All in all, it just didn't click with us as the "perfect" spot, although it is a contender still.
Our next step was Paradise Ridge Winery which I did not do enough checking into. There was a tasting room in the Kenwood area, but the winery itself was in Santa Rosa. Thankfully I had enough time scheduled between Kunde and Paradise Ridge to have lunch and get up there! This site really didn't work for us at all.
Positive:
- Affordable at $7500
- Had a separate room for child care
- Dog friendly
- Views were pretty
- Staff was friendly
Negative:
- Closest lodging is a dumpy Travelodge 30 minutes away from the site
- Bridal changing room was small and shabby
- A lot of stairs to get to the scenic parts of the site
We crossed this place off our list pretty quickly. It just wasn't right for us, and the lack of lodging is not cohesive to the amount of out of town guests we will have.
We then drove back to the Kenwood area (so. much. driving!) and decided to take a detour to Landmark winery which I had heard did weddings. My parents really like this venue and it definitely is pretty, but their maximum amount of guests is 150. Since it was just a drive by, I don't have a lot of information on it, but I have sent in an email to get more. We shall see!
After Landmark, we headed to a little place called Kenwood Farms and Gardens. It was right off of Highway 12 next to Kenwood Winery. There is a dirt driveway and to the left is a field for parking. There is a cute little barn for dancing or eating and a nice lawn area for the ceremony. The owner was friendly, but a bit scattered. Its very charming and quirky and I liked it, but it didn't feel right. After talking with the owner and going over some things with him, it was too much of a cookie cutter wedding venue. They do all the catering and have an in-house wedding coordinator and florist and baker, which sounds great for people who don't have plans for that, but I already do. Anyway, lets list out the positive and negatives:
Positives:
- Affordable venue price at $3500
- Charming site
- Friendly staff
- A very nice Bridal suite
Negatives:
- They have a special with Kenwood Winery, which, in my opinion, has horrible wines, however, they do let you bring in your own bottles for a corkage fee of $4.50
- All the in-house requirements really limits your choices for your wedding, although for a small family venue, it is understandable that they have this package deal
- The owner was scattered. I would tell him the number of guests and two minutes later he changed the number. He also forgot our names a couple times and went on a lot of tangents. It was a little hard to follow his train of thought
I wouldn't say Kenwood is off the table completely because I like that we could bring in our own wines, but having to work with a wedding planner working for the venue makes me a little nervous.
After Kenwood, we still weren't done. My mom wanted to go and see Villa Chanticleer in Healdsburg. My grandfathers family was from Healdsburg and my mom has a lot of memories visiting. The town of Healdsburg is so much fun, so I was all for it. I had tried to get an appointment to visit the site, but ended up playing phone tag with the site coordinator who ended up not being there this weekend, but she assured me that there was another event and staff would be on-site to answer questions, but she couldn't remember when the event was or when it ended. We got there, and no one was there. The garden area where the ceremony would be (I'm assuming) was closed and we only were able to peek in. It was pretty, but if I wanted that sort of setting I'd book the Mountain Winery in Woodside. It was a bit of a disappointment, especially after dealing with the site coordinator.
So, after six hours of touring venues, over 300 miles driven and seeing five very different venues, we came home with nothing decided. When I got home and updated a few people, I ended up with a lot of suggestions and friends and family willing to do some foot work on finding the location. Thanks to Deby Minter for her suggestions, my future brother-in-law Ryan for all his help and several more who gave me some great ideas. Hopefully in the next few weeks I will have a post with the location and date picked!
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