Bay Area Venues - Part 3

Part 1
Part 2

Preservation Park - Oakland, CA

Preservation Park in Oakland is this really cute area that has 16 historic houses and was renovated to include Victorian park benches and lamps. I am sad that I didn't have my camera with me the day I went to visit because this is such an adorable place. The above picture is the view you would see if you were standing from the bandstand and looking out into the street.

Many people have their ceremonies on the Bandstand.

All pictures from Preservation Park

They then have their Reception set up around the fountain. This place is huge. They were willing to accomodate my 250ish guest list. I think it would have been fun to have it outside with the pretty fountain. With such a beautiful fountain, I don't think you'd need that much decor.

If you didn't want it outside, you could rent one of their houses that they use for events. You could also rent out a bridal room to get ready in. This place was pretty affordable and they had a list of caterers. I think you could work the prices with the caterer if you wanted to. You could also rent out the parking garage across the street for the whole night for, I believe, $500. Not bad for city parking.

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Wedgewood at Metropolitian Golf Links - Oakland, CA

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This place is out on a golf course down the street from the Oakland Airport, literally.

The big thing I liked about this place was that it was suuuper cheap. This is definitely a budget friendly place. They had packages where they did EVERYTHING for you (invitations, music, champagne, linens).

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The ceremony is held at this cute gazebo. The bad thing is that planes are taking off and coming in all the time so you may miss a few words here and there. And also, there may be some golfers teeing off in the background.

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But look how beautiful it could be! (See a ceremony there on this blog).

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I was not too big on the tent reception though. I don't know why. I'm sure if it was fixed up, it would look super nice. I think I was just not liking the idea of the place being so close to the airport, having to deal with the noise, and the golfers.

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Hollins House at Pasietempo - Santa Cruz, CA

This place is on the Pasatiempo Golf Course in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It had an incredible view of the beach. This was the only day fiance got to go venue shopping with me, so this was the first venue he got to visit.

All photos from Here Comes The Guide

Although it was a beautiful place, I just wasn't feeling it. In the end, I decided against having anything on a golf course (no offense to all of those married on a golf course, it just wasn't for us). I was having out-of-state people flying in from Texas that have never been to Cali before and I wanted to show them something memorable! Be it the city life in SF or Oakland, or the beautiful beaches of Santa Cruz.

I just had one more venue to go to that day with the fiance. We fell in love with it the moment we toured. It was our perfect spot! It had everything we wanted: big space, affordability, fun, kid friendly, and the beach! We booked it right away.

Next up: Our Venue (FINALLY!)

Were you totally against a certain type of venue?