Beautiful Wedding Venues Near Sacramento, California

Your wedding is one of the most important events in your life and where you have your ceremony and reception is one of the most important decisions you'll make regarding your wedding.

A winery, a beach, a vineyard, a ballroom, a Victorian home, or ? Weddings are done everywhere now with wineries and vineyards being among the most popular.

In this article I'll mention a few reception venues in Sacramento, California. Ceremonies are sometimes done at the same site as the reception; often the ceremony will be held outdoors at a site, then move (but on the same property) so the reception is done inside. Many ceremonies are still done in churches with receptions are being held just about anywhere.

A beautiful wedding venue only twenty minutes from Sacramento is the Bear Flag Farm, an organic farm and winery. With its vineyards, row crops, and orchards it is reminiscent of the French countryside. The buildings of the farm make up what seems like a small village. You arrive at the farm through a wrought-iron gate which opens onto a wide driveway divided by a row of beautiful crepe myrtle trees. At the end of the driveway the cars are parked by valets in a unseen, but near-by parking lot.

The Bear Flag Farm has several sites on their property for your ceremony and reception - the bride might appear through French doors of a cottage and down steps leading to an amphitheatre. Or, vows may be said right in the orchards, or, on the South Terrace beneath lovely sycamore trees at the edge of the amphitheatre. Your reception might be in a tent at the front of the winery, in an orchard, or, on the terrace - the possibilities are almost endless.

The various sites, both indoors, and out, can handle up to 200 guests. Umbrellas are available to daytime events and paper lanterns are hung for evening festivities. Only one event is held at the Bear Flag Farm per day, so you'll have both privacy and the total attention of their staff. The management will provide a list of preferred vendors. You may bring in your own wine and champagne but a certain amount must also be bought from the estate. Live music and a large dance floor is available also. (For more information visit www.bearflagfarm.com.)

The next beautiful wedding venue is the Sacramento Grand Ballroom, located in downtown Sacramento, only blocks from the Capitol building. It is an elegant neoclassical edifice looking as if it belongs among the Greek ruins. It was built in the early 1900's and featured a 45-foot tall ceiling and stately Corinthian columns. Some years later it underwent a massive remodeling job to emerge in a Roaring Twenties style.

Today, it's one of Sacramento's most sought after wedding and event facilities. Its taupe marble walls extend over 120 feet up to the coffered golf leaf ceiling and tall, twenty foot windows are divided by pilasters inspired by the Vatican. Since the building was once a bank, guests now order drinks from a window marked "Paying and Receiving" - from bartenders working in former tellers' cages made of old brass and beautiful beveled glass.

This wedding site can accommodate about 600 standing guests or slightly over 400 seated guests. A preferred vendor list is available but you can also provide your own insured and licensed caterer. The staff will work with you on all the details or allow you to plan and execute everything yourself. (Visit www.eventarchitects.net for additional information.)

The last beautiful wedding venue was built in 1853, in the heart of the old riverfront historic district of Sacramento - today, that area is know as "Old Sacramento." The Firehouse really did house Engine Company No. 3, which stabled its horses in what is now the wine cellar. It became a restaurant in the 1960's and today offers several Gilded Era dining sections featuring twelve-foot ceilings, mahogany wainscoting, ornate mirrors, and massive paintings of grande dames and ladies of a more questionable repute.

Its al fresco dining area where you might host your reception, has fountains, wrought-iron balconies, ivy-covered brick walls, and, above, a canopy of Chinese elm and mulberry trees. Or, you may select the Golden Eagle Room which holds up to 150 guests. This room can also be divided into smaller rooms and the wine cellars downstairs are the perfect size for an intimate rehearsal dinner or a bridal luncheon.

The Firehouse has indoor and outdoor sites which will accommodate up to 400 persons for your reception and up to 300 for the ceremony. The award winning staff will cater your wedding and you may choose to bring your own liquor and pay a corkage fee. If you're looking for a terrific venue that fun yet elegant, look no further that this historic landmark. (Check out www.firehouseoldsac.com.)

There are many, many more choices for weddings and events in and around the Sacramento area. Keep in mind, you'll need to reserve many of these up to a year in advance. Look for another articles about more beautiful wedding venues sites coming soon.

Happy wedding planning!