Want a Southern California winery wedding?

As I mentioned before, my coworker and fellow blogger Bryan Frank has been looking into a budget-friendly wedding venue for his daughter. Last week, he came by to report that his family had chosen a place after carefully evaluating i.e. eliminating costly wedding venues. After briefly contemplating a trip to Napa Valley to check out some wineries, they checked out Wilson Creek Winery and Vineyard in Temecula and were sold.

Photos courtesy of the inimitable Bryan Frank

Bryan and his family visited the winery sometime last month — you know, amid the gorgeous weather we were having all May — and decided this venue would give them the most bang for their buck. And for Bryan to say that, you know that’s gotta be true.

First, some of the more boring, yet important details. The winery, he told me, holds two weddings a day — large parties are about 125 people, and small parties are about 100, which I think will be his daughter’s wedding. Judging from their wedding price info page, they hold weddings all year, which is one of the bonuses of being in Southern California. Of course, their prices are a bit cheaper for December through March, which are slow wedding months. I kind of like how they spell out right on their info page that you get discounts for daytime weddings and Sunday/Friday weddings. I’m sure Bryan liked that too. Pictured above is the unadorned Champagne Ballroom.

This winery appears to have more than one spot perfect for a wedding ceremony, including this gazebo with hanging flowers. There’s also the permanent stage or dais pictured in the first photo, which is decorated beautifully in a photo featured on the winery’s gallery page.

Seeing as how we both work in news and have dealt regularly with October wildfires, Bryan and I talked briefly about the dangers of having a wedding in October in Temecula. He said that while the vineyards closest to the reception and wedding areas are not trimmed, everything further away is trimmed closely. He also said he’s never had to cover a fire in this area of Temecula. So there you go!

So, did budget-minded Bryan get what he wanted? He said he was aiming for a venue that would include just about everything — dinner (a choice of beef, chicken or fish), the ceremony and reception and an open bar (yes, open bar!) for under $10,000. I think the only things they’re not providing are flowers and cake. How’s that for all inclusive?

The information in this post was accurate when originally published in 2009.

Leave a Reply