the reception venue

With only 20 days go to, I realize this topic is really late in the game to talk about, but thought I’d document all the venues we considered and how we ended up choosing Rancho Las Lomas as our venue.

The first venue I fell in love with was Strawberry Farms Golf Club. Everything about it was truly perfect. The natural scenery the grounds offered as well as the cute, rustic feel of the red barn was so appealing. It was close enough to home (Irvine) that our parents wouldn’t object as much to a non-Asian restaurant reception. The one thing that made/break our decision was the limited capacity. I could not stick to inviting only 250 guests. With heavy hearts we slowly accepted that it was simply not possible to have it there and moved onto looking at different venues with at least a 350 person capacity.

We continued on but didn’t have much luck. We visited the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, but couldn’t quite see ourselves celebrating there. It was a bit too proper for our taste. We appeased the parents by visiting one traditional Asian restaurant closer to home: Mon Cheri Restaurant. I must admit that Mon Cheri has a more modern feel vs your typical Asian restaurant offering by default gold chiavari chairs, non gold/red walls with mirrors, and an updated interior design. Even with all that we knew it wasn’t what we wanted. The single hotel we did consider was the Double Tree in Anaheim. It would likely have come down to that location if our parents were absolutely adamant about having it near home.

Rancho Capistrano was also a beautiful, rustic, outdoor venue that we wanted to consider, but it was a bit of a distance from home. The other downside was the beer and wine only policy–no liquor. I don’t think our guests would have been too happy about that one. Sadly the location has shut down, but will honor the 90 weddings that were booked there for 2010.

From the start Rob and I knew we wanted something different, hopefully something outdoor. So when I landed on Rancho Las Lomas‘ website and in their events section it stated a capacity of up to 400, can you imagine how ecstatic I was to read those words?!? An outdoor/indoor venue with beautiful natural and landscaped grounds (great for photos ops!), and it can hold the amount of guests we needed! Our in-person visit to the venue only confirmed how much we really wanted to have our event there.

The real problem was the looming uphill battle with our parents to convince them to agree with us in breaking tradition. I can still remember the heartbreaking months of bringing up the topic, talking them thru our ideas, negotiating the details, etc. We argued, we cried, but we were also hopeful and persevered. We were able to at least get our moms to visit the venue and from there we worked our support system and every avenue possible to get our parents to agree to let us have our wedding reception at Rancho Las Lomas. In the end we signed with the venue with the minimum amount of support needed to do so. We hope not to let them down when they and their guests see the venue for its grandeur and true natural beauty. With our own personal touches we will turn the venue into our very own paradise to celebrate our marriage.

Little old me on a visit to the venue during this past winter. I’ve got my clipboard and pen ready for brainstorming ideas with what to do with this room for our after hours party time.

By the way, please come to see the animals! Lions, zebra, llamas, birds, and many more.

Filed under Blog | Comment (1)