10 best wedding venues around San Francisco Bay Area
Planning to get married in or around the Golden City? Lucky you! There are countless stunning wedding venues around the San Francisco Bay Area, from sprawling vineyards and picturesque gardens to luxury spa hotels and historic buildings with jaw dropping architecture.
So where do you start your search? We asked Northern California wedding photographer Ditto Dianto to share his top wedding venues around the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond to help you choose the perfect location for your dream wedding. Let's go...
1. Montalvo Arts Center
The Montalvo Arts Center boasts beautiful picturesque locations everywhere you turn, including a charming Italian garden, cactus garden and a beautiful Spanish courtyard. I particularly love the grand indoor getting-ready site. It's airy and light-filled, and perfect for capturing those special pre-wedding moments.
2. San Francisco City Hall
If you dream of making a grand entrance, San Francisco City Hall is a must-see venue. The beautiful architecture gives you multiple photo locations, including that magnificent staircase, which provides the perfect wow moment. City hall is very accessible for small weddings and elopements, and the outdoor surroundings are beautiful too.
3. Filoli Garden
Filoli is a historical landmark that has served as the set for many Hollywood films, most famously the television series, Dynasty. I love the beautiful house architecture with outdoor climbing plants plus the multiple beautiful gardens that are perfect for amazing outdoor ceremonies.
4. Allied Art Guild
The Allied Arts Guild is a picturesque complex of art studios and shops plus a restaurant and garden. The wisteria makes stunning backdrop for a spring wedding! The renowned landscape photographer and environmentalist Ansel Adams was the Guild's photographer of record and took the first interior and exterior photographs, shortly after the buildings were completed in 1929.
5. Nella Terra Cellars
If you like the idea of sampling delicious local wines against the sun setting over a picturesque landscape of rolling hills, Nella Terra could be the wedding venue for you. Easily accessible from the 680 freeway yet feeling far from reality, Nella Terra gives your guests a unique San Francisco Bay Area experience they will be sure to talk about for years to come.
6. Casa Real at Ruby Hill Winery
Located in scenic Livermore Valley wine country, Casa Real boasts beautiful indoor ceremony spaces and outdoor ceremony sites amid picturesque vineyards. The on-site bridal suite is a nice touch too.
7. Bently Reserve
As the main headquarters of the Federal Reserve Bank for nearly 60 years, Bently Reserve is a historic venue with a winding staircase and beautiful pillars. It sports a massive and grandly decorated indoor ceremony and reception space, and the ideal choice if you're looking to tie the knot in downtown San Francisco.
8. The Gardens at Heather Farm
If you're picturing a country garden wedding with a backdrop of rambling roses, you have to check out The Gardens at Heather Farm. You'll find lush foliage-filled gazebo ceremony sites as well as indoor options, and it really is the ideal venue choice to get that garden feel while still being close to the city center.
9. Tre Posti
Tre Posti delivers a captivating blend of old-world Italy and California wine country. I love the charming bridal cottage and beautiful long pathway, which makes for a dramatic bridal procession. The ceremony site is perfectly lit during golden hour and sunset, with a stunning backdrop of vineyards in the background.
10. Ruth Bancroft Garden
Ruth Bancroft Garden is a must-see for lovers of nature and environmentalism, featuring a unique succulent garden with giant agaves and prickly pears. The garden became the first in the United States to be preserved by The Garden Conservancy and is a unique venue choice, with a massive greenhouse, charming pond, and ceremony space among beautiful plants and trees.
All images: Ditto Dianto
