Pacific Ridge Vineyard Estate

This is a review that has been a long time waiting. For those of you who are skeptical of the good rating I gave, I am not related to the vendor nor do I have any financial interest in the venue. I don't know how you look for IP addresses, but I can guarantee that I am not writing from the same IP address as any of the other reviewers.

First, I want to say that I read the website that jrome put up a year before I had my wedding, but after I had already put my deposit in. I have to admit that I might not have booked the site had I read the website beforehand. Since my husband and I had already given our non-refundable deposit, we confronted the required wedding coordinator about the website (most of the complaints are really against her and not the venue itself). After speaking with her over the phone, and in person, we felt comfortable moving forward.

The wedding planning process was definitely not without obstacles. Caterers have had a hard time working with this venue in the past, but now that they have more weddings under their belt (I think they've only had weddings there for a couple of years now), things seem to be running more smoothly. However, we did have some problems finding a reasonably priced caterer because there were a lot of little hidden expenses that came along with having a wedding outdoors on a private estate that my husband and I did not anticipate. For example, vendors (usually the caterer) must bring nearly all equipment including tables, linens, dinnerware, silverware, etc. The amount of labor required to put on a wedding there was an issue that we had to consider. Also, since it's outdoors and on the coast, we had to rent both umbrellas for the day and heaters at night. Shuttle service is a must since the road to the venue is tortuous and there is a lack of parking at the venue.

One of the nicer things about having a wedding here was that we were able to bring our own alcohol, which saved us tons of money! Also, the owner was flexible about bringing supplies to the venue beforehand so that we didn't have to worry about it the day of the wedding.

Finally, the wedding day: I have to say that my wedding at Pacific Ridge Vineyard Estate (now called Pacific Oaks Vineyard Estate) this summer was beautiful. Many of my guests commented that it was the most beautiful wedding that they had ever seen. We love that we got married there. The coast, the vineyard, the forest, the house, the pool, the garden, the oak grove...just gorgeous. For those of you who are considering Pacific Ridge Vineyard Estate, it is definitely one the most beautiful places to get married at. The location is very unique, and it's nice that they only have one wedding there on any given day (I think, even any given weekend). It does come with a cost (as far as average cost of a wedding, what we paid overall fit in with the average in the Bay Area - which I think is much much higher compared to the national average, and FYI, we had 135 guests). But, in the end, it was worth it!

We realized from the beginning that there are always 2 sides to a story and wanted to keep that in mind when we talked to the property owners and the wedding coordinator (Mary Lou). We personally found the property owners warm and welcoming and never had a problem with them. For the most part, we got along with our wedding coordinator. We had a few miscommunications with her during the initial planning stages but felt she did a great job on the day of the wedding and in the weeks leading up to the wedding. It was very stress free, and she was on top of everything!

Please don't let the bad reviews keep you from at least considering the property and forming your own opinion regarding whether or not you can work with the venue or its associates. This is a relatively new wedding venue and things are starting to run much more smoothly than before. Ultimately, we had a wonderful wedding there and would recommend it to others.

My finacee and I had a really bad experience with this location. We too would NOT recommend it. Disorganized, unprofessional, dishonest and rude are just a few quailities of the venue owners and required wedding planner.

If you are looking for other outdoor venues in Santa CRuz County I highly recommend Rancho Soquel.

I am thrilled to write a review for Pacific Ridge Vineyard. We live in Oregon and wanted a destination wedding. Pacific Ridge turned out to be the perfect place for our dream wedding. Our guests asked us how we ever found such a beautiful estate. The home, ceremony lawn with the perennial gardens,amazing pool and pool house, oak grove and large deck surrounded by the mountains were more than we hoped for in a wedding setting. Our photographer said he had more choices for wonderful photos - we love the pictures in the vineyard. The owners were so nice; enbracing us and our families during each visit. Mary Lou, the wedding coordinator made our day spectacular and stress-free for me.
Don't hesitate to have your wedding here.
Penny

Pacific Ridge Vineyard was the perfect wedding setting for us. Please don't go by the one star review. We created the wedding of our dreams at this venue in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Not many places where you can have views of the mountains, ocean and a vineyard! The landscape design is outstanding. The owners were a joy to work with and the coordinator, Mary Lou made our day perfect. I am giving a heartfelt recommendation.......... We feel so lucky to have found this site.

Pacific Ridge Vineyard was the perfet choice for our Wedding Day. The property is beautiful and very private. Our experience was Absolutely Joyful. The owners and coordinator went 'above and beyond' in making our experience everything our families dreamed of. A HUGE Thank You to Pacific Ridge for a lifetime of joyous memories.
Andrea

I have been planning my wedding for this spring at Pacific Ridge Vineyard with much joy. The venue is amazingly beautiful. I have found the owners and coordinator warm, professional, extremely ethical and helpful. I asked about the reviews on this site and feel obligated to enlighten the public; it's so easy to anonymously make hateful statements when the party to whom it is directed cannot defend themselves.
The following is an email letter written to the owner of Pacific Ridge by KRoades concerning her decision to cancel the contract: "Thank you for accepting our decision with grace and kindness."
NOW she writes the following review for public consumption: "Disorganized, unprofessional, dishonest and rude are just a few qualities of the venue owners and required wedding planner."
The mendacity displayed by this woman astounds me.
I am so excited about my wedding day and feel so lucky to have found Pacific Ridge Vineyard.
Thank you for reading this.

We, too, had a horrible experience at Pacific Ridge. Read all about it (and other couples' experiences) here:

http://pacificridgevineyardestate.googlepages.com/

We too had a sketchy experience which we luckily cut short....... strongly recommend you take a look at this webpage to get some real insight to this location.

http://pacificridgevineyardestate.googlepages.com/

ALSO, the rave reviews posted by May, wiltandre, EDE, Jhg, Penny H, & Lewie are posted by the same person at the SAME IP-address, for-longing the sketchiness of this vendor.

We had our wedding at Pacific Ridge Vineyard this past Fall. The venue is great; views of Santa Cruz Mts., Monterey Bay and Vineyard. The owners were so accommodating with our plans, went above and beyond to have everything we asked for. I read the one star review before our wedding, and don't understand her complaints. I hightly recommend this venue to other couples.

Our wedding at Pacific Ridge Vineyard last spring was everything we wanted. Setting was natural and at the same time elegant. All I can say is that our experience was perfect. We felt welcome by the owners and organized by our coordinator. Our guests loved the ride up through the beautiful scenery on the shuttle. We had so many options at this property to make the wedding really ours. We have great memories.