Monterey Wedding Locations
Are you still looking for a place to get married on the Monterey Peninsula? Have you searched the internet for ideas about weddings in Big Sur, Monterey, Carmel and beyond and the whole process is extremely confusing? I am here to help!
Over the past 12 years, I have officiated weddings in over 150 different locations. Some of my favorite wedding locations in Monterey County have been:
- A high cliff in Big Sur, away from everyone, with tremendous views of the ocean and majestic mountains.
- A private home with a patio built into a cliff where they water will crash just under your feet.
- A ranch in Carmel Valley that is very remote -- only wedding guests are allowed -- with your own set of private residences, an outdoor lawn and patio area with mountain views, a barn for dancing and drinks, and a stone patio for your private reception.
I often get asked if I have a favorite place to perform a wedding ceremony in Monterey County. That's a hard question to answer because there are so many beautiful places. From 2019, here are a few of my favorites:
- La Playa Hotel in Carmel on a warm, summer day. They hired a company to set up some custom, Victorian era furniture and a florist who did the most amazing job with florals around their fountain. It was a calm day when you could hear just a bit of the waves crashing onto the nearby shoreline on Carmel Beach.
- The Monterey Plaza Hotel on a crystal clear day with about a dozen sailboats on the Monterey Bay. On their lower plaza, the waves crash underneath the ceremony site and the combination of the views of Fisherman's Wharf and Cannery Row and just the elegance of the hotel was breathtaking.
- Big Sur on just about any day. In particular, I recall a wedding planner who invited me to officiate a wedding in a small redwood grove, accessible by a trail that traveled through a large meadow. It was quiet and intimate and the couple took photos down by a small beach afterward.
If you provide me the honor of officiating your wedding, I always do my best to be as helpful as possible. When it comes to helping people find a place to get married in Monterey, Carmel, Big Sur and beyond, I always have a lot of ideas (and information about permits and restrictions). The first step is to narrow down the TYPE of place for which you are looking. The most common weddings sites would be:
- Hotels
- Parks
- Cliffs
- Beaches
- Forest / Redwoods
- Private Residences (mostly only in Big Sur or Carmel Valley due to recent restrictions)
- Church
- Restaurants (believe it or not -- some have some great facilities such as Tarpy's Roadhouse. If you are on a budget, you can have a ceremony and reception in the same room (Golden Globe style) which can be a lot of fun.
In all, I think that Monterey County has some of the most beautiful wedding venues in the country and a lot from which to choose. Feel free to reach out to me for more information.
Over the past 12 years, I have officiated weddings in over 150 different locations. Some of my favorite wedding locations in Monterey County have been:
- A high cliff in Big Sur, away from everyone, with tremendous views of the ocean and majestic mountains.
- A private home with a patio built into a cliff where they water will crash just under your feet.
- A ranch in Carmel Valley that is very remote -- only wedding guests are allowed -- with your own set of private residences, an outdoor lawn and patio area with mountain views, a barn for dancing and drinks, and a stone patio for your private reception.
I often get asked if I have a favorite place to perform a wedding ceremony in Monterey County. That's a hard question to answer because there are so many beautiful places. From 2019, here are a few of my favorites:
- La Playa Hotel in Carmel on a warm, summer day. They hired a company to set up some custom, Victorian era furniture and a florist who did the most amazing job with florals around their fountain. It was a calm day when you could hear just a bit of the waves crashing onto the nearby shoreline on Carmel Beach.
- The Monterey Plaza Hotel on a crystal clear day with about a dozen sailboats on the Monterey Bay. On their lower plaza, the waves crash underneath the ceremony site and the combination of the views of Fisherman's Wharf and Cannery Row and just the elegance of the hotel was breathtaking.
- Big Sur on just about any day. In particular, I recall a wedding planner who invited me to officiate a wedding in a small redwood grove, accessible by a trail that traveled through a large meadow. It was quiet and intimate and the couple took photos down by a small beach afterward.
If you provide me the honor of officiating your wedding, I always do my best to be as helpful as possible. When it comes to helping people find a place to get married in Monterey, Carmel, Big Sur and beyond, I always have a lot of ideas (and information about permits and restrictions). The first step is to narrow down the TYPE of place for which you are looking. The most common weddings sites would be:
- Hotels
- Parks
- Cliffs
- Beaches
- Forest / Redwoods
- Private Residences (mostly only in Big Sur or Carmel Valley due to recent restrictions)
- Church
- Restaurants (believe it or not -- some have some great facilities such as Tarpy's Roadhouse. If you are on a budget, you can have a ceremony and reception in the same room (Golden Globe style) which can be a lot of fun.
In all, I think that Monterey County has some of the most beautiful wedding venues in the country and a lot from which to choose. Feel free to reach out to me for more information.