Big Sur River Inn

We do not have enough words to describe how wonderful our wedding experience was with the Big Sur River Inn. It is also reasonable in price and includes so much! Selena and Andrea(the wedding planners at the BSR), and the rest of the staff are great! We still visit and are greeted with smiles; they still treat us like we are the bride and groom. We even went back for our one year anniversary and they set up a special dinner and room for us! They are like family! From the planning to the special day we were treated with so much patience, respect and love. I have listed the highlights for us below! Selena, Andrea, and staff: Selena and Andrea are the best at what they do! They will create the special vision you have for your special day. They made a wildflower walkway, decorated the trees by the rivers with lily's and made wildflower bouquets by hand for us! They checked in with us all the time to see how we were and what we needed. They are so nice and we were so lucky to have them by our side on our special day. The staff in the dining room, at the bar, and the general store are so nice and accommodating. We even invited them to join in and dance at our wedding! The food: We are vegetarian! The staff and chefs worked so hard to make our menu and appetizers veggie and delicious! The deep-fried artichokes, the butternut squash raviolis and EVERYTHING else were soooooo goood! They made sure to make it perfect! They even ordered our favorite coconut beer on our special day for our signature drink! The location: The river is beautiful and we got married barefoot with our toes barely touching the water! The sun came through the trees and with the wildflowers that Selena and Andrea added made it a dream wedding! The hotel is awesome because our whole family could rent the entire hotel. When it came to "after-party time", we had the entire area to ourselves! It was awesome to party late into the night without worrying about waking anyone up! The suites are right by the river and the other rooms are across the street. The restaurant has a cabin feel and their food is amazing for dinner, lunch and breakfast This truly was a dream come true and if you want your wedding to be perfect, this is the place. You will not find more caring staff and a beautiful place to get married! Thank you BSR!!! - Sean and Trish

We hosted our wedding at the River Inn in June with a 100 of our closest friends and family members! The location is ideal.. River, restaurant, and rooms all in one central location! The entire planning process was easy and the food was great! Even with rain it didn't effect our special day! The best part was we never had to worry about one detail while there. Till this day we continue to be patrons of the River Inn as often as our schedules allow.

We chose to hold our wedding at the Big Sur River Inn because we were able to do the ceremony and reception in one location, plus they offered accommodations for our guests. Selena and Andrea were great, and made sure everything was taken care of and ran smoothly. They took care of everything, even putting together our bouquets and flower arraignments, so we were able to buy flowers wholesale and save some money. The venue is so beautiful naturally that we really didn't need much for decorations. It was absolutely magical, and I cant imagine a better place to get married. Plus we used the excuse of getting married in Big Sur to sneak away to "nail down the details" when the planning process got a little too stressful. It was the perfect excuse to visit one of my favorite places in the whole world!

Why we love Big Sur River Inn 1) We got the most bang for our buck at this location. Not only was it an amazing beautiful place to hang out for our celebration, but it was also a bargain compared to all the other outdoor venues were were looking at. If you're looking for an outdoor wedding, do yourself a favor and check this place out! 2) The food was AMAZING!! We had a ribs, brisket and roasted squash and people are STILL talking about how amazing the food was. 3) The serving staff was so friendly and accomodating. I felt taken care of the whole time without feeling like they were hovering. The bartender even helped my cousins come up with the "Matthleen" drink! 4) Selena and Andrea were so responsive to my every need. There's basically no need to hire a wedding planner, because this dynamic duo ran around and did everything I wanted just perfectly. Literally everything I asked for, they said yes and executed exactly how I wanted it. Selena even bustled my dress when my bridesmaids couldn't figure it out :) 5) You cannot take a bad picture at this venue. How could you? The river...the wooden deck...the trees...the landscaping...Since the venue was so beautiful, I got to save money on decorating, because I really didn't need to do a whole lot. 6) Most importantly (in my opinion), everyone at Big Sur River Inn genuinely like working there. You can tell Selena and Andrea like working with brides and creating what their vision is. The staff was all smiles and added to the happy, feel-good, fun vibes. I could go on and on...

I used to visit the Big Sur River Inn as a girl with my family in the summer. There, I would dream of being married on the lawn in the back of the resort, just inches away from the river, under the giant, cooling trees. Still, when my now-husband proposed to me in Cambria, CA (on one of our many trips out to the west coast as adults—we are East-coast dwellers now) we had to look at every wedding site on the Big Sur Coastline. I am so glad that we returned and were later married at the Big Sur River Inn on a warm summer afternoon. The afternoon, like almost every summer afternoon at the Big Sur River Inn, was warm and gorgeous (it’s true—the coastline can be fogged in to the North and the South and the sun is out at the River Inn). The trees created striking shadows for pictures as well as a perfect breeze through the passage between the buildings of the resort and the trickling waters of the Pheneger Creek as we walked down the aisle. The imposing majesty of this place in my childhood quickly morphed into a romantic setting, perfect for our big day. The wedding planner, Selena Perez, her assistant, Andrea, and their team of people made my husband and I feel that they wanted to create the wedding that we wanted on the property. They left nothing to chance as they worked tirelessly to ensure that everything went smoothly. All the way through, thanks to these efforts, we felt as though we were a part of the River Inn family. The twenty rooms on the property were filled with wedding guests making this a “wedding destination weekend” for many them. The rest of the Big Sur River Inn staff was great too in responding to any needs that our guests had during their stay. Even at breakfast in the mornings, staff welcomed our guests by remembering their names and greeting them with a smile. After the wedding ceremony, we ate dinner on the lower deck just before dark. The food (choice of steak, salmon or “marathon pasta”—yuummmm) was prepared expertly and in a timely manner. Then, we all moved inside the restaurant area, where (a stark contrast from the breakfast table set up) the DJ had set up a make-shift-dance-floor and a large screen to showcase pictures from the years my groom and I had spent together. From there, the restaurant provided the perfect space for us to get-down-Big-Sur-style all night long. We cut cake, had the bouquet toss, even provided late night munchies (Selena’s idea) for our guests a few hours after dinner. When people left, they remarked about how beautiful the site was, how effortless it all looked, how exquisite the flowers were and how much fun they had. Looking back, our wedding was so much more than I ever could have imagined. I am so happy that we trusted Selena, the staff and the Big Sur River Inn, to host this special day for us. For the years to come, I will have new memories to one day share with my children about such a special place in the heart of Big Sur. And who knows, maybe one day, we will have another family wedding there.

Loved it! Absolutely loved it! We had the wedding of our dreams at the Big Sur River Inn. Selena was amazing to work with. She really helped deliver our vision, and made sure everything ran smoothly. Great food. We went in for a tasting and tweaked the food options. The staff were flexible, and willing to make changes on the fly to accommodate anything we wanted. We had vegetarian options, pasta, chicken, steak, kabobs, quesadillas and drinks. Everyone had a great time. Best wedding food ever. It sounds like I'm gushing, but seriously... All the plates were clean by the end of dinner. The ceremony was amazing. Last minute we found out that it was going to rain. They proactively found a canopy, booked it, and rearranged our plans to accommodate the weather. Hillary was freaking out before speaking to Selena, and after our 'final' meeting with them we were both really happy with the arrangements. The staff were great. They did the whole setup. All the decorations. Everything. And it came out exactly the way we wanted. Selena has a great eye, and helped ensure the table was decorated but not cluttered. The setting itself is gorgeous, and in the rain all the plants got even greener. Not only were the mechanics of the wedding perfect, the price was great! This place by far had the best bang for the buck. They were the most flexible with options and delivered it at a great price. The rooms were no hassle and no stress. I can't say enough good things about the Big Sur River Inn. If you want to have an amazing ceremony,and fun reception... You need to look no further.

spent my honeymoon night here, fabulous!

I highly recommend both the Big Sur River Inn, and Selena Perez, their excellent event manager. We had our wedding in Big Sur in September 2010, and hosted our Friday Night “Welcome Event” at the Big Sur River Inn. It was a delight to work with Selena and the rest of her staff. We wanted a low-key and comfortable start to our wedding. We also wanted to welcome our many friends and family that had traveled far to join us in celebration, without breaking the bank. Selena helped us create the perfect event to meet those goals. The space was beautifully decorated and the food and drinks that she recommended were a huge hit. Many of our guests also at the Big Sur River Inn for the weekend - the rates are reasonable and I know that everyone had an enjoyable stay. Working with the staff to get accommodations organized was quite easy - much more so than some other places in the area. On a more personal level, I can also confirm that Selena is a delight to work with. She is hardworking and well organized, two traits that often matter most to brides-to-be. She has great ideas for how to make events feel special and unique, which is impressive given the number that she regularly puts on. Most of all, Selena is kind, considerate, and thoughtful—working with her is a breeze.

We held our rehearsal dinner at the Big Sur River Inn last June and we could not have been more happy with our experience. The setting blew our guests away (we had dozens of "best rehearsal ever!"), the food was delicious with huge portions and the staff was delightful and easy-going. Planning the rehearsal was the easiest part of the wedding thanks to Selena's helpful, whatever-you-need attitude. You can tell she really enjoys her job and making her clients happy. All aspects of their pricing is also very reasonable. Can you tell I loved it?! How perfect: A huge outdoor patio full of your favorite people, a stream with chairs IN the river to sit in, a grassy lawn, delicious food and drinks....it was heaven. If you can't get married/have your rehearsal there...definitely at least have dinner and stay the night!