Calamigos Ranch

d to address them here on The Knot. Important information and changes are not shared with us, we try to chase down somebody for answers and are never given clear or concrete answers. I found out through one of our wedding guests who was trying to book a room for our wedding that changes to room availability for the night of our wedding were made and no longer available. When I tried to reach Cindy (our initial point of contact), nobody at the venue can tell me if she even works there anymore. The way they are handling weddings that were booked on dates during the pandemic is deplorable.

migos staff proved to be unprofessional and negligent. Upon the grooms arrival on the day of the wedding he asked for the safe combinations for both the grooms and bridal suites. After getting codes from Calamigos coordinators Joy and Shayne and the operation manager the safes were deemed inoperable. Calamigos coordinators then announced that the safes were down over their radios to all Calamigos staff. Sometime that evening, we assume during the wedding ceremony, the bridal suite was robbed. My daughter’s entire wallet with over $3000 in cash and gift cards were stollen. All three bridesmaids had cash stollen, and I had diamond earrings stollen that were brought for the maid of honor. This ruined the entire wedding. I had to leave my daughters wedding two hours before the wedding was supposed to be over and go in search of the stolen items. My daughter and son in law spent the evening at the sheriffs station and calling credit card companies instead of enjoying their wedding night and honeymoon. Calamigos has not done anything about the situation except for saying that they would cooperate with the investigation. We spent our hard earned money for my daughter to have a beautiful wedding and had assumed that our possessions would be safe. The staff of Calamigos was negligent in announcing that the safes were not working and have done nothing to remedy the situation. Disgruntled Mother of the Bride

r wedding coordinators Helen and Joy that they needed to change either the date or the time of my wedding rehearsal due to them booking another event. After saying this was not an option and that I did not appreciate this last minute changes they pretended to change their tone and say my initial 5 o’clock appointment still works. However, for our wedding rehearsal they did everything in their power to rush us on and off property as soon as possible so that they can make more money for their next event. Don’t worry there’s more! On the day of our wedding we arrived at our scheduled two hours before ceremony time and asked Calamigos coordinators (Shayne and Joy) for the safe codes so that our valuables would be kept safe during our wedding. However, safes were inoperable and the Calamigos staff announced that the safes were down over the radio which resulted in the bridal suit getting robbed for over $10,000. In short we are less than thrilled that our wedding was ruined and we spent our wedding night filing police reports. Not only did we spend thousands of dollars on this wedding to get robbed at a subpar 5 star venue. Management, Staff and Owners have been less than accommodating in responses and helping make this right. I do NOT recommend having a wedding a Calamigos.

banquet hall food). For anyone who loves the design of Wayfarer's Chapel but wants ceremony and reception in the same space, the Oaks room is an incredible option. The wedding staff makes it easy to plan (and to make changes should you change your mind on anything). I highly recommend them if you're looking for a venue to wow your guests!

he was beyond helpful. Handled all my emails throughout the year and our crazy questions. Everything down to the detail was taken care of and she worked seamlessly with our wedding coordinator. This place is so special to us and we can't wait to visit on our anniversary. A truly magical venue with an amazing staff! Thank you for everything!

lizabeth were AMAZING. The event specialists and Weddings/Banquets department were another story. It seemed like once they got your money- they could care less about you. All the interactions with the event specialists felt disingenuous and like we were annoying them. I struggled to get replies to my emails with paperwork like my sound agreement. I was under the minimum number of guests required so I was already paying a bunch of money that basically wasn’t being used. At our final meeting they walked in, didn’t even sit down or discuss details before they asked for the money. They basically shooed us away from the meeting space in the middle if our meeting and rehearsal to bring prospective clients in. They let these people in The Oak Room during our rehearsal too. Then they slapped us with a hidden charge. From the moment we booked the venue to the rehearsal two days before- they NEVER mentioned that if your floor plan requires moving the dance floor that it would be an additional charge. When we were doing the rehearsal the dance floor was already where it needed to be (possibly from a previous wedding). The day after we submitted the floor plan I got an email from one of the Event Specialists that it’s a $375 charge to move the dance floor! I was pissed, but by this point it’s too late to change around the dang floor plan!!!!! So I just sighed and said fine. At this point I only had 79 guests, so I’m already over paying by almost $3K (I understand that the contract states that even if you have below 100 guests you’re going to pay the 100 guest minimum) so to hit me with a dance floor fee is super greedy! Just be wary and cover your bases if you’re going to book with the venue.

the wedding starts at 6 pm!). Because of this rule, our coordinator prepared the napkins and everything the day before. On the day of the wedding, when the venue was about to get ready, the coordinator realizes that the Calamigos Ranch team didn't set up the tables as we agreed before. There was no one to explain why they didn't do it and there was no time for my coordinator to remove the old clothes. Because of this, as our guests arrived, the tables were still getting ready. It was so embarrassing. After the wedding, I emailed them to understand and complain about the situation. Guess what, nobody got back to me! That responsive team, the team that is so quick to get us to sign and get our money, was not there to answer my questions. I would absolutely not recommend any of my friends and family to get married here.

and Cindy was consistent, communicating with us every step of the way! Our wedding took place in the Oaks Room and the day of our wedding, the staff were pleasant and on top of what needed to be done. Thank you, Thank you for making our dream wedding come true!!

I was so suprised how they made their pasta from scratch in house...it is those little things that wins me over this venue when compared to others. I look foward to each and every event I coordinate but when the client books Calamingos Ranch as their venue I just now that the day of the event I will be more relaxed!

one less vendor we had to worry about, as we live out of state. BUT... Calamigos is extremely expensive! We were getting frustrated at almost every turn, from being told one thing during the tour to being told another thing after we signed the contract. They weren't willing to work around our schedule for the tastings (unless we were willing to pay an additional $500 for a different date), some of our emails went unanswered because the representatives were no longer working there & no one picked up the emails. With these frustrations in mind, it made me regret choosing them at times. But, I would say I'm happy overall because of how efficient they were responding to emails & calls & how pretty it looked

owed up to the venue and come to find that your space has been DOUBLE BOOKED!!! This seems impossible since you are paying money (for us it was nearly 30k) for the very purpose of reserving the space for the evening. Sadly, this actually happened to us. When our bridal party showed up to prepare for the first look, there was a company picnic happening AT OUR DESIGNATED venue area. Tons of people there, playing extremely loud music. We stopped to ask when their event was supposed to end and they told us 4 pm. Our first look was scheduled to begin at 4 pm. As you can imagine, their event did not end on time and our first look was majorly disrupted. We had no choice but to use our ceremony area for our first look since there was no possible way we could do photos outside with the other event happening. It ended up being very awkward because our family and a lot of the bridal party who already had arrived with were just standing around watching us. No intimacy whatsoever. :( Due to the change of plans for our first look, a lot of our wedding attendees who arrived on our first shuttle to the venue ended up seeing me before the ceremony and ruined the dramatic surprise effect every bride dreams of on her wedding day. It continues! We had reservations to stay at Calamigos Guest Ranch that evening. It was pricey to stay there, but we splurged for the bridal suite since it was our wedding night. My luggage was dropped off by my Dad prior to the wedding. When my husband and I arrived at the front desk after the end of the wedding night to collect my bags, the front desk informed us that they never received the luggage. Just what someone leaving for a two-week honeymoon the next evening wants to hear!! After wasting at least an hour with an incompetent front desk worker, we went back to our room. I immediately told my fiance the room was much smaller and less fancy than what we paid for (I toured the property months before so we would definitely know). We decided to take a bath to try to wind down from all the stress, and the bathtub FLOODED. The room also had stains on the wall and the shower had dangerous sharp edges. I wish I was making this all up! We have yet to receive a reply from management about our partial refund request from the wedding venue. All this aside, whether they compensate us anything or not-- you don’t get a wedding do- over. Messing that up for someone is priceless. There are a lot of beautiful places to get married in southern california and while our wedding day still was great all this aside, it could’ve been A LOT better if we didn’t get married at Calamigos Ranch. Do yourself a favor and keep looking! The venue is gorgeous but it’s not worth it for how you are treated like a number. All they care about is money at this wedding factory...why else would they double book a venue on the most important day of someone's life? This place only gets two stars for me because the venue itself is beautiful and the bar/wait staff were great. I hope our story will help other couples from making the unfortunate mistake we made.

lus plus. BUT, it was SO worth it. Every single guest thought it was the most beautiful venue they have ever been to. The ones who live in California felt transported out of the bust Los Angeles they know and the ones who were visiting from all over (which was most of our guests) were just in pure awe. The food was absolutely to die for. The presentation was exactly as it was at our tasting which was such a pleasant thing to see. Our staff was awesome as well, they made sure we were never without a glass of water (or wine) and that we always felt attended to. I would recommend this place to anyone I know!

to the end of the reception, the staff couldn't have been more friendly, engaged and professional with continual attention to every detail throughout the many weeks of preparation. The reception setting with all of the beautiful furniture, table settings, and bar/food service drew so many positive comments from all of our guests. The hors d'oeuvres and dinner entrees were superb. The best part of all was that the staff was so attentive that the bride and groom and our immediate family members could just relax, not worry about a thing, and enjoy the moment with our family and friends. You will not be disappointed if you choose Calamigos Ranch for your wedding celebration!

hey do so many weddings here that they have the whole entire process ironed out and hassle-free. They are organized and professional. Not so good- Due to some really amazing remolding of our venue space, there was still some unfinished work on the day of our wedding. We had asked them multiple times in the month prior to remedy the situation (we were even told it was handled) but then noticed on the day-of it was not. My husband was not thrilled, but everything else was so perfect! Good- They have multiple extremely gorgeous event facilities to pick from, all of which translate to amazing wedding photos and an overall spectacular event. Not so good- We were not very impressed by the meal choices at our tasting, but the meals we chose for our evening were a huge hit! Portions were bigger than we expected and our guests were all happy! Good- The location is everything here. If you are from LA but want to feel like you are having a destination wedding, this is the spot. It is the perfect distance off the 101 freeway and/or PCH into the Malibu mountains. Truly, the wedding experience begins on your drive there- through the hills and vineyards- adding to the rustic, fairytale, and adventurous ambience right from the start. Not so good- With all the upgrades the cost can really add up! Good- Because of how picture perfect each venue is, you can scale down on your flowers and decor to save some money and still have your dream wedding! Overall I would say, if you haven't yet toured at Calamigos Ranch, go and see for yourself how gorgeous it is! Take a good look at the paperwork and breakdown of services to then decide if it suits your budget.

provided top notch service (special shout outs to Cindy on the wedding side and Kristi on the hotel side, simply amazing). We were married at the North Point Pavilion, which was a gorgeous venue. We had great prep rooms prior to the ceremony which certainly was a huge benefit to my wife. The lighting in the afternoon was phenomenal, and there were a large variety of places we took amazing pictures, including in little forests, in front of the Ferris wheel and in the grape vines. We stayed at the hotel on the property, and were shuttled around in a combo of Teslas and golf carts throughout the weekend. The hotel itself is way beyond expectations. Amazing breakfast, gorgeous pool (just finished remodeled) and extremely friendly staff (really, everyone says hello when you walk by). You can also take a shuttle down to their beach house right on PCH, which I highly recommend. The hotel rooms themselves are very well decorated, and there are lots of nice details in the bathrooms, in particular. For the reception, we did a cocktail hour, during which we took family photos while our guests started the party, with passed apps. The staff for food service was great, and everyone really seemed to enjoy their meals (we did the mid-priced option with a steak, chicken and veggie options - I had the steak which was cooked well, but the veggie one was truly awesome, some sort of risotto thing that my wife got that was surprisingly rich and satisfying). We used a day-of coordinator (Annette of Simply Natural Events, who was great and had an easy going but organized staff). We all used Jenny Smith for photos, Wave Form Entertainment for DJ, Press Films for videography and Exotic Green Gardens for our florist - would recommend them all. This team really worked well together, especially since I do not think our DJ had worked with our coordinator or other folks before. One thing to note is you do need to do some stuff with insurance, I think my wife's parents had to get something signed by their home insurance provider for some liability reasons; it was easy but just another step to keep in mind. Also, I think you do need a day-of coordinator per our contract with Calamigos, but that really took a lot of stress off of us for that day.