Camarillo Ranch

We got married here in July 2018 and we were so happy with the venue! This venue has that rustic charming storybook feel without all of the issues of really remote venues (they have real bathrooms, floors, fans & amenities). The staff was great and were flexible in letting us stop by a few times before the big day. There are so many options with this venue - multiple outdoor locations, beautiful & cozy & spacious indoor barn, great spots for photos & a charming Victorian house. I had 166 guests and it was the perfect venue for that size. The only thing that went wrong was an unexpected heat wave but that was the one thing we couldn't control! The main lawn was exactly what I dreamed for my ceremony & the barn was perfect for the reception, we had 18 tables, a bar, dessert bar & a big enough dance floor and it was perfect. They also had a great space for cocktail hour. Having a wedding in Ventura County was great, the wedding industry is a big focus and it shows in how amazing all of the vendors were! I do wish the venue came with more as it really comes as a blank slate for you to design (wish I didn't have to rent tables & chairs) but in the end it was worth it, we got exactly what we wanted & the venue rental price can't be beat! Much cheaper than weddings in Malibu!

Had so many compliments on the venue! Large, spacious and flexible. Had the entire location to ourselves all day (minus public tours, but those ended before ceremony and on a Friday it wasn't busy). Used the gazebo for our ceremony, garden for our cocktail hour and had reception in the barn. However, you can do whichever event in whatever space you prefer! BYO vendors (with Exclusive vendor lists on Catering, Rentals and Coordinator) Was very happy!

Camarillo Ranch was amazing ! We had it all day and we're able to take pictures in the historical house. We had the whole thing to ourselves! Absolutely amazing!

I will start off by saying that overall I loved Camarillo Ranch - it is absolutely gorgeous & really was exactly what we were looking for. However, being a historic landmark there were a lot of rules. Some of these we were told about in advance of booking & others not - so my point of this review is to inform potential brides. I would book the venue again but I would have liked to know all of the rules ahead of time. Pros - Jasmine, the event manager, was great to work with! Super helpful! You get the venue for the entire day (but there may be public tours of the house until 3pm - we were not told this in advance). The setting around the property is gorgeous - makes for the best photos. We has our ceremony in front of the large fig tree and it was absolutely gorgeous. The barn is so perfect for a reception & helps ease worries of potential rain. You can pick your own vendors (if you don't pick from their exclusive list of caterers, bartenders or rentals then you need to pay a $500 buy out). Cons - All vendors need to have a Camarillo Business Tax License & if they don't already they need to apply with city hall and pay for one. Some of our vendors were not too happy about this when they learned - for example, our florist had a business tax license in Thousand Oaks so she didn't really want to get one in Camarillo. Especially since she was only stepping foot on the property to drop off flowers. But there were no exceptions to this rule. This was a major pain to coordinate with all of my vendors. You & your vendors all need liability insurance (true of many venues but just a heads up). Need to hire 1 security guard for every 50 people if serving alcohol (really adds up $$$). No sparklers/open flames. When touring the venue we were told we could utilize any of the wine barrels they had on property so we were relying on these for our cocktail tables & ceremony decorations...as we approached the wedding date I mentioned this to the venue & they told me their rules had changed & we couldn't move them from the barn area. We ended up having to rent a bunch of cocktail tables & wine barrels at the last minute. This seemed crazy to us - paying $6,500 for a venue & not being able to use their super old wine barrels that were just sitting around. We were also told that the bridal suite didn't have good electrical so we should plan on getting ready off site. Because of this, I booked a hotel room for the night before. When we showed up on the wedding day we come to find out that the bridal suite had been completely re-done & brides get ready in there all of the time. I was pretty disappointed that I hadn't been informed of the change b/c we would have been able to save money on the hotel room & would have gotten some great photos of us getting ready in the adorable suite (definitely a positive for future brides - the room is super cute!) For spacing reference - They say the barn will fit up to 250 w/ a dance floor - In my opinion that's doable with a SMALL dance floor only. In the barn - we had 200 people, a large dance floor, DJ, photobooth, & dessert bar. We had to put our buffet line & bar on the patio outside the barn, which worked great. Any more people & it would have been too crowded w/ the dance floor size we wanted (which was FULL all night). Overall, the venue was amazing & we had a perfect day!! Just beware of the rules before booking :)

We booked the ranch for our wedding day and I can't tell you how many of our guests came up to us & told us how awesome the venue was! When my "now" husband and I took a tour of the site, we fell in love and didn't need to look anywhere else. It was perfect in so many ways! The space is so large that the opportunities are endless. We used the whole venue. Our ceremony was held on the East Lawn with the gorgeous gazebo as a backdrop. My bridesmaids, flower girls and I got ready in the bridal suite within the Victorian home which was soooo cute and beautifully decorated! We were able to safely keep our personal belongings in the suite during the ceremony & reception by having one of the Staff Members lock up the room. That was a big plus! The West & Front Lawn we used for cocktail hour and because of how much space there is, we were able to have lawn games like corn hole, can jam, and others for all of our guests to enjoy. The big red barn is where we had our reception and it was truly magical! So many of our guests told us it was the best wedding they had ever been to and I'm positive having it at the Ranch played a big part in that! Jasmine, the event manager I was in contact with during the whole planning process was always so sweet, clear, and prompt. She even left me a nice personal note in my bridal suite on my wedding day and it really meant a lot. I am so happy we had our wedding here & recommend this venue to any couple looking to have their perfect wedding day!

The Ranch was a great place to have our wedding and the staff was easy to work with! Our guests loved the venue and it was a beautiful setting

The venue itself is beautiful and amazing. However, when booking this venue, keep in mind that it is a blank canvas and that EVERYTHING needs to be rented. The staff was average, music needs to be turned off by 10 and being a historical landmark, there are plenty of rules.

A breezy outdoor ceremony and indoor reception at the same venue was what we wanted. Camarillo Ranch gave us exactly that. Even though it was a hot October day, our ceremony in the tree-surrounded area of the East Garden had a lovely breeze. After the vows, our guests enjoyed a cocktail hour in the gazebo area and then headed to the stunning barn for dinner and dancing. Camarillo Ranch office staff is very helpful and polite, as well. We couldn't have asked for a more comfortable, beautiful place to get married.

I loved the venue, so beautiful with so many different grounds to have different setting. My wedding looked spectacular, the only thing i would say about the venue is.. it's pretty pricey for just the venue... they do not provide anything else. Beautiful bridal suite though.

I recently had my wedding at Camarillo Ranch and it was beautiful. The venue is incredibly popular and snagged one of the last days in 2014. Originally I wanted a summer wedding, but there were no Saturday's available in the summer. It was serendipitous because our anniversary was at the end of October anyways. A fall wedding in Camarillo was amazing. Pros: 1) They allow you to bring in your own vendors. This reduced cost tremendously. 2) There were multiple areas to have the ceremony and the reception. You can mix it up depending on your style. We got married in front of the big tree in front of the house instead of the gazebo. 3) The bridal suite was beautiful and vintage fitting any rustic/vintage bride's vision. 4) You are the only wedding booked that day. There is nothing worse than looking over at another wedding and being envious. It's your day. It's your venue. Cons: 1) You have to remove all decorations and trash the same night. My husband and I were the last people there (besides the vendors) because we wanted to make sure everything was in order and didn't want to burden any of our guests with taking decorations or leftover alcohol. 2) You had to pay to be there earlier. The hours were from 4-10 so I had to pay to be there two hours earlier. I couldn't afford to add anymore time. They have changed it now where you pay to be there the whole day, but it was about $1500 more than I paid. It would have been nice to be there all day, but it was also nice to save that money. 3) They do not have a groom suite. It would have been nice to have a place for the groom to get ready. I know it's the brides day, but the groom needs to be attending to as well. Overall, no regrets. Beautiful and absolutely what I pictured.

This was the perfect venue for my wedding. My husband is from TX and the barn reception was exactly what we pictured. They are changing policies about extended hours and cars overnight so we had a couple double conversations on the same topics after booking that were a little frustrating. But overall, it was a great location and perfect for that rustic feel.

The ranch house and barn is absolutely beautiful! It fit well with our romantic, vintage inspired theme! The staff are also great and flexible! My guests said that they felt they were at Disneyland because it was so enchanted!

I found Camarillo Ranch by searching online, and I immediately moved it to the top of my list of wedding venues. In all honestly the Ranch itself is pretty much perfect - it's close to the freeway and easy to get to, but once you're on the property, you feel like the house and the barn are the only things around for miles. They only book 1 event per day, so our guests had complete freedom to roam around the property. It felt like we transported everyone to some remote and secret location, we had the place all to ourselves! I will have to say that the day-of went much smoother than I anticipated in terms of working with the staff at Camarillo. The beginning was a bit rocky - I had to chase them down to confirm that they received my application and almost had to beg them to take my credit card and charge me for a deposit. If you really need someone to walk you through each detail in terms of the venue, then I would suggest getting a wedding planner or coordinator and having them work with the Camarillo Ranch staff. I was actually afraid that my day-of coordinator would have a hard time communicating with the staff at Camarillo because they very rarely returned my emails and when I thought appointments had been made to meet with something in person, they were never actually there when I showed up. Dealing with the frustration of the less-than-perfect customer service at Camarillo was VERY worth the perfect setting I received for my wedding. I read another comment by somebody else that said the rates were expensive. I actually thought the opposite. If you get married at Camarillo Ranch on a Friday or Sunday, you automatically get a $500 discount (which we took advantage of). They do not offer any services, so you can pick your own caterer, florist, rental companies, etc. which allows you not only to design your wedding from head-to-toe, but also shop around for the best deals as opposed to getting stuck with the required vendors that are usually double or triple in cost. By piecing together each part of our wedding, we saved so much money. In the end, I was very happy that I chose Camarillo Ranch to host my wedding.

MY HUSBAND AND I HAD OUR WEDDING AT THE CAMARILLO RANCH HOUSE ALMOST A MONTH AGO. WE HAD THE RECEPTION IN THE BARN WHICH WAS PERFECT! WE THOUGHT IT WOULD GET HOT BECAUSE WE HAD 200 GUEST BUT THE CEILING FANS KEPT IT COOL. THE ONLY REASON I DID NOT GIVE IT 5 STARS WAS BECAUSE OF ALL THE RULES AND GUIDELINES. IF THERE WAS ALCOHOL BEING SERVED THEN YOU NEEDED 1 UNARMED GUARD PER 50 PEOPLE. SO I HAD TO HIRE 4 WHICH WAS VERY EXPENSIVE. THEY ASKED FOR A LICENSE BARTENDER AS WELL. OTHER THAN THAT, THE PLACE IS BEAUTIFUL AND DEFINITELY DIFFERENT THAN YOUR TRADITIONAL WEDDING VENUE.

Place was very easy to work with. You have to bring in all of your vendors but they really don't have any stipulations. Loved the place!

The Camarillo Ranch was absolutely perfect for our wedding venue! From before we booked it, the staff was very friendly and accomodating. We took many trips out there to take pictures and get ideas before our wedding day and the staff was always will to show us around and help us out. The grounds are so beautiful and offer historical value as well. We had our ceremony in the East garden and our reception in the newly restored red barn. We also were privileged to have a cocktail hour inside the Victorian house, which was great for guests to be able to walk around and explore while we had photos taken. The barn is so charming and offered us a classy but comfortable setting. Everyone felt right at home and since we had a good number of children at the wedding, it allowed them to move around freely without us worrying about anything. There are so many great photo opportunities around the property as well. It was also great to have such privacy... at a typical country club wedding venue, we would have had many people walking around during our ceremony and reception, but with the location of the ranch, it was very special to have our own little place to celebrate. We narrowly dodged a rain storn, but the ranch informed us that we could always move the ceremony into the barn if necessary, which was comforting to know. The barn has beautiful bathrooms, a projector and screen to use and new heaters installed (which we did not need even in November). Everything turned out exactly (if not better) than expected and I look forward to using the ranch for future events in our life!

Wonderful location, was able to accommodate our small wedding without lots of expense. Very beautiful for photography

loved Camarillo ranch, it was perfect for our wedding. Coordinator there is sometimes hard to get a hold of buy otherwise everything went smooth !

This place is beautiful. A Victorian home with several garden settings and a big red barn to bring it all together. My only complaint is the price. You pay to use the space, nothing is included. Our package cost over $3000.00 and didn't even guarantee a rehearsal date. Choose your space wisely.

I absolutely loved them as my venue. They are always willing to answer questions and they walk you through the contact so there are no surprises later. They also take really good care of the ground and it is always in great condition.i couldn't have pulled of half the things I wanted at any other location...they also give you the freedom to chose your own vendors which is what I liked most.

The Ranch was a beautiful location to have our wedding. We had both the ceremony and reception at the house. The set up was beautiful and we got to bring in all of our own vendors. The house provided a beautiful backdrop for photos and the barn was a great space for the reception. The event director was a little difficult to get in touch with via email, but we were always welcome to visit the site. They also offer many different locations for your event and rentals. We loved it!

Gloria is amazing and this is the place to have your wedding!

Camarillo Ranch was a BEAUTIFUL setting with extremely flexible, customer-service-oriented staff. All of my guests had a GREAT time and the garden ceremony was perfect. We had our reception in the barn and everything was PERFECT! And all for a GREAT price for the area!!!

This was the perfect venue at the perfect price for our wedding. I loved that we got to pick all of our own vendors. The Camarillo Ranch offers so many beautiful photo backgrounds that we couldn't be happier with our venue selection. Plus it is located near a few different hotels and the freeway for easy accessibility for our guests.

Since I grew up in Camarillo, I had fond memories of the Camarillo Ranch and always dreamed of having my wedding there. We were pleased to find out that the ranch was available for our July 4th celebration. Overall, we had a fantastic experience with the staff, the location and the event. Gloria in the main office was very helpful and accommodating; and Carlos, the groundskeeper was so helpful. He gave us great ideas for set up and the reception, like doing or first dance in the mansion's balcony. Absolutely stunning moment! The venue is maintained beautifully- from the gardens to the mansion. Our guests had the opportunity to visit the house during the reception and learn about the Camarillo family, the town's history and life during the early days of this great town. It's worth a visit to the Camarillo Ranch even just to check it out as a historical site. The only down side of this location is that you rent the venue only and have to contract with all of the other vendors separately - tables, catering, security, etc. The Ranch does have lights and chairs available for rent. While there are a lot of details in the planning, it is totally worth it. Our guests continue to talk about it as a memorable day and we loved sharing my hometown!

This is a gorgeous venue!!! It is also extremely affordable and perfect for a DIY bride. The newly rennovated barn provides an amazing atmosphere and looks beautiful in pictures. Unfortunately, your event may not be the only event scheduled on site which causes problems with set-up/clean-up time frames. You also have to pay for permits and security guards which adds to the cost. Staff is relaxed and friendly, but slightly unorganized and unprofessional at times. In the beginning they tell you that you can do/plan whatever you want, but as the date gets closer this is not the case.

EVERYTHING

As soon as we walked onto the grounds of the Camarillo Ranch, we fell in love with the uniqueness and charm of the house and grounds. The Camarillo Ranch Foundation was wonderful to work with. The coordinators were organized and very flexible with scheduling and working with me from New York. The grounds are absolutely stunning. The house is beautiful, and the gardens were a lovely place for our guests to meander.