Mission Ranch

ble. The venue is truly STUNNING. Many guests said it was the most beautiful wedding venue they'd ever been to. The food... SO GOOD! We wanted to have a pescatarian wedding, and even with those limitations the chefs were able to craft mouth-watering appetizers and entrees. We got TONS of positive feedback about the food as well! Best of all, there are 29 rooms on the property - ample room for friends and family to stay together. You automatically get a hotel block of 10 rooms when you book your event, but we got lucky and were able to book several more, which made the whole weekend extremely fun! Tip: we stayed in the honeymoon cottage and the space was perfect for hosting our morning-after brunch. Thank you Mission Ranch for making our special day so wonderful and memorable!

cadence - how do we, my husband and I and our guests, journey through the event? Mission Ranch had the answer. With a ceremony spot onsite overlooking the gorgeous sheep pastures and Carmel River Beach, a party barn for cocktail hour, a large barn for seated dinner, and a return to the party barn for dancing and cake - this space had cadence. We were even lucky enough that the pianist and bar tenders were up for staying late so we could enjoy the restaurant space as an after party. Also, my husband and I stayed in the honeymoon cottage, so instead of a grand send off, our guests lined the path from the party barn to the cottage where we had a short moment to catch our breath and change our shoes before heading back to the restaurant to sing Piano Man, Rocket Man, and even Breaking Free from high school musical. It was perfect. Each space had room for guests of all types - the ones who craved quiet conversation could convene outside by the fire pits and the ones who wanted to tear up the dance floor could do that as well. Consistently, I worried about the weather, as California had been battered with quite a few atmospheric rivers. And yet, we were blessed with 3 straight days of beautiful sunshine for our wedding weekend. Mission Ranch helped us make every use of every moment. On Friday, we wanted to do a Pickleball tournament on their beautiful and massive courts and it was truly the Pickleball picnic of my dreams. Thank God we didn’t have alcohol there because we had Il Fornaio and Hog’s Breath to look forward to that evening. I haven’t even talked about the joys of being tucked away in the farm house with the fire place going and our best friends and family spending some final moments together for the ceremony, it was perfect. I sat by the fire and my best friends and Jack’s best friends co-mingled on the wrap around porch, in the living room, and the gardens. One might be nervous about getting married with a public and active restaurant and tennis complex near - but receiving the congratulations of smiling strangers cheers-ing to me as I rounded the corner before I walked down the aisle was one of my favorite memories. Gosh all I’ve done is talk about the space, now let me get to the staff! There were, what felt like, a million people staffed for the wedding and the service was reflective of that - simply incredible. They served generous wine pours and efficient food delivery that tasted quite literally exactly like our tasting for 4, but scaled to 170+. The wedding and event master, Rosie, was running around ensuring that we had the intimacy and privacy we desired, but also remaining present and enjoying the festivities with us. I loved working with her on this event. So in short - if you’re thinking mission ranch, you absolutely should do it. While you’re at it, do your rehearsal around lunchtime and plan a pickleball tournament. Savor the sheep and include a sheep theme to many of your wedding elements including your invitation suite and mother of the bride gifts. And inquire about an after party at the restaurant with the pianist, if available. I will be laughing endlessly about my wedding guests trying to “bahhhhh” at the sheep to get them to come closer for a picture. It was the best weekend of my life.

included a postponement. Rosie, Bailey, and Barbara were incredibly helpful throughout the whole thing. They answered every single question I asked, no matter how specific, and were so helpful with their expert guidance along the way. When it came time to the day itself, they truly knocked it out of the park. During the rehearsal, Rosie kept our groomsmen in line (no small feat) and on the day of, she made sure everything ran smoothly. And the venue itself is STUNNING! All of our guests were raving about how gorgeous the setting was. I'd choose this venue and the team again and again - they were the best and made our day extra special.

for their help in bringing our vision to life, and for making sure everything ran smoothly the day of. There was not a detail that they didn't think of, and they were always available and accommodating when I had questions throughout the process. The venue is absolutely breathtaking. It does not get better than Mission Ranch in Carmel! ALL of the food was delicious and the chefs really take care in making sure every menu item is just as you'd like it. They have a wonderful list of preferred vendors in the area that know the venue really well, which made planning very easy. If I could do it all over again, I would not change a single thing. That's how happy we were with Mission Ranch!