A Romantic Journey In The Redwoods
201 to 250 guests
Holds ceremonies and receptions
Elee Hoyt
WEDDING SALES COORDINATOR
Roaring Camp Railroads is a historic railroad and logging camp nestled in an old-growth redwood forest in the coastal Santa Cruz Mountains. Imagine finding the perfect enchanting location to host your magical day. Well, look no further because this dream can be a beautiful reality at the lovely Roaring Camp Weddings!
This one-of-a-kind property will give you and your loved ones an unforgettable experience they will discuss in years to come! Boasting historic steam engines, picturesque views, and friendly staff, Roaring Camp Weddings is perfect for train enthusiasts and those who simply love a unique vintage flair. When you arrive at the venue, the team will show you to the schoolhouse bridal suite, where you and your glam squad can work together. Once ready, everyone can hop on the 100-year-old train through the forest to the Redwoods Fairy Circle. Here, you and your partner can exchange your heartfelt vows in a secluded area surrounded by towering oak trees and the sounds of birds chirping. After your romantic 'I dos,' guests will travel to the indoor Bret Harte Hall for an evening of fine dining and dancing. This 6,000-square-foot rustic barn can accommodate up to 300 people and features bistro lighting, wrought-iron chandeliers, and wooden beams. In addition, the adjacent lawn is ideal for fresh air, mingling, and playing games under the night sky.
Roaring Camp Weddings is more than happy to work closely with you to ensure your big day is visualized and exceeds expectations. With various services and amenities available, the onsite coordinator will craft a wedding package that fits your desires and budget. Essential event rentals, such as tables, chairs, and linens, as well as setup and teardown, will be provided by the team. Moreover, the in-house culinary team can create delicious dishes to serve your guests according to your taste buds and dietary requirements. For further details about this venue, please reach out to the staff today.
Woman-owned Business
Pricing details
Starting prices
Reception:
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Ceremony:
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Bar services:
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Catering:
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Starting prices don't include service fees, taxes, gratuity, and rental fees. Guest count and seasonality may also affect prices.
Amenities + details
Amenities
Ceremony Area
Dressing Room
Handicap Accessible
Indoor Event Space
Outdoor Event Space
Reception Area
Ceremony Types
Civil Union
Commitment Ceremony
Elopement
Interfaith Ceremony
Non-Religious Ceremony
Religious Ceremony
Second Wedding
Vow Renewal Ceremony
Guest Capacity
Up to 250
Settings
Barn
Historic Venue
Mountain
Park
Trees
Venue Service Offerings
Food & Catering
Rentals & Equipment
Service Staff
Any questions?
Meet the team
Elee Hoyt
Wedding Sales Coordinator
.
Availability
Reviews
4.6
out of 5.019 reviews
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Review Summary
This AI-generated summary is a snapshot of this vendor's ratings and feedback.
Roaring Camp Railroads is highly recommended as a wedding venue with its woodsy, rustic atmosphere and kid-friendly environment. Guests had a great time and praised the beautiful setting of the redwood grove ceremony and the spacious reception hall. The staff, including Heather, were friendly and accommodating, helping with last-minute adjustments and coordinating various aspects of the event. The convenience of having on-site catering, table and chair rentals, and a bar made planning easier, and guests appreciated the unique experience of the steam train ride.- Top reviews
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Megan O
2.0
10/11/2023
We were so excited to get married at this beautiful venue and had a great experience with our tour and getting our contract started. From that point on however things did not remain as we were expecting.
The staff had both of our email addresses mistyped so we were not getting emails for months. We even almost missed the February showcase because of this. I was told to check spam and told them we still were not getting emails. Finally I asked them to forward us the original they sent to a different email and then that's when we found out both of our email addresses were mistyped.
Another huge typo we came across was being misquoted for food. The typo was charging us $100 per plate instead of $65 per plate so we almost overpaid for food significantly. Definity double check your paperwork.
Also we almost didn't have bartending secured. You go through the bartending service Raise Your Glass and I had to do the following up because for some reason our wedding date did not have a bartender assigned. Quote from the email, "Our team recently went over weddings booked with [redacted] over at Roaring Camp, and it seems we never officially had gotten you on the books for this weekend. We are unsure about how this may have happened, but I want to make sure we have your bartending officially scheduled for this weekend." We were thankfully able to secure the bartending and fix that.
Okay, now we are at day of wedding. Day of wedding train was delayed which pushed back our timeline quite a bit. I know they still service the public so things can't always go on schedule but that delay pushed into our timeline and we had to skip table visits because of it.
We were also told during the tour that inside the Bret Hall barn there was supposed to be a bathroom for the wedding couple but there was not. So it was public restroom situation for all of us which is not fun in a wedding gown. There is a private restroom behind the schoolhouse but its more of a portable set up and very small. Not ideal for someone in a wedding dress.
You pay for parking for your guests, which is fine, but since they do not reserve a section for the wedding it's first come first serve parking with the public and a lot of my guests had to park and walk quite a bit. Just a heads up on that.
The last big bummer was that we won a free tator tot add on bar back when we did the showcase (that we almost missed) and it was never brought out. It was on our final invoice (as comped) but we were excited that we won it and that we were giving our guests the opportunity to have more food. We didn't realize it hadn't come out until it was too late and catering was done.
They offered us two free train tickets and a sack lunch in the apology email. I do not know what would have remedied the situation, but it was something we looked forward to.
We still made the best of our beautiful day and had a great wedding despite all the behind the scenes let downs. It was a unique wedding experience for all of our guests and I know they enjoyed themselves despite bathroom and parking not being super convenient.
We were hoping Roaring Camp would have sent out a follow up questionnaire for feedback but maybe that's not common for venues.
We do want to say big shout out to our conductor, he was great and made the train ride up to the cathedral grove fun.
It's a beautiful and unique venue. It's just so disappointing pouring your hard work and money into a venue that consistently had us fall through the cracks.
Samantha R
5.0
6/20/2023
Roaring Camp Railroads helped us throw the most wonderful, memorable and beautiful wedding. We had our ceremony and reception there on May 19 of this year and it was amazing. We chose the steam train ride to the ceremony location, which was in the redwood grove and it was so beautiful. The reception was so much fun and in the perfect setting/place. Our guests keep telling us how great of a time they had and how beautiful the venue was. I highly recommend Roaring Camp if you're looking for a woodsy, rustic wedding ceremony and reception. It's also very kid friendly. Casual and fun. You won't be disappointed!
Any questions?
Elizabeth B
5.0
3/10/2023
This was a great event space and had very reasonable pricing. We had our wedding here back in 2016 for 200 guests. They allowed us to contract outside the venue for appetizers and bartenders (beer and wine only). Originally we had a caterer but they fell through a month before the wedding and Heather was kind enough to set up a contract adjustment to include food, which was delicious, and she gave us the price we would have paid if we bundled it into our contract the year before, when we first signed.
I highly recommend getting a day-of coordinator and setting up staff for clean up unless you have some very dedicated friends and family. That was where I was a bit stressed out on the day of, since I tried to take on too much on my own.
We opted to do a train ride with our guests up to a standing wedding ceremony in a redwood grove, with a reception at the hall afterward. People still talk about our wedding and the train ride years later!
Elizabeth C
3.0
6/02/2022
A beautiful and affordable place to get married! Heather (the coordinator) did not help us much the day of (she was MIA), so hire a coordinator if you can afford it! The food is mediocre- so hire outside catering if you can. Be warned that the police wait in the parking lot to give DUIs- such a bummer! Otherwise it is a glorious place to get hitched!
Andrew K
5.0
2/28/2022
Roaring Camp Railroads was the perfect venue for our wedding. The steam train ride, beautiful redwood grove ceremony, and large, rustic reception hall made for a memorable experience for our guests. Heather and the rest of the staff were friendly, responsive, and easy to work with. The catering team created a delicious menu for us with great options for all diets.
We appreciated that Roaring Camp coordinates so many parts of the day that would require contacting separate vendors at other venues, like table and chair rentals and setup, catering, and a bar. On top of that, the unique ceremony and reception sites share a parking lot and don't require guests to drive between the two. Though we didn't need it, it was also reassuring to know that Roaring Camp had great weather contingency plans. It's easy to underestimate how much planning and stress this all alleviates.
We had an amazing wedding day and Roaring Camp was such an important part of it. We can't recommend this venue highly enough.
Kimber D
5.0
9/16/2021
Our daughters wedding was held at Roaring Camp Railroad where we opted for the 100 year old steam train to the ceremony site and then back to the Hall for the reception. Everything was perfect and just as we expected. Our guests thought of being on a train was so cool and unusual it’s a wedding they will never forget. We used “Raise Your Glass Bartending” for our bar needs. Their “setup” is beautiful and unique. We opted for 2 bartenders. Roaring Camp refers their customers to Alexis Party Rentals for all of the interior needs and/or upgrades; place settings, linens, chairs, tables, etc…..they were just ok to work with and unfortunately the only game in town. In the end, everything turned out beautifully and gorgeous. We opted for an outside caterer so cannot comment on RC food options. Heather was amazing to work with and was very attentive!
Monica O
5.0
2/05/2020
This wedding venue made for a gorgeous location for my winter wedding. The train ride to the redwoods was a hit amongst my guests and Bret Hall was beautiful! It is a really DIY venue so make sure that is what you want for your wedding, but this place is amazing to make your vision come to life.
Kevin D
5.0
8/31/2019
We got married at Roaring Camp in July 2018 and it was absolutely incredible! The venue is gorgeous and speaks for itself. Our guests are STILL raving about how beautiful the location and the day were.
Word of warning - we did not find Heather nor the rest of the staff to be that helpful, sometimes even troubling. We wanted to make our day special and unique, and Heather very much would like you to stay in the box. Thankfully, we were very organized, as we took more of a DIY approach (brought food trucks, etc.), but this was really an "all on us" situation, including the actual wedding day.
Final note - they nickel and dime you for set up time and you MUST break everything down the night of the wedding or you'll be additionally charged. A fantastic venue, but if you're not really on top of your game (and aren't paying others extra money to assist), this can be a challenging venue. If you're on top of your game, go for it. We loved it!
Trillium N
5.0
5/24/2019
Roaring Camp Railroads is an amazing and unique venue. Both the reception hall and ceremony sites are beautiful, well-kept, and a visit to the site will show you just that.
The best part about this venue was definitely the wedding coordinator Heather. Even though they list themselves as a hands-off venue, the communication was superb. Heather provided a large amount of detailed information and was always quick to respond to any questions. Everything went incredibly smooth thanks to Heather's preset plans. Many of our guests told us that it was the best wedding they had ever been to. We couldn't be happier with the result.
Stephanie S
5.0
1/29/2019
Roaring Camp Railroads is the perfect place for a DIY rustic wedding. Heather and team were easy to communicate with over email and were quick to respond on working days (Wed-Sun). I cannot express how helpful they were to identifying table sizes, linens, ceremony options, chairs, decor, catering, and all of the other logistics. We had an outdoor winter ceremony in the School House Lawn and indoor reception in Bret Harte Hall. Again, I highly recommend Roaring Camp for your wedding!
Marta G
5.0
11/01/2018
I got married here this September! The staff was exceptional, Heather coordinated our day perfectly! They made all our wedding dreams come true! All our guests said it was hands down the best wedding they had ever been too.
Lillian H
3.0
11/01/2018
Roaring Camp is a unique wedding venue. How many people can say they road a train through the forest to their ceremony site? When my husband and I were first looking at venues, we did not want an overly complicated wedding filled with choices. We knew we wanted the wedding to be outside and for the venue to have its own catering so that we didn't have to pick. Roaring Camp lets you do a catering tasting prior to selecting your menu. And if your wedding happens to be later in the year, you can wait until they do their vendor showcase with a more extensive catering tasting in February, which worked out great for us. While Roaring Camp offered those nice things, we think there's a couple of things to be aware of should you choose this venue. 1) Hire your own wedding coordinator, as Heather (the on-site coordinator) and her team do not really do anything outside of making sure your ceremony starts on time. We were under the impression that Heather would be there day-of, as all of our communication had been with her, but another person, that we had never met before, showed up on the rehearsal and wedding day instead. 2) Very restrictive set up times, which can be stressful on you and your wedding party/family/vendors. 3) While RC markets itself as being a more affordable venue, they charge you for almost every little thing, including up-charging the rental fee from Alexis Party Rentals. For example, instead of buying our own votives and candles and having our hired coordinator handle them, we decided to rent them from Alexis Party Rentals, because the venue catering staff would set it up and light them for us before dinner. Midway through dinner, I notice that the candles that we paid an up-charge for weren't even lit. In the end, this more affordable venue ends up being about the same price as some other pricier venues in the area. Overall, the atmosphere was wonderful, the train was memorable, and all of our guests had a great time. Plus we were pleasantly surprised at good the food was! We would give Roaring Camp 3.5 stars, because there were a lot of positives. However, there were some things that we wished we had known prior to booking the venue.
response 05/24/2019
Apologies for the candles -they were a small over-site and was easily corrected. All the d...
etails were handed over to my assistant, Lindsey, who has done over 80 weddings with me here at Roaring Camp. We do coordinate more on the back end then you see day of to make your day run smoothly! I am here day of for all weddings, but I have been luck to find an amazing assistant coordinator- Lindsey. It just so happened that your wedding coordinator was also getting married herself that weekend! All the best-Heather
Jeff H
5.0
10/22/2018
We had our wedding in Sept 2018 at Roaring Camp. It was the most incredible day and we can not recommend the venue highly enough. When picking a wedding venue, we were aiming for a venue that would be unique and match our relationship. Roaring Camp was all we could have hoped for and more. We took the train to the top of Bear Mountain and had our ceremony in Cathedral Grove. It was stunning, as the pictures can attest to. Returning by train to the Bret Harte Hall for the reception, where we used Roaring Camp catering, was equally as magical. To buffet dinner was more than fine for what we were looking for dinner.
Heather was great to work with throughout the entire planning process. Her organization made it is clear they are a well oiled machine of turning successful, unique, fun, memorable weddings.
Everything from the planning, to the Q/A back and forth, to the vendor list (Alexis Party Rentals and Leos Liquors) was seamless. The venue does require a significant element of ‘DIY’ work to bring everything together. However this also allows you to make the day exactly what you are aiming for. There will likely be a wedding at RCR Friday night, so you have limited time on Saturday morning to set up the hall to your liking. The time to set up goes quickly. Make sure you have a great plan, are organized on what needs to get done and have plenty of help!
The one (very minor) downside is that because there was a wedding at RCR on Friday night, we had to have our rehearsal on Friday morning. This ended up not being an issue at all, as it allowed us to have a family lunch, get last minute tasks done in the afternoon and still have a more traditional rehearsal dinner on Friday night.
The Train Ride, Ceremony, Cocktail Hour, Dinner and Reception were all wonderful. We have heard from many of our guests, who travelled from all over the country, that it was the most memorable wedding they had ever been to. We could not have asked for a more perfect day. We will look back at our wedding at Roaring Camp with the fondest memories, and if you are looking for a more ‘relaxed’ wedding vibe, cannot recommend Roaring Camp enough.
Kimberly H
5.0
8/02/2018
We just had our wedding at Roaring Camp, and it was a blast. Some guests said it was the most FUN wedding they have ever attended. We had about 100 adults and about 15 kids < 5 years old, and the kids were very happy with the train and some lawn games, so their parents were happy too!
The venue was good for us as we wanted something campy and fun that would still appeal to a more 'traditional' wedding crowd (w/ a DJ and inside and all that), and we wanted something that could be somewhat DIY w/ decor/drinks, but also didn't have to be 100% DIY (they did the tables and linens and all that w/ their catering, and twinkle lights were included).
We used roaring camp catering, which was ready at the scheduled times and tasted as it did in the tastings. We went to the annual tasting event. I describe the food as perfectly acceptable - it's not elegant, super sophisticated, or the best thing you've ever tasted, but it's tasty, there was ample qty for us, and people seemed satisfied. Having all the tables ready to decorate at 9 am was super easy for us on the day of the event, which is a perk of using the venue catering.
We did our ceremony off-site.
All in all, it was perfect for us and I would highly recommend this venue if you like trains, like campy outdoor, have children attendees, etc.
Monica S
5.0
1/20/2018
The venue was so beautiful and accommodating for a diy bride like me. Affordable too! Everyone said how beautiful the hall was and the pictures came out beautiful
Sally M
5.0
9/05/2017
Roaring Camp was an AMAZING venue for our wedding in August. Our goal was to have a truly fun and memorable affair without breaking the bank. That it was and it didn't!
Everyone (especially the bride and groom) loved the train ride to the ceremony and the setting for our ceremony. It was magical!
Heather and the whole Roaring Camp staff was great to work with. Heather is the MOST organized person you could possibly work with. She's timely and concise with her communication and knows what works and what doesn't at Roaring Camp. I didn't hire a wedding planner, so relied on Heather's recommendations for vendors and logistics -- most of the vendors we chose were at the Roaring Camp Wedding Fair in early spring. We engaged the florist, bartender, cake vendors based on talking to them at the fair. We found our DJ on their vendor list. We also saved ourselves a trip to the rental company in Santa Cruz as they had all their available silverware, dishes and chairs on display at the fair where we could choose our dishes and silverware. We were elated with each vendor -- the skill, creativity and professionalism were remarkable.
One of the best parts of Roaring Camp is the reception hall (Bret Harte). We did NO decorating in the hall -- other than the basic table settings and adding a beautiful floral centerpiece on each round table. The hall was festive and welcoming. Once filled with family and friends, the hall was complete for dinner and dancing.
Emily C
5.0
1/21/2017
I videoed a wedding recently at Roaring Camp, and it was a uniquely wonderful magical experience. The wedding party and attendees board a train that transports you through the Santa Cruz mountains and redwoods to a special ceremony area. The ceremony was beautiful and then we all ride back to the reception held in the hall. The food was great - the staff were so friendly. Heather does the planning at Roaring Camp and she made sure that the event went smoothly - everyone had a wonderful time. I highly recommend.
Amber E
5.0
12/08/2015
Heather and the Roaring Camp staff were great to work with on our wedding day and everyday leading up to it. Heather answered all of my questions in a timely fashion, helped coordinate with our vendors and made me feel like I did not need to worry about the room being ready on our big day. My husband and I chose to get married on the lawn, the weather was awesome and the setting was gorgeous. The hall looked wonderful with the lighting provided by Roaring Camp (we did not do any additional lighting and it was absolutely fine) and the tables and chairs suited our needs. We had 215 people at our wedding and the hall did not feel overcrowded by any means. The schoolhouse adjacent to the lawn was fine for changing into dresses and applying last minute makeup with the ladies. We used outside catering so I can’t comment on the RC catering but used many vendors from RC’s preferred list and all of them were great.
A couple items to note (I was fully aware of this when I booked though): the bathrooms are a little stroll away from the hall, this can be tricky for older guests (we provided flashlights and it was fine) and you can only have beer & wine at the venue (again, no big deal, but worth mentioning).
Our wedding was amazing and I can’t thank Roaring Camp staff enough for their help.
M R
5.0
10/22/2013
This is a beautiful venue, I worked with Deanna and she was very prompt at answering my emails and helping me with everything. There are a few different areas that you can get married at or have your reception and they are all beautiful.
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Roaring Camp Railroads
Elee Hoyt
|
Wedding Sales Coordinator
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