Venue: This venue is an absolute dream. It is incredibly unique & the barrel room is gorgeous if you light it up with uplighting and tons of candles. Our guests loved that our even...t was at the CIA and many came early to check out the CIA/take a tour/check out the gift shop! Also, this venue allows for a great mix of outside/inside events for your special day. We did our ceremony and cocktail hour outside and our reception inside. This made is easy to ensure our guests were never too hot or cold. You should note that there is no direct sunlight on the front terrace after about 4pm (depending on the time of year).
One of the initial reasons we loved this venue was because there was a “built in” back up plan. The year before there were fires during this time, and we wanted to make sure the venue could accommodate the entire wedding inside if needed. Fortunately for us, the smoke on our wedding day was limited and we could host our event outside/inside as originally planned, but it was comforting to know we had options. The venue also has a backup generator in the case of a power outage.
Food: The food will be even better at your event than you or your guests will expect. When we did our tasting, the chef sat with us as we discussed some tweaks which was great. On our wedding day, the food was as good (if not better) than at our tasting.
Another special part of the CIA was working with the pastry chef on the cake. The pastry chef was very eager to bring my vision to life and made all the different accommodates I requested. Of course the cake was also AMAZINGLY delicious. Also, the pastry chef WAS THERE ON OUR WEDDING DAY to make sure everything was set up perfectly AND to help cut slices and such. That to me, is unheard-of and very special.
Alcohol: BYOB! The CIA allowed BYOB for our wedding which is unique in Napa Valley. This was incredibly important for us because we wanted to bring some special bottles for our guests, and simply paid corkage vs. a highly marked up per bottle fee. The venue did a fantastic job facilitating our wine and ensuring our guests never had an empty glass.
Support Staff: We LOVE Andrea. From start to finish, Andrea was supportive of every crazy idea we had, and made the whole experience fun from start to finish. Never at any point did we feel as if our event wasn’t her #1 priority, which is impressive considering how busy the CIA is :) Also, the week leading up to our wedding we were unsure if we even be able to have our wedding at the CIA because of the fire threat/smoke/evacuations. Throughout the entire process, Andrea was continually checking in with us and doing everything in per power to ensure we felt calm and supported. This made the BIGGEST difference and we cannot thank her event. The day of event staff were also amazing and were checking in with us continually to ensure we were having the best time, which we did!
Overall impressions: The CIA at Greystone is worth every single penny. Napa Valley weddings can be incredibly expensive, but every thing we spent money on at the CIA seemed to be a fair and reasonable cost. Looking back, I would 100% have my wedding here again and hope I can find a reason someday to throw another event here :)
Lastly, quick shoutout to our other amazing and highly recommended vendors:
Bre Thurston (photography)
Denon and Doyle (sound, DJ, lighting, photo booth)
Vanda Floral (floral decor)