A Perfect California Wedding Venue for a Wedding Weekend: At The Bluff Wedding Venue
A trend I’m loving as a California wedding photographer? Wedding weekends. There’s no limit to the amount of partying you can do to celebrate getting married, and I love it! Wedding weekends are a great way to keep the energy going, and Destiny and Victoria did everything right. See all the inspo below, and check out a California wedding venue that’s PERFECT for the full weekend!
At the Bluff: A California Wedding Venue
Tucked away between the ocean and the redwoods in Ferndale, California, sits a fricken adorable little wedding venue called At the Bluff. It’s a farm wedding venue out of a dream, and the first words that come to mind to describe it are elegance and charm. It’s giving rom-com wedding, and I’m obsessed with how quaint it is.
The venue has indoor and outdoor options, on-site accommodations for 11, and creates a gorgeous blank slate for you to put your own spin on. You can tell that they thought of EVERYTHING, and made it so easy to plan your day (or weekend!) here. They have packages that let you book for the whole weekend, and since they can host 11 overnight, it’s perfect for a pre-wedding night sleepover! The California wedding venue also includes all the essentials: exclusive use of the venue, tables and chairs, and a crew on-site.
My personal favorite part of the California wedding venue is that every single spot makes for a beautiful photo-op. From the rolling hills to the well-lit barn, you can’t go wrong. It’s set on 120+ acres, and the beauty truly expands to every corner! A place like this is truly a photographer’s dream.
Wedding Weekend Timeline and Tips
If you’re into the idea of a wedding weekend, here’s a typical timeline I see for Friday-Sunday, as a California wedding photographer:
Friday: The Rehearsal and Welcome Party
A venue that gives you rehearsal time? Yes please. Using about half an hour to rehearse your ceremony before hosting a welcome party for your out-of-town guests or close friends/family helps everything run super smoothly on the day of, lets you start celebrating early, and allows you to spend some quality time with some of your fave people! It’s honestly a win-win.
Saturday: The Wedding
Most weddings fall on a Saturday, which is perfect, being smack-dab in the middle of your weekend! You’ll say “I do,” start forever, and party the night away. Magic!
Sunday: Post-Wedding Activities
Some people will use Sunday morning for a post-wedding brunch to recap the night, or some couples will use this time for a photoshoot as a married couple! Both of these are great ideas, letting you soak in the wedding weekend just a little bit longer.
More Wedding Weekend Tips and Ideas
The best part of a wedding weekend is that you get to make it all yours. You can keep it as simple as you want or make it as extravagant as you want, and it’s all up to what the two of you want out of your celebrations!
Have a theme (or several!)
I love a good theme, and having several parties is a great way to incorporate several different themes! Some trendy wedding party themes are “That’s Amore” and “Fresh Off the Market,” and they’re so cute it makes me sick!
Use the night before or the day after as a date opportunity
If parties aren’t so much your thing as a couple, you can opt to use your extra time on the venue for a date night. A picnic on the front lawn? Shut up! Too adorable.
Soak it all in!
My top tip for a wedding weekend: make sure you’re soaking it all in. Weddings can quickly get overwhelming, so making sure that you’re staying present is the key to a successful weekend! I mean, think about it, you’re starting forever with your favorite person, surrounded by all of your other favorite people. It’s truly such a magical time!
Destiny and Victoria’s Wedding Weekend
These two… I’ll never get over them! They’ve known each other since they were kids and fell in love as adults, and they have the PUREST, most adorable love. The way they look at each other, you can just tell that they were meant to be together. And it shows in the photos! The number of times I said, “so cute, I want to throw up,” while I was taking their photos definitely hit over a trillion. I’m SO happy that I had the opportunity to second shoot this wedding for Kaybebe Photography.
Destiny and Victoria wanted their weekend to be all about spending time with their favorite people, and every single detail they put into their timeline was intentionally done with that in mind. They were surrounded by so much love and support, it still brings a tear to my eye!
And the California wedding venue they chose? Absolutely perfect for their weekend. They had so much time to spend with their family, in a chill, low-key way, which was so them. Everything about this weekend was filled with love, and it shows in every single photo!
Lani’s Vision | Northern California Wedding Photographer
If you’re looking for a California wedding photographer to hang out with for the whole weekend, sign me up! But seriously, if you want your wedding festivities captured artfully and cinematically, I’m your girl, and you can inquire with me here! Check out more weddings at some of my other favorite California wedding venues, like this Saratoga Springs wedding and this Grand Island Mansion wedding.
