Rancho Nicasio

ryone. Our criteria were that it was somewhere beautiful, had delicious food, and wasn’t too far from the East Bay. We visited a few venues around the Bay, but they all felt like copy/paste of whatever pinterest wedding fad was happening at the time. Beautiful, but just not us. I heard about RN and asked a friend from the area if she knew it. Without hesitation she said, “That place is great!” We went to visit in May 2023 to scope it out and meet with Marina, the event coordinator. The backdrop for RN is quintessentially California: tightly nestled in golden rolling hills flanked with redwood forest. The venue itself is funky, rustic, and meticulously cared for. We went through the event space and overviewed the planning process. Before we even left, we knew it was a solid yes. People say planning a wedding is stressful but not when you’re working with Marina. Over the next year we had regular phone calls to go over the spreadsheets she’s created that cover EVERYTHING, and were customized to our vision. We did our own flowers, had friends make cakes, a memorial table, and lots of bespoke table decorations/ signage. The organizational planning we’d done over the previous months made it simple and easy to drop off the items the day before/morning of, and they were set up exactly how we wanted. Picking up the items the day after was just as easy. When the Big Day came, we walked through the gates into our own private and stunning wonderland. The garden teemed with flowers, butterflies, and birds. During the ceremony, a family of quail scuttled behind the arbor. During cocktail hour, servers passed delicate appetizers and fresh drinks to our guests. Dinner was superb. “Buffet” and “salmon” don’t usually go together for me, but the chef is a sorcerer; it was moist and perfectly seasoned. As the evening progressed, the friendly bartenders crafted our specialty cocktails with consistency and finesse. When the fog rolled in, we headed inside to the dancefloor where the nearby tables offered space for non-dancers to still be a part of the party. The entire experience went off without a hitch. The whole experience exceeded my expectations. As for Marina. It’s palpable she genuinely cares about not only the couple, but also the guests, staff, and the West Marin community. Her approach to planning is methodical, focused, empathic, and invested. She went above and beyond to make our wedding special. Marina did her own research and worked with the chef to come up with recipes for foods we wanted to reflect my fiance’s culture but they didn’t offer on the menu– Cuban pork and black beans. We wanted to make sure the venue was wheelchair accessible, and Marina happily sent us measurements and photos of all the door thresholds. Her care reflects in the staff– everyone seemed happy to be there. In all the packing and unpacking of the decorations, nothing was missing or broken. On top of being REALLY good at her job, Marina is a brilliant and funny person. We were happy to have her as a wedding coordinator, and now thrilled to have her as a friend. Tips: Marina offers various table decorations to rent for the event such as votive candles; This will save you time, space in your garage, and money. Also, rent the heat lamps. That fog is cold.