Travel Betty

To read about our first two wedding location experiences with the Monte Verde Inn and Forest House Lodge, see “Planning A Wedding In California’s Gold Country? Part I of IV” and “Planning A Wedding In California’s Gold Country? Part II of IV” respectively. Otherwise, we continue on with our adventure.

Our Third Stop:

Newcastle Wedding Gardens and Red Horse Barn

So like I said in Part I, this third place really impressed Travel Boyfriend and I from the beginning. I had booked an appointment here on a lark only because we didn’t want to drive up all this way and have the Monte Verde Inn maybe not work out for some reason. So when we met the gracious Newcastle owner and saw her prettily styled home and property, we were quite pleasantly surprised.

Upon approach, a white mansion (where the owners live) sits by the side of the road to welcome you without being ostentatious. Inside it’s tastefully decorated and cozy with a B&B feel (sans overabundance of lace, thank god!). Behind the house you find a beautifully manicured ceremony site complete with tranquil waterfall and pond and a state of the art speaker system so you can actually hear the vows (genius). After the ceremony, guests are led to an Italian-villa-styled courtyard that surrounds a simple, but elegantly redesigned horse barn. Plus, there’s an awesome cow-hide covered bar area inside (sadly no mechanical bull, though). It is too pretty to describe or capture with a point-n-shoot, so you’ll just have to wait for our wedding photos to see it done justice.

Like Monte Verde Inn, a lot of the usual extras are included in the price (although not the cake or flowers). The owner acts as your wedding coordinator and because she’s been doing this for over 20 years and it’s on her actual property, you KNOW she’s got things dialed in. And the location is just a hop, skip, jump back to civilization so that wedding guests can carry on the festivities after the reception in the Old Town part of Auburn that’s filled with great dive-y (and even a few upscale) bars and restaurants.

Note that if you’re doing a lot of your research online, this location is one that you have to see to fully appreciate. I didn’t feel like the photos on the website sold it as much as doing an actual walk-through. But once you’re there, you’ll really be able to imagine the fun and memorable evening you want to have.

To continue reading about California Gold Country Wedding locations, see “Planning A Wedding In California’s Gold Country? Part IV of IV” (coming soon!)