Our wedding at Dawn Ranch was an absolute dream. Nestled along the Russian River just a 2 minute walk outside of Guerneville, Dawn Ranch is a woodsy boutique resort boasting a restaurant, spa, and a variety of comfortable cabins. Having met at a summer in the Santa Cruz mountains, we were enamored by the idea of a wedding in the redwoods, and we were sold by the options available through Dawn Ranch’s facilities and staff. There were a couple things that made Dawn Ranch a clear choice for us. First, the capacity to host over 100 of our closest friends and family onsite would give us meaningful time with our special people on our special weekend. Second, the venue has direct river access, which meant that we could host a river float the day before the wedding. Last, the DR events team, led by Susan and Teach, were supportive of our vision and eager to accommodate any requests that would make our event a reality. Alongside, our planner Jaime Kostechko and Wild Heart Events, we began to put together our weekend.

Excited by the possibilities on site, we took advantage of everything Dawn Ranch had to offer, spreading our wedding festivities across the first weekend of June. Our close friends and family checked into DR on Friday, and we immediately kicked off the weekend with an afternoon on the river. Our whole group took the 5 minute walk through town to Johnson’s Beach, where we had umbrellas, beach games, and beverages waiting. After a few hours on Johnson’s, our group got into tubes and floated back down the river to Dawn Ranch. Later that evening, our group had a BBQ style rehearsal dinner on the lawn next to the restaurant and our night ended with s’mores around the fire pit.

We kicked off our wedding day by treating our guests to an espresso cart from California Kahve at the center of the resort. From there, most of our group moseyed up to the restaurant deck where they enjoyed the a selection of tasty pastries from the Dawn Ranch bakery. From there, my groomsmen and I headed to the spa, where we cycled between the steam room, UV sauna, and redwood tubs, while Becca and her bridesmaids began the hair and makeup marathon. We held the ceremony on the western end of the orchard, which felt perfect perfect for ~220 guests. We moved to the meadow for our reception where an incredible dance floor and pavilion framed our celebration space perfectly. The night concluded with an after-party in the bar up at the Lodge, where our guests danced and drank well into the next day.

Looking back, many of the uniquely special moments of our wedding weekend were only possible because of DR. My grandparents are all over 90 and often struggle to participate in events, but because of the comfortable ADA cabins, they were able to enjoy the party at their own pace. Additionally, the pastries and coffee brought our guests together on the restaurant deck in the mornings, which made for many special conversations amongst our loved ones.

Thank you to Teach, Susan, and the rest of the Dawn Ranch team for their support. We were their first wedding following the change of ownership and extensive renovations, and their flexibility, presence, and sense of humor made for a positive energy throughout the weekend.

We may be biased, but in our opinion Dawn Ranch is the best wedding venue out there. Dawn Ranch is a beautifully recently renovated property with modern and updated cabins for all your guests. We were so lucky to find them newly reopened with availability. It was exactly what we were looking for - somewhere were all our family could gather together for the entire weekend. The staff was amazing and went above and beyond - especially Susan their on-site coordinator. They were very responsive and organized and the weekend of, everything went smoothly and was ready and executed to perfection. We felt very special and loved every minute. We will definitely be returning for special events and anniversaries and feel so lucky to have found them!

Dawn Ranch is an ideal venue. A secluded forest setting where all our friends and family can stay for the weekend. It may seem close to the main road, but when you stay there you feel like you are deep in the woods. The trees provide great cover from the road, and when everything is in bloom you can't even see the property next door. It has a truly rustic setting (no TVs in the room), so its the perfect venue to maximize interaction of your guests. Our goal was to not only call attention to ourselves, but to all the people in our lives that got us to that point. Dawn Ranch is the perfect venue to do so. If you are doing a Saturday wedding you are required to book all the rooms for both nights. The Welcome BBQ on Friday is a great party in itself and lets your guests start the weekend on a high note. Saturday everyone will be thoroughly entertained while the bridal party prepares. Whether its the private river access, the pool, the open fields, or all the attractions nearby, your guests will be beaming by the time the ceremony starts.

We were married under a hundered year old redwood in a green meadow, we danced and drank in an apple orchard, and returned inside to the bar for the after party. It was perfect. No matter where you spend your time you will feel special.

Also the food! Best food I've had a wedding. Michael (the owner) has put a farm to table experience together that is fantastic. Even the Dawn Ranch label wine is delicious! We were nothing but excited about the food options. Going up for our tasting to decide the menu was amazing!

And I haven't mentioned the best thing. Stephanie, the wedding coordinator, is amazing and worth the site fee alone. She took complete care of us during the weekend and before as well. She was fabulous about replying to emails and getting on the phone with us to work through some ideas. Her skills were invaluable. Michael (the owner) was great as well. I just can't say enough great things.

Kevin and I want to express to Julia, Michael and all of the staff at the Dawn Ranch a truly heart felt thank you for everything you did for us in making our wedding day so extremely perfect and special.
The service they provided from the moment we contacted them was very professional and comfortable. Julia and Michael both were instrumental in helping us come to the right decisions in creating the event we were hoping for. They made what could have been a stressful time; completely easy and issue free. All of our guests commented on how much they enjoyed the setting, the food and the atmosphere. The Dawn Ranch Staff is top notch, and we couldn�t have done it with out them.
With Sincerity,
Julie and Kevin Peebles

We had a beautiful wedding at Dawn Ranch. The property is something really special, nestled amongst the trees with direct access to the river. Most of our guests were able to stay onsite, making the experience like summer camp. We had a full weekend event: Friday night dinner, Saturday Reception, Saturday Late Night, and Sunday brunch. All of the events went perfectly and our guests had an amazing time. Our ceremony and reception took place in the Orchard, which was the perfect setting. The food all weekend was spectacular. There were a few issues with the billing - Dawn Ranch's invoices for Late Night did not agree with our original proposal, which were corrected. We would recommend Dawn Ranch as an outstanding venue.

When we first got engaged, our vision was to find a venue which would allow the most amount of time spent with loved ones as we felt all too often weddings seem to go by way too quick. We decided we wanted to host a wedding weekend and theme it like a “adult summer camp”, a nod to both of our love for the outdoors and camp growing up. When we found Dawn Ranch we booked on the spot for the next available date.

We loved EVERYTHING and wouldn’t change a thing. It is hard to summarize it all so I will touch on a few of my favorite things that felt like unique differences from a more traditional venue.

1.) The Property Itself

Absolutely stunning property in the redwoods with dozens of activities to keep your guests entertained each day before & after wedding events (kayaking, river floats, bike rentals, spa, yoga, pool, etc.) There are at least 4-5 different locations on property you could host your events (we utilized the Orchard, Boathouse & The Lodge). I found it to be a huge perk that all of our wedding party stayed on property so there were many touch points to run into people and you don’t need to coordinate transportation. For what you can’t find on property, town is a short stroll away. The cabins are all very new and so thoughtful with the details.

2.) The Food

I’ve been to dozens of weddings at this point and this food was hands down the best wedding food we’ve ever had! No, not just the tasting either. They are able to deliver on amazing food for our 125 guests all at once. This has been our biggest compliment from our guests since the wedding as everyone is still raving. To upgrade the menu to steak was a bit pricey, but worth it if you can fit it in the budget. They utilize their on site garden for many of the other ingredients in a true farm to table approach.

3.) The People

We traded dozens of emails with Susan the event coordinator to make our vision a reality. She was incredibly responsive and very flexible with many different asks throughout the process. Dawn Ranch is a unique venue so it does require a bit more planning than a traditional venue and she was invaluable at helping us with the nuances. Every staff member we worked with along the way was amazing. A good story that sums them up well is we my now wife, father in law & I went to the property a few months before the wedding unannounced and incognito (we were in the area last and didn’t want to make a fuss). One of the restaurant hosts recognized us and wound up compensating our whole meal, introducing us to the restaurant manager & spending several minutes with us checking in. Just great service all around.

We absolutely loved our experience at Dawn Ranch and will be returning for years to come. As people reading this are likely early in their wedding planning process, the only thing I would say to consider is the price. They do a good job at outlining their costs and are very transparent but do keep in mind some related costs I personally wasn’t thinking of. For examples: heaters / tents depending on weather can add up, putting down deposits for every cabin to rent the whole property is very pricey, late-night (10pm-12am) costs are consumption based so be sure to consider that. You also need to have a wedding planner I believe, which I was going to do anyways and is definitely warranted given all the moving parts.

We were planned to have our wedding at Dawn Ranch in June 2019, however with the major flood in Guerneville we ended up needing to have the wedding elsewhere. However, Dawn Ranch was wonderful since the start. We did a lot of research on venues and Dawn Ranch stole our hearts, it was more expensive than we originally were planning but we decided it was the perfect place for us and we would plan everything around this epic venue. It is a little rustic, but the adorable cabins and comfy beds made us feel that guests would be happy to stay onsite. We LOVED that everyone would be together for the weekend, really allowing our favorite people to get to know one another and create memories together. We could just see the pool overflowing with our loved ones and we knew our hearts would be so happy. The wedding coordinator at Dawn Ranch, Susan, was a joy to work with. She answered so many of my questions and accommodated so many requests. She was very transparent with costs (which did add up) and provided support in setting up the additional vendors.

We went as far in the planning as setting up guests per room, table setup, bar setup, ceremony setup, confirmed all external vendors, and even did our food and drink tasting/selections. That tasting was SO special, and still is for us. They invited both of our parents to join and we did a walk through together and stayed overnight. It was so so nice to get everyone excited and spend some special time together. Not to mention the food was amazing and the wine list was mainly local places and filled with great options.

As soon as the flood happened, the owner and coordinator reached out to confirm that the venue was in fact affected but they didnt have any answers yet. While we were a bit (ok, a lot) nervous and anxious for information, we kept reminding ourselves what they were going through, they lost everything and the owner was dealing with all wedding couples inquiring and not to mention all their staff. They shared more information about 2 weeks later, they were a little hopeful they could rebuild by June but also said they were waiting to hear more from insurance. We started looking elsewhere just to have a backup venue if needed. They ended up connecting with us almost weekly, and yes each week it got a little more clear we would likely need to switch venues. They were clear throughout that we could pull out any time for a full refund. We crossed our fingers for a bit, but eventually, and very painfully, decided to cancel and book elsewhere due to the risk and uncertainty.

Susan and Michael (the owner) were so kind throughout the process. It was a no questions asked quick refund process. They even helped us transfer some vendors to our new venue location. Even further, we had tasted a wine at our tasting with them that our new venue couldn't source so i reached out to see who their contact was. Michael personally contacted the winery and placed the order for us, then Susan hand delivered the wine to our other venue. We were blown away by their kindness. To top that, they sent us flowers the day of our wedding to our hotel room and we invited them to our Friday welcome drinks, which they came to and were so sweet mingling with our guests and seeing our parents again.

The flood was such an unfortunate event. Dawn Ranch handled it all with class and showed so much kindness throughout the process. We could have easily been angry with the situation and cast blame on Dawn Ranch, but really it was out of all of our hands and they themselves were going through (and still are) so much more than us.

Thank you Dawn Ranch for everything. We will see you on our 1 year anniversary! :)

We could not have chosen a more perfect wedding venue than Dawn Ranch. It was beautiful, with redwoods, a meadow for the ceremony, a little apple orchard for the reception, a warm and cozy bar for the after-party, and cute cottages to house guests. We had many guests coming from the East Coast so it was great that everyone could stay on the property together in a beautiful setting.. it was like a summer camp. The cottages were rustic (no TVs or phones, etc.) but they were recently remodeled and comfortable for guests of all ages. The Welcome BBQ on Friday night was a great opportunity for all the guests to break the ice and get to know each other in a casual setting.

Amy Meadows and the staff did a wonderful job coordinating our wedding. They thought of everything big and small, from making sure all the vendors knew what to do to making sure the rehearsal went smoothly to putting paperweights on the escort cards. They thought of every detail so that the wedding day was unbelievably stress-free for me, my family, and wedding party. The food was terrific (the sea bass, the pork tenderloin, the polenta lasagna - all amazing). So many guests told us how much they loved the venue. This was one of the more expensive venues we considered, especially since we had to pay for any unfilled cabins, but I couldn't be happier with the decision.

I love Michael, the owner. He literally made my wedding dreams come true.

My husband and I were set to be married at Dawn Ranch in May but unfortunately there was a terrible flood in Guerneville in February. DR immediately reached out to us and said don't worry they will be back up and running "better than ever" by the time of our wedding. Few more weeks go by and they call us and say actually all the cabins are damaged so they will put all the guests in tents (fyre festival anyone?). We weren't excited about this but finally said okay we will do the tents. Another week or so goes by and then they said never mind, they are taking away the tent idea. Now we can use the venue but only 13 of the cabins will be available. We scrambled to find hotel blocks for our guests in flooded Guerneville. We called all our guests with the update and asked them to hurry and book rooms. We did not find rooms for ourselves or our wedding party because we planned to use the 13 cabins remaining at DR. Couple more weeks go by and they say actually no cabins will be available, except they promised the bridal suite would be renovated and ready to go for us. So we had to move some of our guests out of a hotel across the street from DR to make room for our wedding party. Fine. Done deal, it was still going to be great. I asked several times, that this was it, no more changes would be made, and the owner "promised" several times. My husband and I wanted to come see the damage to the property (they never offered for us to come out). We asked the owner if he could meet us at 5pm on a weekday, "no 5pm is too late", fine, what about a Saturday, no "I don't work on the weekend". So we went out ourselves to look at the damage. It didn't look good, but the owner assured us that the week after the flood he ordered new plants for all the bare areas and much of the ivy would grow back. We were moving forward with our wedding. The majority of our guests had booked rooms, we were planning away. Then they call us again, it's now 1.5 months before our wedding. They say they are concerned about the state of the venue and people taking photos and putting it on social media, and they will be cancelling our wedding.
To be clear, we understand that the entire town of Guerneville went through a horrendous ordeal. We feel that DR could've handled this situation a million times better. The lack of transparency and willingness to accommodate was appalling. Their number one concern was clearly themselves and not their clients. They were never upfront with us and dragged us along for months. We had our hearts set on a Guerneville wedding and felt good about bringing our business to the town. It was awful to call all the hotels we had blocks with to cancel. And then call all our wedding guests to cancel. DR never offered suggestions for an alternative caterer and gave us 1 alternative venue suggestion for a venue that slept 4 people and had to be done by 8pm. They did refund all our deposits. We ended up getting married at a beautiful venue that bent over backwards to make it everything we could've wanted and more.