Gardener Ranch is a rustic wedding venue located in Carmel Valley, California. Situated on the pristine banks of the Carmel River, the venue is covered with magnificent oak trees and lush fields. The property offers a rustic charm in a beautiful natural setting, with spacious lawns and indoor spaces perfect for wedding ceremonies and receptions.
Facilities and Capacity
Spread over 24 acres of land, Gardener Ranch can accommodate up to 350 guests. It has five stunning outdoor sites with views of the Carmel Valley River, towering oak trees, and sprawling, lush grass. The Main House, a private estate with a patio and a swimming pool, is perfect for large gatherings. The River House offers beautiful views of the Carmel River. In the corner of Gardener Ranch is River Cottage, a quaint space perfect for use as the bridal suite. Then there is a guest house under sycamore and oak trees, offering magnificent views of the mountainsides. Gardener Ranch accommodates couples for any length of time they desire.
Services Offered
Gardener Ranch provides a variety of settings and services for bridal showers, elopements, receptions, ceremonies, engagement parties, and rehearsal dinners. In addition, they have available wedding event items such as altar/arches, tables and chairs, other furniture, and a dance floor. The venue offers the following wedding services:
Recommended by 96% of couples
13 User photos
Alexis · Married on 07/14/2018
Great staff and beautiful venue!
Sent on 10/28/2018
I highly recommend Gardener Ranch! We got married there in July and the venue, staff and whole weekend, surpassed our expectations.
We looked in 3 different cities and saw ~ 30 venues - once we walked on to the property, we knew we found the perfect place! Majority of our wedding guests were coming from the East Coast, so we loved that we could spend a few days with everyone, rather than just one night.
The grounds are beautiful, the houses are so comfortable and well decorated and their staff is amazing. It's also reallly nice that you can make each event your own, pick your vendors and it's private!
From start to finish, Heather and Nanci were extremely responsive, provided a lot of guidance and were a lot of fun to work with. We had 4 events on the property, so were a little nervous about the logistics and making sure everything was set up but their staff made it very easy and stress free. They met all of our vendors, so we didn't have to do much during the weekend and were very accommodating with last minute changes we wanted to make. They even cut the grass to the length we wanted and stopped what they were doing to inflate our pool floats. Doesn't get much better!
We had about 30 people stay on the property and each day their staff made sure the houses were clean and each event site was prepped. They were always available to help and especially during your wedding, this type of service is extremely appreciated.
Our guests loved the property and we received a lot of compliments on the weekend!
They have had a lot of different weddings there, so share your ideas with them and they will help you put it all together.
Lexi · Married on 03/23/2019
Unbelievable! Best venue in Carmel Valley!
We had our wedding at Gardener Ranch and it was stunning! We invited 230, and 170 came. I did a lot of research in Carmel Valley for a wedding venue and ended up falling in love with GR. I felt like I had the most flexibility with GR. Other places had a lot of rules and stipulations which really frustrated me: requiring you to use certain vendors or catering, Mission Ranch has a 5 hour maximum event time which I didn’t like (including ceremony to end of the reception). GR really gives you so much control to create your own unique event, you aren’t just another wedding like all the others. You could go as cheap and rustic as you want with a food truck, or as fancy as you want with full catering and they won’t pressure you to do anything a certain way. We chose to stay three nights, such a fun way to bring families together and it was SO worth it to have a full wedding weekend with everyone.
Sent on 05/02/2019
When our friends & family arrived and toured the grounds, they were stunned! It was beautiful. We all loved visiting each other in the houses. It was a great way for our families to get to know each other better. We had our rehearsal dinner on site, very convenient and fun! Very relaxing to have everyone on site or nearby and able to enjoy the whole property!
GR really goes above and beyond to make the experience easy. Heather & Nanci were extremely easy to work with and always thorough with their responses.
I was a very budget conscious bride. We picked off season and had our wedding in March, which saved us a good amount of money. We used GR’s alcohol package to receive a 20% discount and that was great. We did an hour of margaritas (they were strong and very good!) plus wine & beer. We used Jeffrey’s catering, the food was amazing and you can’t beat the price. They weren’t always responsive to us, but when it came to the wedding the food and service was great. Most catering companies gave us quotes over $25k, Jeffrey’s was about $12k and we had a lot of people comment that the food was amazing and the wine was flowing freely! We picked salmon and filet mignon and did a sundae bar which was a hit. We did a small cake with Layers, they are the best in town!
GR was constantly there in the background, cleaning up things and moving things to set them up for us. But I really felt like we had the place to ourselves and could fully enjoy the property. We used Bouqs Co and made our own flower bouquets right there on the venue which was fun and easy.
We were worried about rain for our wedding. We went through options with Chic’s rentals. Option 1) Pay over $20k for a huge tent and dance floor 2) Pay about $5k for a custom tent from Chic’s rental that fits on the patio area- we would have chosen this if rain was 100% for the whole afternoon. 3) Move inside and split up our guests. Fortunately it didn’t rain for our outdoor ceremony, but because of the temperature we chose to move the reception indoors which ended up being just fine. Make sure you think through a rain option and go over options with Nanci & Heather so you’re not stressed before your wedding.
I highly recommend hiring Mark Banks for your DJ. He played live music for us, and everyone loved it! Brandon Scott was also an incredible photographer. Oh and the black and white dance floor! It’s SO awesome in pictures!!!
You are guaranteed to have a unique and lovely wedding at GR. You can choose to do something more budget conscious like I did (I kept ours under $45k) or of course do something extravagant, but it is possible to do it for a more reasonable price!
One piece of advice I wish I had known: lodging for the venue gets tricky very quickly. We chose to charge everyone $60 per night per person staying on the venue. We ended up having about 42 people stay. Anticipate a lot of opinions on where people want to be. If I could do it again I would charge people less if they were staying on a couch. A lot of our family opted to stay across the street at Carmel Valley Lodge (which was convenient and easy!), but anticipate that when you are doing your budget. We had hoped to fill all 51 spots but it just didn’t happen.
I cannot recommend Gardener Ranch enough. We are still getting compliments on what a wonderful venue we picked. Especially our out of state guests—they loved the excuse to come to Carmel Valley!
Lauren · Married on 10/20/2018
A real-life dream come true!
Faith brought us to Gardener Ranch in our search for wedding venues, and it was truly the best choice we could have ever made! Nancy, Heather, and Gardener Ranch's Staff are the best!! We stayed the whole weekend and had the most amazing time with our family and friends. We used as much of the property as we could and took it all in!! They took amazing care of us and our guests. We had beautiful weather (10.20.18), and everyone left saying 'That was the best wedding they had ever been to' and that 'We did it right!' (probably due to the fact that we never once had to leave this amazing property all weekend!). Thank you so much again!! xoxo Lauren & Miguel
Sent on 01/07/2019
5 Endorsements
Gardener Ranch has everything you need for your event! From the onsite lodging to the perfect Bride and Groom getting ready locations to the poolside cocktail area, this venue has a myriad of options for you. Oh and don't forget to plan to have your ceremony by the creek surrounded by trees! I wholeheartedly recommend Gardener Ranch and am always excited when my couples choose it for their venue!
Gardner Ranch has been a Carmel Valley institution since forever. It's wonderful having it restored and well cared for again. The property is a stunning, secluded oasis. As if once you walk through their gates your time exists apart from the rest of the world. I love that type of escape.
Exceptional venue! Totally unique atmosphere! The vibes are welcoming, bohemian, and classic. We would recommend this place to any bride looking for the perfect location.
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