Wow, where to even begin! The moment my husband and I finished our tour of Mt. Woodson Castle, we knew this had to be our wedding venue. The castle itself is gorgeous and such a cool historical place to get married. The grounds are so well maintained--the oak trees, flowers and other natural foliage created such a beautiful and romantic environment for our outdoor spring wedding. It’s one of those places where if you wanted to, you could get away with very minimal decor and/or florals because the property has so much natural beauty just on its own.

The most appealing part of getting married here second to the actual location is the amazing team and resources that come with it! Mt. Woodson comes with a full service catering team and bar services (Personal Touch Dining), a day-of coordinator, organized rehearsal, venue manger support every step of the way with a production meeting to coordinate all the fine details, rentals, a room filled with complimentary decor you can use for your wedding day, lawn games for guests, etc. It was such an easy choice for someone like me who wanted choices and control over many aspects of my wedding, but appreciated how organized and painless Mt. Woodson made many aspects of the planning process by offering them in one place.

I would like to personally recognize Kelsey and Sophia (Mt. Woodson’s venue sales manager and event producer) for being so awesome and assisting me in planning this wedding via the multitude of emails/questions I sent their way! They were always prompt, kind, and extremely helpful. I never felt like I was being a nuisance and knowing I had an approachable team to reach out to was incredibly important to me. :-). I would also like to thank Kaitlyn for being the true MVP as my assigned day-of-coordinator and absolutely KILLING IT with her leadership, organizational skills, and attention to detail. She placed (and packed up!) all of my decor, organized basically every moment of the day, and made sure our wedding was as beautiful and perfect as we could have ever hoped for. You are a gem, Kaitlyn.

Extremely professional staff from start to finish. Derek and the bartenders were truly doing God’s work throughout the night. Every detail was handled smoothly, and the team stayed on top of everything without ever being intrusive.

Their professionalism, awareness, and calm execution helped the wedding run flawlessly and allowed us to actually enjoy our day without stress. From guest needs to timeline flow, the staff anticipated issues before they ever became problems.

Highly recommend Mt. Woodson Castle and team. The venue was stunning, we got so many compliments about how beautiful the grounds were. Amy's closet had so many items for us to borrow which was nice. The vendor list had amazing options (Highly recommend Paige Hill Photography and Simply Adina florals) The team was super flexible and had so many options to customize and tailor the wedding for what we wanted. They were super responsive to all questions and concerns. The day of coordinator was amazing at keeping the day moving smoothly.

Mt. Woodson Castle is an absolutely breathtaking wedding venue. The location is stunning beyond words - everywhere you look feels magical and picturesque, making it the perfect backdrop for such a special day. The staff were incredibly accommodating, responsive, and a true pleasure to work with throughout the entire process. They made everything feel seamless and stress-free, allowing us to fully enjoy our celebration. Our guests couldn’t stop raving about the beauty of the venue, and we couldn’t have imagined a better place to host our wedding. All around, it was a truly wonderful experience, and we’re so grateful we chose Mt. Woodson Castle.

Dear Reader,

(We hosted a Bridgerton-themed celebration, so a little elegance felt only right.)

I want to take a moment to express our heartfelt thanks to Derek and his incredible team at Mt. Woodson Castle for an extraordinary experience—one that was felt not only by us, but by our family and friends as well.

Before opening my own business, I spent over 10 years managing multiple retail stores and consistently leading in sales. I understand what happens behind the scenes, the level of effort required, and the importance of exceptional service. It’s not easy to impress me—but Derek and his team did exactly that.

From start to finish, the attention to detail, patience, thoughtful communication, and ability to pivot with ease were unmatched. We never felt rushed, never felt like just another number, and always felt genuinely cared for. The level of professionalism and customer service before, during, and after our event was truly unlike anything we’ve experienced.

Thank you for making us feel so special and for giving us the opportunity to create forever memories at Mt. Woodson Castle. A special shout-out to Derek and his entire team—you are the very definition of “going above and beyond,” and you have truly set the bar high.

With gratitude,
Hugo & Eh Moo

We recently had our wedding at Mt. Woodson and could not be happier with how everything went. The venue is incredibly scenic and creates a great backdrop to host a wedding. The Personal Touch Dining team was super responsive and helpful during the planning process and the day-of team did a great job of making sure everything ran smoothly during the wedding. We highly recommend Mt. Woodson Castle and Personal Touch Dining!

From our first inquiry, the team at Mt. Woodson Castle provided accurate, timely, and frequent communication that put our minds at ease during the wedding planning process. The venue itself is truly stunning, with a scenic, detailed, and elegant design that made for a breathtaking backdrop to our special day. The wonderful planning, exceptional day-of service, and genuine support from the staff helped us bring our wedding dreams to life. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect venue to celebrate our marriage.

Mt. Woodson was a perfect venue for us! Derek and the team were amazing throughout the entire process. We wanted to go with a nontraditional colorful palette for our tables and glassware. Derek was not only instrumental in bringing this to life, but his enthusiasm and creativity helped keep us excited the whole time. The venue was beautiful and the wedding day went off without a hitch. The entire staff, including our wedding day planner Jessica, were prompt, professional and thorough. It was incredibly helpful to have one team managing the venue, catering, set up, etc. They were well prepared for inclement weather (luckily we avoided) and were always quick to reply to our many questions. Would 100% recommend, thanks again Derek!

Derek & Sam are ABSOLUTELY the best! Our wedding would not have been as idyllic or as coordinated without them!

When we originally started looking at venues, Mt Woodson was the first one we viewed and we immediately knew we could cancel all of our other showings because this was the one. It is a breath-taking location, and all of the services Personal Touch Dining offers make it a no-brainer.

We predominantly worked with Derek setting up our wedding and we couldn't be any more happy. Everyone knows that planning a wedding can be a stressful event, but Derek is an absolute pro at what he does and made it easy. Everything from helping use choose color schemes, to supplying vendor lists, to an itemized timeline of events!

The same goes for Sam! Derek was our chief planner, and Sam was our day-of event coordinator to manage our time and ensure everything flowed smoothly. She was on top of everything the whole day! I can't even imagine trying to do this wedding without Derek and Sam's help.

One of the perks working with Personal Touch Dining is that they are not only wedding site coordinators, but are the caterers for food. One of the main things everyone remembers from a wedding is the food, and we had multiple people remark that our wedding food was the best they've ever had at a wedding!

Even if you do not select Mt Woodson Castle, I highly recommend checking out Personal Touch Dining's other venues because they do weddings exceptionally well!

Ok, now for "the negatives" or the things I wish I changed:
- Absolutely no negatives with Derek, Sam, or Personal Touch Dining! We are 100% happy with everything from them.
- The timeline: if we had to do it again, we would opt for the extended timeline. The time goes by so fast, I don't know how it went by so quickly!
- Weather: be aware that it is quite hot in Ramona during the summer. Everyone in our wedding was either from CA or TX so we are used to it, but for non-locals this is something to be aware of. We didn't have any rainy weather, but there are also provisions included for inclement weather.

I was so impressed with the team at Mt. Woodson and all of their help throughout our planning process! I didn't have a wedding planner and I truly felt I didn't need one - Sophia, Kelsey and our day-of coordinators were so responsive and really walked me through the entire process from start to finish.

Mt. Woodson is naturally beautiful and we loved our ceremony under the oak trees and reception on the large patio! Having a lot of time for dancing during our reception was really important to us and Mt. Woodson was very accommodating and helped us to extend and maximize our reception time and space by moving the party indoors as it got later.

I thought that our wedding (June 2024) was perfect and I would recommend Mt. Woodson to anyone! :)