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Weddings

About

River's Bend Retreat Center is a rustic, outdoor wedding venue with a vintage flair, located in Philo, California. This venue is a retreat center and invites you and your loved ones to enjoy exclusive use of all the grounds, lodging, camping, and facilities for the duration of your wedding festivities. This venue allows you to eat, play, stay, and celebrate all together at the ranch. For couples looking for a serene location to say "I do," the retreat center focuses on connecting Earth, spirit, people, and places.

Facilities and Capacity
The grounds at River’s Bend Retreat Center are picturesque and have numerous locations to host your wedding ceremony and reception outdoors. You can also hold other events such as the rehearsal dinner, bridal shower, and engagement party. Features of the center include a swimming hole, trails through the woods, and an organic flower and vegetable garden. The grounds are wheelchair accessible and there is parking on-site for you and your loved ones.

Services Offered
River’s Bend offers catering and bar services, along with servers and bartenders, for your wedding day. Home-cooked and fresh-from-the-garden meals can be prepared with love in the full-service kitchen and served to your loved ones during a buffet. The venue provides flatware, glassware, chairs, tables, and furniture. The staff will also clean up once your wedding is over.

Location
River’s Bend Retreat Center is nestled along the Navarro River as it runs through the Anderson Valley’s stunning redwoods. The river curves around the meadows and vineyards before getting to the retreat where it provides a connection between nature and the people there.

  • Woman-owned
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Frequently asked questions

Do you have a site fee for wedding receptions at your venue?

Yes

Do you have a site fee for wedding ceremonies at your venue?

Yes

Which of the following are included in starting site fee?

Bridal Suite
Parking
Tables

Which of the following are included in the cost of wedding catering?

Cake Cutting
Server(s)

Which of the following are included in the starting price for bar service?

Bartender(s)

What is the minimum number of guests required to book your venue?

25

How many event spaces or rooms does your venue offer?

Dining room, Reception room, Lodging in cabins for up to 80 plus 30 camping

Describe your venue:

Farm/Ranch

What kind of settings are available?

Indoor
Uncovered Outdoor

Which of the following wedding events does your venue service?

Ceremony
Reception
Bridal Shower
Engagement Party
Rehearsal Dinner

What event services do you offer?

Accommodations
Bar Services
Catering Services
Clean Up
Get Ready Rooms
Outside Vendors
Wifi

What catering services do you offer?

Buffet
Cocktail Reception
Family Style
Hors d'oeuvres
Server(s)

What bar services do you provide?

Bartender(s)
Limited Bar
Outside Alcohol

What event items are available?

Dance Floor
Furniture
Tables

What food and beverage items are available?

China
Flatware
Glassware

What transportation and access is available?

Parking
Wheelchair Access

What months are included in your peak season?

May
June
July
August
September
October

What months are included in your off-peak season?

January
February
March
April
November
December
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Reviews of River's Bend Retreat Center

4.3 out of 5 rating
4.3 out of 5 rating
2 Reviews
86% recommend it
  • Quality of service
    4.5 out of 5 rating
  • Average response time
    4 out of 5 rating
  • Professionalism
    4.5 out of 5 rating
  • Value
    4.5 out of 5 rating
  • Flexibility
    4 out of 5 rating
Weddingwire
4.3/5 2 reviews
Google
4.9/5 9 reviews
Kai
Kai M. Sent on 04/30/2019
5 out of 5 rating

Well Supported Beautiful Community and Nature Experience

We are so so lucky to have found and worked with Laurie and River's Bend. The location was beautiful and spacious. Laurie was fantastic. We had room to create the community-oriented event we wanted where our guests could delight in a series of experiences throughout a residential weekend.

We were initially cautious about having them cook the food (just because we didn't know how to evaluate something like that) - but wow - we could not have even conceived of how delicious, exciting and healthy the food was. Really. Blown away. And they were able to meet the numerous diet needs of our guests with style! So happy.

The land allowed for so much. We had poetry and music in one location, a journey to another for the ceremony under incredible old trees, and then space for both relaxing and then dinner. Not only that, we were able to offer indoor morning yoga space and room for late night dancing, talking and games. During the day groups took bicycle tours of the wineries nearby.

Our guests also had a range of living accommodations: from rustic cabins to spacious modern places. (There was even plenty of forest space for camping.)

I could go on and on - it was magical. That land was, of course, essential to that, but so was Laurie's making the space work for our needs and responding to our seemingly endless questions and concerns.

Highly, highly recommended. Would definitely get married there again -- although I'd rather leave that to our nephew! ;-)
C
Chloe Z. Sent on 03/10/2019
3.6 out of 5 rating

Gorgeous, Tons of Housing, Less expensive than most, pretty DIY

Perfect for a whole-weekend wedding. Gorgeous spot with so many different places to do the ceremony, hike, dance, and swim. The river was a huge draw for us; it just can't be matched. They offered all that for a price lower than most places we found, given the amount of housing on site. The drawbacks were having to use their caterer and most other stuff being DIY (including, like, taking out the trash!); we worked like crazy to pull it off, had a team of 15 friends helping. For what we wanted and because we and our community were able to put in the meticulous planning, it was an excellent decision. Would do it again for sure. (PS: If you have folks coming who can't stay on site for whatever reason, book early; very very few places in Philo!).
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River's Bend Retreat Center frequently asked questions

River's Bend Retreat Center includes the following items and services for wedding events in its starting site fee:
  • Bridal Suite
  • Parking
  • Tables
River's Bend Retreat Center includes the following items and services in its wedding catering costs:
  • Cake Cutting
  • Server(s)
The bar service starting price at River's Bend Retreat Center includes:
  • Bartender(s)
The space offered by River's Bend Retreat Center for wedding events is known for:
  • Farm/Ranch
River's Bend Retreat Center offers the following indoor/outdoor options for weddings:
  • Indoor
  • Uncovered Outdoor
River's Bend Retreat Center offers the following types of wedding events:
  • Ceremony
  • Reception
  • Bridal Shower
  • Engagement Party
  • Rehearsal Dinner
River's Bend Retreat Center offers the following services for wedding events:
  • Accommodations
  • Bar Services
  • Catering Services
  • Clean Up
  • Get Ready Rooms
  • Outside Vendors
  • Wifi
River's Bend Retreat Center offers the following furniture and decor items for weddings:
  • Dance Floor
  • Furniture
  • Tables
River's Bend Retreat Center is recommended by 86% of couples who have used their services. Their overall rating is 4.3 out of 5 with the following breakdown: 4.5 in quality of service, 4.5 in professionalism, 4.5 in value, 4 in average response time and 4 in flexibility.

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