Elliston Vineyards Reviews

Beautiful venue hidden in Sunol, our wedding was an absolute fairytale. Kathleen and her Team were amazing. From the planning stage to the actual day of our wedding they were there for us. The venue is gorgeous;, the service impeccable; the food delicious. All of family and guests raved about what a beautiful spot this is.

We had a great experience with Elliston Vineyards. The combination of a beautiful location near Pleasanton, with a day of coordinator (awesome!), great food, and a beautiful ceremony site. I loved that we could make it ours and still have the ease of so much being provided for us on site.

We chose Elliston because of their excellent location (away from the City, but still reachable from all over the Bay Area), beautiful grounds, very reasonable pricing, especially when considering the level of service and area provided. The location was tucked away in Sunol, but was very accessible via multiple freeways. The property grounds are gorgeous, and we received many compliments on our venue choice! We love the vineyards, koi pond, and especially the mansion. We would definitely host another event at Elliston, and recommend the venue to our friends & coworkers.

Our Day-of Coordinator was Tiffani, and she was wonderful to work with! She was knowledgeable about the venue, and provided many great tips to plan ahead so our day went as smoothly as possible. She was also very responsive to all our questions and many emails! We sent her pics of how we wanted our table decor set up, and all the Elliston staff paid special attention to all the specific details we wanted.

Also wanted to give a special thank you to Donna for opening up the mansion to us a bit early so we could take pictures indoors instead of out in the rain! The rainy weather was a big surprise, but Elliston was a big help in adjusting and keeping our day special and magical.

Finally, the food. Yummy scalloped potatoes! Many of our guests came back for more servings! Also, the salmon was fresh and cooked to perfection. Many of our guests raved about the salmon. Overall, the food tasted much better when compared to when we went to the food tasting. High value for price.

This place is absolutely gorgeous while still being intimate, and the staff here are wonderful! Kimberley was there for us every step of the way and made it all so fun and stress-free. The food and wine Elliston provides is delicious.

Elliston is a gorgeous venue made all the better by its wonderful staff. Kimberley was there for us every step of the way, very responsive and accommodating, and such a pleasure to work with. The food they provide is so delicious! Also, their preferred vendor list never steered us wrong, so we had a great team who knew how to work together. Our guests had a wonderful time and I attribute much of that to the beauty of this venue and the hard work of the staff!

We got married at Elliston Vineyards on October 7, 2018 (Sunday) after about a year of planning our wedding with the Elliston staff – and wow, every detail was exactly as we had hoped for! The wedding coordinators went above and beyond to ensure that our ceremony and reception were truly memorable for our family and friends (about 90 guests). First, we would like to thank Donna and Madeline for helping us book the venue and coordinate the details during our 6-month and 2-month planning meetings, especially since we are both in the military and were stationed overseas during the entire year that we planned our wedding. Two months out from our wedding date, we were assigned our day-of-coordinator, Kirsten, who was so wonderful to work with and helped us with every last detail – she is extremely detailed, knowledgeable, and responsive, and she facilitated conversations behind the scenes with our other vendors that made everything feel seamless on the day of our wedding. Thank you, Kirsten, for making our special day stress-free for us and our family and friends, and doing it all with a huge smile!

Pre-wedding planning: we found several tools provided by Elliston to be really helpful. The Social Tables seating chart website helped us visualize where we wanted our guests to be seated during our reception and made it really easy to input meal preferences, and to make last-minute changes as needed. Elliston also offers several menu tastings throughout the year, and though we were not able to attend in person because we lived out-of-state, we had two family members go on our behalf, and they loved sampling the hors d’oeuvres and dinner menu options. Elliston also hosted their annual wedding fair where we were able to speak with several preferred vendors that ended up being the perfect fit for what we were looking for and answered our questions based on lots of experience with weddings at Elliston.

The venue: we feel so lucky to have found Elliston Vineyards for our ceremony and reception; it is absolutely a hidden gem with so many different beautiful locations for taking pictures: the historic mansion (we used the bridal suite and library for getting ready); the gazebo where we had our ceremony; the koi pond; the vineyards with a view of the mountains in the background; and the patio area where we hosted our cocktail hour and reception. It felt just the right size for our wedding of 90 guests. Our ceremony was at 5pm, which was about half an hour before the sun crested the mountains and many of our guests brought sunglasses to wear because they were facing the sun, but we took our individual and family portraits right after the ceremony and the lighting came out perfectly for our pictures. The indoor reception room was spacious enough for our 9 tables plus a sweetheart table and made it really easy for our guests to get up and mingle, go to the bar for drinks, and dance after dinner.

Food and drinks: we ordered 3 hors d’oeuvres for our cocktail hour and 2 mains (salmon, filet mignon) plus a vegetarian option. Our guests raved about the food quality and presentation, and everything came out in a timely fashion. We did have a few guests with some dietary restrictions, and Elliston was able to accommodate their preferences. Kirsten even had an hors d’oeuvres plate prepared for us at our sweetheart table since we were not able to eat during cocktail hour while we were taking our pictures – such a thoughtful thing to do and definitely did not go unnoticed! Our guests also really liked the Elliston wines served at the bar (red, white) and had no issue getting drinks throughout the night. Many asked if they could buy bottles to take home!

All in all, we had a 10/10 experience at Elliston Vineyards and highly recommend it as a wedding venue! We will forever cherish our memories shared with friends and family and the pictures from such a beautiful location. Thank you again to the Elliston staff for making our day absolutely perfect!

I just got married at Elliston Vineyards and it was amazing!!!! The venue alone is breathtaking. We got so many compliments on how beautiful the space is, from the ceremonly location up to where the reception takes place. Madeline was our coordinator and she was amazing, answered every email (and I went through periods of sending a lot) set everything up for us and even packed everything up for us at the end of the night so we didn't have to. Everyone loved the food and the bar (We did their wine, one of their beers and we brought our own beer in and we did speciality cocktails). Really I couldn't have asked for a better place to get married!

We fell in love with Elliston the first day we went to look for wedding venues. The entire staff was so easy to work with and super responsive. Our wedding coordinator, Danielle, was a delight to work with and very easy to talk to, very responsive and extremely well-organized. Our wedding day was supposed to be all rain and probably the worst weather of the season - but that's the risk you take having a wedding in January! Danielle helped us prepare for the worst and all of the details that entailed. Luckily the sun peaked out and it didn't rain ALL DAY! We were so pleased with the venue, the staff, the food, and our wedding was a huge hit and went off without a hitch! We highly recommend Elliston to future couples wedding venue shopping!

Our wedding guests are still talking about how much they loved Elliston! This was the 7th venue we visited and I just knew it was the one for us. While there is so much competition out there, Elliston Vineyards had that nice balance of professionalism and warmth. Kirsten and Meghan (along with all the Elliston Staff and owner) were extremely responsive and helpful with all our questions through the entire process! They helped make our wedding special and I would highly recommend them. Also to note- the champagne was amazing and the food fantastic. But what got me was the natural beauty and rustic elegance of the venue.

Ask a lot of questions! They are more than willing to answer to the best of their ability - there wasn't anything I asked they couldn't answer or take care of and never made me feel silly for any question I asked. My day-of coordinator was Danielle Petroff and I would recommend her to anyone in a heartbeat!

Love, love, LOVED this venue and everything about it. Because of their staff, I was completely stress free the day of my wedding, which is how it should be!

We stumbled upon Elliston Vineyards at the beginning of our venue search and after searching many wineries and venues in the Tri-Valley none of them seemed to top it. Elliston is nestled in the quiet Sunol Valley and the only thing that was a bit challenging about the location is that Sunol has a noise ordinance so you cannot use amplified music outside. Instead we opted for a live band during our ceremony and cocktail hour. We loved that Elliston had a beautiful mansion to get ready in, an outdoor ceremony space, and an indoor reception area that spills out onto a great patio. It was really nice that Elliston was all inclusive, they provided the food, drinks, and coordinated rentals. To top it off they allow sparkler exits which makes for some fun pictures! We worked with Madeline from the beginning, through all of the planning, and ultimately all of the day of coordinating. She was great to work with, helped us stay on track, answered numerous questions, and was always very responsive. If you are looking for a wedding venue I would highly suggest looking at Elliston!

We have booked Elliston Vineyards for our wedding venue. So far, everything has gone smoothly! They are very professional and very responsive to my questions!

We were very lucky to get married at Elliston. The place is beautiful and has its own charm being hidden within Niles Canyon in Sunol. Madeline was our wedding coordinator and she was absolutely amazing - she always answered all my emails right away ( even on her day off), she was quick and very helpful with decorating tips and ideas. We were allowed to bring our own wine and décor. Our ceremony and reception were absolutely perfect - we had buffet for our guests and the food was delicious : filet mignon was juicy, salmon perfect and chicken very tender. Thank you Madeline for giving us the perfect day of our lives

Elizabeth and Rafael

Ellison Vineyards was the perfect choice for our wedding venue. From the initial tour to the actual wedding day, Elliston delivered. Kirsten was our coordinator and went above and beyond in helping us organize and plan. She reached out to us at every milestone to schedule meetings and provided questionnaires for us to complete to facilitate our meetings. Every time we met with Elliston, we felt calm and relived in our planning process - exactly what you need in planning a wedding! Examples of the great stress relievers: Kirsten responded quickly to emails - even at night and always took care that the little things made it on our wedding coordination sheet; Elliston let us bring all our decorations to our rehearsal so that we had one last thing to worry on the day of; they gave us plenty of advice on all things wedding it was as if we had hired a professional wedding planner.

The venue itself is absolutely gorgeous. All of our guests had a fantastic time. The food and drinks were spectacular and received plenty of compliments. As the bride and groom, we did not have to worry about the next item on the agenda, but could simply enjoy. Kirsten took care of keeping us on schedule and on track making changes to our agreed upon event order as necessary.

We loved Elliston and can absolutely recommend it!

Elliston Vineyards exudes charm, elegance and beauty. We've only had to tour the place once and truly fell in love with the place; we put down our deposit right there and then.

Donna and Jason were most helpful in the preparation process. On our wedding day, we were stress-free as everyone at Elliston really took such good care of us. This place is truly beautiful! My husband and I are very happy that we were married in such a beautiful setting.

This place is beautiful! It has a wonderful outdoor location for a garden setting wedding next to a historical mansion as a backdrop and they have a nice building for the reception that has a patio/deck for cocktail hour and those wanting to escape from dancing.

From the moment you first meet with them, up to the last minute of the wedding, they are nice and very helpful (they answered all my emails very quickly), and they are very personal, remembering every couple by name anytime you drop by. They provide you with a day of coordinator that is included in your package which helps so much!

The food is great! They have a lot of different options, especially for vegetarians as well, and have a lot of flavor.

Perhaps the best part is all of this comes at a great value. Weddings are expensive, especially the venue and food, but they have very reasonable packages for all budgets and don't try and upsell you too much. Don't think that because the price is so low, that there is something lacking in the quality like I found with other venues.

Oh and the location is nice and centrally located for people all over the bay area!

Thank you so much Donna & your team!!! You went above and beyond to make our wedding and rehearsal dinner truly special. Words cannot describe how amazing Donna is! Her beautiful mansion garden setting is so perfect for anyone!!! I love how organized and on top of everything they were. I felt truly special. We had a morning wedding and it was perfect time to have one. The ceremony started at 11am and was warm and breezy. It felt so calm and spiritual. We searched different venues all over the bay area for almost 2 years and we found nothing that compared to Elliston. The staff & food were SO AMAZING! Everyone was beyond pleased and we really enjoyed our own wedding. Thank you & Don't forget to tell people about HeatherVintage88 on Etsy!! :) Will highly recommend Elliston Vineyards to everyone & more! Donna, Elliston Vineyards gets more than a A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++!!! :)

Love Heather & Ivan 8.18.12

My daughter's wedding was held at Elliston Vineyards on July 31, 2010. It was magical. The seclusion at Elliston made us feel as if the rest of the world didn't exist. I was trying to keep the costs at a modest level compared to what I have heard some say they have spent for weddings lately, and I did while putting on the most fabulous wedding I have ever attended. Everything about the day exceeded my expectations. Getting ready in the mansion, the beauty of the garden, the excellent food, and the detailed service provided by the wedding coordinator. We worked with Courtney, but everyone there is wonderful. I can't thank them enough for making my daughter's fairy tale wedding possible. There is absolutely nothing about the day that I could have changed to make it better.

We had our wedding at Elliston in September 2019. The venue is beautiful and there are many good spots to take pictures. Elliston is certainly not the cheapest, but also not the most expensive venue we looked at. One of the highlights was our day-or-coordinator, Kimberley. I had so many questions that came up while I was planning our wedding and Kimberley was always quick to respond. The day of our wedding, she kept everything on schedule and we got several comments from guests about how on top of it she was. Without her, we only would have gotten through half of what was planned for the day. Overall, I would recommend Elliston as a good wedding venue.

Here are some of my overall highlights/lowlights:

Highlights: Beautiful venue, reasonably priced, day-of-coordinator included, staff are helpful/quick to respond to requests, food and beverages are provided onsite so you don't need an outside caterer, they have decor/linens that you can rent through them, they help you put together a detailed timeline, and they make sure all decor items are set up exactly how you want

Lowlights: No amplified music allowed (county rule), no sparklers allowed, you can only take pictures in a few rooms in the mansion unless you pay extra, clean up at end of night was hurried and disorganized (some rental items were returned home with my family, which caused me to incur late fees), deposit was not returned until I asked about it several weeks after the wedding

My daughter and son-in-law just got married at Elliston Vineyards on September 6 and it was beautiful! Nestled in the hills of Sunol, yet close to a freeway off ramp, the location was perfect. What we especially loved was being able to get ready in the mansion just prior to the ceremony. This is a very unique experience. At first we were concerned about the fact that they don't allow amplified music at the ceremony. But that was not a problem at all. In fact having the guitar music we chose made it even more special...it was truly stunning. The pictures are incredible.
The reception hall is also beautifully located and very private. Seriously, you would barely need much in the way of decorations or flowers...it has a natural beauty of its own with big windows that allow natural light in streamed through majestic oaks.
The food was great and we loved the presentation of it. I would highly recommend the 'plated' food as opposed to buffet. The wine and beer were also very good and it flowed freely! Our guests were very pleased.
Every parent has to complain about the cost. It is very disheartening to have to pay for guests who don't show up. But I understand it's that way anywhere you go. It was also a little stressful getting all of our belongings out of the mansion before the ceremony. If you have your wedding here make sure you have a good plan for that. It causes a bit of chaos and confusion right before the ceremony which you don't really want. That should not be a reason for not having the event there, but it has to be noted.
Here's a huge bonus for having your wedding at Elliston Vineyards. Come back anytime you want ...visit the premises, taste wine and relive the memories. You can't put a price tag on that.

My husband and I used Elliston for our wedding in March 2016. The prices are very reasonable, and the staff is so responsive and amazing! I don't know if I would recommend getting married here in the Fall, but in the Winter/Spring it is GORGEOUS with the green hills! The stone mansion is also a beautifully lit area for all of your pre-wedding pictures. I highly recommend doing a first look in that mansion.

Elliston was a georgous venue for our wedding. The mansion made for beautiful pictures and the garden was the perfect setting for the ceremony. The staff was friendly and took care of everything. Katie, our event planner, was great to work with. She made sure everything went just right. The food was delicious. My only complaint is that did run out of some of the side dishes when they got to the last table. Otherwise the day was perfect.

I just had my ceremony at Elliston and it was wonderful. It had a 60% chance of rain the day of the wedding and they helped me come up with a Plan A, B & C. Luckily we ended up being able to do Plan A, which was the wedding outside. The only thing that I did not like was there was no amplification for music during the ceremony. That is beyond Elliston's control as it is a Sunol, CA rule.

The people working at Elliston were very helpful and very nice. I would recommend this place to anyone looking to have a great outdoor wedding.

Lets preface with I am a very particular person. I have a vision and I'll do everything I can to make it come true. My vision became a reality at my Elliston Vineyards wedding. They are very accommodating and very responsive ( I emailed at least once a week with questions and they were all answered in an extremely timely manor ). They have a strict sound ordinance which makes you have to have a live ceremony musician. Also, the don't allow outside food & drink. Other then that, the staff was very helpful and really made my vision come to life. The ability to have the ceremony and reception in the same area relieves so much stress of getting guests to multiple places. They offer an open bar of beer & wine and they work with you and make suggestions that make your wedding that much better. The mansion is absolutely beautiful and the food is too good to be true. We are extremely happy with the way our wedding turned out and couldn't have done it without the help of the Elliston staff. I would recommend this venue to everyone and anyone I know.