The Victorian Estate in Orange, CA (American Family Living)

My daughter and I have been wanting to know the same thing. I hope people with experience at this location will find your blog. The people at AFL are wonderful. My husband and I went by there one October evening not knowing there was a wedding. We were invited to look around by a close friend of the family who assured us it would be alright (the wedding was over). I have to say it looked just lovely. From the guest (who invited us to look around) point of view, it was beautiful and well organized.

I noticed your wedding is in November. I was told that their wedding season was over October. Just something to possible confirm since it is all outdoors. We checked the place out in January and it was torrential rain!

I was married at American Family living 11 years ago this month, and I definitely do not regret it! They house and grounds are beautiful, all of the vendors they recommended were awesome. We hired our own photographer, but the food, cake, and DJ were all great. Joanie was also a ton of help, if a teeny bit forceful in her opinions, so you need to know what you want, and speak up-or let her run with it, since she's been doing this forever. A friend got married there in October, and had great weather as well, but I do not know if they go into November. There is the option of renting a tent to cover the area if you are concerned about rain. Good luck-happy wedding!

Thanks for your info. My daughter and son-in-law were married August 20th at a different venue for both ceremony and reception. It was a beautiful day and we had many wonderful comments made about the day. But I have to say, that in hindsight, I wish we had stayed with AFL. It would have been just as beautiful...maybe more so in some ways...and 1/2 the cost! I think a lot less stressful too! I learned a valuable lesson. We have one more daughter to be married :-) The number one pick for me will be AFL.

The following is a review from a couple that was married August 28.

http://www.projectwedding.com/vendor/show/american-family-living

We had our wedding here last Saturday and we loved the venue! Since my husband and I were working on a tight budget, we decided to look for something not overly commercialized but still as pretty. It was between AFL and the French Estate. We loved AFL as soon as we walked in - the old vibe of the mansion, the backyard/garden, the pillars and the twinkling light. It was perfect for the outdoor wedding vision. Aside from that, them being a non profit organization, they do not charge ridiculously high prices. They are very flexible with the vendors. The allow you to bring your own caterer, your own beer and wine (which is much cheaper that alcohol from resto or hote). The only thing they are strict with is the DJ. You have to choose from their roster of DJ's. Griselda, the coordinator/secretary was very helpful and pleasant. Although out the planning, she was very easy to deal with and very accommodating with our request. Definitely recommended for a beautiful, reasonably priced venue!!