Weddings on the Mendocino Coast

Weddings: the questions we get asked

When should we book a Mendocino Coast wedding?

Twelve to eighteen months out for a Saturday between June and October, sooner if you need more than about forty rooms in one town. There is a finite number of beds between Elk and Westport, and a wedding weekend competes with ordinary summer visitors for all of them.

What is the weather actually like?

Cool and often foggy. July and August can sit under fog all day and clear at four in the afternoon. September and October are usually the clearest, warmest stretch of the year here, which is why they book first. Plan for wind on any headland and have a shelter for cocktail hour in every month.

Can we get married on the bluffs?

Sometimes, with paperwork. Much of the dramatic open headland is state park or public trust land, and a ceremony on it usually needs a special event permit with a group size limit, a time window and no structures. Private inns and ranches with their own ocean frontage are the simpler path if you want chairs, a canopy and amplified music.

How many vendors are there really?

Enough to staff a wedding, not enough to shop endlessly. Most photographers, florists and caterers here work the whole coast and travel between Gualala and Fort Bragg, so the same names come up in every conversation. Reach out to three, not thirty.