The Sequoia Retreat Center Reviews

The sequoia retreat center was a dream come true wedding venue. We had the privilege of getting married here on 8/18/23.

The get ready cabins are amazing, the ceremony space was beyond beautiful, the cocktail hour deck was perfect, the dinner space was intimate and gorgeous, and the indoor dance floor was so much fun.

Diane was wonderful to work with, provided lots of vendor recommendations, answered any and every question for us, and helped us make our dreams a reality.

The venue supplies all of the tables and chairs, provides a ceremony triangle arch, cocktail hour tables, fire pits, a few specific decor items, and the most beautiful views.

It was an honor to get married on these sacred grounds and get to spend the entire day and night in that space. Our guests could not stop talking about how incredible our venue was. The only downside was having to leave!

We LOVED our time in this space and had the most special wedding day we could possibly ask for.

The Sequoia Retreat Center is an absolutely outstanding venue for getting married in the redwoods! My wife and I got married there two months ago and it was truly a special experience. The Sequoia was actually the first wedding venue we toured, and we fell in love with it immediately. Pictures really don’t do justice to just how awesome this space is. We did our due diligence and toured several similar venues in the area, but whenever we noticed a shortcoming we found ourselves thinking, “well the Sequoia has that,” or “the Sequoia does that better,” or “I like the layout of the Sequoia better.” We visited again after touring 5 other venues to make sure our memories weren’t rose-tinted, but everything was exactly as we recalled, and it made our decision super easy!

Diane, the owner, was an absolute joy to work with. It’s clear that she really loves helping others bring their wedding dreams to fruition. She was flexible and incredibly supportive of whatever ideas we had for our special day, and also has a wealth of knowledge from previous guests. She’s very communicative and upfront about costs, what is and isn’t included with the venue, and general guidelines for vendors, etc

Our guests still mention how beautiful our venue was and I couldn't be happier that we got married there. Would 100% recommend the Sequoia retreat center for your wedding!!

This vendor couldn’t have been better. Ceremony at Peace Park was just what my daughter wanted. Las Olas lodge for dinner and dancing was perfect. The view was amazing and the food. Was excellent. They even made the wedding cake. Everyone loved it. Diane and Scott were so helpful and easy to work with. TrueType loved them. They went over and above to help make this one of the most memorable moments of our lives. Can’t say enough

My wife and I were married here on 5/18/19. Our experience working with Sequoia Retreat Center was top notch. The venue is beautiful, our onsite guests enjoyed staying in the cabins, and their on-site food catering is stellar. Sequoia catered the food for our reception, as well as our hors d'oeuvres and pre-ceremony nosh. Everything was delicious -- we highly recommend the butternut squash ravioli and salmon! If you’re considering this place, take a tour! The Redwood Amphitheater, and the sense of quiet and seclusion of this venue, is really magical.

We also contracted a coordinator (LJ) who routinely works this venue and was incredible helpful. We had an unseasonable storm come during our wedding, and LJ helped to orchestrate countless last minute changes to accommodate the weather (such as booking a large tent for our reception) and kept the Sequoia staff aligned around the same [changing] plan. Coordinating a full weekend event at such a large venue initially seemed intimidating, but with Sequoia’s great staff + LJ, everything went smoothly.

We booked all of Sequoia for the full weekend. If you do this, you also get access to a house on-site, which was great for my wife and bridesmaids to get ready on our wedding day. I highly recommend this -- the house is beautiful, spacious, and is a very comfortable place to get ready. Since it rained on our wedding day, we actually took many of the pictures of the bridal party there, since it’s so spacious and the lighting is so good.

We had a large Friday welcome event (about 100 people), which was stunning. We did it in Alba Grove, amongst the Redwoods. Many of our guests had travelled from the east coast and upon arriving, felt really transported to true Northern California.

The Sequoia team was responsive, friendly, and we enjoyed working with them through our planning process and during the wedding itself.

BYOB policy for beer & wine was also a major money-saver, compared to doing a catered bar.

I got married here over July 4th weekend this year. It is a perfect place if you want to have a fun-filled, beautiful, unique wedding. It will be difficult to put into words how spectacular and amazing both the venue and the staff/service but I will attempt to do so. I worked primarily with Diane, but also with her husband, Scott, and their onsite wedding coordinator (LJ). They were always gracious and responsive and answered all of my (quite obsessive) emails and questions (I also visited the site 5 times!!) They create drawings/google docs for you to work with which are incredibly helpful and allow everyone to be on the same page. The site is spectacular. Catering: SRC catered our wedding dinner as well as two brunches and lunch. We had rave reviews about the quality of the food--it was super fresh, interesting, and hearty. They will really cater to your likes (I am a vegetarian who hates mushrooms, my husband is a major meat eater...they made it work). The service was also great, and there were no mix-ups or hold ups. The cabins on site are great all of our friends loved the cabins and staying together. We have some friends I was worried would think it was "too rustic" but the cabins are beautiful, spacious and very clean. SRC really allowed us to have a wedding we wanted. They execute what you want impeccably. There's not a sense of them rushing you through anything or it being a money-making only operation, and that is invaluable on the what everyone wants to be the best weekend of their lives. I am picky/detail-obsessed person (lawyer) and we planned our wedding primarily from the east coast and SRC gave us truly the best weekend of our entire lives, and one we will never, ever forget.

We had our wedding at the Sequoia Retreat center and we couldn't have been happier with them! They were extremely accommodating and wonderful to work with. They did a dessert bar for the rehearsal dinner that was delicious and we loved the bonfire. The whole weekend stay was wonderful and the day of the wedding went incredibly well. The whole experience was more than words and we absolutely loved working with the retreat center.

I got a chance to work at Sequoia Retreat Center as a month of coordinator and there were also very kind to let me do a styled photo shoot there as well. Overall, I had a great experience working with Diane and her staff. Diane was very prompt to answering my questions and would respond to my emails within 48 hours. On the day of the event, anytime I needed something for myself, the bride/groom, or a guest, the staff always did what I asked quickly and I never felt as if I was a bother. The staff was really helpful and I would definitely work with them again in a heartbeat.

Other then the tricky parking situation, the venue is absolutely gorgeous. If you are looking for a venue space in the middle of the redwood forest in a calm serene environment, SRC is a perfect pick.

Sequoia Retreat Center made all of our wedding weekend dreams come true and more. If you're looking for a beautiful spot amongst nature as well as a friendly staff with great service, this place is it. In addition to being absolutely stunning, it's also amazing to have the opportunity to have 50 of your guests stay on-site. This place is one of kind.

Sequoia is a truly magical place, and we couldn't have found a better place to get married. We got to have an entire weekend to build community and ritual around our wedding amongst the stunning redwoods, cozy cabins and good spirits of the Sequoia staff. My partner and I are true DIY-wedding-ers, and this is the rest place for that kind of folks -- you get to choose how things are and make it happen -- just don't expect someone else to do it or arrange it for you unless you ask! While sometimes Diane took a little longer than I would have liked to get back to us during the planning process, she was incredibly accommodating and she really stepped into high gear as the wedding got closer, and pulled it all together. We got to have the wedding of our dreams because she let us, and we're tremendously grateful for that!! :) In terms of the food, things went well, though I would recommend you taste everything and let Sequoia stick to things they know how to do well -- we asked them to do some things that were new for them and they weren't great, and some of the other items were over/undercooked. Again, as long as you're really specific with what you want, you'll be able to get it here. And you'll be getting in a community of staff that is truly wonderful and well-meaning, and we were so grateful to find that after really not jiving with other "wedding industry" type folks. Thank you Sequoia, thank you Scott and Diane -- we will recommend you to everyone that we can!

I loved my wedding experience at the Sequoia Retreat Center. This is the perfect venue for couples looking to celebrate in a gorgeous outdoor setting. It is ideal for people who want to spend the wedding weekend with their guests in a rustic resort setting. You'll have exclusive run of the entire property (including acres and acres of redwoods and small trails) for the entire weekend. It's the best way to spend quality time with your guests. 80 of our closest friends and family stayed on the property in quaint cabins. The morning of our wedding, after a full breakfast, around 15 guests did yoga with me (the bride) and another 20 or so went hiking with the groom in the nearby redwood park.
Our ceremony and reception were both held in Pixie's Garden and we had dancing inside the Las Alas Lodge. A local caterer (Chef Poppy) catered our reception and worked with the SRC on rentals (you'll need to rent tables and chairs and bring in your own linens, place settings, and decorations).
The SRC was the venue for our rehearsal and rehearsal dinner as well. The SRC actually catered our rehearsal dinner and it was delicious (comfort foods: mac and cheese, chili, cornbread, salads).
An added advantage to the SRC, you can BYO bar (but it's strictly beer and wine only) for both the rehearsal and the reception. The alcohol policy is the only area where the SRC is inflexible. If you really want a full bar, this is not the place for you.
The SRC also catered breakfasts both mornings. We chose the menus and were very impressed with the selection and quality (pancakes the first day and frittatas the second day).
Finally, the people who work at the SRC are incredibly nice. The owners Diane and Scott, in particular, are very friendly and really believe in their product. They scheduled a tour for us the same day that we called them and spent over an hour showing us around the property, including the lodging as well as various ceremony sites. They then repeated the tour two or three times over the next few months after we had already booked the site and wanted to show the wedding planner, our parents, and our maid of honor.
Throughout the planning process, Diane and her staff were very responsive to emails, but they won't plan the wedding for you. You need to hire a planner or be prepared to DIY. If you know what you want, have decent organizational skills, and are looking for the most beautiful venue in Northern California, this is a great place and I highly recommend it.

The Sequoia Retreat Center was an amazing place to hold our wedding! The ambiance was peaceful, relaxing and the lodge in which we had the reception was beautiful and had an amazing view of Santa Cruz Mountains!

We had our ceremony in a Redwood Grove a short walk away from the reception so everything was able to be close together and no one had to drive which was important to us.

Sequoia Retreat has a variety of cabins that sleep 4,3,2 and could accommodate all of our guests. The only down side to these was that only a few of the cabins had double beds, the rest were twins! And, they seemed a bit over priced for twin bed cabin. But, all were heated, had hot water and lovely linens and soaps and were rustically gorgeous.

The food was AMAZING! Diane is so flexible with menu planning and was able to accommodate organic selections, and tons of it. No one was hungry at all breakfasts, lunches and dinners!

I highly recommend Sequoia Retreat Center for an amazing, memorable wedding. We have absolutely no regrets and are sooo glad we decided to go with them!

The Sequoia Retreat Center (SRC) provided the perfect setting for my husband and I to create our dream wedding weekend. We wanted to create an intimate weekend for our close family and friends and this was more than accomplished at SRC. From Friday's welcome BBQ to our ceremony in Pixie's Garden everything was professional, well done, and easy. In fact I am getting thank you cards from the guests for creating such a fun and special weekend. Everyone loved the food (we had all meals provided for guests from Fri-Sunday) and most loved the cabins.

Book this venue if you want a destination wedding-like feel yet in Northern California. This is for the outdoorsy, nature loving couple whose guests won't mind simple, rustic cabins. Book this venue if you are a DIY bride or have the money to hire a wedding planner! I miss SRC already and wish we could have spent more time in the beautiful, tranquil redwoods of the Santa Cruz mountains.

Our coordinator was a nightmare to work with. The cabins were uncomfortable. We felt we paid a premium for lack luster service and amenities.