This summer will be my daughter's 5th anniversary and I still cringe when I remember how awful it was to deal with Lien when had the wedding at Wildwood in 2021. You fall in love with the beauty of the place & Lien seems nice, until the contract is signed, then all bets are off. We are a basic, calm, friendly & kind family; we had reasonable expectations, BUT, there were so many disappointments--hidden charges, spontaneous unreasonableness from Lien, lackadaisical kids who I guess are family members that work cheap for her without enthusiasm...ruined it for me. And what is her issue with vendors?? I guess she doesn't get a cut so she makes it extremely painful for you if you don't go with hers, very passive-aggressive behavior. I had two family members with professional skills who wanted to be our vendors for photography and DJ, and Lien said ok but she kept complaining to me that they hadn't properly completed her required forms--my family members told me they had completed the forms multiple times already, but Lien told me no. She called me up a week before the wedding to say if she didn't get the forms, we would have no vendors for these two important roles. My niece was almost in tears saying she would submit the forms again. We had to pay extra to have access to venue an hour early, we had to pay extra for anticipated bar because we paid extra for guests to stay longer and relax after the bridal party departed. However her staff/kids came out and started clearing off tables as soon as the bride-groom left, even though we still had at least an hour, maybe an hour & a half paid for, so guests started leaving since they thought it was time. Also, it was 100 degrees that day and Lien said she did not have any space in her refrigerator to keep our small 20 inch 2 layer cake, the one for the bride & groom. How can that be? Honestly, I wish we would have chosen somewhere else, it was so stressful to deal with the owners. You want it to be such a special day, and you hope to see that reflected by the owners/staff but then you are treated like just another set of fools to be milked for money like a cash cow. Her staff seemed bored and disinterested, they clearly could not wait to be done. My daughter & her groom were shielded from a lot of the unpleasantness I and other family members had to navigate as mom/family of the bride. I would never recommend this place unless it gets new owners. I can't believe the good reviews, my experience was just so bad. We paid a lot and didn't even try to adjust the costs after they shut us down early for no reason, it wasn't worth dealing with them. It is a shame, the place is really lovely. read more

We were married here in 1998. I'm ecstatic that they're still around today. I was nervous because they wouldn't do a food tasting prior to the wedding day. I had no reason to be nervous. The food, service, absolutely everything was wonderful. They gave us references of spectacular people. Our florist was their daughter and she did a magnificent job. She even threw in some freebees like filling the fountain with gardenia. Our son recently got engaged and I'm secretly hoping that his fiancée and he chooses Wildwood Acres for their wedding. read more

This place is incredibly misleading, and i would argue deceitful. They provide a price sheet with costs for events such as weddings, listed at $2500 - $5000, but then require bottle service (even for non alcoholic), and only allow outside catering for Indian food. When asked why we were obligated to pay for bottle service for a non alcoholic wedding, they said that the true minimum of a weekend event is $20,000, over 4× what was actually listed. The individual I spoke with was dismissive and rude, and when asked about any of these specific rules, resorted back to "we do this because we are a private business and can make any rules we'd like". Rude, deceitful, overpriced, and simply silly standards. read more

Wildwood Acres Resort - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Lafayette, California

I am a professional wedding photographer. I work at a LOT of venues. Wildwood is my very favorite. I have shot over 40 weddings (and counting) here at Wildwood. Dan and Lien are incredibly helpful and kind. They will go to bat for you. The ambiance is beautiful. Very unique. I highly recommend it for weddings! read more

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When we initially toured this venue, it checked of all of our boxes for what we were looking for in a venue. We really appreciated the layout and how it wasn't the typical ballroom ceremony/ reception environment. It was more of a whimsical outdoor garden vibe, which we loved! There were different areas in the venue where guests can hang out and explore and it wasn't strictly just the dance floor. The only challenges we had with Wildwood were some of the communication with Lien (owner). Some things were unclear at times and it was very difficult to get outside vendors approved. Her preferred DJ abruptly quit on us a month before our wedding and she was really pushing on having us book her other preferred DJ, who we were not very interested after talking to him. We understand the precaution of wanting professional vendors on site, but the process of even getting professional outside vendors wasn't very smooth. However, Dan and Lien (owners) did rise to the occasion when our wedding coordinator failed to show up at our rehearsal. Dan confidently and clearly led the rehearsal and he was so kind and patient to us and our wedding party, especially when we were feeling pretty stressed with the wedding coordinator not showing up. The wedding coordinator was supposed to collect our items (favors, programs, etc) to set up for the next day, and Dan and Lien were very kind and let us store them in the clubhouse that night, which is typically is not allowed, so we appreciated them accommodating us with that! Their staff on the day of was also amazing! They all looked pretty young, but they were so professional and kind. Our guests also loved the dog! read more

Attended a beautiful wedding. Location is romantic but fun at the same time. There is enough space to have the actual ceremony and reception, with game area, space for a photo booth and dance area. read more

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This is the most perfect venue in every single way ! Dan and Lien are absolutely amazing and their vendors are just as amazing. The vendors and Dan/Lien make the perfect team! We had our wedding last Friday (10/11) and was perfect! All of our guest raved about how perfect our wedding was. That was because of Dan, lien and their vendors. Always open communication if you need anything. I'm so pleased with the outcome of the wedding and we will be coming back to visit Dan and Lien. read more

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The road to Wildwood Acres may be winding and somewhat confusing, but don't hesitate. Just get there and then you'll know what a great place it is. I had the pleasure of photographing a wedding for a some friends of mine. I attended the couples open house with them to view the venue and talk about their ideas and also how the ceremony was supposed to go. I met the operations manager, who is great and really knows his stuff about weddings. We got to sample their menu, always a plus. This is really great for me because we went at the same time that the wedding was to be held and I was able to calculate how the lighting would look at certain points of the day. The day of the event was busy as weddings tend to be when you're behind the scenes. For being a kind of small location they have it all laid out to flow really well. There is a large room for either events or in this case for the wedding party to get prepared. The ceremony is held up in the back in a round wooded staging area. Its a little tight for photographers but the guests seemed to be happy. The dinning reception area is in the middle and right next to the dance floor with a DJ. These areas are bigger and better for mingling. The seating arrangement is very pretty with those warm old fashioned string lights floating above everyone. At one point, during dusk, the garden area was swarmed with dragon flies. It was one of the most magical things I've seen. The garden area is another spot for photos and guests to mingle and enjoy themselves. If you're in the market for a wedding come check this place out. Its ideally suited for your needs. read more

We had our wedding was here and it was perfect. The venue is stunning and Lien and Dan the owners are fantastic. We live in SoCal and had to do most of our planning via email, or send my mom as a representative. They were completely willing to work with us and our schedule. The catering is all handled by Lien, and you only pick it out a couple weeks ahead of the wedding. It was delicious. She worked with us to meet various dietary restrictions and we were so happy with how our menu turned out. It didn't feel "wedding-y" just a really good meal. And the late night sandwiches she makes were a big hit. There is nothing we would have changed about our experience. read more

Wildwood Acres Resort - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Lafayette, California

I really wish I could have given more stars to my review of this venue since the venue is beautiful, it is just unfortunate that the staff is absolutely terrible and rude. I was one of the helpers setting up my friend's wedding last weekend and had a really bad experience. And when I say really bad, I mean really bad. The day of coordinator Mark had a complete freak out when we were setting up a table and it was slightly touching a small part of one of the plants. He picked up our table and slammed it down to the ground and screamed at us and was in our face. It was one of the most unprofessional craziest experiences I have had with staff from a venue. I then saw his boss, Lien and tried to calmly talk to her about the situation and then she began screaming at me saying "Anything that Mark does is CORRECT since he is my employee." This was just shocking to me. I have worked in the wedding industry for about 8 years now and I have never seen someone treat people like this. The sad thing is the venue has so much potential, but the staff just make it such a bad experience. Then the rest of the wedding we just see there whole staff talking crap about us. Sooooo unprofessional and uncomfortable. They really need to figure out how to treat their guest better, especially if they are going to charge an arm and a leg for every little detail. Thank you to Todd, one of the the bartenders for showing compassion and being super nice to us. read more

This venue is exactly what I wanted to celebrate my special day. There isn't a single thing I would change, and this is how a bride should feel :) Lien and Dan are the owners of this venue and really know how to make a bride happy. They catered to our needs, met with us frequently to make sure all visions were aligned, and they even set aside time to talk to our coordinators to ensure a smooth day. These two are seriously hard workers! They understand that this is a once in a lifetime event, and try to make it the best day possible. Some of the reviews say differently, but don't listen to them. Lien is a very honest woman, and I'm sure there are some bridezilla's that can't handle truth ;) The venue itself is exactly like an enchanted garden. The ceremony site has a canopy of trees, and it takes your breath away. The garden is beautiful for pictures, and the reception area is amazing! It has tiered seating, and I instantly fell in love with the area. On top of all this, the food is derricious! Seriously, the food is damn good. Lien's brisket and turkey are mouth-watering. I only wish we had more food during the reception. I think the food is TOO good so our guests actually didn't have enough. Her melted cheese sandwiches are fantastic, and our guests would not stop talking about these little treats. My stomach seriously just growled while writing this... We also had a coffee bar, and the line was never-ending. It gets a little chilly at night, so the coffee bar topped off the night! We got married in June, so the weather was perfect. Every one of our wedding guests have told us how much they enjoyed the venue! BTW: Check the place out for yourself! Wildwood has open house nights on the first Tuesday of every month. Meet Lien/Dan, taste her heavenly food, and take a stroll in the enchanted garden. Pretty sure you'll be booking the place! read more

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We got married here last weekend at it was amazing! I feel inclined to write a review because the bad reviews left on yelp made me worried, and hesitant to book it. Lien & Dan are a great team, and all of their vendors that they recommend are great as well. We did not want to do any decorations and this place doesn't need it. It's a magical outdoor space with so much greenery and not stuffy which is exactly what we wanted. The food was excellent, and so were the drinks (all provided by the venue). None of our guests had trouble getting Uber/Lyft out there and back. In every way it exceeded our expectations and I was very impressed. I also just read the review before me and I agree with everything she said as well. I especially agree with hiring the preferred vendors, we hired Mark Welch (DJ), Julie Morrow (Coordinator), Jeff Roush (Photographer) and Valarie with A Loves in Bloom (Florist). read more

My husband and I got married here 2 weeks ago and all I can say is it was the absolute best day of our lives. We visited Wildwood about 4 times before booking- whether it was through appointment or one of their open houses and found ourselves only looking at 1 other place. We absolutely fell in love with this place. The setting was more beautiful than we could have ever dreamt up and we ended up signing a contract almost 2 years out from our date. After signing, I started to get anxiety and very nervous about some of the reviews I read. I was worried that I may have a negative experience similar to what people talked about but I can tell you, it was far from any of the negative reviews. Lien was amazing! Don't get me wrong, she can be intimidating because she is very honest and straight up when it comes to the can's and can'ts for the venues but I liked that about her. We went to many open houses since we had so much time before our big day and tried as much food as possible, which I highly recommend doing! Her recipes varied due to seasonal availability of ingredients, but they always tasted great to us. Lien was great at communicating payments and questions for us and always responded when we had questions (TEXT WAS BEST). She was always happy to answer my questions or concerns and give her input on what worked best for the venue. For example I really had my heart set on having a whole dessert display table in the gazebo. While Lien said she could do that for us if we really wanted, she also really gave her opinion of why she wasn't a fan and tried to persuade us: the gazebo is on the opposite side of the dance floor and people likely won't want to cut across the dancing just to get a cookie or cupcake and to have the desserts sitting out the whole ceremony/reception isn't very appetizing even though it may be very aesthetic. Some brides may have stuck to their vision and pushed back but that wasn't us. We listened and she then proceed to tell us after dinner, she would clear the buffet and SHE would set up the whole dessert table. We decided to do this and it was BEAUTIFUL! Take away from this: I feel some brides come in and have a set vision... I know that I did, but I also kept in mind this was her venue and she has done MANY weddings. She always commented on how "easy" my fiancé and I were because we were willing to be flexible and I think that when it comes to weddings, many brides aren't. (I'm not saying give up all of your visions and wants for your dream wedding, just hear her out and come to a compromise because she is more than willing to do so). Anyway, things/details didn't really start to pick up until a few months before, but when it came to our 2 week final meeting where you set everything in stone, Lien really made me feel comfortable and important. There were many allergy restrictions from our guests and she made sure to take note of all of them and didn't take it lightly. She went over everything in great detail and gave us some time in person to think about options, talk things through and was so kind and willing to help. The day of the wedding she was so nice and let me tell you, she works so hard! Like nonstop... she was always doing something and making sure things were going well. Our wedding day couldn't have gone as smoothly without her. Now I know not everyone had this experience and I was genuinely nervous that I would have a different one than I did, so I recommend reading the reviews and also remain open minded. Ask questions, communicate, YOU ARE A TEAM! Lien and Dan never gave us the impression that they only cared to take all of our money like some people have warned. They made both my fiancé and I feel that our wedding truly mattered and that they wanted to ensure they were doing everything in their means to accommodate us and make it the best day of our lives, while upholding their policies, integrity and doing what they felt best worked with their venue. I also recommend going with a majority of their preferred vendors- it made the day feel more seamless because they wok so often together. We used Mark Welch (MWE) and he was great! He acts as a day of coordinator and the DJ.. highly recommend! We also used Valarie with A Loves in Bloom for florals- everything was beautiful. Our videographer was Sean Kenney, based in Sacramento area but he shot multiple weddings at Wildwood before our wedding. Hope this helps someone! read more

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Omgeeee. This place is sooooo beautiful ahhh the service is wonderful my aunt had a wedding here and it was so pretty we loved it read more

Wildwood Acres Resort - my mother and my dad - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Lafayette, California

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This space was perfect for my sister's spring evening reception. Pros: the different twinkle lights and lush vegetation made the space so romantic, intimate, and whimsical. The different levels were perfect for my sister's diverse activities like a photo booth, activities, standing tables, and different seating levels. The serving staff was so friendly and fun and definitely helped the atmosphere. The food, especially the late night grilled cheeses, were good as well. Though it got a little brisk, there were heaters and an open bar to help us out. Cons: The only con I can think of was that the food was not out for very long I don't think, though that could be because of my sister's itinerary. The only other thing would of course be the location. It's a windy one lane road up to the venue, so definitely inaccessible for ubers or lyfts. The space was sweet, personal, and not stuffy ay all. It was a lovely evening because of how beautiful the venue was! read more

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We had our wedding at Wildwood recently and everything turned out beautifully. The venue is absolutely stunning and I received no end of compliments on how gorgeous it was, and it really is. I was a bit worried about the food as they do not have any scheduled tastings, only the few samples they bring out for their monthly open houses. But I only heard good things from guests who were very happy with the food, so it all worked out. There are quite a few rules and restrictions which are not that easy to work with and could end up in a lot of additional fees if you aren't careful but I believe that is because they have been doing this a loooong time and have seen and heard everything. They know what works best and they are a well oiled machine because of that. As long as you are organized and flexible, you won't have any problems, they really do know what they are doing. If you want a unique and special venue that your guests will be amazed by, this is the one! read more

After conducting many memorial services throughout The Bay Area, I am delighted to discover a venue that lends itself so well for a Celebration of Life Services. As provided by Wildwood Acres.... there is a beautiful ceremony area in which you are enveloped in nature, under a canopy of tranquil trees. While providing a sense of calm and balance, the venue also provides catering for their events. Wildwood Acres owners, Dan and Lien, give families a feeling of compassionate welcome while providing a much needed site for meaningful, personal Celebration of Life Services. read more

We held our wedding (ceremony and reception) here in May 2017. We, and our guests LOVED the venue- it really is stunning- and the quality of the food. Below are the challenges we had, by topic. If you can overcome these then they're a great venue. Communication: Communication with the staff was challenging. They did not return emails or calls. They often requested that we text message them and not email or call. No matter what method we used, we rarely heard back timely. About three weeks before the wedding I reached out to finalize things, and didn't hear back for over a week. I then received a rude call stating that there was less than two-weeks until the wedding and that we were behind. No mention of the communications I had placed to not get behind. They could then only meet with us in the middle of a week-day, so my now-husband and I had to take half-days from work. And the final meeting did not leave me feeling comfortable and confident about our big upcoming day... Over-Promising: At the open-house, we were told that we could have Sam Adams beer (which was important to us because my name is Sam and my now-husband's last name is Adams!). The week before the wedding when we were finally able to get them to meet with us to finalize the details- we were told that "oh, no, you will have to pay extra for that". We also requested to have 17 tables (we had already finalized our seating arrangements, and each table had a range of 8-10 people per table based on family/friend dynamics)- to which they said- no- you only get one table for every 10 people. If you want more tables then you pay more. None of this was discussed with us prior to the week before the wedding (nor was it in the contract!). Un-professionalism: Besides everything noted above, on the day of, the staff were rude to our family and guests. We had a buffet-style dinner (fabulous food!)- but they gave each person (except us of course), a tiny serving of each item. When the guests asked for a little more, the staff gave them attitude. There were two different meats at the buffet- my aunt asked for a little of each type of meat and they said "you're really only supposed to have one" and were very rude about it. At the end of the night, the family was cleaning up the items from the tables and a white candle had dripped some white wax on a white table cloth- the family was trying to remove it- and they actually yelled- "We are going to charge you $200 for that if it doesn't come out". Overall, the space is beautiful and the food is great. If you have someone who can be dedicated to keeping the venue on-track and putting up with them- it might be worth it. Our advice is go into it knowing that you'll likely have these issues, and do everything you can to mitigate them! read more

I had my wedding at Wildwood Acres on August 7, 2015. I absolutely love the venue, it's gorgeous outside with beautiful greenery and at night with all of the lights. The venue is gorgeous as it is, you don't have to add much, if anything at all. I had about 100 guests attend which worked great with this venue. Dan and Lien, the owners, were very helpful and caring throughout the time we signed our contract up to the day of the wedding. Their open houses are great, I highly suggest checking them out so you can sample the food (which my guests loved, you're basically getting a good home cooked meal that doesn't taste like bland, typical wedding food) as well as other preferred vendors. They are also very up-front with their costs, restrictions, and reasons as to why they run the place as they do and I appreciated their honesty-- they are a hard working family and they care about their clients. Some things may be hard to deal with, such as only getting a 1-hour set-up time before the wedding, unless you pay more for additional time, but knowing this all way in advance, we were able to make sure it all worked out by having family/groomsmen set things up quickly since we had it all planned out already. You can take all day to set up a site, or you can take 30 minutes if you know where everything needs to go, it's really not a big deal. I also highly recommend their master of ceremonies/DJ Mark Welch. I originally planned on going with a DJ I knew, but seeing as Mark knew the site so well and also coordinated the day of the wedding, I went with him to save myself the stress. I am so glad I did, he was entertaining, beyond kind, and kept the night going on schedule--I didn't even notice the time all night because it ran so smoothly. Overall, I feel that I could not have picked a better site for my wedding. Dan and Lien are great people and thanks to them, I had one of the best days of my life at Wildwood Acres. read more

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Wildwood Acres was not only a spectacular venue to have our reception (6/25/22) but their staff was great as well.  Lien and Dan (and Ducky the Dog), were easy to work with, competent, and hard working.  Lien's food was excellent, we recommend the Tri-Tip and Salmon, but the roasted vegetables were great too.  We also used the vendors they provided:  Le Gateau Bakery for our cake (taster platter was delicious), A Love's in Bloom Florist (beautiful flowers), DJ Mark Welch (great guy), and Cream (for ice cream sandwiches which were a BIG hit).  Put your faith in the staff, especially Lien's cooking and a great time is to be had by all. read more

I rarely give low ratings because I'm a very understanding and empathetic personality...I always give the benefit of the doubt. So having said that, I was greeted with a woman screaming at me pointing her finger "GET OUT. I SAID GET OUT. I OWN THIS PLACE AND I SAID GET OUT NOW". Yes, I was 15 minutes early and didn't realize it was a big deal...that was my error, but did it really warrant that kind of response. I actually couldn't believe she was talking to me like that and I was in shock. Well, I shook it off and chaulked it up to a little stress on their part as they were getting ready for the wedding. Within the next 30 minutes, I witnessed the same woman and a gentleman that seemed to be the manager, speak unnecessarily bluntly to almost everyone they came in contact with ...the owner especially was just so negative and unhappy and that energy showed through in everything she did. It just seemed like they didn't want to be there, everyone was in their way and they wanted the event to end as soon as possible. The concept of customer service was completely lost to them....instead it seemed like they were doing us a favor by giving us permission to be there. Onto other details, if you looked closely the lodge looked like it hadn't been cleaned in a long time. There were LOTS of dead bugs on the beautiful victorian couch, around the windowns and in lots of other areas. It was pretty from afar, but don't get too close. The food wasn't awful but it wasn't great either. However, I don't have high expectations for the food at weddings to begin with anyways. The ONE THING this place has going for it is that the garden setting hidden in the hills is absolutely amazingly beautiful; beautiful trees, nice lighting, pretty hardscape and fountains....and that makes me sad that this beautiful venue isn't properly respected. I would imaging that even the trees are sad that they are surrounded by such unhappy owners :) read more

Over priced, rude owner/caterers, meager portions, food a tad better than high school cafeterias. The name of this place is also grossly misleading. It is not a 5-star establishment, which most would associate with when a place is name a 'Resort'. It is merely a place big enough to have round tables. It is also on a hill, so good luck to those wearing your finest threads and heels. Imagine the a bride's disappointment: pouring that kind of money on your dream wedding, then to have a snooty caterer snub your guests, which later on I also found out to be the owner!! The people who run this business obviously do not have the expertise nor the professionalism to give the service their clients deserve for the price that they charge. It takes more than a pretty setting to make a wedding perfect. Utter disappointment, I strongly advise against holding a wedding reception there. Put things in perspective, holding a wedding at the Neiman Marcus Rotunda would cost less...... read more

First off, I have to say that Wildwood Acres is the most beautiful wedding venue I've seen in the bay area. Personally, I prefer wild over manicured, and Wildwood Acres feels like you are tucked away in a stunning California canyon. The reception area is also really neat because there are different levels so everyone can easily see down onto the dance floor (assuming you have under 150 guests). However, beauty is about the only thing Wildwood Acres has going for it. Charlie, the venue coordinator, has a sarcastic/dry sense of humor which was an unpleasant change from the friendly (almost gushy) coordinators that most venues have. I get along with most people, but I found myself dreading having to call Charlie with questions. I was willing to accept Charlie, but it was their rigid timeline that was the final deal breaker in not getting married at Wildwood Acres. They host two weddings on Saturdays, and if you want the later slot, your rental does not begin until 6pm. That means your ceremony could not start until 7pm! What's the point of getting married in a beautiful setting if it's dark almost the entire time? In addition, you only get 6 hours, including setup and breakdown, which sounds very rushed. Plus, we wanted a live band, and it sounded like there might be noise ordinances starting at 10pm (we could never really get a straight answer on this, but it wasn't the type of thing we wanted to risk for our wedding). You are allowed to reserve both Saturday time slots (any 8 hour period), but then there is an $18,000 minimum fee for the final bill (rental+catering+alcohol+gratuity)! For comparison, the regular Saturday night minimum is $12,000, which I thought was pretty reasonable for 130 guests (if you haven't realized it yet, weddings are EXPENSIVE). If you are expecting 200+ guests for your wedding, the $18,000 minimum is reasonable, but then not everyone will fit in the main seating area for the reception, so you'll have to subject some people to an area off to the side. The only way I'd recommend getting married at Wildwood Acres is if you don't mind getting married on a non-Saturday. The Sunday before labor day would be ideal, but that was already taken when we looked (about a year in advance for the 2009 labor day). Instead, we've decided to get married at the Gardens at Heather Farm. I had to settle for manicured over wild but it is still very beautiful and they are very friendly and accommodating. We could pick any 10 hour time period we wanted and pick our own caterer! read more

Think twice before booking this place. Read through all the reviews as they are the truth. Your wedding is suppose to be the talk of good things and experience. Not the bad... I feel sorry for the bride and groom for paying so much money for bad service. As a guest, you will see a lot happening from the sidelines. The Bride and the Groom are too busy mingling and having fun that this is really not in the list of priorities. So here goes my experience with this venue. The owners/coordinator are nowhere to be found when needed. They don't coordinate with your event coordinator as they would need to. No one is available to you see your ceremony through. You will find that you have to find the things you will need on your own, wait until someone will get to you or get yelled at. This is pretty much a "You are on your OWN" type of venue. For a buffet, you would expect the grandest. Imagine paying $100 or so per person and you would get a $5 worth of serving. Now, people will not pay attention as to how good their meal is because #1, they didn't enjoy or savour it because it was not that much. A panda express serving is so much more than theirs for the price you would pay per guest. Let's put it this way, you would need to go back 5 times to get the satisfaction. They stop replenishing the bread, salad, etc. so that you will not have something to go back to. One of the guest went to their car to eat food that they brought with them. Why? Because when they came back, the servers (kids serving) were giving them the look and they were talking bad things about the guest coming back for seconds. When you ask them to serve you both Turkey and Beef, they will tell you that you are only allowed one or the other. If they give you both, it's like getting a two pieces of chicken nuggets on your plate. They will take so long to replenish the food that ran out that way you will just go back to your seat hungry. To top it off, they took all the plates away to let everyone know that the buffet is over. They should have made an announcement on what time they will cut service. The place has lots of bugs, you will need to put on "OFF" as a perfume. No one maintains the bathroom to see if they are out of toilet paper or paper towels or, MOST IMPORTANTLY if the floor is dry to prevent any accidents like slipping. Don't let the open house fool you, they will make everything look nice. On your day, it is crappy!!! Day after your event, you will have a walk through to see if the place is damaged or not. Right there and then, you are suppose to receive your deposit back. Make sure you hang on to your deposit, they are not suppose to cash it or hang on to it for a certain amount of time. If they do... let them know that they are in breach of contract and that you will take them to small claims court. read more

First all I want to say this place is beautiful. However, it is run by very very ugly management and owner. I was a guest of a wedding reception here recently. My friends and I were completely disrespected and harassed by the owner/ manager. We were GUESTs and were HARASSED by the OWNER!!! I am pregnant and was KICKED out by the OWNER because I walked out to the car to get a Tylenol and he thought I was walking out to the car to DRINK alcohol!!!! I blatantly told him he was being a jerk and he told me me I could not go back inside to the wedding reception AND if I did he was going to call the COPS!!!! I have never been so disrespected by management or owners of an establishment before!!! Please please whatever you do do NOT have a wedding or reception here unless you or your guests want to be very disrespected!!!! read more

First, it is such a nice venue, just beautiful, I would even call it magical. A hidden gem right in our backyard. But....there is LOTS of room for improvement here from the hosts. The buildings are in dire need of updates and remodel. The service, well, the service needs to be corrected fast, or it will catch-up with them and they will loose clients. The owners seem to be friendly enough and hardworking. maybe they are just overwhelmed? Service is abrupt and just not professional. The whole time I felt like they were more than eager to get rid of us as fast as possible. It felt like it was a big chore for them to do this party. I did not feel welcome at all. Our table was second last to be called to the buffet, the Meat was very good, but our vegetables were raw, not even cooked al dente, just raw. Food servings were very small and by the time we were ready for seconds, all the food was already cleared off. There was no butter to be found anywhere for our roll. The helpers were eager to clear tables, if you didn't pay attention, whoosh, the cup was gone. Whether you were done with it or not. I feel sad for this place. II think they need a "service-make over" read more

We attended a lovely and important wedding here, but the management insisted we leave the property prior to the end. We were simply ejected with no chance for appeal. Our mistake apparently was bringing a small bouquet of wildflowers from home (they accused us of picking them on site). They accused us of trespassing (we did walk to the edge of the property to gaze at the adjacent wilderness at sunset). The interaction went downhill from there. The staff doing the ejecting never identified themselves. I later learned they own the place, and are named Dan and Lien Jegers. They displayed none of the usual hospitality one might expect. They explicitly equated their resort to a home, and treated us as disrespectful guests, right from the outset. I frankly don't expect to have any interaction with the owners of a venue if I am simply a wedding guest -- here I was actually scolded by the owners, in front of other guests, and in front of my 6 year old child. I was told that the trespassing violated the venue's #2 most important rule. Perhaps needless to say, this rule was not spelled out in advance. Fortunately the bride and groom did not learn of the ejection until the next day. There was plenty of other grumbling about the venue from other guests, though mostly related to the buffet (they served absurdly small portions of each item, then treated it as an imposition should a guest dare to ask for more). That said, the location is really quite nice. Tucked deep in a shady canyon it is protected from the hot summer sun, though on our evening the mosquitoes were fierce near sunset. Just make sure your guests are not very hungry, and don't touch anything. read more

We recently attended a friend's wedding. Great location. Tucked away on an undeveloped Lafayette hillside . It was perfect October weather. I thought "The Hundred Acre Wood." We really couldn't ask for a better back drop. And that's where the goodness ended. The pitch from one part of the area to other was precarious to say the least. Think levels: highest level for the ceremony, down to the tables, down to the bar, back up to the tables, back down to the buffet, and back up to the tables. Down, down, down to the bathrooms. And then back up. You get it now, don't you? Service: marginal. I thought that perhaps the size of the wedding taxed the abilities of the staff. Then, based on my conversation with the father of the bride and seeing Gabiela's review, I'm convinced it is a problem. Appetizers never made it to the tables. They were gobbled up by the bar line. The bar line moved so slow that I decided to order doubles when I got to the bar. I never made it back for more. Dinner: The serving portions were small. No chance for seconds. It was OK getting there in the daylight. It was Mr Toad's Wild Ride leaving after dark. I have to agree with Gabriela: service make over. It could be so much more... read more

The biggest flaw with this place is management sucks. If you avoid them its a lovely venue. We had the 'pleasure' of having to deal with management when we were bringing food to a wedding. They were rude and would not let more than one person back in the serving area which made it impossible to get food back there. When told they had made a mistake they would not admit to the mistake or correct the situation. We just had to deal with it. The location is a little difficult to find, but with a gps or google maps its not really a problem. The venue itself is very pretty. It is very far back in Lafayette which makes for a very private atmosphere. The area is surrounded by trees and has multi levels to host different parts of the event. It had an outdoor facility where you can have a wedding, dinner, party, and even has a nice dance area. There is also an indoor facility, but the outside was perfect. There is a lot of parking and it is very close, and there is a very friendly parking staff. The parking lot is a little dingy, but not a problem with a wedding or event in the evening. read more

Five years later, I'm still glad we didn't get married here! For a couple with a moderate budget, it hurt to lose our $1000 deposit, but it was well worth it. We signed the contract 15 months before our wedding and cancelled 31 days later. They told us we lost our window of cancelling (which is true, but they still had 14 months to re-schedule.) This probably is a great venue for couples with a large budget, but we cancelled because we were worried about too many unexpected additional charges. After we signed the contract we learned that there is an extra charge to have water on the tables, if there are favors left on the tables after the reception, if we want to connect our officiant to a microphone, if any guests happen to step off the paths, if a florist needs to borrow a pair of scissors, and who knows what else. The coordinator, Charles' nonchalance throughout the entire introduction to their property should have fore-warned me. He seemed entirely disinterested in answering any of my questions. I'm sure he is tired of answering the same questions over and over again, but it was my first time planning a wedding. It is a beautiful venue- but it isn't reason enough to choose this place. I think it's important to trust in the person coordinating your event. We found another venue that made us feel wanted, and the coordinator handled everything calmly and happily for us. read more

I got married here in August 2011. We found this place through a wedding website, but I don't remember which one. On our first visit, I fell in looove with the location. It is tucked away in the hills and feels magical. There is ivy on the hills, trees shading the whole place, an overgrown garden- so pretty. I was ready to book o the spot. We decided to check Yelp and found some unpleasant reviews, so we addressed these with the owners. They explained that they had some unruly clients who wrote some negative reviews about them after their wedding. Since the location is so freakin' magical, we decided to book anyway. During the whole process, the owners- Dan and Lien, were helpful and pretty easy to deal with. They are specific about their contract, but if you just follow the rules, you will be fine. They treat their clients like friends and expect good treatment back. They offer a variety of packages with different food options- from all-vegetarian to options with lots of appetizers, etc. The papers they have with all of the options are confusing (or at least they were when we went) because different ones have different prices. Check that so you can get a good deal. The food itself was ok- not amazing, but not bad, either. My mom (oh, Russian mamas) was so worried that there would not be enough food, that we worked it out with Wildwood and brought in extra, Russian food, for our guests. We got the open bar option and upgraded to bring our own wines. No one complained at all about the bar and the drinks were good. The place is secluded and you have to follow a winding, one-lane road there, but it is worth it. There is tons of parking on location. As magical as Wildwood looks, we definitely thought it could use some repair. The room they offer for indoor events is not pretty (we only used it to wait in before the ceremony started). It has a giant mural that doesn't fit the theme, old furniture, just overall not appealing. The grounds could use some maintenance as well. All of it, however, became so magical, that it doesn't even matter. Just wait for the twinkle lights to come on and you're in wedding heaven. Even though this place is not perfect, I have to give it four stars. The organization and the grounds may need some work, but the ambiance here is amazing. We had tons of guests comment on the location and how much it added to the magic of our big day. read more

Writing my review based on attending a wedding at this venue...I thought it was beautiful and from a guest perspective, enchanting, intimate and functional. However, my friend who was married told me the owner pulled some shady shit & wouldn't let the wedding coordinator's assistant eat, and was trying to charge her $50 for a plate of mediocre buffet food. Pretty fucked. I can see that all the terrible reviews for the owners have merit. read more

Amazing venue for a wedding or other special event! I loved working with Dan & Lien (owners of Wildwood) - our wedding went perfectly! Lien has amazing attention to detail, she's a great chef and will make sure your special day is amazing! Dan knows how the event should flow and makes you feel comfortable - they are truly great people to work with! Please contact Wildwood Acres and see for yourself! I highly recommend their family owned and operated venue for your next special event - they will take great care of you! :) read more

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Got married at wildwood on 08/01/15. Dan and Lien did an excellent job working with us throughout the process and when the big day came, everything went off seamlessly. The venue looked phenomenal, the food and drink were excellent and plentiful. The staff were warm and polite to all of our guests. We received so much positive feedback from our guests about the location. This venue is completely gorgeous! Very lush, natural outdoor setting. Located within a canyon with lots of tree cover so the temps don't get too hot. I would definitely recommend this venue to anyone looking for an outdoor wedding venue in the Bay Area. A great value and a great experience all around. read more

My husband and I had our wedding here in October 2012 and couldn't be more pleased with the venue. I was a little hesitant when I read some negative reviews on Yelp, but the place was too gorgeous to walk away from. Lien, owner & chef, made the best recommendations for the food. Our guests thought the food was delicious, we are still hearing about how yummy the stuffed mushrooms were and how great the tri-tip & turkey were. We had no problems with people going for second plates etc., everyone had plenty to eat. Some of our older guests wanted coffee sooner than "cake & coffee" time, the staff had no problem accommodating them, I thought that was really nice. The servers were sweet & respectable teens. The venue is gorgeous on its own, but once our wedding day came it looked even better with all the lights turned on and tables set etc. Our guests thought everything was beautiful and in awe of venue itself. The venue allowed us to leave our decorations overnight at the rehearsal, very helpful. We received our deposit 2 weeks after, without having to do an "actual" walk through. The owners were reachable via cellphone & text, which was really helpful. My only concern was the last mile getting there, the road is a bit dark and curvy & worried about guests leaving at night. But people left in groups and probably followed each other out, so it wasn't an issue and I heard no complaints from our guests. Also, I wish the "setup" time wasn't included in the rental time. It would have been nice if at least 1 hr wasn't charged. That definitely added some stress to my day. Unfortunately we were still setting up decorations while guests arrived, but oh well. read more

My husband and I got married here August 6th 2011. His aunt mentioned the place so we wanted to check it out. My husband and I are very out-doorsy people (we hunt, fish, etc.) so we wanted an outdoor wedding and golf courses were too "green" for us, we wanted elegant WOODS! When we surveyed the place, OF COURSE we fell in LOVE with the place. We picked our date and started the process of getting everything together. When you sign the contract, Dan and Lien (the owners) are very nice and go through everything with you. But you as the customer, you NEED to read the small print! They may have a lot of rules but they are there for a reason! To make sure you and your guests all have a great and safe experience! When we returned home that night, i went on yelp and started reading reviews.... o boy.... immediately i started to have second thoughts about the place. My husband reassured me that if we just follow the rules everything will go smoothly. Our wedding was held one year after we signed the contract with them and I couldn't have had a more amazing day. We had a camo (yes camo) wedding! Dan was standing outside the dressing rooms with me and my bridesmaids to make sure I wasn't going to go crazy. Lien did an amazing job with all the food! To this day, we still get compliments on the food at our wedding. We had our dogs in our ceremony and they were welcomed with opens arms by Dan and Lien. I honestly couldn't thank them enough for everything they did for us. The customer service was outstanding! The only problem we had was the bartender. My husband went up for a drink for me and the bar tender charged him for the drink (as bride and groom you don't pay for alcohol its in the paperwork) mind you, my husband was wearing a different vest (camo) so the bartender should have recognized him.... read more

I've DJed for over 20 yrs. and this place has THE rudest caterers EVER. I called a week before to discuss details and when I asked how many they were expecting, I was rudely told "Are you paying for it?" and HUNG UP ON. I did want to know how much equipment to bring since I had to set up two sound systems. They won't let your vendors on site until an hour before UNLESS YOU PAY EXTRA. This should give you a tip what the owners are like. No other venue in the Bay Area charges brides extra money if their vendors show up early. So forget aboout having live music. The site IS beautiful; don't let it fool you though! They put out filthy cheap plastic chairs for guest to sit on. The site is up a hill so older guests may have a harder time moving around. It can hold about 125 comfortably even though they say it can hold 200. To get to the site itself is a test. You will either need GPS, convoys or designated drivers; it's that easy to get lost, especially at night. You travel a single lane paved road without streetlights for about mile. There is plenty of parking. I work as a catering chef and the food was nothing special. What got me was they open the buffet table and have servers give out small portions early but leave table open for seconds. The problem was they broke down the table so quickly, some guests didn't get a chance for seconds. Some guests were asking ME about it. It's pretty bad when guests ask the DJ about food! When this guest asked Lynn, one of the owners about it, she dismissed him with a voice dripping of disdain. I was shocked. I've never seen a caterer, let alone an owner, treat a guest this way. She should actually dress up (jeans and a hoodie) for the receptions they charge so much for. The photog. was an national award winner yet Lynn insisted on telling her what to do. The crew does the bare minimum. I asked for water three times before giving up. They don't bring you champagne or cake after cutting. The party was going great yet the bride had me end 30 minutes early so the guests would be off the grounds so THEY WOULN'T BE CHARGED EXTRA. Huh?? If you pay to end at 9 PM ANYWHERE else in the Bay Area, you get the room until 9 PM. Yet they won't let the vendors thru the locked gates until an hour before? Unless you pay them extra of course. Be SUPER careful about what you are paying for. They will Grant and Benjamin (no nickle or dimes here) to death. If you don't use their services or listed vendors, they are even less helpful. I would never advise a bride to have their reception here and hope I never have to come back..It was THAT bad.. read more

I don't know where to start but if you don't want to read this whole post, at least keep this in the back of your head when dealing with Lien and her husband Dan - they are greedy and dishonest people who do not home-cook their ORGANIC food. Also, they treated my non caucasian guests terribly. I was embarrassed and ashamed. For the rest, here you go: My daughter and I, like so many reviewers before us have stated, ignored the bad reviews because this place is absolutely stunning and we believed Lien's response when asked about the negative reviews. We met with Lien and immediately loved this place. It was exactly what both my daughter and I wanted for her summer evening wedding. Once we were done going over everything we wanted, Lien then printed the contract and we noticed that it was missing some of the stuff she had promised us like extra time to set up and an extra hour for the reception, the food would be egg and peanut free (granddaughters have severe allergies.) We asked her to put this in the contract and she said that this was normal part of day-to-day business and it didn't need to be in the contract. WOW what idiots we were!! In hindsight many things stuck out at that first meeting but not as much as three items - 1) She was adamant that no one, not even venders could arrive early and 2) she stated many times that she cooks everything from scratch and its is all organic and 3) she kept making statements about money and not being late on contract payments. DAY OF THE WEDDING Our wedding planner arrived early and saw all of the food being delivered from a Safeway take out truck. (Now we know why she didn't want anyone arriving early.) When we started our dinner, it was the same exact containers that had been removed from the Safeway truck. As we were eating our dinner, Lien pulled me aside and asked me for her staff's gratuities. I was shocked to say the least, as this was included in the contract. She felt we should give her staff an additional amount. I truly had the feeling that she does this often. When I told her that we would discuss this later, she and her husband started treating my family and our guests terrible. After the cake was cut and passed out, she asked me for a third time about extra gratuities and at this point the wedding planner and I asked her about the Safeway food truck (granddaughters with allergies) she got very upset and cut the wedding reception short. It has taken me along time to finally write some of what happened that evening. I was so disappointed and disheartened with both she and her husband's behavior that the next day, I contacted some of the guests to apologize. If you would like to contact our wedding planner to confirm the Safeway truck, please message me and I will gladly forward her information. read more

This venue is out of a fairytale. My best friend just got married here last week. I can't believe just how perfect it was. This is a dream wedding location, and one couldn't ask for much more. First let me start by saying how beautiful the grounds are. Towards the top of the estate is where the actual ceremony took place. It was perfectly nestled between two canyon hills and could seat anywhere from 50 to 180 guests. Nature is abundant but not intrusive and adds to the romantic atmosphere. The alter has a lovely wooded arc which was gorgeous when adorned with the colors from her wedding. Connecting the ceremony to the reception area is a newly cobblestonned path which gradually slopes and winds downward where it meets the tables followed by the dance floor. Tall and peaceful trees provided just the right mixture of sun and shade as the guests enjoyed their meal. The catering (provided by Wildwood as well) was delicious. Smoked salmon wrapped around cream cheese and crisp asparagus was served lovingly as the wedding party finished their photos up top. The fresh roasted veggies were my favorite dinner dish, however the cheesy mashed potatoes were pretty killer as well. The open bar served surprisingly tasty wine and mixed great cocktails. The layout was well designed, even when all the tables made a buffet dash it still didn't feel like a traffic jam. They also have an indoor reception area which I didn't have a chance to really investigate in much detail but it looks great from a glance. The only draw back I can think of is that it is tucked away, far from the highway. There is a possibility of people taking a wrong turn or being hesitant about traveling down a 1/2 mile single lane road. Fortunately they made great maps and no one got lost on their way. All in all I think this place takes great care in ensuring that the day is nothing less than magical. read more

My wife and I got married at Wildwood in September 2017 and it was amazing. Everything was incredible, the venue was absolutely gorgeous, and it couldn't have gone much better. However, the amount of stress and angst involved in planning the wedding at Wildwood and dealing with Lien and Dan (the owners) unfortunately outweigh the beautiful aesthetics of this place. I would absolutely not recommend this venue to anyone who is currently planning a wedding. Major themes: - Believe the other reviews when they say the owners are very difficult to work with - they are. Both Lien and Dan are incredibly inflexible and have very little willingness to adapt to any changes in design or logistics. - Basic communication is strained and mostly restricted to texting and in-person visits (definitely no email). - They will nickel and dime you for everything if you want anything outside of their ideas for a standard wedding, so beware the sticker price, as it's likely not accurate. There was an additional charge to have wine on the table during dinner, in addition to extra charges for each wine glass, and an additional charge for water on the table, etc. Promises made but not kept: - When we initially toured the venue 10 months prior to our wedding, we made it very clear we had two must-haves - (1) we wanted to have a band and not a DJ, and (2) we wanted to go until at least 11:30 or midnight. - Lien assured us these requirements were no problem since they were in a private neighborhood, and we could literally go as late as we wanted (for an additional fee, which we agreed to). - I was surprised and frustrated when they called me 2 months before the wedding to let me know the band had to stop playing at 10 pm sharp. They had zero empathy when they called, were confrontational over the phone, and claimed they told us this upfront (absolutely not true). - This is only one of a handful of examples of Lien and Dan promising one thing and doing another. Again, the venue is gorgeous, our guests all had a great time, and everything went off without a hitch. But if we were to do it all over again, we absolutely, unequivocally would not have our wedding at Wildwood. The added stress and trouble of dealing with Lien and Dan is simply not worth it. read more