My Top 5 Wedding Venues Near San Jose, California
January 10th, 2025
I've had great opportunities to explore wedding venues all around San Jose and the Bay Area. Here's a list of 5 places I've photographed weddings to help get you started on your search. This is not a comprehensive list, and there are many more beautiful venues all around the Bay Area. Nevertheless, I hope this list will provide you with a great start to your wedding planning journey.
Sunol's Casa Bella: Casa Bella is a great venue for those who want a beautiful reception in a smaller package. Located in the quiet town of Sunol, this venue presents iteself with an old-town charm. It is among the smallest I've worked at, but you can still comfortably fit a large number of guests. Directly across the street from the venue is a quaint little train station, where on certain days a steam locomotive will pass through providing an opportunity for some unique and fun photos. The building is adorned with beautiful brick, lighting, and vintage details. Outside is a cozy area for cocktail hour, with some cute rope swings that make for fun photo opportunities for everyone The reception room is quite roomy despite the venue's overall small size, and has a ballroom feel to it. It is very easy to navigate between the ceremony and reception area thanks to the venue's size. I recommend Casa Bella to those who want a cozy venue with a clean but old-fashioned vibe, and if you want the convenience of a small venue that can still fit upwards of 200 guests.
Hakone Gardens: Hakone Gardens is one of the few Japanese estate and gardens in the area. And of botanical gardens I've visited it is among the most beautiful. If you time your wedding right you may even be able to witness the beautiful cherry blossoms or wisteria. However, any time of year is beautiful nevertheless. Guests can walk around and enjoy the scenery during cocktail hour, and enjoy reception nestled in a bamboo grove. From the balcony area there is also a gorgeous view of Silicon Valley. A great choice if you have upwards of 150 guests, and want to enjoy historic Japanese architecture nestled among colorful blossoms and bamboo.
Saratoga Springs Events & Weddings: Within a 5 minute drive from Hakone Gardens is another beautiful wedding venue that offers a complete change of scenery. Hidden among the beautiful and mighty redwoods is Saratoga Springs. The Saratoga Creek runs through the venue, adding to the peaceful atmosphere. They offer a few different ceremony and reception sites for different guest counts. This is a perfect location for those who want an woodsy outdoor weddings with guest counts from as low as 75 to as high as 500.
Roaring Camp Railroads: Imagine taking an old fashioned steam train through the mountains, under the shade of thousands of redwood trees, and over bridges to finally arrive at your wedding ceremony within a redwood grove. Roaring Camp offers the fun unique experience of taking a steam locomotive up to one of their two redwood grove ceremony sites, and then riding the train back down to your reception in a cozy refurbished barn building. The train can accommodate up to 175 guests. If you want a vintage vibe combined with a unique experience, or perhaps if you love spending a lot of time in Frontierland at Disneyland, you will love Roaring Camp.
Brazilian Room: The Brazilian Room is located in the Berkeley Hills, and offers a convenient place for wedding ceremonies and receptions. Similarly to Casa Bella, the ceremony and reception spaces are directly next to each other, offering a stress-free transition between events. They also offer reservations for their botanical garden next door, which I recommend if you want an enchanting feeling for your first look and couple portraits. The venue itself is beautifully landscaped and decorated with a small outdoor patio for ceremony and cocktail hour. Indoors is quaint and cozy, and can seat up to 150 guests. They offer discounts for Alameda and Contra Costa County residents, but the rates are still reasonable for out of county residents.
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