San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Lush vineyards create perfect setting for weddings
“Whether the bride and groom are looking for an elegant wedding at a resort property or chic winery or a naturally simplistic wedding with the vineyards in the backdrop — Lodi has it all.”
Nancy Beckman, president and CEO of Visit Lodi
Tondria Sanders is way too calm for someone whose son is getting married in an hour. The mother of the groom is smiling as she roams through the garden at Wine and Roses, a popular wedding venue in Lodi.
“Everyone here is so laid back, they have it all together,” she said. And the quaint garden, with its trailing roses and white chairs, looks ready for the ceremony.
Sanders’ son, Trentten Orth, and his wife, Ismenia, grew up in the Lodi area, like Sanders herself, who lives in Galt, a small town near Lodi. And even though Trentten Orth is an engineering student at Arizona State University, he wanted to come home for his wedding.
Orth may have wanted to come home, but he just might be a minority these days. Lodi, the Central Valley town that has burst into the national limelight because of its world-class wines, is also becoming well-known for its wedding venues. The locations range from small intimate gardens and barrel rooms to large barns and lawns that can accommodate 500-plus people. And Lodi’s wedding scene has hosted them all.
“The allure is the scenic backdrop of the wine region surrounded by lush and beautiful vineyards,” said Nancy Beckman, president and CEO of Visit Lodi, the visitor organization at the heart of the region’s explosion. “Whether the bride and groom are looking for an elegant wedding at a resort property or chic winery or a naturally simplistic wedding with the vineyards in the backdrop — Lodi has it all.”
Beckman is being diplomatic.
What she isn’t saying and what many bridal couples have discovered themselves is that a wine country wedding is much less expensive in Lodi than it is in Napa and Sonoma. Not only are the wedding experiences less pricey but the lodging for guests is much more reasonable.
“Lodi has a variety of properties — everything from independently owned properties, franchise favorites, vacation homes, bed & breakfasts to a resort property,” Beckman said. “There is a lodging option for every budget.”
At a time when people are still shaky from the pandemic and facing once-in-a-generation inflation, Lodi offers affordable, scenic and unique wedding opportunities, paired with some of the best wine not only in California, but the country.
Perhaps the most alluring aspect of Lodi is it is still a small town, and it treats its visitors that way.
“How many people have weddings where each guest is greeted by the winery owners?” asks Pati Meyers, wedding sales director at Durst Winery and Estate, which offers three garden settings for weddings and is putting the finishing touches on a covered venue for larger events. Winery owners Dan and Cassandra Durst greet the guests — and lock up the gate after the last guest departs.
“We aren’t a wedding mill,” Meyers said, adding that she does about a dozen weddings a year. October and September are becoming the “new June” as far as the popularity of dates, she said, but she books weddings for dates all year, especially May through December.
“And we’re a family,” she said. “Couples come back here to celebrate their anniversary or show off their new babies. I already have 30 ‘wedding babies.’ ”
There is also another part of weddings that is emerging in Lodi: bridal showers, rehearsal dinners, engagement parties and basically any excuse to get together with friends, Meyers said.
“It’s still that post-pandemic desire to get out and party,” she said.
One winery, Jeremy Wine Company, has a fun venue in Lockeford, just outside of Lodi, to complement its downtown Lodi tasting room.
The Lockeford venue isn’t large enough for weddings, but as Director of Hospitality Jillian Burford said, it’s a perfect location for engagement parties, rehearsal dinners, even “meet and greets” before weddings, so guests from different locations can get to know each other. The space, she says, is surrounded by barrels of 100-yearold Zinfandel, is air conditioned, looks out over the river and “is just a wonderful spot.”
“It’s casual,” Burford said. Which is just like Lodi — casual, affordable and friendly with an elegant vibe and beautiful surroundings. It’s easy to fall in love there.