If you’re getting married at Deer Park Villa in Fairfax, California, you’re reading the right blogpost. We at Perfectly Planned Moments are one of their preferred wedding planning companies, and have been involved in over 20 weddings there so far. (All images used are from Deer Park Villa weddings that we planned and coordinated.)
Over time, we’ve learned the ins and outs of how to plan successful weddings at DPV, as we call it, and are here to spill the tea on best practices and ideas! (Please note, I am unaffiliated with them beyond being a vendor they refer to couples.)
1. Hire Vendors from their Preferred Vendors Lists
Deer Park Villa asks their clients to choose from their list of preferred caterers, who have been vetted by the staff and are familiar with DPV’s facility and policies. A caterer unfamiliar with their facility has more potential to make mistakes that could delay your wedding or make things go less smoothly, and coming from someone who has actually done weddings there with caterers not on their preferred list, I 100% agree with this policy . Their list of caterers work extremely hard to deliver excellent service and wonderful food.
DPV also asks that you use their in-house DJ, Runaway DJ. Their team set up the venue’s original sound system and offer DPV clients special pricing. They also offer lighting and photobooth packages. They’re extremely good at what they do, from communication prior to the wedding to MCing to working multicultural weddings.
3. Find out Which Preferred Caterers have In-House Rentals vs Which Ones Outsource their Rentals
Ask yourself this question: do you want to use DPV’s table and arch rentals, or do you want to work with an independent rental company to bring in, say, farm tables? If you want additional rentals, there’s a high chance that you can save money on delivery fees by tacking your rental order onto your caterer’s rental order of linens, plates, stemware, flatware, etc. That is IF your caterer is renting from an outside company too. Some of the caterers on DPV’s list use their own small inventory of rentals for dinner service, which means you’d be on your own if you wanted to rent additional items. Because DPV does multiple weddings a weekend, the delivery and pick up time-frames for when huge delivery trucks can come in to deliver or retrieve rentals at DPV is VERY small. This means these costs are skyyyyy high. Do your research and make this rental decision before locking in your caterer.
5. Be Aware You Cannot Rehearse in the Ceremony Grove
DPV does so many weddings each week that it just isn’t possible for couples to rehearse in the ceremony grove the day before their wedding. Would you want someone else’s wedding party rehearsing in your ceremony site as your vendors are setting up the morning of your wedding? Here’s the truth: you can rehearse anywhere—I’ve done it on a public patch of grass in San Francisco, in a pizza parlor parking lot, and even in the tiny backyard of an Airbnb. All you need is the space, and DPV’s Zen Garden (pictured right) is exactly that. they provide an arch and some chairs and a good amount of space. You can rehearse Wed-Sun the week of your wedding during a pre-booked time slot between 10AM-2PM.
7. Have the Guys Get Ready in the Indoor Bar Area
If you’re trying to keep the groom and groomsmen away from the bride and bridesmaids before the First Look/Ceremony, having them get ready in the indoor bar space is a great way to do it. It’s well-lit, there are couches and beer, and it’s on the other side of the property from DPV’s Bridal Suite.
9. Turn the Fountain Off and Put Flowers In It
It’s easy, you just unplug it. You don’t even need to ask. The existing water in the fountain keeps the blooms watered all day long!
11. During Cocktail Hour/Photos, MOVE THE ARCH BACKWARD
I’m a little passionate about this, ‘scuse me. It is typical for family photos to take place in front of the ceremony arch after the ceremony is over. Keep in mind that photos are happening right as the flip is happening, in the same space. (Note: before trying to move the arch, make sure it is not staked into the ground—if it is, it’s best to leave it.) To keep things moving for everyone, have a couple strong guys pick up the arch and move it about 20 feet back farther into the trees. This will not change the arch backdrop whatsoever, but it will make a world of difference in how much space your catering staff will have to perform the flip, and it brings your waiting family members closer to the arch and away from where all the tables are going.
12. There’s a Sound-Ordinance, But You Can Still Party
Because Deer Park Villa is located in a neighborhood, they have a strict policy that only dinner music and first dance songs can be played outside. By 8:30PM, all music must be moved indoors to DPV’s dance floor. A really easy way to get guests to move indoors is to have your cake table inside, and have your DJ announce that the cake cutting ceremony is about to take place. Once the cake is cut, everybody heads to the dance floor for hours more fun!
14. Have Your Coordinator Set Up the S’mores
The caterers can certainly take care of this for you…to the tune of a few hundred dollars for a nice spread; but look, that’s really not necessary. I can’t think of a cheaper dessert to feed a crowd than s’mores. It’s literally a couple boxes of graham crackers, some chunky marshmallows and some chocolates (Reese’s peanut butter cups and Kitkats too, if you’re fancy like me!)If you purchase these items along with some roasting sticks (hello Amazon) and provide some kind of dish or tray to your coordinator, I’ll bet they can set that up for you in 10 minutes. I do it all the time.
PC Rippetoe Studios
15. Be Aware that Service is Spotty, but There’s Wifi!
DPV’s a little out there, so your cell service will probably be spotty. In emergencies, you can use DPV’s office landline for a reliable phone call. Otherwise, just ask the venue staff for the wifi password. This is especially helpful for guests who plan to call Lyft and Uber at the end of the night. If you must consistently communicate via phone throughout the day, plan to use a wifi-based app, such as GroupMe or Kik.
2. Hire a Wedding Coordinator with Previous Experience at DPV
I recommend this for the same reasons I recommend using DPV’s list of recommended caterers and in-house DJ. We know the venue and policies inside and out, and we also know the answers to a lot of questions you’ll be emailing to the venue staff otherwise. DPV manages over 150 weddings each year, and they get an insane amount of emails. If you don’t think you’d be able to handle 200+ emails every single day, please don’t expect DPV’s venue manager to respond to your emails immediately.
It’s a tough job…but your wedding is also important. You need to know the answers to your venue-related questions. Having a pro on your team who works at DPV all the time and can field most of your questions for you will save you SO much time and potential frustration. We have the inside scoop and are here to get you in on it!
4. Take Advantage of DPV’s Inventory
I’ve seen my fair share of farm table rentals at DPV, but that doesn’t mean DPV’s tables aren’t awesome choices too. Last I checked, they have
(20) 60” round tables
(20) 72” round tables
(20) 6’ long tables
(20) 8’ long tables
and a plethora of other miscellaneous items like cocktail tables, small round cake tables, and nice-looking finished wood restaurant tables that don’t need linens. They have indoor restaurant chairs as well as dark wood folding chairs. They have three types of arches—a light wood curved one pictured on the left, and an 8’ x 8’ x 8’ dark wood four-post structure that can also be turned into a 2-post arch.
6. DPV is Really Close to Mount Tamalpais (First Look #Goals)
I don’t recommend going off-site once the wedding starts (such as for sunset photos) because you are your guests’ main attraction and leaving for an hour after dinner is really disappointing.
But if you have time for a lengthier First Look before the ceremony starts, you should talk with your photographer about taking the 10-minute drive over to get some fun photos!
8. Use this Hook for the Wedding Dress Shot
No need to hang the dress on the top of a closet door frame! This nail is hidden at the top of the structure you pass under as you enter the ceremony grove.
10. Have Cocktail Hour Inside (Guest-Count Permitting)
This is only possible with 80 or less guests, otherwise DPV’s staff will highly recommend opening up the outdoor bar during cocktail hour too so that guests can be served quickly and without forming long lines.
The goal behind moving cocktail hour inside is to encourage guests to leave the ceremony grove so that your catering team can flip the space into your reception site! They’ll move the ceremony chairs out of the way and then pull pre-staged tables into the space and rearrange everything. The transition for guests who are not watching is absolutely magical!
Moving guests inside for the flip also means that they’ll be out of your catering team’s way. Guests like to find a place to leave their things, but they don’t always understand that the chair they left their jacket on isn’t going to stay where they put it, since we really shift things around during the flip. It’s best to keep guests entertained elsewhere so that we can most efficiently prepare the space.
13. Yes, You can Have Sparklers—Here’s What You Need
You can totally have the sparkler exit of your dreams! You just need buckets of sand for guests to place their burned out sparklers into afterwards. Better these buckets than It’s either these buckets than DPV’s garbage cans where the sparklers are bound to break the garbage bags (no thank you!)
Hint: don’t get the 36” long sparklers—they take way too long to burn, and guests will not know what to do with them. Be considerate of the fact that you are giving a lot of drunk people fire in the middle of a redwood forest. The 20” long sparklers are much better. Any shorter and you risk not getting the million dollar photo you want before they start to burn out!
PC Nirav Patel Photography
16. You can Come Tour DPV As Often As You Need To
If you’ve already booked DPV as your wedding venue and just want to come show your family or vendors, just let the venue management know that you’ll be coming for a self-guided tour. Their viewing hours are Wednesday - Sunday from 9AM - 12PM.
