Here Comes the Guide: Southern California: Wedding Locations and Services
Product Description
Often referred to as the “Location Bible,” Here Comes The Guide is the most detailed reference available for event locations and services in Southern California. It features hundreds of fabulous sites from California’s Central Coast to San Diego, including private estates, historic gardens, yachts, museums, wineries, hotels, community centers, and other venues. Appealing descriptions give readers a clear picture of each place, and details about pricing, servic… More >>
Here Comes the Guide: Southern California: Wedding Locations and Services
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This is a very thick book… and for good reason. It has photos (albeit black and white ones) or photo-rendered sketches of many potential wedding and reception venues. Each venues’ pages come with the stuff you need: the seating capacity and approximate prices. There are also other sections of the book focused on vendors for flowers, etc. I recommend this book if you’re trying to get a feeling for “what’s out there” with regard to venues. It’s a great place to start, and you’ll probably feel like you’ve covered a lot of ground once you’ve gone through this book. Rating: 4 / 5
Wonderful book, a must have! Rating: 5 / 5
One of the biggest decisions you make will be where to hold your wedding and reception, and how much to spend. “Here Comes The Guide” is an outstanding reference tool that takes the stress out of trying to find that perfect location. The guide is divided into sections by geographical locations — Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego — and provides you with in-depth descriptions of each venue. You will get a good general description of the venue, seating capacity for ceremony, receptions and meetings, what the authors liked (or disliked) and availability of services. Each venue has a 2-page description with a quick-reference checklist at the end. By looking at this checklist, you can quickly see if you are allowed to bring your own caterer, alcohol, required to obtain insurance on the venue, and other detail items crucial to the success of your event. This time you invest into looking through this book will not only assist you in narrowin! g down your choice of ceremony or reception sites, but will give you an idea of the questions you should ask as you shop for your site. In the front of the book they provide you with some suggestions to make the most of your venue hunting experience. Whether you want some place unique and unusual, or just need to accommodate a tight budget, this book is a must have! Rating: 5 / 5
While the bulk of the Guide is dedicated to reception site listings, the vendor listings in the back are very helpful. The listings are not mere “paid advertisements.” If you read the book, The Guide explains how each vendor undergoes a thorough screening process–something even the most persistent bride likely wouldn’t have the time or ability to conduct.
As The Guide states on Page 483, their process “involves interviewing 15-20 other event professionals. We call every single reference and ask about the professionalism, technical competency and service orientation of the advertiser in question. … Those candidates who received consistent, rave reviews made it into The Guide.”
Using The Guide as a starting point (combined with the internet, magazine ads, and friends’ recommendations), I conducted exhaustive research of my own of wedding professionals in Los Angeles and beyond. I wound up hiring three vendors who had been featured in the Guide (caterer, band and florist, 11-11-00 wedding). All performed beyond my greatest expectations, and my guests cannot stop raving about the “fabulous,” “amazing,” and “out of this world” food, music, and flowers. Clearly, The Guide got it right.
So don’t be fooled by the relative size of the vendor section compared to pages allotted to reception sites. The vendor section may be small because they are the cream of the crop, thanks to the Guide’s legwork. Rating: 5 / 5
This book is exactly what I wanted when I first got engaged, but it took me a few weeks to find it. I have only lived in LA for 2 years and knew there were so many more wedding and reception locations than were advertised in magazines and phone books, and I was right. This book lists each and every place in Southern California with extremely detailed facility descriptions, pricing structures, restrictions, what’s included, and interesting information and trivia about some of the places. Everything is here, from 5 star hotels to remote locations where you bring-your-own everything. This book is an absolute must for the couple who wants a wedding and/or reception location that fits their style exactly. The only drawback is that there are so many places to choose from, it will take longer than you might have expected to finally choose a location! Rating: 5 / 5