Mountain Terrace Reviews

We had our wedding at the Mountain Terrace and it was nothing short of a dream experience, from our first visit through the last minute of our wedding day. The site is beautiful, of course, but beyond that, the team at the Mountain Terrace is a well-oiled machine. The planners were such a pleasure to work with, bringing professionalism, experience, and a sense of confidence that always eased our anxious pre-wedding stresses. The chef and his team are next-level, exceeding our expectations of how good the food at a wedding can be. How they delivered that quality for 100 people is beyond me, but my wife and I couldn’t be happier with our experience. I wish we could get married there fifty more times. What a dream.

After a few months search around for our wedding venue and not completely sold on any of the options, our wedding planner re-mentioned that the Mountain Terrace in Woodside, CA was available during the time that were looking at (September/October). We booked the Mountain Terrace sight unseen aside from photos and a zoom presentation we got from the venue on their options as we no longer in the state and couldn’t readily get out there to see it in person. We are so happy that we ended up booking with them and recommend booking them as your venue as Anastasia and her team made our wedding day perfect. The venue and views are gorgeous and needs very little decor as they have picturesque views of the bay along with a large deck and hanging light that made for a very pretty night. In addition, staff was very attentive throughout the process from appetizer, meal, beverage, setup, and decor planning all the way through our wedding day. While the Mountain Terrace was pricey than the other venues we looked at, it also provided everything we needed from beverages, appetizers, decor, and food which made the planning process much less stressful. If you have the option to book The Mountain Terrace, i would highly recommend having them as your venue

Súper beautiful venue if you love nature that’s the perfect place.

The attentive service and gorgeous setting at The Mountain Terrace made our day.
The venue is beautiful - you're getting married on a grassy lawn surrounded by redwoods overlooking the south bay. The sunset views are spectacular. A deer came at dusk to graze at the edge of the lawn. The lights over the deck and fire pit made for a romantic setting once the sun set.

I added on the day-of planning services and highly recommend it because I got to enjoy my wedding and not worry about where I needed to be or who was taking care of our guests. Caren made the day seamless, calm, and fun! She brought us a personal plate of appetizers and champagne during post-ceremony portraits. The bride's dressing room had water (with straws to preserve lipstick!) chairs and a big mirror. Our guests were very well taken care of. We got comments about how accommodating they were of dietary restrictions and how delicious dinner and appetizers were.

Our wedding was on August 5, so it was sunny and warm on the lawn during the ceremony, but definitely cooler than in Palo Alto. We looked at weather forecasts for La Honda to prepare. It cooled off to a very comfortable temperature for dinner. We didn't need the heat lamps but were glad to have them because you never know how much it will cool off once the sun sets. There is air conditioning inside, which was great when we were dancing. Caren was very responsive and helpful giving recommendations on heat lamps and umbrellas as we approached our big day. She quickly answered every email in the days and months leading up to our wedding.

Overall it was a spectacular experience and we highly recommend The Mountain Terrace and Caren!

I just had my wedding at this venue on August 1st, 2015 and I would like to thank the entire crew of Mountain Terrace!

Caren and Sarah were both very helpful in our planning process. Caren would respond to my emails at hours I wouldn't expect her to be working! She was definitely on top of the reminders, coordinating and helping us figuring everything out.

Denise and her crew made our day effortless on the day of. Denise went above and beyond to make us feel comfortable, serviced and on schedule. I didn't eat much on my day of and asked one of my bridesmaids to ask if the kitchen had a bite to eat as well as coffee. I didn't realize the kitchen didn't have coffee ready yet. Without hesitation, Denise got me a coffee from the market next door. I didn't hear this story until a week after my wedding from my husband. I am truly thankful and touched by her devotion to excellent service and making the bride feel truly special!

The weather was gorgeous at Mountain Terrace on our day of and all of our guests enjoyed the delicious food/drinks/awesome bartender/class A service.

We loved this venue. It had a great rustic atmosphere with a great indoor and outdoor space. We had our ceremony and dinner outside (in July) and the weather was perfect. The landscape is beautiful with a great lawn, redwood trees and a view of the bay. We had kids and there was lots of space for them to run around and play yard games.
The food and drinks were great and the catering is all included on site. We liked this venue because we didn't have to bring in catering or rent chairs, tables and linens. The staff were great. They were very easy to work with before the event and during the event, they were great. They really took care of us and our guests. Our guests were very impressed with the scenery and the food. Plus, the cost was relativly resonable for the Bay Area. We had our wedding on a Sunday, which made the rental cost less expensive. They do require a minimus of guests on Saturdays and the rental fee is higher. If you plan a smaller wedding (under 120 guests) and you want a Saturday, this venue wouldn't be for you. However, it worked perfectly for us, 70 guests on a Sunday. The only other thing to consider is the remote location. The nearest hotel is 20 minutes away down a windy country road. We hired shuttles to bring our guests up there, which cost close to $3,000. There is ample parking if people know the area and are comfortable driving up there.

The Mountain Terrace is a perfect balance between beautiful venue, amazing food, affordability and staff professionalism. We've researched over 10 venues around the San Francisco Bay Area, and found this venue to be the best option. Here is why

Beautiful - the venue is nestled within the Sequoia and Redwood trees in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It has an expansive view of the peninsula below.
Amazing food - I think the coordinator mentioned that their kitchen received awards. Either way, the in-house food options were very good.
Affordable - this is a good price for what you're getting.
Staff Professionalism - all of the staff were very professional and treated the guests with respect.

We're very happy that we chose the Mountain Terrace as our venue. The property itself has a natural beauty that cut down on the need for a lot of extra decorations. The redwoods made a beautiful backdrop for our ceremony, the lawn was perfect for cocktails and portraits, and the deck allowed us to have a lovely dinner outdoors with all of our friends and family gathered around where we could see them. The interior bar and dancing area are tastefully appointed and were just the right size for our wedding. We continue to get compliments about our choice of venue from guests who were there and folks who've seen our photos afterward.

We also chose to use the in-house catering service. We had been hesitant to do this at first, fearing that the quality would not be as good as an outside caterer, but the tasting proved us wrong, as did our wedding meal. They have a unique menu and are very flexible if you have off-menu requests or need something special for guests with dietary restrictions (and a lot of their standard menu items are gluten-free, vegetarian, etc.). Everything was delicious. The bartender knew what he was doing and worked with us to create signature cocktails of our design (my husband is really into craft cocktails so this was important).

Finally, the customer service exceeded our expectations. Caren was our coordinator and made everything leading up to and during the wedding so much easier on us by reminding us of information she needed, reaching out to other vendors on our behalf, and making sure everything went smoothly on the day of the wedding. We really enjoyed interacting with her, and she took care of us, bringing us drinks and food while we took portraits and making sure everything moved along as scheduled. There was an additional cost to hiring her as a day-of coordinator, but it was absolutely worth it (and very reasonable compared to paying someone else).

The Mountain Terrace is a beautiful venue with a gorgeous view and a wonderful team of amazing folks who want to make your wedding a dream come true. I got married there in October 2013 and it was a blast! I can't tell you how many times I thanked my lucky stars that we managed to secure a date and find the perfect location, and for so reasonable a pricetag.

We opted to have Mountain Terrace handle our catering as well, and the food was fantastic. Everyone commented on how tasty everything was, and they worked with us to create a menu that matched our tastes and worked with a few complicated dietary issues with our guests. They also handled lots of other requests with grace and professionalism, like lawn games, s'mores, signature drinks...everything you could want to make your wedding stand out.

I want to give a special shout out to Caren, who is one of the nicest vendors I worked with and an all around stand-out gal. She was so patient and so quick to respond to my many questions, and she even made sure a waiter came by and fed us so we didn't pass out during our photos. Thank you, Caren!

I found Mountain Terrace to be a beautiful venue and was so lucky they had my date available! I first worked with Charisse who helped me sign the contract and get the ball rolling. Then we had our tasting date in March and met with Caren who helped answer ALL of my various questions. I worked with my wedding planner who helped pull my vision together. Mountain Terrace was a great all in one place! They handled the ceremony, reception, meal & bar! I couldn't believe what a great find this place was! Not to mention that I had the most beautiful weather that I was convinced I would not have! Thank you to the whole staff for making this place feel warm and welcoming to all my guests!

The staff at The Mountain Terrace is what makes this a spectacular choice for any couple. Pair that with charming location and beautiful views and we felt it was the perfect place for us. From the minute we walked in for our initial viewing, we pretty much knew it was where we wanted to get married. The energy was so positive, it just had an amazing vibe with some good music playing, it was cozy and magical. We didn't look any further. The staff is really warm and attentive here, they were so on top of everything. And the food was absolutely phenomenal. The other piece that makes this place such a gem is how affordable it is for what you get. Well, affordable in the wedding world. Great experience, highly recommend.

Choosing the Mountain Terrace was hands down, the best choice my husband and I made for our wedding. We were looking for an outdoor venue in the redwoods, and this fit the bill- it's absolutely beautiful. My husband and I are both very laid back, and Caren from TMT emailed us every few months, reminding us of details she needed to know, which turned out to be so helpful in keeping us on track. Without her, we would have been pretty disorganized. The day of, all the staff went above and beyond to make our day special. They brought champagne to the bridal suite, made up a plate of hors d'oeuvres for my husband and I while we were busy taking photos, arranged our cake with our bouquets as decoration on the dessert table, and the bartender even learned some guests' favorite drinks. At the end of the night, they boxed up the remaining desserts for us to take home, and even helped us clean up. It was clear this venue hosts lots of events and really knows what they are doing. If you are looking for a beautiful outdoors venue with lots of classy details, and amazing customer service, this is it!

- Professional, friendly, almost no industry attitude. Very personal and flexible to plans changing at the last minute.
- Can provide stuff you don't have or didn't think of (heating lamps, cake plate, decor), sometimes at no additional charge - eg. we got some extra heat lamps for free because they had them sitting around! Very appreciated.
- Really attentive to you and your guests. Subtle at the same time -- provided great service without us even noticing in that very moment. Switched decor, attention of the guests, etc. quickly depending on schedule for the evening. When we arrived a little later from the ceremony, dinner was pushed back a little with no issues.
- Totally stress-free experience. Takes care of everything basically - would recommend to others!

Our overall experience with the Mountain Terrace was absolutely fabulous. The place is very beautiful. We had about 130 guests and it was really perfect for that number. The ceremony was on the lawn. Then the cocktail hour on the lawn and under the trees. We were able to eat outside on the deck, which was nice.
I was a bit worried since up front they are very assertive about their various "rules" and additional charges. But the day of, they were very cool and accommodating. Also, I was worried about noise for the outdoor ceremony. but that too was not a problem. I was really impressed by the service. Didn't really seem to be the kind of place that would have such good service, but they did, really it was top notch.
My biggest complaint is the indoor dining room. The floor of that room is far from level. It slopes dramatically. This tends to give me a little vertigo. It's really weird.
we had MT cater too. and that worked out great. the food was excellent. Having them do the catering was a really good idea. I think lots of things were made easier by letting MT do everything.
Also, the alcohol was reasonably priced. Paying on a per person basis is the only way to go. Lots of other places charge per drink. I couldn't deal with the stress of people spilling drinks and also i had no good way of estimating how much the guests would drink. Their house wine that went with the basic package was just terrible, particularly the red wine. They should seriously rethink that. I am by no means a wine connoisseur, but this wine was clearly of poor quality. Also, it wasn't from California. I felt that my guests coming from all over the country to northern CA would be expecting something better and/or local. But they were very accommodating in allowing us to bring our own wine and even credited us for their wine that we didn't drink.
lastly, the value for the cost was good. Our friends in the area were surprised about what we spent given the quality. In general, weddings are too expensive. But you would be hard pressed to find a better deal in Woodside.

The staff at TMT was AMAZING! We had very good communication leading up to the big day, and they were incredibly flexible with all my requests. Day of, the staff waited on my hand and foot! I said something, and it was done! And even with falling behind on our schedule, they were so professional about everything. I never felt stressed or pressured by the staff. And of course, the view is SPECTACULAR! All our guests were amazed at the venue and couldn't believe how perfectly everything went. Thank you TMT!!!

We got married in this absolutely stunning venue in July. We were initially attracted to this venue due to its location - somewhat convenient for the bay area, located along the Skyline so the weather stays cool in the summer, and surrounded by the redwood and sequoia trees that are meaningful to us. After having visited and talking with the staff and owners, it became apparent that they have strong communication skills and provide excellent customer service. Having their own in-house catering proved to be very convenient and we were completely satisfied with the quality of their food in the end. We worked with Anastasia as our coordinator and she was truly fantastic in both helping us prepare for the event and making sure everything ran smoothly the day of. The Mountain Terrace was attentive to our requests and worked with us on our customization needs. The staff were genuinely warm and friendly that helped to put the guests at ease. I have so much appreciation for their clear communication, transparent pricing, excellent vendor relationships, and customer-forward business model. It was a tough call for us to make at the time in choosing the right venue, but in hindsight, we absolutely made the correct choice. I can't endorse the Mountain Terrace enough and I would highly recommend you visit and talk with them to see if they will also be the right venue for you.

Mountain Terrace offered a beautiful location and a responsive, professional staff that worked hard to make sure my event was what I wanted. The food was amazing, too!

We loved having our ceremony and reception at Mountain Terrace. The setting is beautiful, the staff was very friendly and helpful, and the food was very good. There were lots of little additional charges for various little things, but they were up front about them. Everyone commented about what a beautiful venue it was and we loved having our wedding there. We worried about music volume for our band beforehand but it did not turn out to be a problem. Just remember it is chilly there at night - even in August!

We wanted an outdoor wedding and after viewing a few other venues, we selected Mountain Terrace because of its beauty and the rental price was very reasonable compared with some other places we considered. The staff was very easy to work with & very patient when we were super indecisive about our beverage options. There were a few challenges we didn't really consider to carefully when booking which we wish we'd thought about more prior. Mountain Terrace requires you go through them for beverages. Luckily our wedding was on a Sunday so we weren't required to buy a beverage package and could opt to pay based on consumption. They require also that you use their in-house catering or select from about 3 other options. If you want something different they charge an additional $1000. Also, the venue is located up a curvy narrow road so getting shuttles ($1500 for 2 shuttles to accommodate 60 guests at a time) was almost a necessity to avoid worrying about people driving down a steep hill drunk. These are relatively minor things, but they ended up stressing us out a bit during the planning process. That said, we had a beautiful wedding and I wouldn't have wanted us to get married anywhere else. Our guests loved the location & even had a great time on the shuttles.

Location, location, location, and Mountain Terrace has the best. Set a top a mountain in Woodside, the drive up is a bit daunting, but once you pass the forest of redwoods, you arrive to an open hidden spot with a beautiful backdrop of redwoods, perfectly manicured lawn, and a wooden swing hanging from an oak tree next to a firepit. If you're looking to save money on decorations this place is it.
The only thing you have to know about this vendor is they definitely nickel and dime you for everything. The only thing included in the rental price is the food, tables, and chairs. Some of our extra unplanned costs included heat lamps for an outdoor dinner which were a must despite our wedding being in the middle of the summer. We also had to pay to install a dance floor inside, the use of the fire pit for s'mores, 22% service fee, and date change fee even though we changed our wedding date a whole year before the actual wedding.
The food was on point though, especially the hen of the woods vegetarian entrée! For the beverage package we were able to pay a certain amount in advance, and were changed per glass poured. The agreement was once the limit was reached, they would stop serving. Luckily we didn't have too many heavy drinkers in our wedding party and were actually refunded the extra money they didn't spend on drinks. Very honest and professional of them to do that.

We hosted our wedding at The Mountain Terrace last September, and would highly recommend this venue to others! With an expansive view of the Bay Area, tall redwood trees, and a rustic wood reception building, this is a wonderful place to host a combined wedding ceremony/reception.

PROS:
-The venue is truly stunning, with a large, well-maintained lawn, tall redwood trees, and a view out to the Bay on clear days. The drive up to the venue is similarly beautiful.
-The reception building is large enough to fit over 120 people at tables inside, providing an excellent rainy-day back-up plan without renting a tent.
-With the exception of heat lamps (see entry below), all of the necessary ceremony/reception elements are included with the rental (ceremony arch, chairs, tables, etc.) There aren’t a lot of “hidden costs.”
-The wooden outer deck is already decorated with twinkle lights, and the natural beauty of the surrounding forest means that very little additional venue decoration is required.
-There is a full bar with good beers on tap and a wide selection of wines/liquors to choose from. TMT will work with you to customize a bar menu or reasonably priced open bar package. We had some a special request for pre-ceremony drinks and they worked with us to make it happen.
-The huge wooden bar and large space for dancing makes for a great reception. A fireplace and wooden walls make everything feel warm and intimate.
-Both of the event planners at TMT, Charisse and Caren, are friendly, responsive, and professional (see detailed review below regarding day-of coordination).

CONS:
-The drive to reach this venue is LONG and WINDY! If you will be serving alcohol at your reception (or even if you aren’t), it is essential that you hire buses to shuttle your guests to and from the venue (we worked with Lone Star Limousine, which was excellent). Be sure to factor this into your total expected costs.
-The venue is right next to Alice’s Restaurant, which attracts a number of motorcyclists, particularly around midday. This means that occasionally you’ll hear the roar of motorcycle engines, or see a number of motorcycles in the parking lot. Be prepared for the possibility of brief motorcycle noise during your ceremony.
-The dressing room here is basically just a large coat closet. Ladies, if you would like some nice “getting ready” photos, you will have to take them elsewhere. I recommend doing a mock “getting ready” photo session at another location (perhaps the wedding hotel), and then quickly getting dressed at TMT without worrying about getting any photos.
-If you have your heart set on a particular caterer already, and they are not one of TMT’s four “preferred caterers”, you will need to pay an extra fee to use them.
-If you’d like to rent heat lamps (and if you’re having your guests eat dinner out on the deck, you probably will), they will cost $100/each. You’ll need ~10 lamps to heat the whole deck, adding a substantial cost to the rental. This is the only “hidden cost” we felt was associated with this venue, but in fairness to TMT they were upfront about the cost in the contract and the likelihood of needing to rent the lamps so it wasn’t a surprise additional cost.

DAY-OF COORDINATION:
If you do book The Mountain Terrace, we highly recommend hiring Caren Pearlman for day-of coordination services. She was wonderful! She has the perfect combination of “getting things done” and “keeping people calm”. Many times during our big day we turned to her with a request, only to find out she’d already taken care of it. She was a wonderful, calming presence, and absolutely someone you want helping you out on your wedding day.

Overall, we loved hosting our wedding at The Mountain Terrace, and would highly recommend it to those looking for a beautiful, rustic venue amongst the California Redwoods!

This was the only wedding venue that my wife said that she liked, and we saw a lot of different venues. It is very majestic, and a great place for a mountain wedding without going to Tahoe. There is some nickel-and-diming, but if you ask lots of questions upfront about costs before you sign, there shouldn't be any surprises.

We very much enjoyed having our June 2010 wedding at The Mountain Terrace. For the price, and what we were looking for, it was one of the best values in the area.

The staff that we worked with the year leading up to our wedding, Caren and Charisse were extremely nice. Very responsive to my many questions, emails, and walk-through requests, and all in all a pleasure to work with. We loved that you can have your ceremony on site, across the meadow from the lodge, and we chose to have ours in front of the bay view through the trees. You can also have your ceremony in front of beautiful redwood trees. The two level deck was a perfect size for our just under 100 person wedding, and the buffet set up around the side of the deck works well with traffic flow. The food was very good and we were happy with our menu selections. The bar area was just inside, off the deck, and the inside area would have been large enough if we had needed to move inside due to weather. Our wedding ceremony and reception were beautiful, and the beautiful outdoor space was exactly what we had wanted.

The cons that other reviewers listed are all true, but most were not a big deal. On our video of the ceremony, you can hear some motorcycles going by, but on our wedding day I didn’t notice them once. Yes, the road up there is curvy, but we rented a bus for our guests, so it wasn’t a problem. The bridal suite was quite small, adding a fan might help in hot months. We all got dressed at the hotel though, so didn’t need to use the room much. The two big cons that made me give only 4 stars to my review was the music issue and the bartender issue. We were well aware that no amplified music is allowed outside, but had been specifically told that it was perfectly fine to have the speaker system set up inside the bar area, and turned up loud enough to gently trickle outside to the decks. Well, the on site manager that day (who I had never met or been in contact with until our rehearsal, maybe she was new?), kept insisting that our DJ turn the sound down. We could not hear anything on the deck during dinner, so I wasted hours putting together cocktail hour and dinner music playlists. Secondly, during our first dance as husband and wife, we were dancing in the doorway of the bar, and could barely hear the music, which was very disappointing, as our guests sitting on the decks couldn’t hear anything. This was a constant issue all evening, with our coordinator and DJ trying to turn the music up to an appropriate inside level that could not possibly disturb the neighbors, and the on site manager insisting it be turned down. This resulted in very little dancing by our guests at our wedding. The second con that was noticed was we only had one bartender. I had thought that for almost 100 people we would have 2 bartenders, so guests did have to wait in line for drinks at times.

However, other than these downsides, overall we were happy and as I mentioned above, the venue was very lovely, and a very good price compared to similar venues in the area. Also, the serving staff brought around champagne to the tables during dinner for the toasts, which was a nice added bonus. The champagne toast was supposed to be an added $2pp charge, so we had decided against it, but received it anyway, so bonus points for that. All in all, we are very happy we held our wedding at The Mountain Terrace, and would recommend it to others, especially for events where music is not a priority.

We had a lot of problems with us telling them what we wanted and then them not doing it and telling us there was additional paperwork needed if we wanted that but now it was too late. We had the venue booked well over a year from our date and were extremely vocal over what we wanted, so I was shocked and not impressed that what we asked for was not met.

This venue is absolutely beautiful! I cannot emphasise it's inherent beauty enough. The only issues we had with this venue was the cost and the lack of communication. The management over there is really hard to work with and they continuously communicate things that are in contrast with their previous statements. It was hard to work with, but the beauty of the venue pays off in the end.