Secret Garden Ceremonies Reviews
Reviews
5.0 out of 5 rating
5.0 out of 5 rating
20 Reviews
100% recommend it
Awards
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Featured
John T. Sent on 12/03/2023Intimate Wedding in the Trees
Our wedding was beautiful and turned out exactly how we imagined. We are so happy that we decided to have an intimate wedding. It allowed us to share the day with the friends and family we are closest to. We booked the intimate wedding package that included the estate and the retreat. Both locations are gorgeous and the retreat makes you feel like you’re secluded away in a Redwood wonderland. All of our guests were amazed at how everything turned out and thought we picked the perfect location for us. We loved being able to make a weekend out of our wedding instead of just one day. We are so happy with our choice!
Tiffani was such a huge help. She is very creative and was so helpful when it came to making our ideas come to reality. She asked us about certain items along the way and even make a table mock up for us to look at. She helped guide us and provided support when it became stressful. She would always email, text, or call us when we had any questions. She understood our vision and executed it beyond our imagination. Her caring nature really helped us feel comfortable with decision making and we both appreciated her going the extra mile to find things she thought we would like. She even painted vases that she had to go with our colors and made flower arrangements as well. She already has certain décor items that couples can use which is a huge plus. Tiffani reminded us that having an intimate wedding was different than your typical wedding factory ceremony which was a huge plus for us. This allowed us more freedom to do things that meant something to us instead of what is “typically done”.
We also had Tiffani be our officiant and she did a great job. She sent us a questionnaire and got to know us through the planning process which allowed her to write a ceremony that actually fit us and encouraged us to give her feedback.
The location is breathtaking and all of our guests were amazed at how we found this gem. The retreat is surround by redwoods and is a peaceful place to be. We stayed an extra day at the Secret Redwood Retreat and never wanted to leave. It was so peaceful up in the redwoods and the house itself is so comfy and stylish. Tiffani has decorated the house with original boho pieces and quality furniture that she has fixed up. Our guests loved the deck in the back where we ate dinner and cut the cake. The custom live edge redwood tables looked so gorgeous with the terracotta décor.
I could go on an on about this magical place…it’s really that great!!! If you’re looking for a unique experience, locations surrounded by nature, and someone to guide you along the way, then look no further!Secret Garden Ceremonies's reply:
Dear T&J, working with both of you was an absolute pleasure and honor. Weddings take a lot of effort on the couples' part to put together and often during the planning we have some dynamics to overcome. You both showed up with the grace, humor and organization required to make it the best weekend possible. I remember the day of your site visit and all the work that was undone at the Secret Redwood Retreat and you took a chance on the vision that I shared with you that day. That really meant a lot to us and our dream of creating a romantic, connective intimate redwood wedding venue. It is really no small part that the two of you have played in making our dream a reality. I am truly thankful for your trust, kind words and I am personally looking forward to your vow renewal perhaps in 5 years. Just hoping our paths will cross again. Cheers to a happy, healthy and loving life! Tiffani -
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Ali Sent on 12/09/2023
Dream wedding under the redwoods
My husband and I were looking for a beautiful outdoor location for our intimate wedding and were so glad we found Secret Garden Ceremonies. We booked the estate and the retreat and both locations are absolutely spectacular. We had our ceremony in the redwood grove and dinner reception on the estate lawn and Tiffani and her team went above and beyond to make sure that everything was executed beautifully. Our guests were in awe of how amazing the venue, retreat, ceremony, and entire experience was.
Throughout the entire process, Tiffani provided us with great guidance and support, answered all our questions, and always gave honest and transparent input and feedback. We aren’t local to the Santa Cruz area and Tiffani had amazing recommendations for catering, floral, photography, local restaurants, and places for our guests to stay. Tiffani was also our officiant and worked with us to create a ceremony that fit our personalities perfectly and was exactly what we envisioned.
The beauty and tranquility of the retreat really helped to set the stage for our entire wedding weekend. This beautiful cabin nestled in the redwoods provided the perfect lodging accommodations for ourselves and our wedding party; the bedrooms and living spaces were clean, comfortable, and spacious; and we so appreciated how Tiffani went above and beyond with all the little touches of home to make sure we had everything we needed for our stay. To kick off the weekend, we hosted a welcome dinner on the outdoor deck under the redwoods for all our wedding guests. The Retreat was also a beautiful and bright getting ready space for our bridal party and one of the many redwood groves on the property provided an absolutely stunning backdrop for our first look and pre-ceremony photos.
A huge thank you to Tiffani and her team for making our dream wedding a reality and for creating such an amazing experience for us and our family and friends. We can't recommend Secret Garden Ceremonies enough! -
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Elizabeth S. Sent on 01/25/2024
Wonderful wedding in the redwoods
Tiffani is a detailed oriented person with a kind heart. She knows how to collaborate and execute. On our wedding day, we felt relaxed knowing that Tiffani would handle everything. Plus, her staff and suggested vendors all worked out nicely. We highly recommend Tiffani and her venue in the redwoods! -
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Brandie P. Sent on 03/27/2023Halloween Wedding in the Redwood Grove: Brandie & Matthew
Words cannot describe how beautiful our wedding was at Secret Garden Ceremonies on Halloween of 2022. Ever since my college days at UC Santa Cruz, I have always loved the Santa Cruz landscape and knew it would be the perfect backdrop for my wedding with my now-husband, Matthew. When searching online for an outdoor wedding venue, none seemed quite as magical as Tiffani’s. I reached out to Tiffani and quickly received a response– from the beginning until our special day, her responses were always quick, helpful, and informative. Having never gotten married before (lol), her insight was essential when integrating our ideas that respected both the gorgeous scenery and our culture. My husband and I were planning this wedding from Los Angeles and only had the chance to visit the venue once for our in-person consultation before our Halloween wedding; and, I cannot reiterate this enough, her help throughout all of this is what made the day special and easy to enjoy. She provided us with recommendations for florists, local bakeries, photographers, dining options, and gave us a list of decor ideas we might utilize.
We chose to have our wedding reception in her Redwood Grove location and our ceremony by the twin redwoods. Our intimate wedding included 24 guests total and this backdrop was the perfect fit for our small celebration. Upon arrival, Tiffani was focused on keeping my husband and I calm and happy. When I walked out in my dress, I was taken aback by how much the space had been transformed to fit our vision. The florist she suggested had done an amazing job with our marigold arrangements, and as the day progressed the redwoods came alive and provided an absolutely breathtaking backdrop that we will never forget. We wanted to incorporate tasteful elements of Halloween in our wedding decor while avoiding cliche decorations one might find at a Spirit Halloween store. The string lights and lanterns surrounding our reception helped capture the whimsical, fairytale environment we wanted and accentuated the autumnal landscape her venue provided.
If you are looking for an outdoor wedding venue, I would highly recommend Tiffani and the many outdoor options Secret Garden Ceremonies provides. She was professional, courteous, and even offered to be our bouncer if anyone got rowdy. She has a personal touch that made my husband and I feel comfortable working with her from the beginning. I can’t imagine one would get that level of dedication and kindness anywhere else. It was obvious with Tiffani that she genuinely cared about our love story and was excited to help us realize our dream-wedding, and it was not simply transactional. We are forever grateful to Secret Garden Ceremonies for their beautiful backdrop on a day we will never forget.Secret Garden Ceremonies's reply:
Dear Brandie and Matthew, It was a true honor to work with both of you to help your wedding day dream come to life. Everything about your vision was perfect and absolutely you and I was so thrilled that you wanted to do your wedding on Halloween!!! You were also my teachers, thank you for sharing your ideas, your wisdom, accepting my feedback and most of all trusting me with your most precious moment and memories. Sending you both wishes for love, happiness and continued joy! Keep creating the magic! Tiffani -
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Hannah R. Sent on 09/07/2022
A Wedding to Rember Forever
Tiffany offers her beautiful property for small, intimate weddings and truly listens and strives to make happen the wishes of her Brides. My husband and I are extremely grateful for our forever-memories. We were the first ones to wed down below in the redwood Grove. Tiffany cleared the space since we were just so drawn to being inside the redwood groves and the day before she cleared it and took photos to show me how hard she worked to make it happen. She was not only there for me in service, but in support. With a tiny meltdown after miscommunication and the possibility of my family not coming, she comforted me and helped me through my fears and doubts. My husband and I we'd in the Redwood Grove and then our group lounged on the Estate lawn. We look so many photos in the Redwood Grove, we had our "First Look" photos in the Secret Garden, my husband and I did our private vows in the gazebo, and the boys got ready in the big purple barn. Each space offered a bunch of emotions and memories that I get to look back on and cherish forever. The flow of the wedding was dependent on us, since we did not hire a wedding coordinator, and Tiffany made her space available for effortless organizing. She also offered personal services for setting up where I was holding the reception, off Freedom Blvd.
I cannot express the gratitude and love I feel for Tiffany and her property. If you're looking for an intimate, breath-taking wedding, you have found the most perfect venue.Secret Garden Ceremonies's reply:
Hannah, I sure miss seeing you and Robin. You are both amazing and were a true joy to work with. Thank you for the kind words, it was a mutual effort and you did an amazing job.
Hope to see you again soon! Tiffani -
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J. Sent on 03/17/2022Best Wedding Officiant!!
We had such a great experience working with Tiffani for our 10 guest wedding on 2/22/22. Tiffani produced the most heartfelt ceremony that felt exactly like us and we couldn't have asked for it to be any more perfect!! We are so glad to have found Tiffani and really can't say enough good things about her and our experience! Thank you, Tiffani! -
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Shannon B. Sent on 11/16/2021Enchanted wedding with a fairytale ending
We absolutely loved our wedding at Secret Garden. Tiffani went above and beyond in making our day special. Tiffani was able to provide us names of vendors for floral, food and photography, and everything went with out a hitch! Best experience, ever! -
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Sylvia S. Sent on 02/08/2021The Best Afternoon Ever!
A group of friends had a reunion party here, wanting a covid safe, outdoor environment to get together. It was just blissful! Everywhere I looked, my eyes were drinking in beautiful scenes and vistas. Tiffani was a fabulous hostess, and we were made to feel so comfortable, with lots of outdoor seating areas, strolls to take, goats to pet, and outdoor games set up to play. I'll definitely be back! -
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Gabbi A. Sent on 12/01/2021
What a wonderful place!
Beautiful place for small weddings! -
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Nasiha R. Sent on 01/12/2021Made our Big Day Possible
After changing wedding plans multiple times due to the pandemic, we were looking for a beautiful outdoor space to get married in the presence of our immediate families. Tiffani was beyond helpful and professional and helped ease our worries. We got married in the redwood grove and took our photos around the gorgeous estate. I felt like it couldn't have gone any smoother given the circumstances!Secret Garden Ceremonies's reply:
Dear Nasiha and Omar, What a whirlwind of planning to experience with you! From your initial site visit to your day of you had such a short amount of time of about a week and so many changes to digest. What an honor to witness your courage and the calm that you both exhibited. It was truly inspiring and fueled me to give my best and offer even more.
My heart is grateful to have had the opportunity to work with you and your family. It was a such a beautiful day and the temperature was perfect in the redwood grove and gardens. Thank you for taking a chance on our location and services here in Santa Cruz County. I learned so much from each experience. Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. I hope to see you both again in the future. With gratitude, Tiffani -
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Christian B. Sent on 10/30/2021Serene Secret Getaway
Beautiful, tucked away garden and redwood grove that make a great venue for any occasion! -
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Jacqui L. Sent on 01/12/2021Dream Wedding
As with many other couples in 2020, we found ourselves having to cancel the wedding we had been planning for the last year. I’m pretty good at planning, but it was overwhelming even for me.
I was about to move forward on just using a warehouse, but then we were recommended Secret Garden Ceremonies. The name instantly got my attention because of my favorite childhood book/movie. Let me tell you, the location lives up to its name.
We were thankful to have an opportunity to get married amongst the 2020 chaos, but we also got to have the wedding of our dreams with our closest family and friends.
It’s the perfect location to do your photo/video package justice. I absolutely love our wedding photos. Really anywhere you go on the property is a photo op.
Minimal decorations were needed because each of the areas on the property are absolutely gorgeous and complete. I had a lot of help from family on the cake, decorating, and flowers, but Tiffany was also ready with vendor recommendations.
We used the Redwood Grove for our ceremony, the aisle was perfect and we got to bring in our own redwood arch. The love swing is adorable and provided a nice intimate moment for us to enjoy right after the ceremony.
Our dancing, cake cutting, and refreshments were had on the Grand Estate lawn. It was so much fun to dance in the middle of our family like we were at a Bridgerton garden party. The grand staircase was a perfect group photo spot.
Tiffany is truly a professional. She has amazing attention to detail. There were so many things I hadn’t even thought of that she brought up (and I’m an organized person!). She was flexible in working with us during these hard times.
Any tips I had to give on making the day better, Tiffany has already addressed in her plans to improve. Including better parking, time to set up and takedown, and space for the groom to get ready. We had to mostly skip using our photographer for getting ready photos due to COVID. But! I was able to get dressed on-site and have those photos with my mother and maid of honor.
One of my favorite memories is enjoying some time with their lovely German Shepard who got to come out and visit us. (I made a special request for that.)
Secret Garden Ceremonies is a magical space to have your wedding. Especially a small, Covid-safe one. And if you’re not looking to spend a ton on decorations, the space is already done for you!
I’d like to add that Tiffany’s recommendation for having our reception at Ella’s at the Airport was fantastic. They set up a private area for us with our own music and the food was phenomenal! Highly recommend!Secret Garden Ceremonies's reply:
Dear Jacqui and Brandon, My heart is grateful to have had the opportunity to work with you and your family. It was a such a beautiful day and the temperature was perfect at the estate. There were so many beautiful moments I witnessed with family teamwork, an abundance of love, presence, joy and courage. Thank you for creating your dream ceremony here in 2020 and thank you for taking a chance on our location and services here in Santa Cruz County. I learned so much from each experience. I look forward to seeing you again in the future. With gratitude and joy, Tiffani -
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Alyssa T. Sent on 07/20/2022A perfect fit!
We had a simply amazing day. Leading up to the day Tiffani was extremely organized and offered us recommendations, tips, and advice that would best fit our needs. Everything ran smoothly and day off Tiffani was just wonderful in organizing, delegating, calming our nerves, keeping us informed- everything! Our families were in absolute awe of the property, coordination, and setup. Tiffani even went above and beyond to set up our personal touches on creative ways and used flowers from her property to fill in what was needed. We were reflecting on the day and are SO happy we went with a small intimate wedding and Tiffani’s venue couldn’t have been more perfect for our day.Secret Garden Ceremonies's reply:
Dear Alyssa and Christian,
Looking back on your wedding day, I realize so many things were perfect in those moments. The perfect weather, the music, the love and the family that gathered made for the most memorable moments. I still remember your wedding day like it was yesterday. I hope you are both well and happy and amazing new adventures are on your horizon. Tiffani -
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