This wedding is just so Spring-perfect.  The espadrilles (worn with lovely vintage fur coat, for the chill in the air), the gorgeous white flowers  in vintage vases, the bright green branches accenting the low burning fireplace. I could not love it more.  Kate’s Blossoms really knocked this design out of the park, with low key elegance and spring blooms on full display.  Sarah Peet brings it all to life with her lovely photographs. 

Cavallo Point is so well situated amidst beautiful trees, the bay and the Golden gate Bridge, that it makes sense to take as much advantage of the setting as possible.  One way to do this, is to host your wedding or special event in a tent on our Mission Blue or Kober Lawns.  Don’t get me wrong, hosting a tented event is a LOT more work than making use of our beautiful event spaces, but for the right couple this can really be the perfect fit, and the right group of vendors can pull off a tented event flawlessly like the ones pictured here.

My favorite feature of the Callippe Ballroom is it’s 32′ ceilings with exposed wood beams.  It gives the room, which was once a gymnasium for officers and soldiers including basketball courts, a barn-like feel. Lighting and fabric swagging dress up the beams and really draw guests eyes up to the gorgeous architecture of the room, and there are tons of great options for this from fabric draping, to market lights to paper lanterns in many color options.

I know what you are thinking.  Grass?  But Cavallo Point has some extraordinary grass.  There is nothing more beautiful then our rock-star brides who lay down in their brightest white in the no-mow (that’s right, those long luscious locks of green are only mowed every few months) for a stunner of a photo-op.  Or for the truly adventurous, take a mini hike up to Battery Yates, and stop for some beautiful pics in our amber waves of grain with views of the city and the GGB hovering in the background.

Besides our amazingly cozy cold weather vibe, and the excuse to snuggle up to the one you love, another great reason to host a winter wedding at the Lodge is CRAB SEASON.   San Francisco is known for its crab, and what could be more fun than hosting your guests for a good ol’ fashioned crab feed? I love the use of red and white checkered linens on queens tables with picnic benches shown here in our Verbena Room.  Or, add visual interest with newspaper or craftpaper table runners perfect for an interactive crab display. Finish the table with metal buckets for shells and lots of candlelight and get to crackin’!  Photos by Sarah Peet Photography.

Cavallo Point: Close to everything, but away from it all.  This set of photos perfectly demonstrates how amazing our location is, just a stones throw from the beautiful city of San Francisco but so quiet and serene.  I just adore the view across the water of the skyline, and I feel certain you will love these photos as much as I do!

This gorgeous rehearsal dinner, designed by Kathleen Deery, took place in our Verbena Room, and had a playful casual feel to set it apart from the more romantic and upscale wedding decor.  The couple chose an Asian Buffet menu, and we displayed the food on three large round tables, clustered together at the center of the room.  The dramatic Japanese Maple centerpieces made the food stations, in a blue and tan striped linen, an eye catcher in the room. At the front fireplace, blue upholstered lounge furniture was clustered into a cozy seating area with small brightly colored glass vases filled with dramatic white dahlias. The terrace was saturated with aqua uplighting and matching blue Twitter linens on the cocktail rounds.

The historic 1940’s chapel at Cavallo Point is a vision of polished wood and arced ceilings.  The acoustics in the space are amazing and there is a built in stage perfect for a 6 piece band.  This room looks gorgeous set up like a club and bathed in dramatic lighting, or soft and zen in creams with more traditional furniture pieces.  Most groups use it for dancing, but if you are open to bringing in a satellite kitchen and have a group of 100 or less, you could do the full dinner and reception in this space for a totally different look.

From the terrace of Mission Blue Chapel or Callippe Ballroom, you can steal a glimpse of the beautiful San Francisco Bay.  On warm sunny days, it gets even better with clear city views in the background, and sailboats dotting the water.  This  wedding pays homage to those views with a fun modern twist.  Graphic aqua and white linens from La Tavola adorn the dining and cake tables, with bright pops of orange in the tall and short centerpieces by Kate’s Blossoms.  Flashy mango colored orchids create a bit of a tropical vibe as they cascade down the otherwise simple white wedding cake. In the foyer a shimmery steel colored linen serves as the backdrop for a display of sanddollar escort cards and an enormous bouquet dripping with crystals.   The terrace area is kept simple with a fun printed orange linen and white seaside lanterns.  With all of this color at the reception, the couple kept the ceremony itself demure and sweet with white rose petals and an earthy moss covered cross in the built-in alter.  I love the way Lisa McNichol from And Something Blue brought together the design, and Sarah Peet captured it.

In general, when people think of the image that defines a wedding at Cavallo Point, they see a dramatic panorama featuring the Golden Gate Bridge.  Now don’t get me wrong, I too, LOVE those shots.  But I know that Cavallo Point has some incredible scenery to offer aside from the massive orange icon.  Some of my favorite wedding photos of the lodge are captured at the base of our spectacular tree groves.  Check out the small wooded area, at the end of the property after the last officer’s house which offers towering eucalyptus trees, perfect for getting shaded portraits when the sunlight is a little too direct by the water. Or check out the century old cypress trees near the Mission Blue Lawn with the historic homes creating a perfect backdrop.