Best Romantic Inns to Say "I Do"

Specials & Packages:
Wedding and Vow Renewals

How I Became an Innkeeper: Rendevouz Bed & Breakfast

CABBI Cookbook Recipe: Melted Brie with Mushrooms

March Gift Certificate Special

New CABBI Online Recipe Box

Best Romantic Inns to Say "I Do"

The open-air, ivy-draped vestiges of the Historic Sand Rock Farm Bed & Breakfast’s wine barrel aging cellar serve as an intimate and magical spot to tie the knot. In the late 1800s, the barrel aging cellar once held 130,000 gallons of Santa Cruz Mountain wines. Today, couples enter the arched doorway to exchange vows. Friends and family dine and dance beneath the romantic glow of Japanese lanterns strung from the top of the cellar walls. Along with the cellar, the private, 10-acre estate offers additional venues for wedding ceremonies and receptions ranging in size from 2 to 250, including an enchanting redwood grove, the Winery Meadow with a raised wine pavilion, the Historic Carriage Barn, and a multi-level deck overlooking a shade garden.

For breathtaking views overlooking the ocean, Timber Cove Inn provides a spectacular setting on the Sonoma Coast. Perched high atop a rugged bluff, the inn can accommodate ceremonies, receptions, and rehearsal dinners for up to 100 in banquet rooms with panoramic coastal views, on a redwood deck overlooking a scenic cove, or on the event lawn. The inn offers exceptional planning services, packages, and customized catering menus, including wines from nearby vineyards. Overnight guests can choose from spacious ocean or forest view rooms with hot tubs and fireplaces. 

Set on three acres just outside of Palm Springs, Villa Royale Inn is an intimate, Mediterranean inn reminiscent of an old Tuscan estate. Inside the inn’s iron gates, tranquil courtyards filled with trickling fountains, cascading bougainvillea, the fragrant scents of citrus, jasmine, and lavender provide a romantic backdrop for weddings and receptions.

Lavender Inn
Melted Brie with Mushrooms
Makes 8 servings

5 green onions, chopped

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

8 ounces sliced mushrooms

1/4 cup vermouth

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 small 4-5' round of brie

1 tablespoon chopped parsley or purple kale, optional

Preheat oven to 350° F. Saute onions in olive oil. When the onions are getting limp, add the mushrooms. Stir in vermouth and soy sauce and then remove from heat. Slice the top off of the brie, but leave the sides and bottom intact and place in an oven-proof serving dish (preferably round). Pour mushroom mixture over the brie and bake for 20 minutes until the brie has melted. Garnish with parsley or kale and serve on sliced French bread or crackers.

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Wedding and Vow Renewal Packages

Churchill Manor, an elegantly restored mansion in Napa, offers a variety of wedding packages ranging from intimate elopements to weddings with sit-down dinners or buffet receptions. The Napa Elopement Package includes a two-night stay for the wedding couple in the manor’s best available room (Sunday through Thursday, February 15 through April 30, 2010), two-hour wine and appetizer reception each evening, a three-course gourmet breakfast each morning, exclusive use of your ceremony location, ministry, a wedding bouquet and boutonniere, wedding cake (including cutting and service), champagne toast with Napa Valley bubbly, wedding coordination, and all applicable taxes.

Arden Hills Resort Club & Spa's new green wedding package allows brides and grooms to honor their commitment to the environment while celebrating their commitment to each other. The package features an array of environmentally sensitive elements including: a customized seasonal menu showcasing hors d'oeuvres, entrées, and desserts made with fresh, local, and organic ingredients; an organic, custom designed wedding cake by Tarts and Truffles; flowers from local organic growers; a wedding expert to assist with planning every aspect of your wedding that reflects your personal taste, style, and budget.  Arden Hills makes every effort to cut emissions, waste, and other negative impacts throughout each special event. Your green wedding will minimize your footprint on our planet and send your guests away with memories of a fabulous wedding experience.

Whether you’ve been fantasizing about your perfect private wedding for years or just decided to elope, the Shaw House Inn can create a very intimate and beautiful ceremony just for you. For $550, they provide a romantic setting, a minister, champagne, and a small, exquisite cake. Flowers, photography, hairdressers and masseuse services can also be arranged. The wedding package is for up to 8 people. Please contact the inn for larger ceremonies and use of the park.

Rendevouz Bed & Breakfast
by Jake Cohen

Running a bed and breakfast is hardly a standard profession for a 25-year-old, but here I am, and I've been running the Rendezvous Bed & Breakfast in Palm Springs since 2008.

I grew up in the bed and breakfast industry as the son of Barb and Marty Cohen, owners of the Shore House at Lake Tahoe. Growing up people would always ask me, "When you are done with school do you think you will come back and run the B&B with your folks?"

I would reply emphatically, "No!"

Well, so much for that plan.

As I grew up, I realized that the business was a lot of fun, and I loved the variety of tasks my parents called work. I had a knack for cooking, loved seeing people enjoying something I created, and I'm a real numbers guy.

I graduated from college with a degree in Economics and Theater (The perfect combination for an innkeeper because every day is a show and at the end of the day, the numbers still have to add up.)

So I moved to Palm Springs, renovated the Rendezvous, and we have been open for almost two years. It has been a great project. I love my job, and now I understand why my parents have been innkeepers for more than 15 years.

March Gift Certificate Special

Purchase any CABBI gift certificate and receive two complimentary copies of the CABBI Travel Guidebook--one for you and one for the gift recipient.

Also, add the CABBI Cookbook to your order for just $14.95, and receive a free upgrade to priority shipping.

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New CABBI Online Recipe Box

Savor a taste of California at home with CABBI's new, Online Recipe Box featuring hundreds of delicious bed and breakfast inn recipes.