mendocino botanical gardens

On Sunday, we drove up to Fort Bragg to check out some wedding venues. Our first stop was the Mendocino Botanical Gardens. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect when we got there, but it was pretty awesome. Charles who is my gardening/photography nerd was in heaven. Warning, this post is VERY photo heavy. All photos taken by Charles except for the one of him, I took that one!



They had some of the craziest looking plants! Some of these things look like they belong on King Kong's island or Little Shop of Horrors.









The succulent/cactus display was our favorite. Some of these plants were HUGE!





This place literally was amazing. It felt like I was walking in Bambi's forest. It was breathtakingly beautiful. And we hadn't even seen the ocean yet!



JC was semi-interested at first.



Then he fell asleep. This NEVER happens. He had to be pretty tired to fall asleep in his stroller, especially while I was pushing him through bumpy, gravel trails and on bluffs overlooking the ocean. He really couldn't care less.









This is the Event Lawn. They had several spots at the gardens that were set up for weddings. We really liked the Dahlia Garden but they said that it's not normally in bloom until July and we want to get married in the Spring. This lawn was huge and it's what we would have chosen for the reception space if we did the ceremony on the bluff. But it really seemed way too big for the intimate wedding we have in mind.



This is the bluff area where they have wedding ceremonies. I really liked it and there were several spots that could work. And the views were awesome.





But ultimately, it wasn't exactly what we wanted. We want a house. So the search continued... dun dun dun!

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