Wedding Venue Highlight: Cavallo Point, the Lodge at the Golden Gate
A Cavallo Point ceremony on the Mission Blue Lawn, looking out over the Marin Headlands.
“If you could stay anywhere in the San Francisco Bay Area, where would you go?”
I’ve been asked this question a lot! As a San Francisco Bay Area wedding photographer for over two decades, I answer without hesitation— it would have to be Cavallo Point! It’s the perfect getaway with all the amenities, and yet it’s so close to everything. And for couples planning their wedding and who want a venue that will WOW their guests with the beauty of the Bay Area, amazing food, and stunning nature and views, this is the place! I’ve been photographing weddings here for years, but I also had the fortune of staying here in my wedding off-season. It was perfectly relaxing, beautiful, delicious, and dog-friendly. Sustainability is an important part of their ethos as a LEED gold-certified hotel. Read on for more details about why hosting your wedding at Cavallo Point is the perfect choice.
The Quick Details:
Location: Cavallo Point is the perfect juxtaposition between the bustling city of San Francisco, and a natural oasis, just on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge in Sausalito. It’s also a great location from which to visit nearby Wine Country.
History: Driving northbound over the Golden Gate Bridge away from San Francisco, Cavallo Point resides within the historic Fort Baker. Once a military post built in the early 1900’s with housing for officer’s, Fort Baker eventually became a part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The resort perfectly balances its history while still having all the modern amenities you would want for your wedding and for your guests to enjoy themselves.
Size and Feel: With over 350 acres, Cavallo Point is set in a gorgeous natural setting with plenty of room to breath. Along with the charming historic buildings and modern buildings, there are open spaces and protected natural areas, and amazing vistas of the Bay, the skyline of San Francisco, and the Golden Gate Bridge. It’s a serene setting yet so close to the city of San Francisco!
Capacity: The indoor event spaces of Cavallo Point collectively offers 14,000 square feet of versatility. Their larger and most popular wedding spaces are the Mission Blue Lawn and the Callippe Ballroom, each holding up to 300 guests. Outdoors spaces offer collectively 12,500 square feet of event space. This versatility allows couples to choose what spaces work best for them based on preference and guest count.
Photo Perk: There is so much gorgeous space at Cavallo Point for photos, but as a pro tip, I like to whisk my wedding couples over to the nearby Point at Cavallo for a quick photo session with the sparkling Bay and the impressive Golden Gate Bridge. This spot has some of the best views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the skyline of San Francisco.
The sweeping views from the Point at Cavallo, a great spot for newly wed photos!
Planning a Wedding: If you are searching for your Bay Area wedding venue, then you have a lot of choice within the variety of spaces at Cavallo. They have a variety of indoor and outdoor location options within the property for your wedding, depending on the season and weather, and also the size of your guest count. And it’s such a great place for your guests to stay the weekend; it is so close to San Francisco and yet is also a calm respite from the bustling city. Cavallo Point also has a lot of luxury amenities: book an appointment at their Healing Arts Center & Spa, attend a complimentary yoga class, eat at one of their two fine dining restaurants, sip a glass of wine in one of their rocking chairs on their heated deck with a view. They also offer sailing on the Bay at sunset! Also check out their art gallery and mercantile gift shop. It’s a perfect blend of sophistication, historic charm, luxurious amenities, and natural outdoor beauty.
Welcome Party: Planning a rehearsal dinner or intimate welcome party before your wedding? The award winning Cavallo Cooking School offers instruction from rotation Bay Area chefs and a chance for you to make a gourmet meal with your loved ones. This is a really unique and super fun way to spend time with a small group of your family or guests before the big day. I don’t know of any other Bay Area wedding venue that offers this!
The Cooking School at Cavallo Point is perfect for an intimate wedding rehearsal dinner!
Accomodations: Choose between the perfectly renovated officer’s quarters that ring around the expansive Murray Circle lawn. They all have sun porches, fireplaces, and feel like a home away from home. If you’d like a larger space for your family or wedding party, you can rent the historic Frank House, a two story residence with 1,175 square feet of space.
The charming and renovated historic rooms at Cavallo Point were once the officer’s quarters when it was a military outpost a century ago.
Or if you prefer a more modern feel, up the hill is a row of their contemporary rooms and suites. These are sleek and contemporary, were built with the highest green standards, and boast floor to ceiling windows with incredible views of the Golden Gate. And if you’re getting married on the Mission Blue Lawn, it’s the perfect short stroll down the hill and grand entrance into the ceremony!
The San Francisco skyline from Cavallo Point.
For a larger capacity wedding, the Mission Blue Lawn is a favorite for the ceremony outdoors. You’ll get married under giant eucalyptus trees that perfectly frame views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the rugged Marin Headlands. If you are concerned it might rain on your wedding day, the non-denomination charming Mission Blue Chapel perches up on the hill at Cavallo Point and will keep you and your guests dry for your ceremony. And if you want a larger capacity space, Cavallo has a concrete patio adjacent to the Mission Blue Lawn with a tent option. There is also the Kober Street Lawn which is more secluded amongst the trees and has a beautiful large canary palm and stone wall as a backdrop to your ceremony.
The Mission Blue Lawn has an amazing view of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Marin Headlands, and is a favorite for a wedding ceremony location.
A favorite location for cocktail hour is the patio outside the Callippe Ballroom and foyer. The terrace has a fire pit for getting cozy and mingling.
A view of the terrace and fire pit area that’s perfect for cocktail hour at Cavallo Point.
The Callippe Ballroom is Cavallo Point’s largest indoor event space and boasts huge 33’ vaulted ceilings and is also newly renovated with new finishings. There’s plenty of space for your guests to formally dine, have a dance floor, and even have a stage for a live band. It also has an adjacent private foyer which is also a great location for a cocktail hour, before guests enter the ballroom.
The newly renovated Callippe ballroom.
If you’re planning a smaller wedding, Cavallo Point has a number of more intimate event spaces like their Verbena Rooms, Tidewater Room, Surfwater, and La Borracha. These more intimate spaces have some flexibility to be combined.
Cavallo Point’s upstairs Verbena Rooms are great for smaller weddings.
Cavallo Point offers custom menus with locally sourced ingredients.
The dance party gets started for a more intimate wedding held in the Verbena Room.
Bonus Perk: Host your after party in Cavallo Point’s historic bowling alley, located in the same building at the Callippe Ballroom! This vintage bowling alley was built in 1915 and still works! You and your guests can enjoy a self-serve bar of beer and wine and lounge in the booths after a full day of wedding celebrations.
The historic bowling alley at Cavallo Point is the perfect wedding After Party spot!
The hiking trail at Cavallo Point leads up to sweeping views of the Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge.
Vintage electric bikes are available for guests for a ride into town.
Getting Around: You can grab one of their vintage style electric bikes for a ride into charming downtown Sausalito. Or if you want to venture a little further out, they offer Lexus SUV’s for their guests for no charge, and you can enjoy a ride in it for up to 3 hours. If your wedding guests want to vist San Francisco but flew in for your wedding, there’s no need to get a car rental or Uber! Cavallo Point is such a large property that they also offer golf carts for moving around the property with ease, so be sure to request a ride on your wedding day! If you do drive your car, there is plenty of self-parking and valet. And lastly they offer a shuttle service to and from Rodeo Beach and to Sausalito Ferry Landing.
Lexus SUV’s for complimentary guest use!
What it was like to stay at Cavallo Point: After many years of photographing a variety of weddings at Cavallo, it was such a pleasure to spend a weekend at Cavallo Point. Firstly, it was so relaxing! We sat on the front porch rocking chairs and sipped wine, hiked with our dog, ate an amazing dinner at Sula, and a delicious breakfast at Farley, walked over to the Point and admired the Golden Gate Bridge twinkling at night over the Bay, and even made it to the complimentary morning yoga class. Everyone at the resort was incredibly friendly and helpful. And we couldn’t get over how pretty the property is and how you can easily get immersed in nature. We went home totally rested from the weekend. It is really the perfect wedding venue in the San Francisco Bay Area!
Want to see more? Check out this fall wedding at Cavallo Point on Party Slate. And contact Sonya here about wedding photography for your amazing wedding at Cavallo Point! Sonya is an experienced Bay Area wedding photographer, and has been photographing weddings at Cavallo Point for 8 years.
