Archive for the ‘Jenn Thornton’ Category

Welcome Back Real Weddings Magazine Mini-Mooners!

How does a steamy Jacuzzi soak by candlelight, a retreating sun illuminating one of most beautiful coastlines in the world and a crackling fireplace strike you?

Welcome to Big Sur!

There are the highly-touted “honeymoon” destinations that claim to be “breathtakingly beautiful” (only to leave you shockingly disappointed), and then there are those that actually are. Big Sur is no joke—it is flat-out God’s country if you want the truth of it, a no-place-like-it-on-earth locale where Real Weddings Mini-Mooners find a spiritual connection to complement their legal union. Gorgeous redwoods, mineral baths, azure seas and uncompromising beauty are just some of what makes Mini-Mooning in Big Sur an absolute must if you are short on time but long on cash. The catch: It ain’t cheap. But rest-assured, of few nights of breaking the bank are worth 10 forgettable nights at the sleazy Econo Lodge in Vegas (not that it wasn’t fun the last time).

Recommended Resort:  Post Ranch Inn. Located in the heart of Big Sur, surrounded by beautiful beaches, lush greenery, and groves of towering redwoods that create a sheltering canopy for quiet ambles with your sweetie at your side, this boutique destination spa offers luxuriating respite it its absolute finest—and we absolutely mean it.

Nestled on top of a craggy cliff overlooking a stunning coastline with a view of the Ventana Mountains, this boutique property offers unparallel aesthetic beauty and contemporary upscale comforts. The hospitality is five-star and so is the Inn. Wood-burning fireplaces; plush king-sized beds that will put you under like Sleeping Beauty on anesthesia; a complimentary buffet breakfast at the Sierra Mar Restaurant (far better than stale honeybuns and Sunny Delight, we assure you); an indoor and outdoor hot tub, and a senses-awakening does of serenity are just a few of the comforting extras that Real Weddings Mini-Mooners will enjoy at the Post Ranch Inn.

Check In:   PostRanchInn.com, 800-527-2200

Check Out:   The Inn’s beautiful tea set-up (the wine is good, too!); guided meditation; everything at the Spa and oceanview dining at five-star Sierra Mar restaurant.

Reserve:   The Pacific Suite if you can swing it. An abundance of windows flood the space with natural light and offer panoramic views.

Don’t Miss:   Daytrips to neighboring Carmel and Monterey visits to Big Sur’s art galleries; shopping at the Post Ranch Mercantile; driving scenic Highway 1; celestial stargazing, and sunrise yoga. Om, can you feel the love?

Blog Post by our Go-To-Travel Girl Jenn Thornton.

Photos courtesy of Post Ranch Inn, Big Sur.

Subscribe to the Real Weddings Magazine Blog!

Greetings Real Weddings Magazine Mini-Mooners!

Today’s “quickie” comes by way of Lodi, home to an emerging wine appellation and otherworldly Wine & Roses Hotel, Restaurant & Spa – a romantic hotel, restaurant, spa and event venue surrounded by seven acres of pastoral beauty marked by a canopy of soaring trees and vibrant botanical gardens.

With a setting befitting a fairy-tale love affair, and its coveted position in the heart of San Joaquin Valley’s wine country, the aptly named Wine & Roses has already cemented its reputation as a preferred wedding venue among the engaged, but its amenities and locale – the resort is situated near the cobbled sidewalks, brick buildings, cultural attractions, clothing boutiques, and restaurants that make up Lodi’s historic downtown district – qualify it as the ideal spot for a dreamy Mini-Moon.

Antique merchants, concerts and culture, outdoor recreation and 70 world-class wineries are just some of the marquee reasons to Mini-Moon in Lodi, so put petal to the metal and reserve a romantic getaway at Wine & Roses – a budding resort ready to make arrangements for an occasion to remember.

Recommended resort:   Wine & Roses Hotel, Restaurant & Spa

Check in:    winerose.com, 209-334-6988

Check out:   Romance is sure to bloom in one of the resort’s amenity-rich Garden Rooms, but Real WeddingsMagazine Mini-Mooners have 87 different room and suite accommodations from which to choose – all will do the trick, by the way. Parking and a gourmet continental breakfast are complimentary with an overnight reservation, and Wine & Roses offers a variety of couples-oriented packages that are Mini-Moon perfect.

Complementing these offerings are the resort’s lovely grounds (charge up your point-and-shoots!), as is its beautiful and award-winning spa. In fact, spa travel Web site, Spas of America, recently named the Spa at Wine & Roses as one of the top 50 spas in America for 2009!

The Spa at Wine & Roses boasts a menu of soothing, now-we’re-talking therapies, treatments and special offers. The “Experience for Two,” for example, provides Real WeddingsMagazine Mini-Mooners with a luxuriant body scrub, followed by a detoxifying seaweed wrap and an hour-long massage at an amazingly good rate. Champagne and a spa lunch are provided poolside in the courtyard (book it – it is as fabulous as it sounds). After being thoroughly pampered (and that’s a promise), stop by The Nest – a spa boutique – to pick up various indulgences and take the Wine & Roses experience home!

Blog Post by our Go-To-Travel Girl Jenn Thornton.

Photos courtesy of Wine & Roses Hotel, Restaurant & Spa.

Subscribe to the Real Weddings Magazine Blog!

Welcome back Real Weddings Magazine Brides!

We introduce today’s “Real Weddings MiniMoon Monday” by asking you one very important question: “We’ve got spirits, how ’bout you?”

If your answer is yes, and you love the pastoral backdrop of the wine country, then indulge in a MiniMoon to the hideaway spa town of Calistoga.

Located in the picturesque Napa Valley, Calistoga is famous for its mineral springs, mud baths, and day spas, and enjoys ideal proximity to the region’s best wineries, fabulous eats and plenty of day-tripping extras.

So if you and yours enjoy the virtues of a steamy quickie (quite literally in this case), and have grape expectations for your MiniMoon, Calistoga is the place.

RECOMMENDED RESORT: Cottage Grove Inn. Located the edge of Calistoga, surrounded by an old grove of Elms, lush greenery and lavender-scented breezes, this boutique property composed of 16 luxury Craftsman-style cottages, each of them individually adorned for a dreamy interlude, is the result of thoughtfully considered hospitality. Wood-burning fireplaces; dimming skylights; shaded porches; deep-soaking Jacuzzi tubs-for-two; plush down comforters; king-sized beds; private massages in the sanctuary of your private cottage, with candlelit aromatherapy salt bath; and an abundant complimentary breakfast (smoothies and lattes, anyone?) are among the comforting extras MiniMooners will enjoy at Cottage Grove Inn—a property befitting a Jane Austin novel.

CHECK IN: CottageGrove.com, 707-942-8400.

CHECK OUT: The Inn’s fire-lit breakfast inn and sunny outdoor patio; evening wine and cheese; bountiful breakfast and complimentary cruiser bicycles for trips into the town of Calistoga.

RESERVE: All private cottages are created equal at Cottage Grove Inn. Take your pick and satisfaction is guaranteed.

DON’T MISS: Brunch at Café Sarafornia; sipping green tea next to the Buddha Pond and dipping in the geyser-fed mineral pool at Indian Springs; wine tasting and shopping along the town’s main strip.

Blog Post by our Go-To-Travel Girl Jenn Thornton.

Photos courtesy of Cottage Grove Inn.

Looking for local Sacramento wedding vendors?

Build your dream team at Real Weddings Magazine’s Resource Guide. Click here to get started!

Hello Real Weddings Brides!

There is finally good reason to get out of bed on Mondays and you might say we’re over the moon about it.

As you may or may not know, every print edition of Real Weddings Magazine contains a lengthy honeymoon feature spotlighting fabulously romantic hot-spots for newly anointed couples. If you have peered through the pages of the current issue then you have no doubt discovered “Honeymoons for Every Season,” four to-die-for escapes and the best times to visit each one, seasonally-speaking.

But these days, because so few of us have much discretionary time to spare (or any for that incredibly sad matter), couples are increasingly embracing short but oh-so-sweet ways to celebrate their nuptials.

Enter “The MiniMoon.”

Whether for a lack of time, a tightening of the purse strings or a combination of the two, “quickies” are making a comeback with couples and Real Weddings is excited to bring you every juicy detail of this travel trend!

Every Monday going forward, right here on the Real Weddings blog, we’ll bring you a series of MiniMoon blogs where we’ll be raving—and rating—a nearby honeymoon-worthy destination for time-strapped honeymooners. Better still is that every one of these getaways is accessible on one tank of gas—two tops!

So in between perusing your favorite local wedding planning resource—Real WeddingsMagazine, of course!—pay us a virtual visit on “MiniMoon Mondays” and prepare to fall in love all over again.

Our inaugural “MiniMoon” comes by way of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Olema—“Gateway to the Point Reyes National Seashore.”

Located an hour from the wine country, the small town of Olema (pop. 55, according to the town’s welcome sign) is located in West Marin County, home to Stinson and Muir Beaches. This one-street town enjoys ideal proximity to the artisan cheese farms and rural beauty of West Marin County, as well as to the boutique shops and gourmet restaurants of Tomales, Point Reyes and Inverness. The following recommendations make for a memorable “MiniMoon” in Olema.

RECOMMENDED RESORT: Overlooking the town of Olema is one of the most charming bed and breakfasts to ever fly under the radar: Olema Druids Hall. This refined, cottage-style inn occupies a historic structure that is contemporary in its appointments but classically elegant. Mossy pathways, hidden tree groves and lush gardens surround Olema Druids Hall, providing a storybook backdrop within which Cinderella and Prince Charming to discover an unforgettable “MiniMoon.”

CHECK IN: OlemaDruidsHall.com, 415-663-8727.

CHECK OUT: Radiant-heated hardwood floors; spacious Jacuzzi tubs; wood-burning fireplaces; fine textiles; plush signature bathrobes; Aveda quality bath products; CD player stereos; a complimentary film library; wireless Internet access, and a continental breakfast featuring organic ingredients are among the inn’s amenities.

RESERVE: The Zen-inspired Garden Cottage, featuring a “wisteria covered arbor” and shaded brick patio, accessible by French doors.

DON’T MISS: A visit to Point Reyes Lighthouse; dinner at The Olema Inn; cheese-tasting at the Cowgirl Creamery in Point Reyes Station, and shopping at Vita Collage.

Blog Post by our Go-To-Travel Girl Jenn Thornton.

Photos courtesy of Olema Druids Hall.

Looking for local Sacramento wedding vendors?

Build your dream team at Real Weddings Magazine’s Resource Guide. Click here to get started!