“Bride’s Perspective
Our wedding was a candlelit pizza party in the garden—casual, approachable, and elegant all at once. About 80 guests came. The ceremony was under the tree near the entrance. During cocktail hour, some guests (especially families with kids) enjoyed docent-led tours of the house. For dinner, we seated everyone at two long banquet tables on the bricks. While a lot of us were dancing inside, guests also gathered outside around the heaters under blankets we provided.
The venue’s gardens and old trees meant we needed very little décor — we went with some DIY Trader Joe’s flowers & lots of candles. When the sun set, the glow from the candles and string lights provided by LAHM was magical. One highlight was cutting the cake at the end of the tables, looking out at our laughing, candlelit guests.
We expected warm October weather, but the forecast dipped into the low 60s. Propane heaters worked perfectly, and combined with candles, lights, and blankets, the night felt intimate and warm.
We live close to the venue and got ready at home, which turned out to be ideal—relaxed, convenient, and comfortable.
Before planning, I imagined a rustic barn wedding, while my husband wanted something elegant. The museum was the perfect balance — and better than either of us pictured.
Working with Lisa was wonderful. She was professional, responsive, and calm from the first walkthrough through the end of the night. I enjoyed checking in with her throughout the event, and everything ran smoothly. We trusted her recommendations and appreciated how she coordinated with all our vendors.
We joke that if we ever got married again, we’d do it all the same — same space, same people, same Lisa!
Groom’s Perspective
We knew our venue search was over when we found the Los Altos History Museum. Lisa, the venue coordinator, not only manages a beautiful space but also brings clarity with straightforward policies and transparent pricing, which gave us freedom to design the day exactly how we wanted.
The event moved naturally through the property: ceremony under the trees, cocktails near the house, dinner on the bricks, and dancing inside. It felt private but accessible, and the gardens were perfect for photos. My favorite moment was watching the sun set over dinner as candles and string lights took over.
Lisa was fantastic — responsive, flexible, and organized. She met with our vendors in advance and made space to store supplies several days ahead of the wedding. She was the first to arrive and last to leave. She even helped pack our car at the end of the night.
A few notes for future couples: there’s limited getting-ready space (we used our home, which worked great), tenting for rain can be tricky and expensive, and there’s no commercial kitchen. None were issues for us, and Lisa explained these points to us early so there were no surprises.
Vendor List:
Coordinator: Taylor Rae Weddings
Catering [Appetizers, Dinner]: Gigi mobile wood-fired kitchen Catering
[Service, Setup, Breakdown, Bar]: Heirloom Catering Co.
Wedding cakes: Draeger's grocery store
DJ: DJTN
Photography: Doug Despres - Amari Productions
Rentals: Charis4Events
Hair & makeup: Dreamcatcher
Cocktails:
His: Paper Plane
Hers: NA Paloma w/optional tequila”
