Sacred Mountain Ranch — Hotel in San Diego Country Estates

From the moment my husband and I toured Sacred Mountain, we knew that it was where we wanted to get married. It's located in the very small and charming town of Julian, CA. The whole town feels like you've stepped back in time, and onto the set of an old western. There's adorable little shops/diners/cafes along Main St. that our guests enjoyed during their stay over our wedding weekend. Julian Pie Co. has the BEST apple pie most of us ever tasted.. we served it at our wedding and many guests went back for seconds throughout the weekend. The drive out to Julian is scenic and magical as well. The venue itself, is breathtaking. We loved that there are different areas to entertain, but all within the same property. We were married on July 8, 2022 at the Sunset Plateau (stunning backdrop for a ceremony.. and we loved the circle arch that Sacred Mountain provides), and then had our cocktail hour in the beautiful meadow and dinner just up the gorgeous staircase in the courtyard area. The flow was so nice, we loved that our guests were able to walk around and explore the grounds a bit. People enjoyed taking photos on the wooden swing, and many guests walked over to watch the sunset at the ceremony location, overlooking the spectacular mountain range. The venue has so much natural beauty, you really don't need to do anything to decorate if you don't want to. We added some flowers to the arch and a few on our tables, but that was it, and everything looked incredible. Saved us a ton on florals (would highly recommend Alie with Peach Florals if you land on this venue or anywhere in San Diego county). We enjoyed that we were able to choose our own vendors (some from a list that Sacred Mountain provided) and really customize our day to our specific tastes. We served wood fired pizza and apple pie, which was really fun and not your typical "wedding food". My husband was also super sold on this venue when they told us that we could rent a horse to ride down the aisle on.. it made for an amazing entrance. We would highly recommend adding this unforgettable experience to your day; Jennifer at Integrity Stables (next door to the venue) was incredible to work with and her horse was soo sweet. We also chose Sacred Mountain Julian as our wedding venue because they allowed us to include our rescue dog in our ceremony. This was so important to us, and we wouldn't have felt right getting married without her there. Sacred Mountain Julian is a little pricey, but there are different packages you can choose from (we chose the small wedding package for 60 or less guests), and they really do include a LOT of things that you would otherwise need to rent. For example, they include: Ceremony chairs, tables for the cocktail hour and dinner, chairs, linens, benches, a couch, space heaters, the bar, dessert table, the ceremony arch, tables that you can use for the welcome table, seating chart, etc., some decor items (lanterns, candle holders, some signage), and more. One of my only complaints is that our contract stated that we could arrive on site at 12pm, and we negotiated to arrive an hour earlier, but I felt SO rushed trying to get everything unloaded before my hair and makeup started. Luckily I didn't have bridesmaids, so I was the only one needing to get my hair and makeup done.. but if you have a bridal party you'll need to get ready together off-site and then head there after everyone is ready OR you can rent the meadow house and/or honeymoon suite the night before, but it's very expensive. They do provide golf carts with drivers to get your guests from the sunset plateau down to the cocktail hour area, and the main guy who drove us all around, named Freedom, was SO nice. Thanks again Freedom! And I had excellent communication from Ashley and Summer in the office. Overall super beautiful venue and an unforgettable wedding day!

Photos by Vee Taylor Photography...

Sacred Mountain was the most perfect and picturesque venue. It was the only one we visited in person, and we immediately fell in love and booked it on the spot. Michelle was such a pleasure to work with, she was so kind and friendly from the second we met her, and she was so helpful as we planned our weekend. And she was there on the day itself to help make sure everything went smoothly. The entire staff was lovely and helped add extra joy to the whole experience. Marti, the owner, was so sweet and even drove my golf cart down to the first look. And when I accidentally forgot our rented cupcake stands, one of the staff members who lived in San Diego brought them back to San Diego for me and met me to hand them off. I had a few family members who get cold easily who were very concerned about what the weather might be like in early April. We ended up having the most gorgeous weekend with perfect weather, but Michelle helped us tentatively book a tent a few months out just in case (though we ended up cancelling it in the end) and assured us that with all the heaters and fire pits they have on hand, it would be lovely regardless and I don’t doubt that it would have been no matter how the weather had worked out. The staff were so supportive and so determined to help make it a wonderful time no matter what. We couldn’t have had a more perfect, joy filled day. It was absolutely a magical weekend, and all of our guests wholeheartedly agreed. The Sunset Plateau is the most beautiful place for a ceremony, and for stunning sunset photos. And we really loved having cocktail hour and dancing down in the meadow and dinner up in the courtyard. Having two close but separate areas meant that the dance floor was full all night, which was so fun. Also, part of the reason we chose the venue is that it is stunning exactly as it is, so you can add flowers and pretty rentals if you want, but even if you left it exactly as is and chose the most simple place settings, it’s still absolutely beautiful. We also chose the weekend package because we wanted to spend a weekend with our closest friends and family, and it was so beyond special. Each little group had their own space, as did we, but we were all together and will cherish the memories we made there for our whole lives. All the houses are stocked with everything you might need, and the accommodations are so nice and comfortable. We couldn’t have asked for a more wonderful wedding, and couldn’t be more grateful we found...

Sacred is an apt name. My wife and I were married at Sacred Mountain on August 20th, 2022. We went with the full mountain package and had the run of the property for the weekend, using it for both our rehearsal dinner as well as the ceremony/reception. Weddings go by so fast and the weekend experience allowed us to celebrate with friends and family and enjoy our big day just a little bit longer. As a couple who didn’t want to have a traditional religious ceremony, but still found it very important to find a location that felt special and spiritual in its own way. Sacred Mountain delivered in spades. The ceremony site on the plateau was magical and felt truly special amongst the many venues we toured. Add to that the incredible accommodations on-site and a multitude of beautiful spaces to gather for all parts of the reception and this place really rounded out to be the full package. Marti and her staff were all wonderful and worked to make sure every detail was perfect for us on the day. From decor to refreshments, they thought of everything. We ended up having rain in the forecast and had to move last minute to tent our dinner on the patio of the Meadow House. The staff helped us every step of the way with the unexpected change and we ended up enjoying the beauty of the tented setup even more. The weather cleared just in time for our ceremony, with the sun peaking out as the bride made her way down the aisle. The beauty of this place cannot be overstated and we will surely return to celebrate future anniversaries now that we know it’s possible to stay on-site as a rental. Julian gave us everything we could have asked for in terms of a unique mini-destination wedding venue and we could not have been happier with the Sacred Mountain experience and everything this wonderful little mountain town...