Deer Park Villa

Phenomenal really. Only complaint COULD be lack of coffee but other wise great overall.

We got married at Deer Park Villa in May 2022 and are so happy we did! The venue is stunning, it accommodates a large number of guests, and we loved the combo of indoor and outdoor space. We were a bit worried about working with management based on the other reviews but honestly had no problems, I have only great things to say about Miguel. He was very responsive and met a lot of our custom requests - like passing out shots during the wedding speeches (most venues won't do shots).

He also let us come early and store some of our items in their staging area which was helpful. I was also hesitant about their indoor space, which is certainly less glamorous than the outdoor area. However it was totally fine. We didn't add any extra decor to the indoor space besides uplighting and some DJ party lighting, which worked well. By the time guests headed inside they were tipsy and just ready to dance, so decor didn't matter much at that point. Guests who weren't dancing after dinner enjoyed hanging out on the front patio by the indoor bar, it was a big hit with the heaters and couches.

We had about 200 guests (originally invited more). I do think if you had a significantly smaller wedding the venue might seem a bit too spread out, but hard to say. It was perfect for our guest count. We used their recommended caterer Debbie from Forks and Fingers and she was also amazing to work with, and the food was delicious. I highly recommend working with a caterer who knows their venue well.

My bridal party and I loved the bridal cottage for getting ready - it is a great space and was nice to have somewhere to use a private bathroom and keep our stuff during the wedding itself. I also recommend doing offsite photos at Lake Lagunitas Parking Lot - it's 5 minutes from the venue and beautiful scenery. I was surprised that it was hard for our guests to get Ubers and Lyfts - if you want to organize transportation I recommend organizing buses for your guests or even encouraging them to drive (there is plenty of onsite parking). Miguel recommended a company called Scoop that has reasonably priced transportation options. Our guests are still raving about the beautiful venue - thank you Deer Park Villa!

We got married at DPV in October 2021 and the venue was absolutely beautiful- exceeded our expectations. However, we rented the bridal cottage for the wedding party to get ready in before the ceremony, and it was not available at the agreed upon time. We had a team of makeup artists and hair stylists arrive first thing in the morning, and had to wait a full 40 minutes to be let in.

This put a huge kink in our day, and the artists were never able to catch up. This, along with the fact that I woke up on my wedding day to frantic phone calls, made for a very stressful morning. I reached out to the manager Miguel, who apologized and agreed to a partial refund of the cost of the bridal cottage rental. I thought this was fair and I appreciated him working to make it right.

However this was 3 months ago and we never received a dime despite repeated (polite) emails and phone calls. This lack of professionalism and integrity is so disappointing, and really just added insult to injury.

I have such mixed feelings about reviewing DPV. The venue itself is straight out of a fairytale, but some of the staff at this venue were a huge pain to deal with. Let's start with the good: - Beautiful, spacious, private venue with literal deer wandering around - You have the flexibility of booking your own caterer and DJ - A relatively late "curfew" compared to other venues - Very family-friendly - Amazing bar staff Which leaves us with the bad: - Some of the staff, particularly Mark and Miguel - The bar staff was too good.such that my inebriated husband inadvertently left a tip for Miguel too (lol) Mark was slow to respond to us after we had to postpone our July 2020 wedding.

Not sure if they deliberately held out all Saturday bookings from us or it was just pure coincidence that they happened to be fully booked through July 2021 back in May 2020. Regardless, after not responding for 11 days, he "graciously" wrote back: "Understanding your particular situation is important to us at Deer Park Villa, and we are taking every wedding under deliberate consideration of and around their needs.

I have talked this over with Mike, and we can offer you as an alternative Saturday September 11th, 2021." We were personally not comfortable with celebrating our wedding on this day, so we reluctantly agreed to a Friday date. Unfortunately for us, August 2021 proved to have another unexpected Covid peak due to the delta variant. We requested to do rapid testing in the parking lot before letting guests enter the venue.

I fully acknowledge this may have been overkill but I'm sure many couples trying to plan a wedding during this time can relate to the struggle of prioritizing the safety of their loved ones, especially of older guests and children. We received a firm no. When asked what the reasoning was, Miguel's response was "we just don't want it" and "if you don't feel safe, don't come to the venue." Let's just say we didn't have the energy to unpack this.

Especially after already making a full deposit on the venue. Overall, would highly recommend the venue itself, especially if you have a planner who can handle the communications with DPV staff for you or if you have the patience of a saint.

From a wedding guest point of view : Dear Park Villa will make you feel like your miles deep in a magically lit forest, when in reality you're just a few of minutes away from cute coffee shops, restaurants, busy Bay Area life. The outside ceremony and reception site is very esthetic without much need for florals or decorations. The grand redwood trees and candle lights is ambience enough in my opinion.

The outdoors also had some space with fire pits for s'mores making, and some lounge chair. The interior space was a bit compartmentalized and smaller. There was a dance floor with space for photo booth in one section, a back bar and large patio for cocktail hour, and bathrooms. The venue is easy to get to, plenty of parking, with few hotels within 5 miles range.

I couldn't tell you anything about price or restrictions on vendors, but whatever was spent, I would say it was worth it. Guests will be impressed and happy that it wasn't a struggle to travel to the venue.

Magical wedding. Everything went without a hitch, felt like our singular day despite Deer Park hosting 3-4 weddings a week. Ray's Catering was equally excellent.

We had such an amazing experience having our wedding at Deer Park Villa. Despite multiple reschedulings due to the pandemic, they were so patient and willing to accommodate our date changes and roll with the punches. We felt so relaxed on the day of our wedding because pretty much everything is set up and ready to go. The next morning, they had all of our decorations/gifts/leftover alcohol ready for us to pick up so we didn't have to pack it up after the wedding.

The space is beautiful, and our family and friends loved all of the different zones--indoor and outdoor spaces; the deck, the multiple bars, and the fire pits. We also felt extremely safe with their Covid protocols, and appreciated the open communication as guidelines kept shifting.

Absolutely gorgeous. The perfect place for a wedding with the redwood grove and being able to be outdoos the whole time. It felt like being in a forest but you were in Fairfax.

My partner and I were excited about planning a wedding here. This was brought to an abrupt halt due to Miguel's lack of professionalism and bad attitude. Just scheduling a first visit was extremely difficult as he never responded to my fiance via email, but scheduled later w me via telephone, only to cancel 1 hour before on the day of, stating we had never confirmed w him.

He never apologized for canceling the appt. A wedding is a huge investment and we cannot afford to move forward with a planner that cannot keep appts and does not take accountability for their mistakes.

My niece Angelica and Kendrick were married here. Mckinna? Was an amazing coordinator. She had everything on point. The wedding was a fairy tale day and evening. I would recommend this location for sure

I am a wedding photographer and have photographed multiple weddings at Deer Park Villa in Fairfax, CA. Each time I photograph a client's wedding there, I am more impressed by the beauty of the venue and the the care of the friendly staff. I've been photographing weddings for 10 years and Deer Park Villa is one of my all time favorite locations. I highly recommend it for any couple wanting a storybook setting among the redwoods.

This venue is in a beautiful area surrounded by giant redwood trees. The outside setting was very romantic for a wedding. The cocktail area was very intimate and the drinks were fantastic. The setting is even nicer as the sun goes down and the lights take effect on the outside dance floor Only downfall of my experience the other day was trying to find the place. The street signs are few and far between.

Deer Park Villa is a real gem in a wooded neighborhood of the charming little Marin town of Fairfax. It is nestled among towering redwoods and has lots of outdoor seating for weddings. From the moment you walk down the gravel path into the venue, you feel the enchanted atmosphere. As a photographer, I really appreciate this venue because it makes for the most amazing photographs.

It feels like you're deep in the forest but you're right next to town and its easy to get to. Miguel will take great care of you. Definitely check out this place for your wedding!

I've never been compelled to write a Yelp review until now. I'd hate to have someone in the same situation as I am now, knowing that I could have warned them. I got married here Sept 2019. The venue is beautiful, but unfortunately that's all this place has going for it. If you want your wedding to run seamlessly, then avoid Deer Park Villa at all costs.

At the end of my wedding, I was in tears due to the mistreatment and management of the entire day by the venue's bar manager and coordinator, Miguel. To start the day off- Miguel accused me of not paying an additional fee for the bridal cottage. He had my bridesmaids waiting in the gravel with dresses in hand until I showed him proof of payment.

I sifted through my emails the morning of my wedding and showed him that payment was made in full for everything. Miguel's response was "I was not informed." In what I can only assume was retaliation by proving him wrong and showing his incapacity to do his job correctly, he did not open the outdoor bar for the entire event of the wedding. No matter what bar package you choose for this venue, the outdoor and indoor bar are to be opened.

For 1 out of 2 bars not to be opened at all is a deliberate attempt to cheat customers out of their money. When I confronted Miguel at the end of the night about why he did not open the bar, he lied and said it was open for beer and wine only. I knew he was lying and decided it was pointless to continue this conversation so I said I would discuss it with the owner instead. Miguel responded, "Go ahead, he won't care." That was the only honest thing Miguel told me that day.

I spoke to the owner, Mike. While I commend his response time to the issue, I can see where Miguel learned his lack of customer skills from. Mike agreed that both bars should have been opened and apologized for his manager's poor attitude. Mike offered me $1,000 to make the problem go away. He was quick to offer this, which tells me he's been through this rodeo before.

I found that the suggested refund did not equate to the level of the issue considering what was prepaid and what service was actually received that day. I countered with less than half of the bar quote back. Considering I received half of the service with 1 out of 2 bars opened and the one and only bar being unattended for some time, I thought, this was a reasonable request. Mike told me that I was selfish, greedy, and ridiculous.

In 10,000 weddings, he's never met a bride like me. He told me that Yelp doesn't matter to him because he will always have people who want to use his venue. Both Miguel and Mike are on an ultimate power trip once they have their hands on your money. So if you want to be treated with disrespect, cheated out of hard earned money, and deal with wedding venue issues months after your special day- then Deer Park Villa is the place for you. If you decide to have an event here, make sure you have a day of coordinator to handle your wedding and another person whose sole job is to keep Miguel accountable.

Attended a wedding at this location and this place is absolutely beautiful - their outdoor ceremony area surrounded by redwood trees and string lights is so lovely. their bar/ patio area is also spacious with nice furnitures! the outdoor lounge area has a few fire pits which are perfect for guests to make own s'mores!

My husband and I got married here a couple weeks ago and had the most magical wedding we could have possibly imagined! When we were searching for an outdoor venue about a year ago, we actually only looked at a few places in the Bay Area. Once we saw Deer Park Villa, we pretty much knew it was the type of space we wanted for our wedding day. Factors that mattered to us were: (1) outdoor ceremony/reception, (2) outdoor ceremony/reception that allowed music AND hard liquor, (3) affordability. Surprisingly, there are not many venues in the Bay that meet these criteria.

The only small caveat DPV had was that you needed to move the music indoors by 8:30pm (which was not an issue for us). The first visit and signing process was easy. The terms and rules were laid out to us verbally in person and on paper. Mark, our main contact, helped answer all of our questions in a timely manner. The only thing that would sway me to give 4.5 stars instead of a full 5 is the much slower responses during the months in-between signing and our actual wedding day.

It can feel stressful at times when you need an answer ASAP. However, I always tried to give DPV the benefit of the doubt because I know how busy they are with 1-3 weddings per week. I will give them credit for answering faster once it was closer to our wedding date. Other things to know about booking this venue: - They do require you to book a caterer through their preferred list. - They strongly encourage you to use their preferred DJ. However, note that you can technically use your own (preferably someone who has DJ'd at DPV), which is what we did. - They have bar staff and packages available with great options of alcohol. Miguel is the lead contact, and he was great to work with!

No guest was left thirsty;) All in all, we wouldn't have wanted to get married anywhere else but here. Thank you to the DPV staff for bringing our dream wedding to life!

Recently had our wedding here. It's hard to call this place "World Class" as they state on their website, since dealing with the management here has been less then easy. My wife and I booked this place well over 1.5 years in advance. Mark the main management person who we initially worked with was very easygoing and professional. But for some reason MIGUEL the bar guy was who we ended up dealing with a month or two leading to our wedding. Didn't get a the best vibe from this guy which showed when my wife was trying to sign the contract.

He took forever emailing us the updated contract for our guest count and when he finally responded the day before the wedding, he didn't even update the contract which made my fiancee very anxious. You wouldn't expect this from a "World Class" venue. Not sure why his communication was sub par. Other cons to this place was that they had to breakdown the tables right after the dinner which meant all of our guests did not have a place to put their jackets and purses as well as being scattered throughout the venue (i.e. dance floor, fire pit area, rear bar, and rear patio).

Not to mention some mosquitos were buzzing around during dinner. Aside from these things, the venue did look great. I'm just not sure that I would call it "World Class" for some of the reasons stated above.

A nice bar in a beautiful setting! Good drinks and was with good company! 1 star deducted for weird open hours

The Tubbs fires destroyed everything. My husband and I are from Santa Rosa and we were to be married Oct. 13th, 2017. The area surrounding our original venue went up in smoke, along with Wine Country Bride where my dress was bought and being stored. The hotel for our guests and the restaurant where our rehearsal dinner was meant to be too. Literally every penny we saved and spent gone in the flames.

We were absolutely heartbroken. However in the face of tragedy good people are there to help. Deer Park Villa are those good people. My mother found them and encouraged me to reach out. I'm so very thankful I did because we had the wedding of our dreams. I cannot say enough wonderful things about Mark Dawson and Miguel Samayoa. These two gentlemen we so attentive and generous.

As Deer Park Villa has the prestige, class, and gorgeous scenery, I was very scared of the top dollar pricing that they normally cost. As I said before, the owner and managers are good people. How much they helped us brought tears to my eyes. We were married the day before Thanksgiving and what a thankful blessing it was. DPV will never know how deep my gratitude truly is. Also, Soko is a FABULOUS makeup artist who I would not of been in touch with if were not for DPV.

She bartends at the venue and asked if I had a makeup artist yet. I had not with all the chaos that happened. I looked gorgeous! Soko did a wonderful job and she is so kind and sweet. Lovely woman to work with. Thank you again, DPV for helping us and making our dreams come true.

We had our wedding at Deer Park Villa last weekend and I can honestly say it was everything I imagined and more. Yes, the reviews are true. the communication at DPV could have been better leading up to the week of our wedding, but we knew based on other reviewers that the results would be worth it if we were patient. If you are the type of bride (or mother of the bride) that is super uptight and needs constant communication, this is probably not the venue for you.

That being said. holy smokes! The beauty, the setting, the venue. everything just perfect for us. The execution of the event was nearly flawless. Our wedding guests enjoyed a fun weekend in Fairfax, where there was really a lot to do! Deer Park Villa will forever be in our hearts. Thank you to the staff and crew on site.

My husband and I recently got married and used DPV as our venue for June 7th 2018. I had found DPV myself by researching online and fell in love with the pictures so we had to check it out in person. When we did, I fell in LOVE with it. It was quite the hidden gem. We left not making a decision but after we had lunch in that cute small town, we went back and signed up because when you know, you know.

We give DPV a 5 star for the day of and their signing up bonuses (cocktails & pizza at the end of the night), however we give them a 4 star due to many issues leading up to the day. The person that was in charge of signing us up was very attentive while we were there in person but in email/phone call correspondences they were very difficult to get a hold of. DPV also forgot to charge one of our scheduled payments in which we had to go out of our way to call them and remind them of this on multiple occasions (we were on a monthly payment plan with cc on file). Lastly, DPV forgot we signed the beverage contract months before the wedding and a couple things were not mentioned prior to the day of.

Not sure how they keep records of each event but it seemed a little disorganized. Overall, on the big day we had a great experience and everyone was in awe of the venue and it really made everything look great in pictures and the ambiance was everything. It was quite a magical day/night. We wouldn't have wanted this event taken at any other place. ***Shout out to DPV for giving the bride and the bridesmaids "shooters" on the house, as this helped calm our nerves in the process!*** -Cory & Tony

I visited this place with my son, his fiance and her mother one week ago. I was honored that they asked me to come along to give my input I was sold the minute we got there. Im very happy that they chose this venue. It has different seating areas amongst beautiful scenery, trees, flowered bushes, beautiful plants and flowing water streams. The outdoor wedding is going to be gorgeous.

There are 2 bars one indoor with a large covered outdoor patio set with tables and chairs for quiet conversation, and another outdoors near where the ceremony will take place and where the dinner and dancing will be.it all will be lit up with strings of light in the evening. There also is a large dance floor in the inside part of the hall as well.

The venue sets up, takes down and cleans up. They offer a variety of services included in their packages. The coordinator we met was very friendly, professional and explained every detail. There is a bridal cottage for the bride and her wedding party to use to get ready in. This is going to be a very beautiful and picturesque wedding. I can't wait till the beginning of summer next year when my Son and My future Daughter in law are married here! It's beautiful! Just beautiful!

Beautiful venue, for weddings. Definitely chilly out here in the winter time, so bring warm jackets or blankets, but the management also provides outdoor heaters, which helped a lot. I didn't get to explore around too much, but from where I spent my time, it was lovely and the staff are cery friendly and curteous to your needs. This is an amazing place to hold events, especially weddings.