A Dreamy Coastal Wedding at Switzer Farm in Westport, California

Planning a wedding involves countless decisions, but one of the most significant is choosing the perfect venue. With so many styles of venues all over the world, finding one that is truly unforgettable and unique to your love story can be challenging. If you're dreaming of a wedding that combines timeless charm with stunning coastal views, Switzer Farm in Westport, California, is the venue of your absolute dreams.

Switzer Farm was built by two Canadian brothers in 1884. The land that this original victorian home sat on quickly became farmland where the family raised sheep, cattle, and all sorts of fruit and vegetable crops.

The quaint town of Westport, California reminds me of a small town out of a Nicholas Sparks love novel. Nestled in the vast California county of Mendocino, Westport holds a small community of sixty to seventy permanent residents, talk about exclusivity! The charm this historic unincorporated town holds, makes for the most peaceful retreat for your wedding weekend.

Why Switzer Farm?

I thought you’d never ask! Ever since we were hired by the sweetest couple from the east coast to plan their wedding at Switzer Farm, I have been chomping at the bits to write this blog. There is truly so much I can say about this charming victorian home that makes it the perfect wedding venue for any couple. In this read, I will try my best to keep things short and sweet and touch heavily on the highlights of what makes Switzer Farm so unique.

Let me just start with the obvious; Switzer is rooted on one of the most beautiful Northern coast lines in the states surrounded by panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean. The natural beauty surrounding this venue provides a jaw dropping backdrop for your classic wedding photos. There is nothing more peaceful than stepping onto the front porch the morning of your wedding and taking a second to just close your eyes, take a deep breathe of that fresh coastal air and listen to the waves crash against the cliffs. To my surprise, if you look close enough out into the ocean, you might even spot a Gray whale or two crossing the horizon blowing air through their spouts.

You don’t have to be a rising historian to feel and see all of the history behind this house when you’re walking the grounds. This 1800’s Victorian home has been carefully restored and polished over the years however, all of the natural beauty, like the exterior molding detail and interior charm, still scream vintage. The restoration and improvements made to the home and surrounding property give it that timeless and elegant aesthetic appeal.

So to answer your question, why Switzer Farm… Switzer left a long lasting impression not only on me, a destination wedding planner, but on my couple and their guests. This venue is everything and more. It’s dreamy. It’s unique. It’s quaint and charming. It’s peaceful and serene. The beauty and texture of this wedding is unmatched. It has nothing to do with how extravagant the florals are or how lavish the decor design is. To be very transparent, you don’t need much of that at Switzer Farm. The venue and view speak for itself and that’s what makes it that much more perfect. Sitting on twenty-two acres of rolling land, you have all of the privacy you could possibly need for a secluded wedding weekend escape. It’s secluded with all of the privacy you could possibly need.

Accommodations

Alright, let’s dive a little deeper into the specifics. The exclusivity of this venue allows couples to be able to host up to twenty of their closest family and friends in the house. With a separate love shack suite just steps away from the main house, couples can still have their privacy throughout their stay. Isn’t this the best of both worlds? If you are planning on having more than twenty guests at your Switzer Farm wedding, there are plenty of options walking distance or a short drive from the house. As a destination wedding planner, we always encourage couples to give their guests a few lodging accommodations for folks traveling to that location. We know that everyone can Google “hotels in Westport, California”, but around here, we like being intentional in every aspect of the planning process. We, my husband and I, stayed at the Lost Coast Inn which was absolutely precious. This motel was clean, quiet and unique. The owner was very attentive to our needs and checked in on us multiple times during our stay. Across the street from the Lost Coast Inn is the Westport Hotel that sits onto of a very vintage pub. If you are looking for a more luxurious stay, the Inn at Newport Ranch is along Highway 1 on your way into Westport — you can’t miss it, the property is beautiful. Just a short, scenic twenty minute drive south on Highway 1will lead you to another quaint town called Fort Bragg. This is where you can find a wider selection of lodging, restaurants, and shopping.

Versatile Spaces

One of the finer things about Switzer Farm is its versatility. The entire property has multiple options that are excellent for hosting different events throughout your wedding weekend. Let’s start with the front porch that overlooks the Pacific Ocean. The porch can seat around twenty people and serves as a perfect space for welcome night or rehearsal dinner. We added a few farm house tables with a full table setting design to add to the vibe and collaborated with UNEDA Eat Pizza to provide a very elevated and tasty brick oven style pizza dinner. Not to mention, Jill and her staff were such a good time! They were able to use the full service, industrial size kitchen to cook and serve a fresh meal.

Let’s move on, shall we? The garden just off the front porch makes for a stunning backdrop for an intimate ceremony. You have the most stunning view of the ocean and raw headlands directly behind you. The headlands also provide the perfect spot for a larger ceremony during times of the year that are predicted to have little to no rain. Securing a venue that can provide an on-site ‘rain plan option’ is always a plus. At Switzer, there are multiple options that can keep you and your guest dry — such a pivotal selling point. Small, intimate gatherings can take place inside of the house. The covered porch is also a beautiful spot for hosting a family style dinner overlooking the ocean.

However, once you get eyes on the property, you will quickly see that the perfectly manicured lawn on the south side of the house is the ideal spot for hosting your reception and reception dinner. This area can seat over one hundred guest and can easily be covered by a large tent. As my couples’ wedding planner, it was my job to make sure I executed a seamless day that flowed and gave their guest the full Switzer Farm experience. So, I chose to utilize the front porch for the welcome night dinner, the garden for the ceremony, and the lawn for the reception. The photographer took the couple down to the headlands multiple times throughout the weekend so there was a lot of photos taken with that backdrop including sunset photos — it couldn’t have been any better.

Wedding Weekend

Because one day just isn’t enough. Most couples who choose a destination wedding want to maximize their time with their guests and create a more immersive experience, especially for guest who travel from afar. Earlier, I talked about how we utilized all of the different parts and pieces of the house to really bring this weekend together. Having an extended wedding weekend on Switzer Farm is such a great way to utilize more of the property and truly make your wedding unforgettable. There is so much versatility originally built into this venue that you almost have to host more than one event to get a good feel of the Swifter Farm experience. We hosted a welcome dinner the night before and the entire wedding day was spent on the property. One idea I would have loved to add into the weekend timeline is a post-wedding brunch the morning after the wedding. I imagine this taking place in the house with all of the windows and doors open, the coastal breeze rushing in, and the smell of a fresh pot of coffee brewing in the kitchen.

From a wedding planners perspective, having a photographer on-site to capture the entire weekend is a dream. If you are looking for a photographer to capture your wedding at Switzer Farm or anywhere down the west coast, I cannot recommend Alixann Loosle Photography enough! She is such a raw, organic creative who has a such a talent and niche in photography. She is very experienced on the property and moves about so swiftly and gently from shot to shot.

Traveling

We got the opportunity to travel with the bride and groom all the way across the country for their destination wedding. We drove from Asheville to Charlotte, North Carolina and hopped on our first flight. Four hours later, we landed in Phoenix, Arizona. From Phoenix, we boarded our second flight and landed in Santa Rosa, California where we rented a car and headed northwest towards Mendocino. What an absolute extraordinary drive this was! From dozens of vineyards to The Redwoods to finally hitting the coastal cliffs, we felt like we had traveled all over the world in just a short three hour drive.

If you are planning a wedding at Switzer or just visiting the Mendocino area, I highly recommend you fly into Santa Rosa Airport. The drive is like nothing I have ever seen before. We decided to fly out of San Francisco and took the most beautiful scenic route down Highway 1. We spent the day exploring San Francisco and ate dinner at Limón — authentic, delicious Spanish cuisine.

Vendors

I do want to take a second to acknowledge all of the vendors that helped bring this beautiful wedding weekend together for my client. Also, if you are looking for vendors in the Mendocino County area, I highly recommend all of these vendors and the vendors I have previously mentioned throughout this article. Matt Rowland Events provided all of the rentals (tables, chairs, lighting, table top decor, dinnerware etc) for both nights of celebration. If you are looking for superb bartending services, Mendocino Outland is an exceptional brand. All of the wedding day floral was crafted by Eva Lina with Eva Lina Floral. Our glam team, Beauty Onset, had our bride looking absolutely stunning on welcome night and wedding day. Last but not least, Chefs Table provided a locally sourced family style dinner for my client and their guests.

More Details

If you are considering hosting your wedding at Switzer, here are a few key points. Embrace the natural, organic beauty Switzer Farm has to offer. Consider using earthy, neutral tones versus more vibrant hues. Consider floral that is locally sourced and seasoned, these blooms are going to complement the ocean and your surroundings effortlessly. My client wanted to incorporate color since they hosted a spring wedding, so we were able to meticulously select blooms that were in season and more muted versus bright and bold.

The California coast line can be very unpredictable. During our stay, we obsessively monitored the weather and the predictions were very unstable. We also saw patches of rain off in the distance but they never made it all the way to the venue. I say this to advise you to have a rain backup plan in place if you do plan to have events throughout the weekend outdoors. This particular wedding took place in April. The mornings were gloomy and cool, but the afternoons and evenings were sunny and in the sixties. I will even go as far to say that it felt chilly throughout the day due to the coastal winds. This factor was the biggest shock to us mainly because we were anticipating SoCal heat temperatures — we did not pack accordingly.

Hire a wedding planner! I cannot stress this enough. Because we are a destination wedding planning brand that travel globally to plan weddings, I don’t think it is absolutely necessary to hire a planner from the Mendocino area. The owner, Gary, of Switzer Farm virtually took us around and it was very easy to grasps the layout and details of this venue. Our vendor team was all very local and also provided some information about the area that was very helpful. Make sure to hire a wedding planner who specializes in destination weddings because the list of logistics increases drastically with these types of events.

There is no beach access directly off of the property. However, there is a beautiful beach pull off just five minutes south. This leads me to another notable factor, these northern beaches are not the type of beaches we all may be used to; these are very scenic ‘pause to take it all in’ beaches. There is no swimming, surfing or sun bathing involved. According to the locals, you have to go a lot further south to accomplish that.

If you take anything from this article, make it this. Dolores is the venue manager on-site and knows the in’s and out’s of the property. She is incredibly helpful and does a fabulous job maintaining the house and keeping everything fresh and clean. She helped us keep the trash locked up throughout the evening — apparently there are neighborhood grizzly bears that love to dumpster dive. She is a such sweet lady who genuinely loves Swifter Farm and her hometown of Westport. Dolores also manages the guest parking lot. This lot is just a short walk up to the house. The walking trail is beautifully maintained and takes you through the barn for a sweet little historic touch.

If you made it this far

Switzer Farm effortlessly checks all of the boxes. It’s unique. It’s exclusive. It’s charming. It’s versatile. It takes you back in time in the most present form and fashion. The detail and the texture of this home gives it so much life and character. It speaks for itself. By embracing the natural beauty of this home and its desirable location, you are guaranteed to have an unforgettable wedding.

Sourced Photographers: Alixann Loosle Photography | Freda Bands