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    Sesnon House

    4.7 (67 reviews)
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    Updated 2 months ago

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    Recommended Reviews - Sesnon House

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    Photo: Adriane White Photography http://www.adrianewhitephotography.com/
    Susanna H.

    Words cannot express the gratitude and joy I have when I look back at our wedding at the Sesnon House in October, 2019. Between the gorgeous early 1900's architecture, perfect combination of indoor and outdoor space, absolutely beautiful landscape, amazing staff, and delicious food, this venue was idyllic. First off, HUGE kudos to Chrissy Hankes, the Events Coordinator at the Sesnon House at the time of our wedding, and Jeremy MacVeigh, the Department Chair of Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management and lead chef at the Sesnon House. From our initial walkthrough to the day of the wedding, Chrissy and Jeremy helped lead us seamlessly through a myriad of details to create the day we'd always imagined. Chrissy was one of the most organized people I've ever met, and she was easy-going and humorous in a way that kept my whole family feeling low-stress during a very stressful planning process. She has put a TON of work into anticipating everything that could and should happen, and her leadership at our rehearsal and on the day of the wedding made it so clear that we were in good hands. Jeremy was equally helpful, planning the most delicious menu and working through all of the minute details with a kind smile. Our wedding day was during a week of PG&E power outages, and Chrissy and Jeremy worked around the clock to make sure that there was an emergency plan in place for our outdoor wedding with 160 guests in the case of no power. Luckily, the power was on during our special day, but it made a world of difference to know that we were working with a professional, prepared, and compassionate team of staff. Honestly this venue had everything we could have hoped for. It is one of the most financially reasonable venues in beautiful Santa Cruz county for what it offers- in house food and service, seamless setup and cleanup included, dance floor, dining, epic art and photo-worthy spaces, redwood trees and gorgeous palms, and the ambiance of a Gatsby-esque party. We didn't need to pull out all the stops for expensive decorations because the space itself is elegant and classic on its very own. Plus, you're only 5 minutes from local Aptos hotels and a quick 5-10 minute drive to the beach. I absolutely loved the Sesnon House, and I cannot recommend it enough.

    guest book table
    K M.

    This review is almost two years late, and I regret that I am just now getting around to writing it. My husband and I were married at Sesnon House on June 10, 2017. We had 110 guests, our wedding started at 5pm, the weather was perfect, and it was the most beautiful night of our lives. Thank you to Chrissy and the amazing, super helpful staff for making it such a special night. My husband and I looked online for venues before we narrowed it down to the ones we wanted to visit. One visit to the Sesnon House, on an evening that they were decorating for an event, not even a wedding, and we were hooked. The house is beautiful, you don't even need many decorations in order for it to have a romantic feel. There was space for our guests to roam around. We had our cake in the piano room, where there were tables and chairs for guests, a dance floor and DJ in the main room where you walk into the house, and a buffet in another room that later turned into a sitting area for anyone who wanted coffee by the end of the night. And of course the huge lawn area in back where we got married and had dinner. We even had room for a photo booth! We didn't get to try the food beforehand, but we knew Cabrillo College has a good culinary program, and chose to trust the many positive reviews we read about the food served at Sesnon. It did not disappoint! We had many vegetarians in attendance and they were very accommodating with letting us customize the menu choices. We were allowed to purchase wine and beer but no liquor, specifically so the students can learn to pour. They allowed us to serve beer in bottles and the students poured the wine, which helped keep our cost lower. They allowed us in 1 hour before the ceremony to decorate. This didn't work out in my favor, that's one thing I would have changed is that I wish they could have allowed for more time to decorate. My entire decorating crew was in my wedding basically and we showed up late after getting ready and totally forgot about decorating. Luckily, Chrissy and her wonderful crew were helping and she even managed to wrangle up the guests who showed up early to help decorate. The kitchen staff set up our dinner, and it was beautiful. The colors and dishes chosen really complimented each other well. Our guests were really impressed with how beautiful it was. We had dinner outside, it was a beautiful evening with perfect weather, but since it was an evening by the coast we did pay for additional heaters to keep everyone warm. By the end of night, there had been problem guests kicked out, and my husband and I had no clue of any of the issues. Chrissy designated family members to be the voice of reason, and clean up the messes before we ever found out about it. This also was hugely helpful in enabling us to get our deposit back. Chrissy dealt with our Las Vegas crowd like a champ! Helps that she's from there too :D. Bottom line, this place is Affordable Beautiful, doesn't require many decorations, the house and backyard alone set the mood. Food was great Dance floor is awesome The ceremony location is beautiful Even if you don't have a wedding planner (Chrissy doesn't get paid to be your wedding planner), she steps in like one, and on a day like THIS DAY, it was such a blessing. Staff was great, professional, and very clean. It's a mansion....

    beautiful staircase for awesome above view shots of the dance floor / bouquet tossing etc!  Also love the entrance with beautiful asian art
    Sharon K.

    We had the best wedding ever July 28, 2018! I would like to thank Chrissy, Rosie, Sue, and the entire, wonderful staff for making my big day a dream come true. Quick overview of our situation: We got engaged in February and my fiance wanted to get married "before football season in the fall." Looking back, I was overwhelmed and massively anxious.. until I stumbled upon Sesnon House on Yelp. I'm not a person who loves to get involved in details and generally assume professionals in the space have way more context and information on throwing a wedding party than I do. In the case of Sesnon House, this was more than accurate -- and in addition, I have to say that the level of integrity and quality that the staff put into planning our event was beyond spectacular. I didn't have time to make every decision necessary to make the event work, so I basically delegated decision making about the linens, sourcing the DJ, alcohol decisions to the staff. To make things more exciting, our original forecast of 100 guests exploded to 150+ in the weeks leading up to the wedding. The few things I did meticulously plan (ceremony logistics, food planning, etc) quickly had to be rearranged, but Chrissy and Sue accommodated these changes without a bat of an eye and a single one hour session. Chrissy & Sue are super experienced so they are able to condense the planning of the event to the micro level with about an hour of thoughtfully presented questions. Furthermore, the beauty of venue and scalability of operation of this place is unmatched. It's Santa Cruz charm at its finest, with the most enthusiastic staff who really put their all into making the day perfect. Our wedding was great, but what really put it over the top was the picture perfect weather that brought the fantastical aspect of "California living" into clear focus for our guests. The food was excellent, and the vibe of the day was so joyful, wonderful, and magical. I know that that kind of operational perfection is not a coincidence -- the precision and thoughtfulness in planning shone through every aspect of our big day. I even remember the logistics of walking down the aisle being managed to the core -- Rosie sprinted to the back while I was driven to meet with the flowers, and in preparing to walk, another staff member adjusted my veil so it looked just right. Seriously -- who are these people??? It's easy to get really cynical about the wedding industry with all the ridiculous personas and pricings you get when you shop around, but honestly, Sesnon House was a complete joy to work with. Thank you guys to the moon and back! The kindness and passion in their work was so contagious that by the end of the night, everyone had a joyful experience that really brought out the best in them. Oh and PS -- while we sprung for literally every feature we could imagine, me and my now hubby landed within budget!!!! What a cherry on top of all the insanity. It's nice to pay what you expect for a day that was magical beyond belief. My dad's advice that day was to keep an album close by for the rest of our lives to remember the day, and I'm so happy that Sesnon House is the back drop to ours.

    A. G.

    The Sesnon House was the perfect venue for our September 2018 wedding. The grounds were beautiful and immaculate, and the culinary staff were polite, professional and helpful. We chose the Sesnon House as our venue for many reasons. I am listing a few, but there are many more. First, the historical house is beautiful and requires little if any decoration. Second, the modest cost of renting the venue includes the services of an event coordinator, Chrissy. Chrissy is your main contact and coordinates everything from the day of itinerary, to the menu selection, to vendor access, to day of wedding coordination. This was a huge benefit. Third, the venue allows you to select your own vendors (although they provide a list of their recommendations). Fourth, because the venue allows you to bring your own sealed beverages (Costco, Bevmo etc.) we were able to minimize the cost of beverages and to take home the leftovers. Worth noting, is that the Sesnon House is affiliated with Cabrillo College and as a result there are some rules that some may perceive as strict. For example, the venue allows beer and wine only, the bar staff must serve the alcohol, smoking is prohibited (must go to the sidewalk at perimeter), music must be off and by 10, and all vendors out by 11:00. That being said, my husband and I found the Sesnon House rules to be reasonable and made for a better experience overall. Special thanks to to event coordinator Chrissy. From the first inquiry we submitted to Sesnon, through delivery of our deposit, Chrissy was extremely helpful. After our first consultation with Chrissy, we felt confident that we were in good hands and in time were proven right. Another special thanks to Culinary Chef Jeremy and his students. The food was not only delicious but beautiful and elegantly presented. Thank you for helping make our day so special.

    Meghan B.

    I got married at this beautiful manor on 2.20.2011. It couldn't have been any better. From the time I first spoke with Margitta (Sesnon House Coordinator) to when all the guests left was a delight. Margitta is so well organized and very inviting personally, she made everyone feel completely comfortable. It had rained the whole week before the wedding and thankfully the sun was shining on my "big day". The grounds were very lush and maintained nicely even through out the winter. I would recommend The Sesnon House over and over.

    the veranda
    Susan H.

    I have photographed lots of weddings at Sesnon and It is a gorgeous location, the wedding coordinators fabulous and so organized and the food really good.

    Lisa G.

    We can't express enough how amazing our wedding day was. Chrissy, Jeremy and all the staff were absolutely top notch, from planning until the very end. Everything went seamlessly, at least for us and our guests, if there were any glitches, we didn't know about them. We would recommend Sesnon House for any event. We would not have changed a thing. My daughter caught the bouquet so who knows, we might be back soon!

    Ravioli was delicious! Great job Dare! Duck fat popcorn.. nuff said!

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    Page 1 of 2

    Ask the Community - Sesnon House

    Do you allow outside caterers to provide food for events at your site?

    HI Tara, There are dates available that we allow outside caterers. When our student catering is not in session or unavailable you can hire in an outside caterer.

    Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

    Review Highlights - Sesnon House

    From the first inquiry we submitted to Sesnon, through delivery of our deposit, Chrissy was extremely helpful.

    Mentioned in 32 reviews

    Read more highlights

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    Sesnon House - venues - Updated May 2026

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