FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

HOW MANY GUESTS CAN GREENGATE RANCH + VINEYARD ACCOMMODATE?

A range of 30 - 600 is a general rule, we have various locations on the property allowing for varying sized groups. Large tents can be utilized (rental costs apply) to ensure a covered area for an especially large group celebration.

HOW MANY PEOPLE CAN THE BARN ACCOMMODATE?

Our barn can accommodate 150-200 people for a sit down formal dinner, depending on types of tables used and space left for a DJ, buffet tables, and/or a dance floor inside the barn. If a cocktail style celebration with cocktail tables and dance floor is what you are looking to do, then 300+ is easily accommodated. Please see our Event Spaces page for capacities of other areas onsite.

WHEN CAN I VISIT THE PROPERTY?

Greengate Ranch & Vineyard is a working vineyard and active events venue. Because of the nature of our business, all visits to the property are to be arranged by appointment. It is our utmost priority to protect the privacy and safety of our guests and be respectful of their time while checked into the homes on property. We also want to make sure that when you visit, a member of our event team is available to open up the spaces on the ranch, provide accurate information, and assist with transporting you to the many areas on the ranch.

Please visit our contact page to schedule a time to visit! We would love to have you.

WHAT EVENT EQUIPMENT DO YOU PROVIDE?

We are happy to provide resources and logistical support to you as you plan your event here at Greengate Ranch & Vineyard. Our onsite Events Manager will provide a Preferred Vendor List to you and help you bring together all of the elements and vendors that you need to pull off a wonderful event here. Please note that we do require you to work with one of our approved caterers, and ask that any event of 50 guests or more have a coordinator or planner involved and on site for the event. All other vendor preferences are our best recommendations to you. Please check with our Events Manager prior to signing contracts with vendors, as we do reserve the right to not work with vendors that do not meet our standards. For private events, we do provide tables and chairs for up to 200 guests for use in our Barn + Courtyard space. For weddings, we provide tables only for use in our Barn + Courtyard space. See our Private Events page for more information on our included items.

ARE THERE ANY VENDOR RESTRICTIONS?

We have two main vendor requirements for your wedding or private event at Greengate Ranch & Vineyard.
Your event caterer must be chosen from our approved catering list. These caterers are highly respected, amazing with clients, and know our property well and are respectful of it. We can also make a recommendation for private chef services or delivery of lunch or dinner from a favorite list of restaurants near by.
We require that a professional planner be hired for any event held on property with 50 or more guests. A day-of planner does not meet our vendor requirement. We require at least a month-of planner, but highly encourage you to book a partial or full planning service. Please inquire regarding our approved list of planners. If the planner you desire is not on this list or has not worked at Greengate before, please ask us how to make sure they are approved to work onsite, as we do reserve the right to not work with vendors that do not meet our standards.

Before signing vendor contracts, please make sure your vendors have insurance coverage, as we do require vendors to have coverage in order to work onsite. We are happy to make vendor recommendations and help get you in touch with vendors, so please feel free to reach out with any vendor questions along your planning process!

DOES GREENGATE STAFF SET UP + BREAK DOWN OUR EVENT?

Even though we do provide tables and other event equipment for your use, Greengate Ranch & Vineyard does not set up or break down for your wedding. Set up and break down of any of our Greengate items is the responsibility of your coordinator and/or your caterer. The storage of these items is outlined in our required vendor agreements with both your coordinator and caterer. Greengate items are for use in the event area only (Barn + Courtyard). If you are using one of the other areas on property, rentals will be needed and can be arranged with one of our preferred rental companies.

DO YOU HAVE NOISE RESTRICTIONS?

We are subject to the San Luis Obispo County noise ordinance, which requires the amplification of music to end at 10:00pm. This applies to music in any of our onsite event spaces, and including all four onsite rental homes. This pertains to any and all live music, bands, DJs, and personal playlists on professional audio equipment. It is our guest’s responsibility to inform their hired musicians of this policy. Failure to comply can result a portion of your security deposit being retained.

CAN WE BRING IN OUR OWN ALCOHOL?

Yes, we are a bring your own alcohol venue. You may supply your own beer, wine and liquor. We do require that all alcohol served in the event areas be served by a licensed bartender and/or caterer. We ask that last call occur at least 30 minutes before the scheduled end of the event for safety and liability purposes.

If you are planning on selling alcohol at your event, you are required to have an ABC license for your event. We are happy to help you with direction on obtaining this. You are not required to have a liquor license for a private event with a hosted bar, however.

CAN I BRING MY PET?

Pets are allowed in the guest homes for an additional non-refundable pet fee per pet. All pets must be approved in advance. Please note: In the interest of your pet’s safety, we do require that they be on leash at all times, directly supervised (ie. not tied up somewhere) and cleaned up after. Please keep in mind this is a working ranch with horses, other dogs and operating machinery.

HOW MANY PEOPLE DO THE ONSITE HOUSES SLEEP?

The Ranch House: 6 Cal King bedrooms (12 people double occupancy) + 2 Queen air beds (available with linens by request)
The Vineyard Cottage: 3 Cal King bedrooms (6 people double occupancy) + pull out couch in living room (linens available by request)
The Carriage House: 3 Queen bedrooms (6 people double occupancy)
The Bridle Flat: 1 Queen bedroom (2 people double occupancy) + pull out couch in living room (linens available by request)

CAN I ADD ADDITIONAL NIGHTS TO MY WEDDING STAY?

Absolutely! We would love for you to spend the week of your wedding with us and partake of this authentic California ranch experience. If our three-night package just isn’t enough, please let our Director of Events know you are interested in staying longer and a special rate will be available to you as our wedding guest.

In addition to this, we would love for you to come stay with us prior to your wedding weekend. Enjoy the Central Coast, explore the property, meet with your wedding vendors onsite, and get an authentic feel of what your wedding weekend will be like.

WHERE SHOULD OUR ADDITIONAL OUT OF TOWN GUESTS STAY?

We would be happy to talk over hotel and vacation rental options with you! The nearest towns for hotels are Pismo Beach and San Luis Obispo. In Pismo Beach, we have partnered with the Dolphin Bay Resort and the Inn at the Pier to offer a special rate to our wedding guests. Please ask our Event Manager for more information.

WHAT IS NEARBY?

One of the really beautiful things about Greengate Ranch & Vineyard is that it is located exactly 5 minutes from the San Luis Obispo Airport, 10 minutes from the beaches (Avila, Shell & Pismo), 10 minutes to downtown San Luis Obispo, and 10 minutes to the charming village of Arroyo Grande. We are also surrounded by numerous wineries right here in Edna Valley.

CAN MY EVENT GUESTS LEAVE THEIR CARS OVERNIGHT?

Guests needing to leave vehicles on property over night are required to have vehicles parked in the designated guest parking area only. Vehicles parked anywhere other than designated parking areas are subject to removal at the owners expense. All vehicles must be retrieved by 9:00am the following morning or are subject to towing from the property at the owner's expense.

We highly recommend shuttles or Uber/Lyft services to the property and from the property if your event involves extensive celebration. Please ask our Events Manager for any recommendations and see our Preferred Vendor List for transportation services, as well.

CAN I LEAVE DECOR, RENTALS, OR PERSONAL ITEMS (FOOD + ALCOHOL) IN THE EVENT SPACE AFTER MY EVENT?

No, all items are to be removed from the Barn + Courtyard and/or prep kitchen, as well as all lawn areas by 11:00pm on the night of the event. Exceptions to this include when there are rentals being picked up on a different date than the event date. In this case, items can be stored in an area designated by our Events Manager for rental pick-up. Failure to remove decor, equipment or supplies from the event area could result in the event security deposit not being returned.

In addition to this, we do not allow any equipment whatsoever to remain on any of our lawn areas overnight - we love our lawns and work incredibly hard to keep them in perfect condition for event purposes. This includes chairs, tables, arches, trailers, and any other equipment or decor. If you or your planner have any questions regarding event area access or equipment storage, please contact our Director of Events.

SPARKLERS, HAY BALES, CONFETTI, OH MY!

Candles are allowable, but we require that they are installed in accordance with the county fire code, which requires all flames to be enclosed in glass and 1 inch below the top surface of the glass container.
Biodegradable confetti is welcome on the lawn areas of the property. All other confetti is strictly prohibited. Any labor or cost associated with clean up of decorations or accessories not authorized and approved by Greengate management will be passed on to the named party on the agreement.
Sparklers are strictly prohibited on the property due to the ongoing California drought.
Hay bales are not allowed.

If you have any questions about any decor items, please check with us prior to your event - we never want to disappoint you by prohibiting your plans last minute.

WHAT IS THE SMOKING POLICY?

This is a no smoking property. There is absolutely no smoking in any of the buildings on property. If you know you have guests that smoke, we will work with you on setting up a designated, outdoor smoking area. Please ask us about the designation of an approved outdoor smoking area. The violation of this policy in any of our buildings or in a non-approved designated smoking area jeopardizes the return of your security deposit following your event. It is your responsibility to inform your guests of this policy.

WHEN CAN I HAVE ACCESS TO THE BARN + OTHER EVENT SPACES?

For weddings, we allow your rental companies to deliver your event rentals the day before your event. You also have access to the event space upon your check-in and have the ability to set up any decor inside the barn at that time. For private events, rental companies, other vendors, and you have access on the day of your event only - please reference your event contract for set times.

Your vendors will have access to the Barn and other areas of the property from 9:00am - 11:00pm the day of your event, unless otherwise arranged with our Events Manager. There is no access to the Barn or storage garage after 11:00pm the night of your event, unless otherwise arranged with our Events Manager. This excludes access for rental companies picking up equipment post-event.

Please reference your event contract, there is an abundance of important information in your contract and your access to the event spaces is outlined on the first page. If you need to arrange for early access please ask our Events Manager and we will schedule access, based on availability.

CAN WE HOST OTHER EVENTS ON THE PROPERTY DURING OUR WEDDING WEEKEND?

We would love for you to hold other events onsite. Welcome meet-n-greet, rehearsal dinner or send-off brunch (late check out fees may apply) can be held at any of the houses or the Pool Arena. Please inform us of your full weekend itinerary prior to your stay, so we can plan accordingly to accommodate you in the best way possible. Greengate does require that any event with 50 guests or more is coordinated by your wedding planner. All matters of rentals, vendor logistics and parking must be arranged and facilitated by your planner. In addition, any event outside of your wedding day that exceeds 100 guests will be subject to our Additional Event Fee, which can be found listed in our Wedding Weekend Offerings information and in your wedding agreement.

IS SECURITY REQUIRED FOR MY EVENT?

Any event with a guest count exceeding 300 people must provide adequate security for guest safety purposes and to aid in crowd management. This will be at the guest's expense. We are more than happy to help schedule security services with our preferred security company. Please let us know in advance if you would like us to do so.

ARE THERE ADDITIONAL FEES OR EXPENSES I SHOULD BE AWARE OF?

We've done our best to make expenses simple for you by including basic amenities that we know you'll need, such as tables and event signage (please see the complete list of inclusions in our Wedding Offerings - PDF downloadable by request through our contact page). We do not charge a service fee, corkage fee, cleaning fee, cake cutting fee, or additional taxes.

Weekend liability insurance is required, naming Greengate Ranch & Vineyard, LLC and Greengate Farms SLO, LLC as additionally insured. Often this can be obtained through your home owner's policy. Policies are also available through Cover My Events or Wed Safe. Generally, this cost is between $150 to $300 for the weekend. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

In addition, any event outside of your wedding day that exceeds 100 guests will be subject to our Additional Event Fee, which can be found listed in our Wedding Weekend Offerings information and in your wedding agreement. This goes to cover additional Greengate staffing, cleaning, parking, and excessive event space use.

While this is not an additional fee or expense, please note that we do require a credit card preauthorization for your security deposit upon arrival for your wedding weekend or private event. We do not charge any amount to your card unless damages are incurred during your stay/event. For weddings, the security deposit preauthorization is broken down as: $1,500 for the event space (per event day), $1,500 for the Ranch House, $500 for the Vineyard Cottage, $500 for the Carriage House, and $500 for the Bridle Flat. For private events, the security deposit preauthorization is broken down as: $1,000 for the event space.