A wedding is rarely one day. It is a bachelor weekend, a bachelorette weekend, a bridal shower, a rehearsal dinner, the vows themselves and, if you plan it right, a honeymoon that starts the morning after. Blossom Sanctuary can hold every one of them: a private house on 4.2 acres of oaks and gardens just outside Etna, California, with the mountains of Scott Valley on every side.
Here is how each part works at the house, what to book first, why booking your 2027 dates now saves the most, and the members-only planner that builds your whole wedding year and sends it straight to our concierge.
Your wedding year at Blossom, at a glance
A small private ceremony in the garden or under the oaks, with your closest people.
An elopement on the mountain at Taylor Lake or Etna Summit, then dinner back at the house. See weddings and elopements in Scott Valley.
Bachelor and bachelorette weekends for up to six, with the whole house to yourselves.
A bridal shower in the garden in warm months, or by the wood stove in winter.
A rehearsal dinner with a private chef at the house, or a short walk away at Denny Bar Co..
The honeymoon, in a house with no one on the other side of the wall.
The Blossom wedding series
A bridal suite near Quartz Valley: getting ready, the rehearsal dinner and the morning after.
Weddings and elopements in Scott Valley: Taylor Lake, permits and the marriage license.
A bachelor weekend: rafting, golf, a distillery tour and steaks.
A bachelorette weekend: facials, Ashland and dinner for six.
A bridal shower in Scott Valley: a garden afternoon with local sweets and gifts.
A honeymoon in Northern California: the whole house for two.
A wedding plan for every season: spring, summer, fall and winter.
How to save on 2027 wedding travel: book before December 31.
Book 2027 now: this is where the savings are
If your wedding is next year, the single best way to save on all of the travel around it is to join the Sovereign Circle before December 31, 2026. Membership is free through the end of the year, and it locks in the founding member rate for as long as you stay a member. From January 1, 2027, new members start at a higher rate, and the member rate rises a little each season after that.
The founding member rate: from $555 a night on winter dates, with cleaning and every Blossom fee included. The 14% county lodging tax is added and shown before you pay.
A free night on your second stay. Members get a free night added to their second reservation of two nights or more. Book the bachelorette weekend first and the honeymoon second, and the honeymoon gets the extra night.
Pay over time. Stays booked six weeks or more ahead can be paid in four parts, which makes a wedding year a lot easier on the budget.
Free cancellation up to 14 days before arrival, for when dates move.
Longer stays cost less per night, so a long honeymoon or a week for the whole wedding party is the best value we offer.
10% off the Blossom online marketplace, handy for gifts for the wedding party.
Popular weekends fill first, especially summer Saturdays, so hold your dates early. You can see open dates and prices on the home page, or text the concierge at 530 572 1122.
A small private ceremony at Blossom Sanctuary
The gardens bloom from spring into early fall, lavender grows along the lawn, and the oaks make a ceiling of their own. Small ceremonies, toasts and celebrations are welcome at the house. The couple can get ready in the main bedroom, a California King under vaulted ceilings, and fast internet means family far away can watch live.
Bring your officiant or deputize a friend for the day, and book Della of Circle Bar Co. for the photographs. If more than 14 people will be on the property at one time, tell us ahead so we can help with the proper permits. When the guest list outgrows the house, celebrate at Lonesome Longhorn in Quartz Valley or Dowling Ranch, a wedding venue on a historic Scott Valley ranch, and keep Blossom as home base for your closest people.
Rooms for everyone else. Blossom is home base for the couple and the wedding party. When family and friends need beds too, two independent Etna inns pair nicely with it: the Bluebird Inn, a restored 1870s Victorian on Sawyers Bar Road with rooms, suites and a cottage, and the Wild Hare Inn, an 1883 Victorian on Main Street rented as a whole home. Hold your Blossom dates first, then we can help you line up the rest.
Your bridal suite or groom's suite, a few minutes from the venue
Many couples hold the ceremony and reception at a ranch venue like Lonesome Longhorn in Quartz Valley, just west of Fort Jones, or elsewhere in Scott Valley, and keep Blossom as the wedding retreat around it. The house becomes the place to get ready, the place to prepare, and the place to come home to and keep celebrating after the last dance.
Getting ready: morning light in the main bedroom, room to spread out for hair and makeup, and a kitchen for coffee and breakfast for the wedding party.
A quiet hour before the vows: the oaks, the garden and no one on the other side of the wall.
Photos: lavender, old oaks and mountain light, without leaving the property.
After the reception: a fire in the wood stove, late toasts in the kitchen, and nobody driving anywhere.
The morning after: a slow brunch for your closest people before everyone heads home.
Wedding photography: Circle Bar Co.
For wedding photography, and every other kind, our first call is our friend Della of Circle Bar Co.. She grew up on a ranch in a small Northern California town and photographs the way it actually felt: candid moments, unplanned laughter and the way your people gather together. Her portraits are meant to look timeless decades from now.
Weddings from $3,900, with an engagement session, pre-wedding chats, a wedding photography planning guide, and a black-and-white version of every image.
Sneak peeks within 48 hours and the full gallery within eight weeks.
2027 weddings are booking now for May through October, so reserve her as soon as you have a date.
Beyond the wedding: engagement sessions, portraits, events and business photography, so the bachelorette weekend, the shower and the honeymoon can all be photographed too.
See her wedding photography and inquire through the Circle Bar Co. website.
A coordinator and heirloom rentals: Gent's Rents & Events
For the day itself, we recommend Gent's Rents & Events in Fort Jones, run by our friend Victoria Gentry. Gent's offers day-of coordination and heirloom rentals that make a small wedding feel finished, whether the ceremony is in the Blossom garden or at a venue down the valley.
Day-of coordination, from $1,500: three planning consultations, vendor recommendations, a detailed wedding day timeline, confirming details with your vendors, and running the ceremony rehearsal.
On the day: up to eight hours on site with a lead coordinator and an assistant, who direct the processional, help set up the ceremony and reception, place the guest book, place cards and favors, act as the point of contact for every vendor, hand out final payments and gratuities, and bring an emergency kit.
Heirloom rentals: three arched backdrops in three sizes, a champagne wall that holds 44 glasses, a white bar with hidden space for mixers, a photo backdrop, and eight-foot benches that seat four to five each.
Picture it: a Gent's arch on the lawn under the oaks, a few benches for your closest people, and the champagne wall ready for the toast. See current packages and rental prices on the Gent's Rents & Events website or Instagram, call (530) 598-9783, and ask about delivery to the house.
Ways to plan the wedding weekend
The retreat weekend: arrive Thursday, rehearsal dinner Friday, the wedding Saturday at your venue, brunch at the house Sunday.
The getting-ready house: one or two nights for the wedding party, timed around the ceremony day.
The intimate wedding: vows in the garden with your closest people and dinner by a private chef, all at the house.
The elopement and honeymoon: vows at Taylor Lake in season, then stay on for the honeymoon.
The long celebration: a week for the two of you and a rotating cast of friends, which is the best value per night.
A wedding plan for every season
Spring: the gardens wake up, the valley turns green and the creeks run full. Book early spring dates for the best quiet.
Summer: long golden evenings, the garden in full bloom, and Taylor Lake open for vows from mid-June.
Fall: warm days, cool nights and the oaks turning gold, usually peaking in late October. Taylor Lake stays open through October.
Winter: snow on the peaks, the wood stove, and December lights across Etna and Scott Valley. Pair it with Yreka Night of Lights, and check the passes for chains.
Eloping on the mountain
Taylor Lake sits at about 6,500 feet, 13 miles from Etna, with a short, wheelchair accessible walk to the water. Its season runs mid-June through October. Etna Summit, where the Pacific Crest Trail crosses, depends on snow. On the national forest, groups under 75 need no permit. The full guide, with the marriage license basics, is in getting married near Blossom Sanctuary.
Bachelor and bachelorette weekends
For a celebration weekend, the house stretches to six: the main bedroom, the queen in the second bedroom, the loft and the couch. Plan two or three nights, two to four months before the wedding.
Bachelor: rafting or fishing, golf, a distillery tour, steaks and a long night by the fire. The full plan is in a bachelor weekend at Blossom Sanctuary.
Bachelorette: facials and pedicures at Citrine Lounge Spa, a day in Ashland, dinner for six and a slow morning in the garden. See a bachelorette weekend at Blossom Sanctuary.
A bridal shower in Scott Valley
A shower here is an afternoon, not an event hall. In warm months, set the table in the garden; in winter, gather by the wood stove. Order sweets from Little Whisk Baking Co., known for her macarons, and flowers from The Flowers Nest. For a gift with meaning, walk to Marble Rim Gallery on Main Street, a cooperative where Scott Valley artists sell their own jewelry, pottery and paintings. Then book the bride a facial with Teanna at Citrine Lounge Spa.
Showers often bring more people than a weekend stay, so if more than 14 people will be on the property at one time, let us know ahead.
The rehearsal dinner
The kitchen is set for a dinner party, and a private chef can be arranged for an added fee. Prefer to go out? Denny Bar Co. is a short walk from the house; book it on Tock. Ask the concierge about audio equipment for the toasts.
The honeymoon, right here
Some couples fly somewhere far away. Others realize the quietest place they know is the one where they just got married. A Blossom honeymoon is the whole house for two: the California King under vaulted ceilings, coffee in the garden, the wood stove at night and stars over the walled garden.
Add a massage with Mari Kraus Massage and Wellness, sauna rounds at Mountain Healing Spa, and a facial or Reiki at Citrine Lounge Spa. Our Etna spa and wellness guide puts them in the right order. Private yoga with Kaitlin of Kreate Yoga can come to the house. Book the honeymoon as your second Blossom stay and members get a free night added.
A simple wedding year timeline
12 months out: set the date, join the Sovereign Circle, and hold the ceremony weekend and the honeymoon.
6 to 9 months out: book the bachelor and bachelorette weekends, Circle Bar Co. for photos, Gent's Rents & Events for coordination, your officiant and the rehearsal dinner.
3 months out: the bridal shower, flowers, sweets and spa appointments.
1 month out: the marriage license (good for 90 days in California) and a final plan with the concierge.
The week of: arrive early, slow down, and let the valley do its work.
The members-only wedding planner
Members of the Sovereign Circle get an interactive wedding planner in the Members Portal. Choose what you are planning (the ceremony, the getting-ready house, the bachelor or bachelorette weekend, the shower, the rehearsal dinner and the honeymoon), add your wedding date and your people, and it builds your wedding year in order, with every booking and every vendor. Send it to the concierge with one tap, and a real person replies, usually within the hour.
Not a member yet? Join the Sovereign Circle free through December 31, 2026, lock in the founding rate, and open the planner today.
Who we would call
Photography: Circle Bar Co..
Day-of coordination and rentals: Gent's Rents & Events in Fort Jones.
Getting ready: Citrine Lounge Spa for facials, lashes, waxing and pedicures.
Flowers: The Flowers Nest.
Sweets: Little Whisk Baking Co., by custom order.
Gifts by local artists: Marble Rim Gallery.
Dinner out: Denny Bar Co..
Venues for a bigger celebration: Lonesome Longhorn in Quartz Valley and Dowling Ranch.
Everything else: text the concierge at 530 572 1122 or write to Concierge@blossomsanctuary.com.
Common questions
Can we have a small wedding ceremony at Blossom Sanctuary?
Yes. Small ceremonies, toasts and celebrations are welcome. If more than 14 people will be on the property at one time, tell us ahead so we can help with the proper permits.
How many people can stay for a bachelor or bachelorette weekend?
Up to six for a celebration weekend, using the main bedroom, the second bedroom, the loft and the couch.
How can we save on wedding travel in 2027?
Join the Sovereign Circle free before December 31, 2026 to lock in the founding member rate, then book the weekends you need. Members also get a free night on their second reservation of two nights or more, and stays booked six weeks ahead can be paid in four parts.
Is Blossom Sanctuary good for a honeymoon?
It is a private house with a California King under vaulted ceilings, a walled garden and a wood stove, minutes from facials, massage and a sauna in Etna. Nobody is on the other side of the wall.
Who is a good wedding photographer near Etna and Scott Valley?
Della of Circle Bar Co., a Northern California photographer known for candid, timeless wedding photos. Weddings start at $3,900, and 2027 dates from May through October are booking now.
Who does day-of wedding coordination near Etna?
Gent's Rents & Events in Fort Jones offers day-of coordination from $1,500, plus heirloom rentals like arches, a champagne wall, a white bar and benches.
Where can we elope near Etna, California?
Taylor Lake, mid-June through October, and Etna Summit when the road is clear. Groups under 75 need no Forest Service permit. See our elopement guide.
