Where is Calamigos Ranch Located?
327 Latigo Canyon Road Malibu, CA 90265
(818) 889-6280
Calamigos Ranch in Malibu // Best venue for a whimsical fairytale wedding
Calamigos Ranch in Malibu is a staple venue for the Los Angeles area. Tucked away in Malibu’s Agoura Hills, it hosts 4 wedding locations all with unique features. Calamigos Ranch is set on 130 acres of land and it has wide open fields as well as intimate treetop spaces. Sun and Sparrow has been a Calamigos Ranch Wedding Photographer for over ten years and we would love to bring our expertise to photographing your wedding!
The best part about this amazing venue is that its four unique spaces sit far apart from one another and you feel as if your wedding is the only wedding on the property. Calamigos Ranch not only has four stunning venues but also hosts guests at their beautiful guest ranch, tucked away in the Oak Tree groves.
Table Of Contents
Ellie Fuqua
Luxury Photographer, Fairytale Storyteller
Hi, I'm Ellie, a dreamer, and lover of romantic moments and unrelenting connections.
In my 15 years of photographing weddings, my interest in photography has grown from simply making pretty pictures -to creating the most wonderful and powerful moments for kind and loving people, all the while capturing those permanent memories.
It is a dream come true to create awe-inspiring imagery to match your unforgettable moments and I hope that by creating your wedding imagery together, we can make your wedding dreams come true too.
In my 15 years of photographing weddings, my interest in photography has grown from simply making pretty pictures -to creating the most wonderful and powerful moments for kind and loving people, all the while capturing those permanent memories.
It is a dream come true to create awe-inspiring imagery to match your unforgettable moments and I hope that by creating your wedding imagery together, we can make your wedding dreams come true too.
The Oak Room
We love the elegant beauty of the Oak Room. This space has a fairytale waterfall, with a huge window design covering the reception space, full of magical sparkle. There are ivy-lined walls and walkways, secret paths that feel like you are going to a hidden garden, and a magical waterfall with chandeliers to be married under. The sun also sings through the old oak trees at golden hour. Calamigos is one of the most magical places on earth!
A Magical Oak Forest
As you walk into the vicinity of the Oak room you encounter an oak forest where light flows through the trees like fairy dust and causes you to breathe in deeply.
The space is magical and gives the impression that spring has arrived regardless of what season is happening on the outside. The venue is full of life and warmth as the forest welcomes you with hanging chandeliers and a waterfall as if you were walking into an elegant estate.
Featuring Multiple Waterfalls
One waterfall is the focal point of the ceremony, hugging the background of your guests' view and giving you and your wedding party a magical backdrop.
The other waterfall is on the pathway through the oak forest. You can hear it on the path before you get to it. The sound is comforting and makes you pause and puts you in the moment.
Picture your guests feeling calm and comfortable as you get married. No one wants to worry about how everyone is feeling on their wedding day but a lot of people do. At the Oak Room, you can put your worries aside as the waterfall comforts and calms the space and your guests.
One of the Largest Ceremony Arches
Any Calamigos Ranch Oak Room Wedding Photographer will tell you that the arch in the Oak Room's ceremony space is one of its key features.
The arch goes from one side of the deck to the other. It frames an entire waterfall behind it, creating a whimsical feeling. It is covered in climbing branches and looks beautiful on its own, yet it also provides florists with a beautiful canvas to work with. I often see florists fill the branches with their designs.
We can't help but take pictures of the bride and groom near the arch, especially when there is cascading greenery. The arch is one of the more fairytale spaces in the venue!
And A Luxurious Reception Space
The Oak Room reception space has a huge glass wall with a large circle and crisscrossed wooden beams. The Ceiling is incredibly tall and has draped fabric decorating it. The window makes the space feel grandiose and overlooks the mountains.
The opposite side features lower ceilings with chandeliers and a beautiful ornate fireplace. The fireplace makes the reception feel cozy and I always hear guests remarking about how wonderful it feels to be there.
The Oak room is the perfect combination of Grandiose and cozy to make your Fairytale wedding day wonderful for you and your guests
Our Featured Calamigos Ranch Oak Room Weddings
A Personal Note
The magical oak forest is one of my favorite spots to use because the oak trees create an arch over the space. I like to put the couple in it to create a beautiful backdrop and frame around them that brings the eye into their emotional connection. I like to add whimsey in this space by using the plants as a foreground to create a hidden garden feeling. The veil toss always works beautifully in this space because it gives it that feeling of flutter in a space that is also fluttering.
The Redwood Room
If you are dreaming about a fairytale garden wedding that is tucked away in a dream forest, then the Redwood Room at Calamigos is right for you! At The Redwood Room, there are stone pathways and tall trees, hidden waterfalls that soothe your heart as you walk through. We often come to Calamigos and love to just walk through this space because of how beautiful the light hits the trees during the day.
A Redwood Forest With A Cobblestone Pathway
As soon as you leave the parking lot you come across a large wall with multiple waterfalls with a large archway to walk through. Once you cross through the archway you follow a cobblestone path that leads you through a redwood forest and over a bridge with a flowing stream. In my expert opinion, The redwood space is the most whimsical location that the Redwood room offers. The area is tucked away and intimate, offering lots of opportunities for special moments, photographs, and reflection.
A Wrought Iron Chandelier Arch
This Wrought Iron arch is an iconic Redwood Room feature. it is covered in ivy and twinkling lights and is located right next to the lake. That means that after you take your beautiful chandelier pictures you get to spend time next to the lake, which makes for an incredibly whimsical moment.
It is the perfect place for bridal party portraits or a few romantic moments.
A Magical Garden-Inspired Ceremony Space
A large grassy area that looks up onto a stone-covered planter wall with a large four-post arbor. Behind it is a trickling waterfall featuring evergreen trees.
With an upscale Classic Reception Space
The reception space at the Redwood room is upscale classic with luxurious floor-to-ceiling molding on the walls and a pitched ceiling. There are two prominent features of the space.
One feature is a stone fireplace in the middle of the room, visible from the entryway. The other feature is that one of the walls of the room is wall-to-wall glass looking out through a waterfall that falls from the roof. On the right side, there are floor-to-ceiling windows with a view into a forest with twinkle lights.
Our Featured Calamigos Ranch Redwood Room Weddings
A Personal Note
The Redwood room gives so many different opportunities for photo opportunities. There is a lower space for your cocktail hour, a giant oak tree, and a wrought Iron fence with climbing ivy all over it. If you are considering having a wedding at the Redwood room, you must know that we will never be short on photo locations!
The Birchwood Room
One of Calamigos’ Ranch’s smallest venues is The Birchwood Room. Don’t be fooled by the word small, however! The size of this space is overshadowed by its beauty and charm. The venue is surrounded by waterfalls and covered in beautiful ivy. There is also access to a beautiful field that catches the afternoon light gloriously.
A Whimsical Carousel
This carousel is off to the side of the venue, not in the event space. It is nice because you can sneak off and take pictures there.
The carousel is vintage-inspired and there are beautiful characters on it. The horses are painted in a way that feels like they are from the early 20th century, featuring primary colors and golden accents, and there are other characters as part of the display as well.
This space is an iconic part of lots of Birchwood room weddings. Brides and grooms often enjoy spending a moment at the Carousel together and the photos often end up feeling youthful and reminding me of young love
A Gorgeous Pathway with an arch covered in Ivy & Twinkle Lights
This is probably one of the most picturesque spaces at Calamigos Ranch. It's exciting because it is the path that leads you directly into the venue. I love that it starts your guests day with magic.
The Pathway creates a gentle and welcoming mood and provides a beautiful space for taking pictures.
A Cozy and Intimate Ceremony Space
The ceremony space at the Birchwood room feels incredibly cozy. The bride walks out from the deck, goes down the stairs, and through two eucalyptus trees. It is such a grand entrance for a cozy space.
Once you are looking at the bride and groom standing at the ceremony you are looking at a forest of trees and a pond with a waterfall. It is so peaceful to hear the water as they exchange their vows!
A Fairytale Reception Space
The reception space at the Birchwood room is located outside on a beautiful deck. The deck has a large tree coming through it featuring hanging lights and chandeliers.
This reception space offers a beautiful and intimate time with your guests, often making for romantic and memorable receptions.
Our Featured Calamigos Ranch Birchwood Room Weddings
A Personal Note
The Birchwood room is the room at Calamigos that creates the most intimate and personal connections. It really feels warm and cozy, giving you a chance to connect with your guests in a way that the other rooms don't, just because you are so close together.
The Pavilion
The Pavillion is one of the largest venues at Calamigos Ranch. It boasts a beautifully covered reception and has access to a large field with the Ferris wheel. This is a beautiful space for those who love ever-green trees and wide open spaces, but a glamorous reception.
A Playful Ferris Wheel
The Ferris wheel is in a large open field in front of the Santa Monica mountains. This field allows you to have part of your event outside, giving your day a more playful and summer wedding feel.
The Wheel itself is a beautiful homage to youth, featuring primary colors and lots of whimsy. It makes for fun and playful wedding photos, especially for a bridal party. It also looks beautiful lit up at night
An Olive Tree Pathway With A Fountain
This pathway leads from the ceremony space into the reception space. It gives you and our guests a luxurious entry into your beautiful reception space. The pathway features olive trees and flowers in a lush and gentle garden setting.
I love to use this pathway for romantic portraits and for small bridal party portraits.
The Most Fairytale Ceremony Space at Calamigos
The grand brick staircases on either side of a giant oak tree, along with the oak tree itself make this ceremony space one of the most magical in Southern California. It feels like a stage, and the hill beneath where the bride and groom stand is covered in ivy. Meanwhile, the walkway is covered in brick, giving it a European vibe.
A Large Reception Space
The reception space has vaulted ceilings with drapery covered in twinkle lights and chandeliers throughout. It feels like a classic upscale event space, and because of its neutral palette, there is a lot of opportunity for your design vision to shine through!
A Personal Note
The Pavilion is the most grandiose fairytale of them all. It gives that larger than life feel.
We always felt Taken Care of
We know that you are reading this review because you fell in love with Sun and Sparrow's photos, so let us tell you about what it's like to work with Ellie.
As soon as we had our first call with Ellie, we knew that we had found our wedding photographer. She had such a calm demeanor and asked us questions that were insightful in planning our wedding. She was always so gracious with her time and was prompt with her responses.
She made us feel like we were the most beautiful couple during our shoots. She was also very gentle with her directions and we always felt comfortable with her. During our last call before the wedding, she helped with our wedding day schedule. We didn't have a planner, so her advice was incredibly helpful in tying the entire day together. We were also quite stressed during that last week, and although my partner and I were having some disagreements during our call, Ellie was incredibly patient with us, understood what our common goal was, and helped us reach it.
On the day of our wedding, she and her assistant were able to keep us all on schedule and provided a very calming environment. We didn't feel rushed at any point. She and her team also worked very well with our other vendors and so we were able to enjoy our day without any worries. Ellie is incredibly professional in the way she treats her clients. We always felt taken care of and our wedding photographs came out so beautiful.
We absolutely loved working with her and are so thankful for all her help throughout our wedding planning process.
- Nancy
As soon as we had our first call with Ellie, we knew that we had found our wedding photographer. She had such a calm demeanor and asked us questions that were insightful in planning our wedding. She was always so gracious with her time and was prompt with her responses.
She made us feel like we were the most beautiful couple during our shoots. She was also very gentle with her directions and we always felt comfortable with her. During our last call before the wedding, she helped with our wedding day schedule. We didn't have a planner, so her advice was incredibly helpful in tying the entire day together. We were also quite stressed during that last week, and although my partner and I were having some disagreements during our call, Ellie was incredibly patient with us, understood what our common goal was, and helped us reach it.
On the day of our wedding, she and her assistant were able to keep us all on schedule and provided a very calming environment. We didn't feel rushed at any point. She and her team also worked very well with our other vendors and so we were able to enjoy our day without any worries. Ellie is incredibly professional in the way she treats her clients. We always felt taken care of and our wedding photographs came out so beautiful.
We absolutely loved working with her and are so thankful for all her help throughout our wedding planning process.
- Nancy
Why You Should Hire Sun and Sparrow To Be Your Calamigos Ranch Wedding Photographer
Experience
I have been shooting weddings at Calamigos Ranch for over a decade and I will put that experience to work for you! When you hire Sun and Sparrow you get whimsical and dreamy photographs for your fairytale day and you also get an advocate who will make sure that your day is organized and planned for the best possible outcome.
Planning
I will work with you and your coordinator to plan your photo itinerary and the style of your wedding. I will make sure to come with all the items I need to style your getting-ready portraits and your flatlays. I will also make sure to learn what types of photographs are important to you and I will prioritize those photos and interactions!
Vision
In every space I go into, I find frames to accent the couple and the people that are going to be in the pictures. I often find a lot of variety in the spaces as well so that I have backup plans. I have a strong sense of what stylistic choices will create the right theme that matches your wedding day and I am proactive in styling pieces that will complement your vision and tell your story.
Storytelling
During our initial consultation, I learn who you are and what you like. Are you bubbly and giggly, deep and thoughtful, or perhaps calm and serene? I use that information to focus on those moods on your wedding day. I bring out the best parts of your personality and learn all of your details so I can make your vision come to life with colors and details throughout the wedding day. I also love to capture candid and real moments between your friends and family so that we can tell the real story of the day, and capture natural along with curated moments.
Expertise
I work at Calamigos a lot so I am very familiar with the space. I can always change the plan because I have photographed many different wedding days at the Oak Room. There is value in my expertise because I know how to modify my choices based on where the light is going to be and how many people will be in a space. The awesome thing about the oak room is that there are a lot of spaces that allow for a variety of looks. I know all of the best spaces and looks and exactly how to make your wedding photos tell your story.
Your Story - Your Love - Your Fairytale Wedding
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