I honestly cannot even put into words how incredible this venue is, and how valuable the lead venue coordinator (Michael) is. From my initial email to get more information, to the day before, Michael was the most detailed, organized, charismatic, and professional person to work with. Let me just say this: if you are looking to have the perfect wedding and have things done well, book this place ASAP. Michael is so detail oriented and knows everything about how to have a perfect wedding. His recommendations for what to do and not to do are spot on (makes sense given that he has done over 2,000 weddings ... yep, you read that correctly!) I am a total type A, perfectionist, micro-manager, very hard to please person and even I was blown away by how perfect my wedding was! So please, I beg you, book this venue. In a perfect world, if I was super rich, I would PAY YOU to have your wedding here!

So, what makes it so special you may ask? Let's get into it.

1. Michael will take care of practically everything for you. So if you are an organized bride that wants a partner in crime that is equally as organized and invested in your wedding, Michael is your guy!

2. The venue itself is gorgeous! The ceremony space is beautiful and the reception space is tastefully decorated, with a cute foyer and a very spacious bar! The flow of the evening from outdoor ceremony, to cocktail hour, to indoor reception is flawless. And guess who ushers your guests to cocktail hour, points them to the seating chart, encourages them to sign the guestbook, leads them inside, etc ... yep, you guessed it. Michael!

3. THE. FOOD. Most of the reviews you read about Talega will most likely mention the food, and for a good reason. This is NOT your typical wedding food. Repeat. NOT your typical gross, soggy chicken with pasta, wedding food. My guests are still talking about the food, and I will for the rest of my life. TOP TIER. Even the presentation of the food on the plate is beautiful, and very aesthetically pleasing!

4. Vendors recommendations! One of the best things in my opinion was the recommendations I got from Michael about who to choose for things like DJ, Florist, Getaway Car, etc. Like I said earlier, Michael doesn't let you have a bad wedding so you best bet that his endorsement of these vendors goes a long way. And I can sit here today (2 weeks after my wedding) and say that every single person he recommended was incredible! So when I booked Talega I not only checked venue off of the list, but I checked off my florist, DJ, getaway car, and even the cake baker! Because guess what? Included with your price booking of Talega is a bakery in Dana Point. I was able to get a 2-tier wedding cake and around 200 mini desserts. The dessert table looked so good and was set up so tastefully (Michael set it up so of course it looked good)

5. Price and packages! For what you get from Talega the pricing is extremely reasonable and there are NO. HIDDEN. FEES. The price per person that you pay includes tax, service fee, and tip. This makes it so incredibly easy to know what you are getting yourself into financially. Just shoot Michael an email asking for more information and you will get the PDF that tells you everything that is included, which is a lot so you shouldn't have to spend much more when it comes to the venue.

I am running out of words in my review so I will leave it at this: stop the search, BOOK TALEGA! PLEASE! You will look back and thank yourself, I promise.

I could not recommend Talega and Michael more! The venue is gorgeous and such a great value. So nice to have food, beverage, cake and coordination covered all in one place. The true magic of the venue is really Michael Voorhees and his team (special shoutout to Mayra as well!). He makes everything so easy and seamless and does everything in his power to bring your vision to life. He stays the entire night and ensures all the details are delivered from start to finish. Other venue day of coordinators we considered said they would leave after dinner so his commitment is outstanding. His recommended vendors were also outstanding, so his knowledge and insight was invaluable. Thank you so much Michael and Talega for making our big day absolutely perfect and as stress free as possible!

Talega is a beautiful venue with lots to offer for the bride and groom. Views were gorgeous and Michael is the best! He and Myra helped me with my day to the point where I didn’t need to stress on anything. The entire staff were spectacular and gave my family great hospitality. The food is amazing and tasty. All of the Talega staff made our day even more special just by being caring and hands on. I would recommend this venue to anyone!