Sesnon House

Our wedding here was absolutely amazing! We really can’t recommend Chrissy and this venue enough. The historical house is stunning in person and in pictures and all of our guests had a great time.
The price is extremely reasonable for what you are getting. When comparing this venue to others on par with beauty and accommodations, it’s as if you are getting the fantastic Cabrillo culinary catering and servers for free! And my, was the food fantastic. The chef has a range of set menu options and is willing to make small adjustments to make it perfect for you and your guests.
Chrissy was completely essential to making sure that our wedding went off without a hitch. She is very knowledgable about more aspects of weddings than we realized existed, and she is very forthcoming and honest. If you are willing to let her (which I highly suggest) she will work to save you expenses and make your wedding day experience utterly painless and stress-​free. If at any point during the wedding we noticed that our crowd-​sourced decorators had missed something, Chrissy and her assistant had it fixed immediately.
There are some special rules to follow because this is part of Cabrillo campus, but we really ended up being grateful. We didn’t want liquor at our wedding (to prevent people getting a little too happy) and we were also glad that there was no smoking on the premises. It was an easy and convenient excuse to tell family and guests that it was the venue’s rules and not our own.
At the end of our wedding we had an unfortunate scare with Grandma which included an ambulance visit. Despite the extra chaos, Chrissy took nothing out of our deposit.

My sister got married at the Sesnon House a couple of weeks ago and what a perfect day it was! Chrissy did an outstanding job from day one of coordinating every little detail and helped to ensure everything was executed perfectly the day of. The actual location is very quaint and ideal for an intimate ceremony and reception. The food and service was absolutely impeccable, all the guests were just raving about the food! So delicious! I cannot say enough amazing things about the location, servers, employees, and food! Thank you for making my sister’s very special day SO lovely!

I recently had my wedding at the Sesnon House. I have mixed reviews about this place. If I could turn back time I probably would not select the Sesnon House for my wedding.
The things that irked me:
— It was hard to get the wedding coordinator on the phone to ask questions and my voice mails were always answered with an email rather than a call back.
— The set up time and clean up time allotted are ridiculously stingy. For a 4K price tag we has 2 hours for set up and 1 hour for cleanup. It left no real time for friends and family to really make the space special. Rather everyone raced around with their heads cut off setting up and then getting ready for the wedding.
— I wanted to have a loungy room with dim lights and candles for people to relax while the dancing was going on. I had to ask twice if candles could be lit, and lights dimmed through out the night. I asked if one of the doors could be closed so that the music wasn’t blaring into the room. The response was no due to fire safety (come on). So guests that wanted to retreat from the music had to go outside and stand all night. It was hard on my older guests who just ended up leaving early.
My suggestions to you IF you plan on renting here = hire a wedding coordinator to be there on the day of your wedding. She or he can then insure that all your tiny wants are met. If you are going to spend the enormous amount of money on a wedding why not get what you want!
The Goods:
–The food is great and the service is pretty outstanding. Jeremy and his culinary team have their stuff down!
–Its organized and you will encounter very little hiccups. The night seemed to have a nice flow about it.
— Chrissy is very present during the event and made sure we eat, drank and were merry.
I feel sad to have to write a review like this. I know that the staff at the Sesnon House work really hard.

I’d have to say this is the perfect place to get married. Sesnon house is a one stop shop for wedding venues. You do everything in one spot. Get married, eat and dance the day away. Catering is on site, servers are built into the college culinary program. Everyone was so professional and wonderful. The food is exquisite. So many compliments from our guests on the food. The house is a historical site, it’s so pretty you really don’t need to decorate it at all. Just decorate your sign-​in table and gift card table. Keep it simple.
A great perk to the SH, is you practically get a built in wedding coordinator… somewhat. Crissy! She helps you stay on track and layout your perfect wedding day. You also get to meet up with the chef to talk about the menu. I had to alter our menu just a tad because I’m a vegetarian, they were so kind to make my small changes. Thank You!!!
Beer and wine only. No kegs. We got creative and went all out with craft beer from a local SC brewery, Santa Cruz Ale Works. Another hit. The reason behind no kegs, is because this is a college and the loop hole is the students get practice pouring out of a glass as part of their curriculum.
You are allowed one hour prior to the wedding itself to decorate. That’s where it’s better to think less, because you really get 45 mins, unless you want to be decorating up to the wedding itself. Delegate friends and family to take on this responsibility. The bride will be upstairs getting dressed and taking pictures. We did a guest seating chart, rather than name cards at each plate. Again keep it simple. I got my flowers at Safeway in Soquel, saved a ton of money. They don’t deliver, have friends pick up the flowers if you decide to go that route.
This was one of the best days of my life, and I’m so happy that we decided to get married at the Sesnon House. Oh forgot, this is one of the best deals around including the site rental and food. I wouldn’t even blink an eye at how much we saved compared to other venues. We had about 110 guest, total was around $ 13k this is including everything: flowers, cupcakes, DJ, Site, food, beer, wine, decorations etc…, compared to most weddings over $ 30k

My wife and I were married at Sesnon House on 7÷11÷15 and we had a great experience! From the beginning, Chrissy was available to answer all of our questions and was very open with her recommendations and experiences for past events.
Our wedding was about 70 people and our entire event took place outside. It was a warm summer Aptos day and it was a little hot for the guests during our ceremony, in hindsight, some cheap fan’s would have solved that problem.
Cocktail hour was done on the terrace with appetizers served by the students. We took group pictures this time, and the terrace location allowed us easy access to family members to for pictures. While this was going on, other students moved the tables and chairs into place for dinner.
Dinner was AMAZING. I am going to be honest and say that we picked Sesnon based on the incredible reviews of the food and they were right. First off, everyone should order the Brie and Brioche. Talk about amazing-​ness! Every food option was great and we keep hearing about how good it was from our guests even now (a month after). While I was busy and wasn’t able to get seconds, I have multiple reports of people going back for more.
Our families aren’t really a dancing crowd so we just played music outside on rented speakers via spotify on an old phone while people talked and mingled. We also had brought some grass games (beanbag toss, ladder golf, boccie ball etc) and they were a hit for people to play after dinner.
Dessert was served inside. We didn’t have a cake, but instead many different smaller bite sized deserts. Mini cupcakes, small cookies, mini eclairs and mini tarts. We probably should have moved it outside, but we didn’t hear any complaints about people having to walk inside to get it.
Clean up was a breeze and we were out of there 15 minutes before or scheduled leave time.
We had a great time and would recommend this venue to everyone!

We had an incredible wedding at the Sesnon House in July of this year.
–Chrissy, the coordinator, is great. She is highly organized and kept track of everything. She was very open to making «our vision» work, but also gave helpful advice and suggestions when asked. She did a great job at the rehearsal dinner of giving instructions so everyone knew what to do the day of. Chrissy also kept everything running smoothly the day of, and it really allowed me and my (now) husband to sit back, relax, and enjoy it all.
–The space itself is beautiful. I loved how much style and charm the house already had. I didn’t feel like the indoors needed any additional decoration. There is a perfectly-​tuned grand piano available for use. And the outdoor space was wonderful, especially if you have a lot of kids! About 10−20% of our guests were kids, and they had a great time running around on the grass. It is just a really beautiful space.
–The food. OMG, the quality of the food and service is incredible considering what a deal you get. For anyone hesitant about working with students (the catering is done by Cabrillo College’s catering school), TRUST ME that they do an excellent job. We paid about half of what we would have paid per head at most other venues for the same amount and quality of food. It was a delicious meal, and they have a great variety of entrees/​sides to choose from. All the students working the event were really sweet and did a great job!
We received so many compliments about how beautiful the indoor and outdoor spaces were and how smoothly everything went. I don’t think you could find a better value anywhere else. I would highly recommend this venue for a wedding!

Our wedding was on March 28, 2015, and we were thrilled that it took place at the Sesnon House. We chose Sesnon primarily because in our initial meeting with venue coordinator Chrissy Hankes, we were extremely impressed by her supreme organizational skills, breadth of experience, and friendly, approachable manner. Chrissy had us at «Hello!» And she lived up to our great first impression; throughout our planning process, she provided solid support and excellent advice. And at our rehearsal and wedding, she orchestrated a smooth and easeful flow of events that made everything feel seamlessly graceful. We can’t thank her enough!
We also loved working with the head chef, Jeremy MacVeigh, who was responsive, thorough, and easy to work with at every step of the process. He and the catering students were diligent and pleasant in each interaction we had, and they created a delicious meal that all of our guests enjoyed.
We also appreciated the location; it allowed us to have the option of an indoor or outdoor event, depending on weather. We had a beautiful outdoor ceremony and then moved indoors for dining and dancing. Many of our guests commented on the lovely venue and we felt it was a perfect place for our magic day!
– Natascha & Zachiah

My husband and I were married at the Sesnon House in September and our experience with them was top notch every step of the way. During the planning process, Chrissy and Sue were always quick to respond to emails and very clear about everything. They were both a joy to work with and relieved all of my anxiety about the endless stream of minutiae that comes with planning a wedding. On the day of, Chrissy insured that everything ran smoothly and the student staff were smiling, friendly and always professional. The food was delicious, the venue is gorgeous and the price is great! Thank you so much, Sesnon House!

This is a great venue and location to have a wedding, unfortunately, the lady who runs the place has the capacity to bring adverse conditions on anyone’s special day.
At the wedding I attended as a guest, the bride and bridesmaids Sesnon house changing room was robbed during the ceremony. Rather than reacting in a professional manner, the lady who ran the place continued the event with zero hospitality and offered a truly unbelievable display of not knowing how to do her job. Her demeanor was off-​putting to the guests and she seemed to have zero shame in taking out some of her frustration at guests. This lady is so morose she should run a funeral home.
I’ve worked weddings and been a guest to numerous weddings all over the Bay Area. I believe it’s important to sound the warning bell on this place. Consider booking another place where they take pride in their work and actually know what they’re doing.

My friend got married at the Sesnon House on July 26, and it was not only a beautiful venue but also great food. The culinary students at Cabrillo prepared and served the food as their final, and they did a great job. The meat was tender and delicious, the bread was fresh, and everything else was near perfect. They also were all very kind and helpful!

I recently attended a friends wedding here and it was beautiful! The location was so naturally pretty there was not a need to decorate it. The food & drink was served by Cabrillos culinary staff and not only did they provide great service but the food was delicious! I would very much recommend this venue. The ceremony started a little late due to issues with the wedding party but the staff was kind enough to provide water.

just want to say THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH to all of the staff at the Sesnon House for making my May 3,2014 wedding go off so smoothly. I spent 3 months pulling out my hair trying to find a the best venue. Being the bride I wanted it all but was on a budget and needed to find something I would love. I figured I wanted a beach wedding but my grandfather who is 85 was giving me away and wasn’t having it. This venue was near the ocean however (1 mi away) so it worked. It has a beautiful indoor, outdoor combo with the ceremony and dinning outside (comfortable 72 degree weather for my day:)) buffet, cake cutting, and lots of dancing inside.
I will say after viewing some other sites that said they were all inclusive, or that you would think would be amazing for how my they charged, I wasn’t impressed one bit. I almost waited another year because I was tired of looking. One day I noticed out of 6 pages and over 400 venues I priced and narrowed down top 5 on each page Sesnon House was on all of them. I scheduled an appointment to meet with the house coordinator who I believe retired, but let me know that I would be in good hands if I chose the site. After walking through the front door, I knew it was the place. The home was built In the early 1900’s and you can tell by the design and architecture of the home. It was beautiful all by itself, so I knew it would be fine with minimal decoration.
I went back after the coordinator retired to find Chrissy Hanks as her replacement. You would think she had been working there for years. She let me know what to expect and when to expect it. Throughout the whole ordeal she was there and very professional, even when we were a handful to deal with. I remember being asked what was next and when I ask what was next she popped up out of nowhere and said, «We will do cake cutting in 5 minuets». I still don’t know where she was lol but she was there the whole time. I love how attentive she was throughout the day. She even took on the stress of dealing with one of our not so cooperative vendors. I will say if you get a chance to work with Chrissy Hanks, you will wish you could bring her home.
The catering which is done by the culinary students under the supervision of the Sue Slater who has years of experience was excellent. The Guest loved all the food. The staff showed a level of professionalism that everyone could appreciate.
All in all I will say I made an excellent choice in venue. I can guarantee that if you pick this site you and your guest will love it.

Sesnon House is a wonderful wedding venue! My husband and I were married here in April, and we had a great experience all the way through. Chrissy and Sue are knowledgable and detail-​oriented, making the planning and preparation easy for us.
Why We’re Glad We Chose Sesnon House:
1. Pricing — for a venue this lovely, you can’t beat it. While many venues will charge you for all sorts of «extras,» we found Sesnon House to be very upfront about all the costs. For the most part, the venue includes everything you’ll need for the celebration.
2. Lovely space — we loved being able to use the beautiful outdoor space for the ceremony and lunch, plus a gorgeous historic home for cocktail hour and dancing after lunch. It was so nice for us and our guests to be all in one place for the full celebration, and Sesnon House is a place you’ll enjoy being for a full day.
3. Ease of Planning — with the catering done by Cabrillo College’s culinary arts students, we knew we’d have a great meal. We didn’t have to worry about the caterer and venue working together — they do it all the time! It made the day stress-free…and the food was excellent.
4. Working with Chrissy — In our planning meeting, emails and phone calls, and the actual wedding day, Chrissy was a delight to work with. She will get back to you promptly, give you any advice you need (which we really appreciated), and proactively tell you details to consider to make the day go smoothly. We really enjoyed working with Chrissy. There’s always bound to be one or two things that go amiss on such a big day, and Chrissy was there to handle these minor things quickly and calmly. She also made sure we got to really enjoy our food, time with guests, and all the special moments of the day.
All in all, we are so happy we chose Sesnon House, and we’re incredibly grateful to the Unilocal community for helping us find it in the first place!

Beautiful space, the food was great. It’s also supporting the local culinary students :)

My wife and I got married here in June and it was a day we’ll never forget. From the student catering staff, to culinary director Sue Slater and wedding coordinator Chrissy Hankes, it was a pleasure to work with everyone associated with this beautiful venue.
The picturesque outside setting, beautiful house and delicious food make Sesnon a top notch place to get married. Chrissy and Sue were very helpful — and open to deviating from the «traditional» wedding day schedule — in making our big day a huge success.
We’d recommend everything about Sesnon and there is truly no other place we could’ve imagined getting married. It was a perfect day. This is a hugely underrated and «hidden gem» wedding venue in Aptos. Thank you Sesnon House staff!

Awesome to experience! Students prepare and cook. Come and try with an open mind and give support to your future chefs!

Wedding September 28. Sesnon house is beautiful. We had a wonderful wedding and Chrissy was awesome! Very flexible, affordable, professional and very helpful. Thank goodness for Chrissy!

My new wife and I were married here on 09÷14÷13. Let me just start by saying it was an awesome wedding and exactly as we pictured it. I highly recommend this venue and caterer for your wedding. We have had nothing but compliments from our family and friends who have all said that it was one of the best weddings they have ever been too. The site is very close to what the pictures on their website make it appear to be (A very big plus). I can’t tell you how many other venues we went to that looked great online with the pictures but turned out to look entirely different in person when we visited them. The site fee was $ 2,200 for seven hours of time (very reasonable for the Santa Cruz Area) and we decided to purchase an additional hour for ($ 500) in order to allow us more time for set up and clean up.
Please keep in mind that with this venue you are required to use the Cabrillo College Culinary Program as your caterer and rent all you dinner rentals must be through them. That being said the food from Sue and the students was amazing and very reasonable ($ 29 per person not including tax, tip, and rentals). We received many complements on the appetizers, dinner, and the professionalism of the service staff (students). The best part was you bring your own alcohol (wine, beer, champagne only) and there is no corkage fee. They have a bartender serve it to your guests as part of the catering cost. If you are looking for a one stop completely easy to use venue that is also beautiful and historic this is the place for you.
Just as the previous reviewer who got married in July stated there was an unexpected change in our site coordinator from Margitta to Krissy at the last minute. At first we were very apprehensive to find out as our big day was approaching fast but it turned out we had no need to worry. Krissy was extremely professional and helpful. She took the time to get to know us and what we wanted in our wedding and she made it happen. We even made a horrible mistake and accidentally RSVP’ed the week before the wedding with 89 guests on our final count when in reality we had 99 coming to the wedding. We figured out two days before the wedding that we had made a mistake and Krissy calmly made all the necessary arrangements, contacted Sue (Culinary Director) very last minute to make room for the additional ten guests. She may be new to the Sesnon House but she acts like she has been doing this job for many years.
She was also our day of coordinator and made sure everything went off without a hitch. At one point we were almost an hour ahead of schedule and she rearranged dinner and the rest of the evening on the fly and it went so smooth that our guests didn’t even notice the changes. I really can’t say enough good things about the experience we had with Krissy and the rest of the staff at our wedding. I highly recommend looking at this venue and considering if it is right for your wedding.

I have been to 8 weddings in the past year and I have to say by far this was the most well catered, organized and professional venue. The culinary program at Cabrillo is very impressive. My friends got married here and had her «perfect day» thanks to everyone at the sesnon house. I’ve only been here once for lunch and enjoyed that very much too, but as a wedding venue I am still in awe! Hat’s off to Sue Slatter, head of the department and her students! Well done:)

I recently got married here on July 27, 2013. What originally sold me on the venue was the price and the beauty of the venue. I was initially apprehensive about having my wedding catered by students but Sue, the head of their catering program assuaged my fears. She is a Paris trained chef with over 25 years of experience and that really showed in the quality of food and service on the day of our wedding/​The food was truly AMAZING! Many of our guests commented on how delicious the food was. The staff was also amazing, quick, courteous and professional.
Krissy, the venue coordinator was a key part of making my wedding day perfect and worry free. 2 weeks before our wedding we were notified that Margitta the coordinator we had been working with was leaving her position. Naturally I was very worried but I should not have been. Krissy handled everything wonderfully, so wonderfully that if I didn’t know better I would have assumed she had been doing the job for ten years. Overall, I had a great experience with the Sesnon House and their staff. I recommend it highly!