Things you should know about our Wedding Weekend:
We have chosen to take an entire weekend to celebrate our wedding because we feel that it is important to slow down and relax in order to fully enjoy our time together as a community. The location we have selected is beautiful, serene, rustic and slightly remote.
While the “traditional” wedding activities—including the ceremony and reception—will be held on Saturday, September 17th from about 2:30pm-9pm, we welcome all of our guests to spend as much time as possible with us on our special weekend. We have secured our wedding location for our exclusive use from Friday morning through Sunday afternoon. Due to on-site parking restrictions, we will need to ask that all guests arrive in coordination with our shuttle schedule (more on this below).
For those guests who can join us for the entire weekend, we will host a dinner on Friday night between 5:30-8:00pm. We will also serve a light brunch and snacks throughout the day on Saturday and of course a delicious, seasonal meal after our wedding ceremony.
Wedding Location & Directions:
Our wedding will take place at the Rancho Cicada Retreat Center. Rancho Cicada is a secluded riverside retreat center located just outside of Plymouth, CA.
To reach Rancho Cicada from the Bay Area, take the 80 east to Sacramento. Merge onto Highway 50 East towards Placerville/South Lake Tahoe. Exit on Bradshaw Road and make a right onto Bradshaw. Go 2.4 miles on Bradshaw, making a left turn onto Jackson Road/Highway 16. Follow Jackson Road/Highway 16 east about 40 miles to Highway 49; go north on Highway 49 about 2 miles to the town of Plymouth.
If you are coming from somewhere other than the Bay Area, choose your favorite route to Sacramento and follow the directions above starting with the merge onto Highway 50.
Once you have entered the town of Plymouth, look for E-16/Shenandoah Road. Make a right turn onto E-16/Shenandoah Road and keep to the left. After ~3.7 miles, turn left onto Bell Road. Follow Bell Road 2.5 miles through vineyards. Eventually you will reach Story Winery; you may be parking here and taking a shuttle down to Rancho Cicada (see below).
To reach Rancho Cicada in your vehicle, continue on Bell Road past Story Winery. Bell Road becomes a gravel road. Continue on gravel for 1 mile, and turn down the Rancho Cicada drive on the right at 10001 Bell Road. Follow signs to guest parking.
In our experience, it takes about 2-2½ hours to reach Rancho Cicada from the greater Bay Area.
Please note that the traffic situation on the 80 East between Oakland and Sacramento can be quite nasty on Friday afternoon. Therefore if you do plan to come up on Friday—either to stay the night at Rancho Cicada or in the town of Plymouth—we suggest that you aim to arrive early in the afternoon or later on in the evening. Essentially, you DO NOT want to be on the 80 East between the times of 3pm-6pm. Trust us! Once you are outside Sacramento on Highway 16, the traffic eases up considerably.
Weekend Accommodations:
Rancho Cicada has a limited number of on-site overnight accommodations. These consist of tent cabins on a wooden platform with a bed (or two) inside. Tent cabins will be assigned to individuals that we know wish to spend the entire weekend at Rancho Cicada.
For our parents, other family members, and extended community, we have reserved a block of rooms at the Shenandoah Inn in the nearby town of Plymouth. The negotiated rate is ~$90/night for a standard double and ~$100/night for a deluxe double. Please contact the Inn directly at 209-245-3888 to make arrangements. Be sure to mention that you are part of the Greenfield-Cleland wedding to receive the discounted rate.
Shenandoah Inn
17674 Village Drive (off Highway 49)
Plymouth, CA 95669
If you prefer to stay in a B&B, there are several in the area. Visit www.amadorinns.com for a comprehensive list of B&B's in the hills surrounding Plymouth.
We hope that our guests will consider reserving a room for both Friday and Saturday nights, so that we may best enjoy your company. Reserving a room for Saturday night is strongly encouraged so that no one will be on the road after our Saturday evening festivities.
Arriving at Rancho Cicada:
Because parking is limited at Rancho Cicada, we will be operating a shuttle on the day of the wedding. Guests who are not lodging at Rancho Cicada will park their cars at Story Winery, which is about 2 miles away from the wedding site. The shuttles will be 15 person passenger vans. It is imperative that guests time their arrival at Story Winery with our shuttle schedule.
• Friday shuttle times will be determined based on the number of people who will be coming on Friday and their anticipated arrival time. We will contact everyone who notifies us that they will arrive on Friday in order to arrange pick-ups, if need be.
• The Saturday shuttle will collect our guests from the Story Winery at 10:00am, 11:00am, Noon, 1:00pm & 2:00pm. If for some reason you make it to the winery after 2:00pm and miss the shuttle, you may drive your vehicle down to Rancho Cicada and park it on the road, essentially blocking the parking lot. However, PLEASE try to make one of the appointed shuttle times. NOTE: Cell phones do not work at Rancho Cicada!
Rancho Cicada:
Please take a moment to visit the Rancho Cicada website at www.ranchocicadaretreat.com for more information about the wedding location and items you may want to bring for the weekend. Basically, we're camping out here! Don't forget to bring your bedding, musical instruments, sunscreen, a towel for the hot tub, and something warm for the evening chill.
If you have any questions, or want to volunteer to help us in a few areas where we'll need help, contact us at shari_and_jeff@yahoo.com
We can't wait to share this experience with you!!!
-Jeff and Shari
