Tag Archives: Livermore

Summer Activities in Livermore

11 Summer Activities in Livermore

A popular wedding destination, Livermore offers many memorable experiences visitors can savor for a lifetime. Although the area is famous for its scenic countryside views and deliciously crafted flavors, the wine region also provides fun activities, perfect for unwinding during the summer.

This post will cover 11 summer activities in Livermore, such as outdoor adventures, special events, and cultural festivities you don’t want to miss on your summer trip to Livermore. So grab your notebook, and let’s dive into our list!

Summer Activities in Livermore

Outdoor Adventures 

Livermore is home to several nature areas, so if you’re a fellow adventurer, you’ll want to add the following sites to your itinerary. Start by hiking the beautiful trails at Del Valle Regional Park. While some trails, like Crest Blanca, are moderate at 2.0 miles, others may be more challenging. Be sure to research the difficulty level before attempting them yourself. We also recommend bringing water and sturdy walking shoes.

For the hotter days, consider kayaking at Lake Del Valle. It’s an excellent spot for beginning to intermediate kayakers with a low beach launch. Once you’ve enjoyed your time on the water, you can head over to Sycamore Grove Park for a picnic. You’ll enjoy the scenery and breathtaking wildflowers. These stunning blooms will make a perfect backdrop for your selfies!

If you’re looking for a laidback afternoon, you can also practice your swing at Las Positas Golf Course. The lush property is perfect for those looking to fly solo or golf with a group..  

Wine Tasting

While you’re in California’s oldest wine region, explore the flavors the Livermore area has to offer. Stop by Wente Vineyards Tasting Room, where you can sit back, sip a glass of wine, and admire the gorgeous landscape. It’s a lovely family-owned winery worth adding to your summer travel plans.

You can also visit the Concannon Vineyard Tasting Room. Whether you book their Terrace Reserve Seated Tasting with six small-lot wines or their Historical Library Tasting with exclusive wines from the estate, you’re in for a delightful treat. 

Cultural Activities

Do you love the arts? Say no more. Livermore Art Association Gallery has you covered. Get a glimpse of the local art scene through creative pieces like pressed flowers, glassware, and paintings. 

After the gallery, you can enjoy a performance at the Bankhead Theater. From jazz concerts to musicals to comedy acts, plenty of entertaining shows are available. Purchase tickets and invite a friend for an unforgettable experience.  

Those looking to escape the heat can grab popcorn and catch a movie at the Vine Cinema and Alehouse. They feature the latest films with showings of classics during the summer movie season. 

Events and Festivals

Have you ever gone to a rodeo before? If not, let Livermore Rodeo be your first. Taking place in early June, this summer tradition is the perfect gathering for family and friends. You’ll have a great time with themed activities like family night and the cowgirl luncheon. 

Like the rodeo, the Livermore Shakespeare Festival brings a passionate crowd. Theater fans can witness Shakespeare’s stories unfold under the stars at Darcie Kent Vineyards. There’s no better finale to a summer adventure than a live show!

If you’re still craving wine, the Livermore Valley Harvest Wine Celebration will satisfy your taste buds. This annual event showcases over 30 wineries, arts and crafts, and live music. Wine lovers will appreciate this one-of-a-kind tradition.   

Plan a Summer Vacation to Livermore.

Now that summertime is approaching, it’s time to plan a trip to Livermore and experience the exciting activities in the area. From outdoor excursions and wine tastings to cultural activities and festivals, there are so many fun things to do. And if you don’t get to everything on our list, we invite you to return for another adventure in Livermore!

4 Outdoor Adventures for Your Livermore Wedding

There is never a wrong time to get married in Livermore, California. The weather is gorgeous year-round, so beautiful wedding pictures are a guarantee! And if your guests are coming from out of town, there are plenty of outdoor opportunities to keep them (and you!) busy during their stay. 

We’ve rounded up a few of our favorite local gems for your loved ones to enjoy, whether they’re seeking an adrenaline-filled weekend or prefer a calmer stroll through nature.

Brushy Peak Reserve 

Brushy Peak Reserve 

Talk about the perfect escape! Brushy Peak Reserve is typically less crowded than some of the other nature attractions in the area Plus, it’s free to enter (bonus!). 

These sun-filled trails are accommodating to many different types of adventure. However, you won’t want to forget your sunscreen! Whether you’re bringing horses or dogs or your favorite running shoes and bicycle with you, there are plenty of options to welcome you to your next scenic adventure. 

East Bay Del Valle Regional Park District

outdoor adventures in Livermore

While more developed than Brushy Peak, East Bay Del Valle it comes with its perks! If you’re looking for a place to swim, sail, fish, kayak, or boat, this lakeside adventure awaits. 

Don’t know where you want to start? The visitor center can direct you to the right location for you and your loved ones. Be sure to bring some money with you; there will be a few fees or costs associated with things such as entrance, parking, or adventures out on the water, but rest assured it will be worth it!

Shadow Cliffs Regional Recreation Center

outdoor adventures

Shadow Cliffs has something for everyone! There are numerous trails to accommodate hikers of all experience levels. The world is your oyster, from beginner trails to trails ranging up to 118 feet in elevation! 

Want to cool off with a dip in the lake? Seasonal swimming is also available, along with a refreshment stand. Across 80 acres, there’s plenty of room for you and your guests to stretch out and explore!

Sycamore Grove Park 

outdoor adventures in livermore

As part of the Livermore Area Recreation and Parks Department, park rangers give free guided walks throughout the 847-acre park. So whether you’re looking for paved or dirt paths to enjoy, you have plenty of options for your hiking, biking, walking, or riding needs. There is a small parking fee, but feel free to leave your wallet in the car. You won’t need it after that!

No matter where you and your guests choose, you will not be disappointed! Livermore, California is a wonderful destination to get away and celebrate your loved ones thanks to its beauty and charm. 

So whether you and your guests are spending time adventuring pre or post-wedding, or you’re enjoying your big day in the beautiful outdoors, your guests will thank you for the beautiful time they enjoyed celebrating you and your partner.

What Has Jinger Leonard-Norton of The Flower House Been Doing in Quarantine?

This is a part of our Creative Partner Spotlight: Quarantine Edition series, where we show you what our creative partners from all around the Bay Area have been up to during quarantine. Today, we’re checking in with Jinger Leonard-Norton of The Flower House

What has been your favorite part about quarantine? I have my children home with me! I would be pretty upset if I knew I could not take care of them. I have been having fun connecting to my daughter more than just business. I am also excited as I have wanted to remodel my back yard for 10 years and we made it a family project. We took out two trees, fixed the sprinklers in the lawn, and are building raised planter boxes to grow my own vegetables. I am not sure how it is going to go as I am not the best gardener!

What has been your least favorite part about quarantine? I struggle with the gym! That is really the only thing that is frustrating as I was working out so hard and dieting for my wedding… then I stopped. The weight is pouring on and feel horrible but mentally challenged about working out by myself, no music, etc… And I miss going out to dinner and alone time with my new husband Barry.

How have you been spending your time? I am feeling really blessed to have the time to work on my business. Updating the website, our brochure, organizing our photos, creating templates, resetting a lot of items for work. I have also participated in every educational webinar available. So thrilled about learning items to make me rethink a few things and reinvent and pivot my business. Remodeling the backyard, walking the dogs and cooking a million meals. I have also become a great bartender!

What are your favorite local restaurants to order take out from? We have 5 adults in the house, so I have been mainly cooking to keep costs down. We have splurged on Strings, Strizzies, Brunos, Anitas.

What have you been binge watching? All American, Tiger King, Love is Blind, and Disney Fairytale Weddings

Have you learned any new skills during quarantine? Michaela and I have discovered Tik Tok! I have always worried what people thought of me and this silly app has helped me realize that I want to have fun, create memories with my daughter, and show my clients and vendors I know how to laugh at myself and not take everything so seriously. I guess I am relaxing as I mature!

Have you celebrated a birthday or event during quarantine? How did you do it? My daughter’s fiancée Connor celebrated his birthday on April 11, we surprised him with a Flemings steak dinner, baked a cake and at 8 pm a surprised Zoom call with all of his family and friends to sing Happy Birthday and finished off with a fire pit and cocktails. He was extremely emotional, and said it was one of the birthdays ever!

What are you looking forward to most when all of this is over? I really love my job, creating beautiful things, pushing my limits and having work for my employees that I love so much. Going out to dinner and our Sunday Brunches, wine tasing, lunch with my girlfriends, I love taking care of me, so hair and nails are the first things that will happen.

Is there anything else you’d like to add? I am appreciative of the opportunity to rest, reset and prioritize my life. As I am dying to get back to work, I know I will not go back to the same way as I lived it so for that I say Thank You.

New Blog Series Coming Soon!

We’re so excited to be launching a new series on the blog- Creative Partner Spotlight: Quarantine Edition! We will be sharing what some of our favorite creative partners have been up to during quarantine, as well as some tips, tricks, and ideas for how to survive from our very own FSES crew during this unprecedented pandemic. Stay tuned for the first post in the series to go live later this week- it’s going to be a fun one!

Brides Blogging- The Venue Hunt

Today’s blog post in our Brides Blogging series comes from Courtney N., who is getting married at Casa Real this November.  Courtney is working with us for Event Lighting, and we are so excited to help turn her vision into a reality! Here she is with her fiancé Travis…aren’t they adorable?!

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“In today’s world of wedding planning, there seems to be one large task that trumps all others on the stress-inducing list: the venue hunt.  What should be an enjoyable and exciting scavenger hunt to find that perfect “I Do” spot can rapidly turn into a wild obstacle course full of unavailable dates, small guest count maximums and more. After watching multiple other brides try to navigate through this tricky situation, I was absolutely determined to make the venue hunt the easiest part of my planning process.  While we may have done things a bit differently, I assure you – it WORKED!  We booked our first choice venue on our first choice date, with little to no stress at all!

My absolute, #1 piece of advice I can give to any bride about the venue hunt – START EARLY.  I’m not talking about starting right when you get engaged; I mean starting even BEFORE you are engaged.  I know, it seems really strange, and it’s definitely a weird feeling to be looking at venues and talking to coordinators before that ring is even on your finger…but it’s well worth it.  My fiancé Travis and I knew we were headed down the marriage path long before we were engaged, so we started talking about where we imagined our perfect I Dos.  The first thing we did was we narrowed down the basics:  indoor/outdoor?  Church?  Winery? Backyard? And, most importantly: when?  We settled on a 2013 Fall wedding at a winery, and that’s when we started researching and looking at websites for recommended venues- The Knot or Here Comes The Guide are great resources.

properties-landing-casa-real

We actually found our venue (Casa Real at Ruby Hill Winery) because two of our best friends got married there, and even though they got married a YEAR before we even got engaged, we decided to go tour the venue and talk with the coordinators about dates.  We were shocked with what we found – even though we toured in Summer of 2012, many of the Fall Saturdays of 2013 were BOOKED. A year and half in advance!  Luckily, the date we wanted was still available and we didn’t hesitate – we booked BEFORE we were engaged!  We didn’t tell anyone until we were officially engaged (aside from our parents) and from that point on, it was smooth sailing.  It even allowed us to enjoy our engagement so much more (happened about a month and a half later) because I wasn’t worried about jumping into the planning process right away.  Even though we have a year-long engagement, most of the other dates at the venue booked up by the time we were engaged.  This is not specific to Casa Real – many venues (in the Bay Area especially) book up over a year in advance, so starting early is especially important if you’re planning a shorter engagement. Here’s the best part: regardless of if you’re soon-to-be engaged, in a relationship, or even single – it’s never too early to keep your eyes open for places you envision your perfect wedding.  Just having a few ideas or making a mental note of a few places will save yourself a lot of hassle when that moment finally comes around.

We’re about 8 months out from our wedding date now, and we’ve got all the big ticket items checked off the list thanks to our early venue find!  There’s no better feeling that knowing that not only are you marrying the man of your dreams, but it’s all happening at your dream venue, too.”

 

Bride’s Choice Awards!

 

{Livermore,CA} – February 7, 2012 – WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding Marketplace, is excited to announce Fantasy Sound Event Services has been selected to receive the prestigious WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2012 for DJ!

The esteemed annual awards program recognizes the top local wedding vendors from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness and professionalism within the wedding industry. While many industry awards are selected by the organization, Fantasy Sound Event Services was selected based on its stellar reviews from past newlywed clients.
Fantasy Sound Event Services is recognized as part of the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire local vendor community, comprised of over 200,000 wedding professionals throughout the United States and Canada. The Bride’s Choice Award recognizes  the best local wedding vendors across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, based on their overall professional achievements throughout the past year.
“WeddingWire is thrilled to honor the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community,” said Timothy Chi, CEO, WeddingWire. “Since the launch of the Bride’s Choice Awards™ program four years ago, thousands of outstanding wedding professionals have been recognized by the bridal community for their supreme service and dedication to the wedding industry. It is with great pleasure that we congratulate Fantasy Sound Event Services for their continued professionalism and commitment to enriching the wedding planning experience for engaged couples.”
We are happy to announce that Fantasy Sound Event Services is one of the very best DJs within the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding planning sites WeddingWire, Project Wedding, Brides.com, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Weddingbee. We would like to thank our past clients for taking the time to review our business on WeddingWire. Thanks to their positive feedback we were able  to receive the WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ for 2012.
For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today at http://www.weddingwire.com/biz/fantasy-sound-event-services-livermore/2b4f47c1c347be17.html.
To learn more about the Bride’s Choice Awards™, please visit www.WeddingWire.com.
About WeddingWire, Inc.WeddingWire™, the nation’s leading marketplace serving the $70 billion wedding industry, is the only online wedding planning resource designed to empower both engaged couples and wedding professionals. For engaged couples, WeddingWire offers the ability to search, compare and book over 200,000 reviewed wedding vendors, from wedding venues to wedding photographers. WeddingWire also offers a comprehensive suite of online planning tools for weddings, including wedding websites and wedding checklists, all at no charge. For wedding professionals, WeddingWire is the only all-in-one marketing platform for businesses online and on-the-go. WeddingWire offers one simple solution to build a professional network, improve search visibility, manage social media and reach mobile consumers. Businesses that advertise with WeddingWire appear on WeddingWire.com, ProjectWedding.com and other leading sites, including MarthaStewartWeddings.com (NYSE: MSO), Brides.com and Weddingbee.com.

Livermore Valley Wine Growers Auction

 

This past Saturday, May 7th, we had the opportunity and privilege to provide the Sound, Event Lighting, Drapery, and DJ the 17th Annual Livermore Valley Wine Auction! One of our favorite wineries, Wente, played a huge role in this year’s event, by graciously donating their Barrel Room as the event’s venue. All the funds raised in the auction went to benefit the Children’s Skin Disease Foundation, Open Heart Kitchen, and the ValleyCare Foundation Mobile Health Unit. Click here to read more about this wonderful annual event!

 

 

Thank you to the Livermore Wine Growers Association for having us be a part of this amazing and chartitable event.

We had a great time!

Keller/Stunkel Wedding at Concannon Vineyards

Christie Keller and David Stunkel were married on Labor Day Weekend, September 4, 2010. Their ceremony and cocktail hour took place at Concannon Vineyard in Livermore, CA. It was a gorgeous September day and the ceremony was quite beautiful. The cocktail hour took place under a picturesque arbor located right next to the Vineyard. Casey MackKenzie, of Casey MacKenzie Photography, captured some truly amazing images throughout the night. Ryan Etchyson of REMedia was the videographer for this event and was able to capture some truly unforgettable moments from the evening.

Christie and David held their reception at the home of the Mother of the Bride, whose breathtaking property was just a few miles from Concannon Vineyards. Cabana Dave’s catered the delicious cocktail hour and reception dinner. There were many personal touches to the wedding; including a dessert bar that was inside the pool house and featured exquisite desserts  by SweetieCups SF. The specialty cake for Christie and David was from Lori Ammerman of Especially Created Cakes. The long King’s table was adorned with Flowers by Kelly Cook of Heaven Scent Florals. The Coordination of the wedding was done by Jill Sandy of Collective Talents and she was truly a pleasure to work with.

Congratulations Christie and David. It was truly a pleasure to a part of your wedding!

The Wedding of Christoph and Lanelle at Rios Lovell Winery in Livermore, California

I had the pleasure of DJing Christoph and Lanelle’s wedding on June 6, 2009 at Rios Lovell Winery in Livermore, California. The ceremony took place at the gazebo overlooking the vineyard in full bloom; it looked amazing. Karl Eckel, from Delford West Flowers, did the flowers for the wedding. The flowers he placed around the gazebo were stunning. He also added flowers to the cake and turned the cake from ordinary to astonishing. I was able to work with Erica Ramos from Erica Foto in San Francisco, California. They were so much fun to work with. When it came time to do the bouquet and garter toss, all of the brides’ single friends said they didn’t want to do the bouquet toss. Lanelle wanted to throw the bouquet, so she decided not to have Christoph toss her garter.  Instead, she decided to throw the bouquet to the single guys.  Everyone had a smile on their face when I made the announcement and the guys all went for the bouquet. The only catch was that the guy who caught it had to give it to one of the single ladies. I want to wish Christoph and Lanelle the best of luck and hope they have a great time on their honeymoon on the Cook Islands.

Matthew Bennett