Visitor Etiquette

22420 Old Santa Cruz Highway, Los Gatos, CA 95033

Please use our directions rather than your phone. Mapping apps often route drivers through private neighborhoods and narrow residential roads that are not suited to event traffic and that disturb our neighbors. Cell service also drops before you arrive, so take a screenshot before you leave and allow more time than the map suggests.

Please do not arrive early. Our access road remains open for vendor deliveries until shortly before guests are welcomed, and the couple may still be taking photographs. Please arrive at the time shown on your invitation. There is a 30 minute arrival period before the event begins.

Our main lot accommodates 75 guest vehicles and is approximately a five minute walk from the Barn. Please carpool when possible, and if your hosts have arranged shuttles, we encourage you to use them.

Rideshare generally works for arrival but is unreliable for departure. Drivers are often reluctant to make the trip up the mountain at night, and cell service on the property is limited.

If you should not drive, please don’t. Your vehicle may remain at Nestldown overnight at no charge. Let the site manager in the parking lot know before you leave and collect your vehicle by 10:00 a.m. the following morning.

Please do not open or consume alcohol in the parking lot. Please do not bring your own alcohol.

Much of Nestldown is gravel, lawn, and gentle slopes, so flats or low heels are much more comfortable than stilettos. Shoes must remain on at all times, including inside the Barn. Please also be aware that golf carts are reserved for guests with mobility needs or ADA requirements, rather than for guests based on their choice of attire.

Bring a layer. Even on our warmest days, temperatures beneath the redwoods can become quite cool after sunset.

Children are very welcome here, and this is a property full of things worth exploring. We ask that a parent or guardian closely accompany children under 13 at all times, both for their safety and for the care of our gardens.

We do not provide childcare, and the property includes ponds, stairs, uneven terrain, and unlit paths. Please keep children on the paths and do not allow them to pick the flowers.

All alcohol is served by the licensed catering or bar staff hired by your hosts. Please do not bring your own alcohol, including flasks or pocket bottles, or remove bottles from the bar. Your hosts may be charged for violations of California alcohol laws.

The bar does not serve shots, neat pours, or drinks on the rocks. This is intentional and helps ensure everyone gets down the mountain safely. Alcohol service ends 30 minutes before the last dance, without an announcement.

Please empty drinks and ice into a bin or hand them to catering staff rather than pouring them into the gardens.

Smoking is permitted only in the designated area next to the main restroom building. This includes cigarettes, cigars, cannabis, vapes, and e-cigarettes. Everywhere else on the property, including the parking lot, is non-smoking.

Nestldown is a redwood property in a high fire-risk area, so we take this rule very seriously and your hosts may be charged for violations.

If you plan to use cannabis, please make sure someone else is driving.

Illegal activity and illegal substances are not permitted anywhere on the property. Guests reasonably suspected of possessing illegal substances or being involved in illegal activity may be asked to leave.

Such behavior may also disrupt or impact the event at the expense of your hosts and other guests.

Service animals are always welcome. Other pets are not permitted due to our resident animals and local wildlife. In some cases, the couple may bring their own animal by prior arrangement.

Please do not leave an animal in your vehicle or park along Old Santa Cruz Highway with an animal inside, regardless of the weather or your vehicle’s climate controls.

If you arrive with a pet, you will need to make arrangements off site before returning to the event. The couple is aware of this policy, and their designated point person will be notified.

Everything here is planted, tended, and replaced by hand. Please stay on the paths and out of the garden beds. You are welcome on the Main Lawn and in Foxglove Meadow. The no-mow grass along the train tracks is delicate, so please walk around it.

Please smell and admire the flowers and fruit rather than picking them, so they are still here for the next people to enjoy.

Please do not climb sculptures, structures, or trees. Our golf carts, train, and London taxi are operated only by our team.

Once it is dark, the unlit areas of the property close for safety. This includes the Chapel, Foxglove Meadow, Apple Knoll, and Fantasy Garden. Please remain in the lit areas after twilight.

If you need a quiet reprieve from the event, you are welcome to enjoy the swings and benches around the birch trees, koi pond, and fire pit.

Please take all the photographs and videos you like.

Drones are the exception and are prohibited anywhere on the property at all times. This protects our guests, horses, and wildlife, including the bald eagle that visits us.

You may also see photographers working for Nestldown during the event. If you would rather not appear in Nestldown photography, please email request@nestldown.com and let the couple and their photographer know as well.

The people who work here have chosen careers dedicated to making events and this property wonderful. Please treat them as people, with families and lives beyond your event, and with the same kindness and respect you would expect for yourself.

Not everyone working the event is associated with Nestldown. If you feel you are not being treated with respect, please find someone from the Nestldown team and we will do our best to assist.

Aggressive, physical, abusive, or disrespectful behavior toward our team is not acceptable and may result in a significant charge to your hosts or being asked to leave. Our team is also empowered to step away from any interaction that becomes uncomfortable or disrespectful. We will never ask the people who work here to remain in an environment where they are being treated without kindness or respect.

All guests leave by 10:00 p.m. Last dances are at 9:35 p.m., followed by a grand exit, and every guest is off the property by 10:00 p.m. If the host has arranged shuttles, they usually arrive 15-20 minutes before the last dance to begin loading.

When the last dance ends, please make your way to your car or shuttle. Our team will help guide you!