Nice places to get married somewhere in or around Seattle...

January 20, 2013 12:33 AM

Where are nice places to get married somewhere in or around Seattle? For the place, what is the general cost? If the specifics help provide a better answer, we're trying for a late-summer, weekend ceremony and reception. Probably 55-65 people.

We definitely welcome suggestions for unusual, classy places with beautiful views of the city and/or bay. We have already been doing some research on Smith Tower (Chinese Room) and have ruled out Lake Union Cafe and the Aquarium.

I have little idea what's involved with setting this stuff up, so if you have recommendations for (say, gluten-free-friendly) caterers and other folks who help make these things happen, that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for any advice.

posted by Blazecock Pileon to Society & Culture (18 answers total)

I attended a wedding and reception here. It was pretty spectacular.

The Stimson-Green Mansion is another great location. These folks are their rental agents.

They are both spendy and, from my experiences, worth every penny.
posted by Pudhoho at 1:10 AM on January 20, 2013

I don't know prices or caterers, but the Skansonia is a great, unusual and classy wedding venue on Lake Union with a fantastic view of the city. The Sorrento Hotel is also nice for weddings.

If you need a florist, Martha E. Harris in Madison Park is the very best.
posted by Balonious Assault at 1:15 AM on January 20, 2013

Maybe not "classy" enough, but you can't beat the ambiance, views, and price of the Daybreak Star Culture Center at Discovery Park. I was married there, and have attended weddings there -if the day is nice, there's no place finer,IMO.
posted by dbmcd at 8:40 AM on January 20, 2013

We got married at the lovely Antheia Ballroom in Snohomish, about 45 minutes from Seattle. We were happy with our caterers, but I don't know if they were gluten-free. We had the reception there, too.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:49 AM on January 20, 2013

Kiana Lodge is beautiful. I attended a corporate dinner there but I'm sure a wedding would be lovely. It is pricy, especially once you consider a cruise in from downtown.

I've also been to a wedding on the Skansonia and it was lovely as well.
posted by crazycanuck at 10:22 AM on January 20, 2013

Ray's Boathouse has their own private event facility in the next building over from the restaurant. My husband and I were married there a couple of years ago. There is a private deck on the water that can be enclosed/heated if the weather does not cooperate. The food was excellent, and it was no problem to tailor the menu for our vegan and/or gluten-free guests. Ray's event coordinator made our planning and organization very, very easy. Our guests remarked on how simultaneously elegant and comfortable the reception was.

I did quite a bit of comparison shopping among the different Seattle event venues and Ray's gave us the most bang for buck. I just pulled up the invoice ... we had about 70 guests, an open bar, appetizers/buffet, dance floor, decorations ... the total bill was a bit over $5000. That was a few thousand dollars cheaper than renting a similar venue and bringing in our own caterer.

Also, at the time we started planning Seattle Bridal Magazine (or whatever it is called) had an issue that had a master list of wedding venues in the back, with little indicators of cost and number of guests possible. They probably publish a similar issue annually. It was so much easier to go down a list of 200 venues and quickly eliminate facilities based on size/cost, rather than digging through each website a Google search turns up.
posted by stowaway at 11:27 AM on January 20, 2013

I've heard of someone who had their wedding and reception at Canlis. Beautiful view of Lake Union and they have specialty menus. Not sure about gluten-free, but they do have vegan and vegetarian.
posted by E3 at 11:35 AM on January 20, 2013

Consider the UW Center for Urban Horticulture (if you're planning for 2014 - it's likely that 2013 late summer weekends are all booked by now), the Mount Baker Community Club (no real flowers allowed there though), or the Fremont Abbey.
posted by halogen at 12:53 PM on January 20, 2013

Urban Light Studios is a funky art gallery in Greenwood that is an awesome place to have weddings. Mine was there in 2011. They have an active blog and Facebook page so you can see photos from lots of weddings. If you want an offbeat, non-traditional ceremony, this place is the best.
posted by matildaben at 1:05 PM on January 20, 2013

I had mine in the chapel of Pike Place Market. That was 13 years ago, so any data I know about it is out of date, but I remember it was not expensive. I think maybe 55-65 could work there, but then again, maybe you'd want a bigger place.
posted by ctmf at 1:50 PM on January 20, 2013

I got married 10 years ago at the Columbia Winery in Woodinville. They work with Schwartz Brothers Catering (and nobody else), who are big enough that they can accommodate virtually any dietary requirements anywhere. 10 years ago GF stuff wasn't on the radar, but they had zero trouble making sure there were vegetarian and vegan options. I loved them and wouldn't hesitate to recommend them, although they don't have a view.
posted by KathrynT at 3:00 PM on January 20, 2013

For your gluten-free wedding cake and other pastries, try d.floured. Best GF baking that I have ever tasted.
posted by valannc at 4:02 PM on January 20, 2013

A friend of mine was married on the steps of the Asian Art Museum and had the reception inside. It was really nice.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 4:42 PM on January 20, 2013

I was married at Robinswood House in Bellevue w/about 50 in attendance. It was great and we received many compliments on the choice. It's just... easy and charming and, well, I recommend it highly.
posted by bz at 5:27 PM on January 20, 2013

Seconding Ray's Boathouse. We had our rehearsal dinner there and it was great.
posted by kirkaracha at 5:38 PM on January 20, 2013

Friends got married at Camp Long, which was very nice.
posted by mai at 7:27 PM on January 20, 2013

If you want outdoors, consider booking part of a park. Carkeek, Discovery, Kinnear, and Magnolia all look pretty nice. (While I liked getting married in Meridian Park, it doesn't have a view. We did visit a number of parks to pick out which one to get married in, though.)
posted by Margalo Epps at 7:41 PM on January 20, 2013

A friend of mine was married on a farm on San Juan Island. The event had a crunchy vibe (he was wearing Birkenstocks for the ceremony and the reception featured an 8 piece xylophone band and locally sourced foods) and it was probably the most memorable wedding I've ever attended.
posted by charlemangy at 6:36 AM on January 21, 2013