The Venue

Okay, where did I leave off in my story? (I promise we are almost getting caught up to real time planning!) Oh yeah! Armed with two possible wedding dates and our budget for the reception venue, Nate and I set off to Yakima not really planning on booking a reception site, but wanting to look at some options. We after all, had (and still have!) plenty of time.

You may notice that I am only referring to a reception venue - so, where is our ceremony to take place?? I am lucky enough to be very connected to a church in Yakima. And by very connected, I  mean that my Dad is the pastor - so our ceremony location was a no-brainer. We are having our wedding ceremony at Mountianview Christian Fellowship (unless we can't fit 250-275 chairs in the sanctuary, but thats a whole other blog post).

I had originally thought that a Yakima vineyard wedding reception would be great - perfect views, Yakima wine, it sounds ideal! - and there are quite a few beautiful wineries in the valley that do host weddings. For instance, Fontaine Estates Winery, Hyatt Vineyards, and Maison de Padgett Winery.  I also wrote down some non-wineries on our "list of reception sites to check out" - like Apple Tree and Cascade Gardens.

But lets go over some venue basics first before I get too far - here are some questions to ask:

1. Do they have your date available? What is their max. capacity? Don't book a site thats too small, unless you are willing to do some major guest list editing. 
2. Do you have to use their caterer or can you bring in your own? Often you can save money by being able to hire your own catering company. 
3. What is their policy on alcohol? Wine and Beer only? Do they have a liquor licence or do you need to get your own? Can you bring your own alcohol in? Again, this can be a way to save some money if you are able to bring in your own. Although the convenience of food + alcohol packages can be very appealing. 
4. Set up and clean up - does their staff take care of that for you? Do they have any rentals available such as tables, chairs, flatware, and tableware? 
5. What are the available hours the day of your wedding? When would you be able to get into the site and when would you have to leave your reception by? Do they charge a fee for going late into the evening? 
6. What type (if any) restrictions do they have? Some venues don't allow open flames, certain decorations, etc. Make sure you know what you can and cant bring into the site. 
7. How about parking? Or handicap accessible bathrooms? Think of your guests! 

Okay, back to the story. Since I was leaning towards a vineyard reception, we (Nate, myself, my Mom, and Dad) drove to those sites first. I had emailed them ahead of time, letting them know we would be stopping by to check it out. All three of the wineries we visited were absolutely gorgeous - Maison de Padgett was setting up for a wedding that afternoon so it was great to really be able to see what our reception would look like and Fontaine Estates even let us sample some of their wines! All four of us really liked all the wineries, but nothing really blew us away. None of them were perfect for us. Running out of energy, we decided to head back into Yakima and have some lunch and talk over what we had seen. 

Over lunch, my Dad mentions a new location that although he nor my Mom had never seen (and I had never heard of), some of their friends had driven past and thought it was gorgeous. It was brand new, along the canyon river, and maybe we should drive past just to see. It couldn't hurt right? 

Dad: "Maybe its called something different, but it's connected to Red's Fly Shop."

Kalea: "I refuse to write "Red's Fly Shop" on our wedding invitations!"

But I agreed to see it, nonetheless. 

I think before we even got out of the car at the Lodge at Canyon River Ranch, we all knew it was The One. 

"Located between Yakima and Ellensburg, Washington, east of the Cascade range in the center of Washington state, the 15-mile Yakima River Canyon is one of the country’s most scenic and diverse natural areas. Canyon River Ranch is located 13 miles south of Ellensburg along SR 821, a designated Scenic Corridor. Less than a two-hour drive from Seattle, the area is known for the range of activities it provides, from wine tasting to river rafting. This unique private property provides over 1,000 feet of private waterfront, your own vineyard, and spectacular canyon vistas."

Not to be completely cheesy, but once we walked around The Lodge, chatted with their staff, and viewed one of the 10 condos - it was clear that it was everything we could have ever imagined in a reception site. It has incredible views of the rolling Yakima hills and the river, it has this amazing upscale, yet comfortable outdoor rustic feel, we can easily fit our large guest list, there are no restrictions on catering, alcohol, decorations, time, etc, and best of all, we rented all 10 of the 2-bedroom condos for Friday and Saturday night of our wedding weekend so that all of our immediate family and bridal party can stay on-site. Its everything we could have ever dreamed of. And I don't have to write Red's Fly Shop on our wedding invitations!!

The only downside, is that there are no rentals included in the site fee. They mentioned that maybe by the time we have our wedding they may have some tables and chairs available, but we can't count on that. This means we will be renting everything - from tables and chairs to plates and knives - and although this is not only an added expense but also an added hassle, the Lodge is still worth it in our minds.

We then sat down (at the lodge) and picked our wedding date so that we could reserve the site - and we decided on June 2nd, 2012! So that was that - we had our reception venue picked out over 18 months in advance. Its just like what they say, when you know, you know. 

How did you pick your wedding reception site?? Did you just know? 

And as always, for more ideas check out the Yakima Bride Magazine's list of Ceremony and Reception Sites