Finding a venue for our ceremony and reception was not unlike most of the decisions me and my guy have to make - riddled with indecision. I'm not exactly sure what advice I would give to a newly engaged couple starting this process. It's tough to figure out where to start the process - find the location/venue or select the date? Depending on where and when you ultimately want to get married it can be a daunting process. If you choose a popular, seasonal destination you may be at the mercy of the venue since dates can book up at least a year out or more in some cases. I think you need to decide what is the most important aspect to you - the season and date you get married or the location and venue and then work from there. I always thought I'd be an Autumn bride especially when you see inspiration boards like this one that make you swoon. Maybe it's a wedding faux pas but I think it's fine to have any color palette and design you want for your wedding regardless of season...I'm just saying!
Inspiration board via Snippet and Ink
We really didn't have a preference about date or time especially since when we started out we didn't even know what country we wanted to get married in! It would have depended on where it would be - if Costa Rica then it had to be December-March if we wanted to avoid the rainy season or likely autumn or winter if we had gone with a FL beach location so it wouldn't be 100 degrees. Since we landed on Hood River we assumed sometime in the summer months so our friends and family traveling out could enjoy the warmer temperatures and spend some extra time exploring the area. Much to my surprise when I started the venue search almost every place I looked at was booked up through the summer.
Some of the things that are important to us were that the venue had an intimate and rustic feel and we really wanted Gorge views - mountain views were definitely a plus but we were looking for that sweeping Gorge view (think Cliffs of Mohr). There are several wonderful venues to get married at in the Hood River/Columbia River Gorge area like Mt. Hood B&B (highlighted in earlier post) and Mt. Hood Organic Farms both in the Hood River valley with spectaular Mt. Hood views but didn't give us those Columbia Gorge views.
There are several wedding blogs like 2000 Dollar Wedding, August and After and a $10,000 Wedding that concentrate on or talk alot about budget friendly wedding - ours will be no different but I think until you start planning a wedding you really have no idea what it will cost. One of the big venue considerations for us was cost and several of these cute rustic gardens and farms start to add up when you consider having to rent everything from tables, chairs, tents, dance floors and even bathrooms.
Not having been to any of these venues and likely having to pick them based on what we could find on the internet we had to rely on photos from other weddings at the venues we were interested in. We really researched local photographer wedding blogs for venue considerations and came across some really stunning images. Like these from the Griffin House...
There it is - that gorge-ous view!
To see more of beautiful photographs of Columbia Gorge weddings check out Jim Semlor
I inquired about the Griffin House and the cost included the use of the house and grounds for the entire weekend but was slightly out of our price range. We stumbled upon it a little late in the process too so we were already pretty much sold on the other options. But it really did have everything we wanted from the quaint and intimate B&B feel to the outrageous views.
Another B&B with beautiful views was the Lakecliff Bed and Breakfast right in Hood River. The proprietor , Allyson, was a pleasure to deal with and very helpful in answering all my questions. The pricing was actually fairly reasonable for the area in comparison to most of venues and included the guest house with four bedrooms for two nights with breakfast included. You did need to supply a few rentals like tables and chairs but they had the basics - bathrooms, lighting and a built in dance floor! In the end however I just couldn't get a good feel for the place since I hadn't been there. One recommendation I've made to Allyson is updating their website would go a LONG way with brides looking for a venue. There are some amazing photos of the place by local photographers that really highlight it's beauty. Follow this link to a wedding here featured on the Knot
Those are just the venues we actively pursued but given more time we probably would have researched even more and uncovered others we loved but it's good we didn't or we'd still be looking. There would be times we would get close to a decision and throw our hands up and think "let's just go to Costa Rica and get married on the beach". I almost think it's better to research venues in locations you might want to get married and see how much they vary before you commit to the actual location. We can't wait to get married in Hood River now but with so many cool places all over the country and abroad to get married it's really tough to narrow it to just one place.
I'm sure this won't be my last post on Hood River venues but I'll leave you with a couple places I've recently found after making my decision that look pretty fantasic. Oh, our final decision - you'll have to wait for that one...it was a tough one!
The Viewpoint Inn - photo by Lauren Brooks
Bridal Veil Lakes - photo by AJ's Studio
