Seattle Weddings
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Seattle Weddings
Seattle offers the bride to be a friendly hip urban city with a temperate climate as well as water, mountain and forest ceremony and reception sites.
Why Seattle?
When it comes to variety Seattle has it in spades when it comes to planning a wedding. Variety is the spice of life as they say, and having your wedding in Seattle will give you many choices such as:
- There is a large range of choices for where to get married. You can be married on a yacht on Puget Sound, in a Cathedral or Church, in a garden, on a beach, or in a mansion. Whatever your dream is for a ceremony site, Seattle probably has just what you have in mind.
- There are enough activities in Seattle that you could both get married and have your honeymoon there and still leave not having experienced all Seattle has to offer. Some examples are whale watching, hiking on Mt. Ranier, visiting Pike Place Market, where bookstores, jewelry stores, restaurants and even a fresh fish market are available for perusal, the Seattle aquarium, and the Space Needle just to name a few. This also makes Seattle a nice place to entertain your friends and family prior to the actual wedding.
- There are several bridal shops and boutiques both for the budget minded and those brides seeking designer gowns. Belltown Bride and Something New cater to those seeking designer gowns, but David's Bridal caters to both those seeking unique gowns, as well as the budget minded. Bride's Outlet is another place for the budget minded bride, they boast wedding gowns that are beautiful and cost from $100 to $900. There are of course many more where these came from.
- Other than Winter when it rains quite a lot, Seattle has relatively temperate weather throughout most of the year. If you want a Spring or Summer wedding, except for maybe August when it gets quite warm, you can easily have an outdoor wedding where everyone will be comfortable and have a good time.
- With just under a 100 wedding planners in the Seattle Metro area available to plan all types of weddings whether you seek a traditional white wedding, or something a little more unconventional such as a handfasting, or fantasy or gothic wedding theme, you are bound to find one that can help you plan your wedding. Whatever theme you choose there is going to be a wedding planner that can help you in Seattle.
- There are plenty of kid friendly activities for children who might be attending your wedding. The Children's Museum, The Burk Museum of Natural History & Culture, and the Seattle Aquarium are just a few of the available sights for children and adults too for that matter. All of these places are not just fun for kids, but educational as well. There are many more like this throughout the Seattle Metro area.
Marriage License Requirements
To get your marriage license in Seattle:
- Both the bride and groom must be at least eighteen years of age.
- You do not need to have a blood test to obtain a marriage license in Seattle.
- You will not need to provide identification, birth certificates, or divorce papers when applying for a marriage license in Seattle.
- You are not required to provide a witness.
- If you are divorced, the divorce must be final and have been filed before you can apply for a marriage license to marry someone else in the state of Washington.
- There is a three day waiting period before you can have the actual marriage ceremony.
- Your license will only be good for 60 days from the date that you filed your application. After that the license expires and you will need to reapply for another one.
- If you apply for a marriage license in person, a marriage license in Seattle, Washington costs $60 and the office will only accept cash at the time you turn in your completed application. The same day you will receive your marriage license but it is not valid until the three day waiting period has passed as mentioned before.
- You can apply for your marriage license through the mail, but you will have to go to the office in person to pick up your marriage license. These applications are only processed through the downtown Seattle office, so don't send them to any other office. When you mail in a marriage license application, it must be notarized and come with a money order, or cashier's check in the amount of $60 made out to King County Marriage Licenses. The address for the downtown office is: 500 4th Avenue, Room 403, Seattle, WA 98104. This is also where you would go to apply in person. They suggest that you call the marriage license office at (206) 296-4021 to be sure that your application was received. However, I would suggest sending it certified return receipt so that someone has to sign for it, that way you'll know for certain and won't have to rely on whomever you speak to if you call.
- You can also download the application for a marriage license at King County, Washington[1] or if for some reason you don't have Adobe Acrobat Reader you can download a rich text version at King County, Washington[2]. Finally, they will even fax it to you, all you have to do is call (206) 296-3933 ext. 21 and request they do so.
Civil Ceremonies
Religious Ceremonies
How to Get There
Documents Needed for Travel
Insider Tips
Best Time to Go
Climate
Ceremony
Religious Sites
Civil Sites
Beaches Parks Monuments Historic Sites
Reception
1. Two locations that lend themselves to a more traditional white wedding are Robinswood House and Clise Mansion.
Robinswood House has a main house, a barn, and a cabana, the original 1884 log cabin, a formal sunken English garden, two patios, and luxuriant walking paths. This home is one of the oldest pioneer homes in the Puget Sound area, and was built in 1895 by Hans Miller. The house is surrounded by 60 acres of lush parkland called Robinswood Park and has beautiful views.
The property will accomodate 200 guests in the Summer, and 70 guests in the Winter.
Parking, tables and chairs are complimentary.
You can reserve Robinswood or Clise Mansion up to 12 months ahead of time. Although if you are a Bellevue resident and can prove residency at the time of the reservation you can reserve it up to 13 months ahead of time.
You can contact Robinswood House to arrange for a date for your wedding reception by calling (425) 865-0795.
2. Clise Mansion is also a good choice if you are having a more traditional white wedding, and is also owned and operated by Seattle Brides. Clise Mansion started out in 1904 as a hunting lodge for James Clise who was a Seattle banker. Over time it became a 28 room mansion. He named his estate Willowmoor, and it was famous for breeding Morgan horses and Scottish Ayrshire cattle. Mr. Clise sold the farm in the 1920's, and it changed hands a few more times before finally being purchased by King County to be made into a public park. Willowmoor Farm which includes the windmill right next to it, and the Clise Mansion is listed in the historic register.
The property will accomodate 500 guests from April to October.
The east gardens offer perennial beds and flowering trellises, are enclosed and offer complete privacy for a wedding reception.
Clise Mansion has an assortment of complimentary tables and chairs. Clise Mansion has 11 preferred caterers available to choose from and an in house bar. Phone (425) 865-0795.
You can reserve Robinswood or Clise Mansion up to 12 months ahead of time. Although if you are a Bellevue resident and can prove residency at the time of the reservation you can reserve it up to 13 months ahead of time.
3. Argosy Cruises offers ships in Puget Sound with beautiful views of downtown Seattle and you may even see Orcas swimming.
You can contact Argosy Cruises by visiting their website online at Argosy Cruises[3] by e-mailing a sales representative at sales@argosycruises.com or calling (206) 623-1445.
4. Lake Union Crew is a rowing club with a spectacular waterfront setting. You can use the caterer of your choice and room set up is flexible based on the size and type of your wedding. They have an event staff to help guide and assist.
The great room which has a wood burning fireplace is on the second floor and features a west-facing balcony and lots of windows. Two smaller rooms adjoin that can be used to enlarge the space or by themselves for a more intimate wedding reception.
They have a wide balcony, a dock and a working fireplace. The balcony and dock are nice areas to have your event if it is during the Summer months. These also afford some very wonderful panoramic views of Lake Union and the surrounding areas.
For rates see their website or call (206) 860-4199.
5. The Museum of Flight is open for wedding receptions as small as 20 or as large as 1000. They offer ten locations to host your wedding reception, The Personal Courage Wing has interactive exhibits from WWII, WWI and can house up to 1000 guests. The Great Gallery has actual planes suspended from the frame of the room, and allows you to dine among some of the most famous planes in history. The Side Gallery has the Apollo Space exhibit, and has room for both dining and dancing. The Red Barn has homey, warm colors and reflects the romantic aspects of our aviation past. The View Room has a black marble wet bar, and has views of Mt. Ranier and Boeing Field. In addition it is separated into North and South rooms and gives two very cozy seating areas. The Skyline Room has a balcony and views of Boeing Field and the Seattle skyline. It has an elegant as well as, contemporary feel to it. The Barnstormer Lounge is geared more towards smaller groups and also has a view of Boeing Field. The Lockwood Boardroom is geared towards business meetings and would probably not be appropriate for a wedding reception with its large conference table. The William M. Allen Theater is geared for presentations so unless you were planning on showing slides or movies then this probably also would not be your best bet for the room for your wedding reception. Finally the Weyerhaeuser Room is the last room available for private events and is geared towards smaller more intimate occasions and could very well be a good choice if you have a smaller number of guests for your wedding reception. There are a number of rules that must be followed in order to rent one of the areas at the Flight Museum for your wedding reception. 1. The Private Events Department is who you will contact to arrange for space for your wedding reception at the Museum of Flight, they will assign you an Event Coordinator to help you with arrangements. 2. Full payment must be made no less than 10 days prior to the event, and if you cancel with less than 10 days notice you forfeit your entire payment. 3. Events in the Red Barn, Side Gallery, Great Gallery, or the Personal Courage Wing must start after 6:30 pm. Evening wedding receptions for the other locations start times are determined by when the daytime events end, rather than a set time. All events have to end by midnight regardless of whether it is a daytime or nighttime event. 4. McCormick & Schmick’s Catering is the exclusive caterer. They have their sales office and catering kitchen at the Museum of Flight. (206) 762-4418. 5. The only two locations that allow dancing are the Side Gallery, and the Skyline Room. The Preferred Vendor List will help you choose entertainers. The Museum of Flight[4]. 6. You must get your decorations approved ahead of time by your Private Events Coordinator before using them. 7. You must let the Museum of Flight know at least one week in advance any audio or visual needs you might have. You do have the option of providing your own audio and visual equipment but the Technical Services Department will need to approve it and make sure it is compatible with museum systems. 8. The Museum of Flight is not responsible for anything brought into the facility that is stolen. You are responsible for your own items. 9. Only one person must be designated as a contact person for your wedding reception. 10. You cannot load or unload equipment through the side gallery or lobby doors. 11. Mark all your deliveries to the Special Events Department, and delivery trucks must remain outside exterior loading dock doors. 12. Amplified music has to approved in advance by your Private Events Coordinator. 13. Clients and vendors must supply their own equipment, and audio and visual equipment is charged on a first-come, first-served basis. Fees can be found on their website - www.museumofflight.org
Their fees include the facility, event monitoring and staff planning
Wedding Service Providers
Honeymoon
Guests must dos (things to do)
Planning
Wedding Dresses
Cakes
Flowers
Music
Gifts
Guest Accommodations
Favors
Invitations