A “Grand” Wedding Venue!
As Seattle wedding officiants performing nearly 100 non-denominational weddings every year, we have an opportunity to experience lots of different wedding venues, from the most elegant to the most rustic, from the reasonably priced to the “OMG!” Based on our experience, we’ve determined that most wedding venues (at least, the ones we’ve worked with) come in four basic “flavors:”
1. Wedding venues that treat both vendor and couple like royalty. These are obviously the most desirable venues, and tend to book up pretty early every year.
2. Wedding venues that treat the couple like royalty, and let wedding vendors pretty much fend for themselves..
3. Wedding venues that treat the couples like money machines and wedding vendors like necessary evils. Luckily, there don’t seem to be many of these around anymore.
4. Wedding venues that aren’t all that nice to anyone. These definitely do exist, and no, we’re not gonna write about them!
One venue that is definitely a Type 1, and one of our favorites, is The Grand Willow Inn in Mt. Vernon (17926 Dunbar Road Mount Vernon, WA 98273. (360) 428-5071. Owner: Connie Weech).
The Grand Willow Inn – Front Gazebo.
There are plenty of reasons we love working at this place (and why you should seriously consider getting married here), but the most important reason is probably Connie, herself. In the words of one happy couple, she is “caring, thoughtful, thorough, always reachable, will help you through any problems no matter what, knowledgeable, just plain awesome!!” No argument from us!
Not only does she get personally involved to make sure virtually every facet of your wedding goes perfectly, but she does so with compassion, humor, insight and imagination. We’ve been privileged to do a dozen or so weddings at the Grand Willow, and have never had cause for even the smallest complaint.
And while we’re on the subject, we don’t want to leave out Connie’s “right-hand woman,” Sarah, who helps keep everything running smoothly and never loses her sense of humor! Together, Connie, Sarah and the rest of the superb Grand Willow crew provide an “island of calm” in what often seems like a “sea of chaos.” :-)
But hey, don’t take our word for it! See for yourself! For more information, photos and tons of great reviews (all well-deserved), visit them at the Grand Willow Inn website, and have a great wedding!
