West Linn CC and Oregon Garden

So today we (Dad, Mom, Thad, and I) went to go look at two possible venues. We saw some things that we liked and saw some things that we didn't. Mostly we were going to look and see some other options that were out there.

First up, the West Linn Country Club. This was a site that Dad had been to before for a Legacy nurses conference. I had emailed the lady in charge of the venues multiple times so she had given me some basic numbers, basically saying that an early morning time frame would be reasonably priced and an evening block would be ridiculously expensive. So we went in thinking okay a 10-3 time would be what this space would mean in terms of a wedding reception (ie wake up painfully early to get ready). But I had liked the pictures online so I thought why not check it out.

The drive getting there wasn't too bad a little windy but looking at all the big fancy houses on the way up and imagining the decorated up for Christmas was fun. We got there and walked in the big wooden doors and were greeted by the bartender who called up for our guide. The lodge looked over the course and you could see the fog rising up from the hills. It was a very nice view. There was a little restaurant area which the lady said we could use for a rehearsal dinner, it looked pretty fancy.

Then we went out to the building/room that we would be using, and truly it was very beautiful and elegant. What I really liked was the draping and how elegant that made everything feel. It felt like a great place for a wedding and the space itself was very pretty. But what we didn't like so much about the space is how light it was, thus making it hard for us to use any lighting ourselves because the lights wouldn't be bright enough if the sun decided to show it's smiling face. The building ha lots of natural light which is great! But not exactly great for us in what we want to do.

We also weren't super thrilled with the idea of having to use their caterer. Not because they would be bad, but just because I don't feel like I can justify spending $12 a bottle on Martenelli's sparkling cider. Especially when I know I could go get some at the store right now for $2. And having to get married super early doesn't seem appealing because I want people to be able to drive home in the dark and see all the christmas lights and reflect on how awesome of a time they had. I also don't want a bunch of grumpy guests who had to get up early (or a tired grumpy groom ;-). Or really more myself...

So breakdown of West Linn Country Club
Pros: Elegant, draping was gorgeous, lots of parking, big,  has get ready rooms
Cons: Catering, $$$, early morning, sun ruining lights, walk outside to get to bathrooms, doesn't feel like ours

Then we went to the Oregon Garden to look at their space. After some awkward walking around trying to find where we were going we found the lady. She showed us the resorts restaurant and the lodge before we loaded into the car to go to the space.  (Picture taken from Google)

We got to like a very large warehouse looking building. She took us through the back entrance which I later reflected on that probably not being good business practice... So we saw the back storage area. We arrived to the actual room which was really large. It had some really cool christmas light netting above the whole room which was really cool... But I didnt have much positive else to say. The chairs that they had were white patio furniture chairs and the walls were pretty bare and lifeless. It looked like they just put up a basic wood exterior on the warehouse walls. I was not very impressed... They also require you to use their caterer, and this was the place that had numbers from $43-$76 per person for a meal. Their sparkling cider was also $15 per bottle. So I was pretty unimpressed really... Both with the space and what their menu really was.

When we walked away I was a pretty solid No so I was surprised when Thad said he liked it. But  when I said what did you like about it and he said the christmas lights and I asked what else he came up blank. So we are a pretty solid no on that one.

Pros: Christmas light netting
Cons: Bad walls, seems loud, not elegant, not personal, too big, $$$$$$$$$$$, catering

So what we learned today is that we still really like the Chehalem Cultural Center. We are hoping that we will be able to set up an appointment with Caleb soon to look at it, and hopefully with both sets of parents because we like it a lot.