Seattle Area Wedding Vendors That We Recommend
You want to hire the best people and locations for your wedding. Hiring the best / trusted / experienced people / vendors can influence how smoothly your wedding day goes so we will update this list from time to time. Remember this is only our personal OPINION so your personal experience could end up different, but we’ve been a part of enough weddings to “know” when we see quality. I’m very tempted to also include a DO NOT HIRE list for wedding vendors, but we will hold off on that. I don’t have time right now to make a complete list, but we will keep this POST updated from time to time.
Outdoor Wedding Locations
Outdoor weddings are so romantic and intimate. They can be in the backyard of a home, on a romantic beach, up in the mountains or at a park. These are some of my personal favorite outdoor wedding locations:
Kiana Lodge in Poulsbo, WA is one of my favorites! The surroundings are beautiful with lush gardens, very green lawns, plenty of flowers, trees and decor for beautiful pictures. It’s also right on the beach so you can have pictures of the water as well. If it happens to rain, which is a good possibility in WA state, they have a very nice lodge for indoor weddings and their reception hall is amazing. The thing that really sets Kiana Lodge apart though is the staff. They are very helpful and professional. The food they serve there is wonderful - especially the oysters. I can’t wait for our next wedding there!
Pictures above by Todd H Kim photography
The Manor in Everett is another wonderful location for outdoor wedding ceremonys. They also have a nice indoor area for the reception. Click here to see a video from a wedding we videographed at The Manor in Everett/Lynnwood, WA.
Kubota Gardens in South Seattle is another wonderful location in Seattle for outdoor weddings. If you like beautiful flowers, ponds with reflection, bridges and trees than Kubota Gardens has it in spades. I highly recommend Kubota Gardens. You can view some images from a wedding we photographed at Kubota Gardens by clicking HERE.
Top Hotels for Weddings in Seattle
Fairmont Olympic Hotel - Luxury Hotel for extravagant weddings
Sorrento Hotel in Seattle - lots of European charm and romance
As Seen on Komo TV’s Extravagant Weddings
The Emerald Star - Private luxury yacht for weddings by Waterways Cruises and Events
Canlis Restaurant - Enjoy the marvelous food in a private setting
Columbia Tower Club - Luxurious wedding and reception setting inside Seattle’s tallest building. Click HERE to see video footage from the top of Columbia Tower Club.
Wedding Rings | Engagement Rings | Fine Jewelry
EE Robbins in downtown Seattle provides a genuinely good experience when it comes to shopping for wedding or engagement rings. Their customer service is excellent and they have a good selection of settings and diamonds. Ask for Chelsea at the downtown EE Robbins store. She offers excellent knowledge and service; Her bright personality will win you over!
If you want a custom made engagement wedding ring of the highest quality you should check out J. Lewis Jewelry in Bellevue, WA. Our wedding clients, Alice and Kevin, had their wedding ring custom made there and it turned out wonderful. It’s pictured below… It’ll cost you though so be prepared.
Photos by Todd Kim
Wedding DJs
Choosing the right Disc Jockey for your wedding is so important for your wedding reception. Most DJs that we have run into do a good job of making sure music is good. Music is only a part of their jobs though. They are also responsible for microphone sound quality and sometimes the flow of the party. At one wedding we worked at in the Fairmont Olympic Hotel in Seattle, the DJs microphone/speakers kept squeaking throughout the reception. It was a big distraction to an overall beautiful wedding. Having the right personality and what you desire from your wedding DJ is very important so when you interview your DJ ask them questions and think about how you want your DJ to perform on your wedding day. You may prefer a very laid back DJ who plays music and only announces information when they are supposed to. On the other hand, you may be nervous that your reception will be boring and want a DJ who can entertain and liven up the party if it needs it.
Sound Sational Music - Ken and Jae Shoemaker were the DJs for a wedding we did in Edmonds in 2006. They were totally professional and I was impressed by how they were able to carry the party. They got everyone to dance and just have a blast. They also make sure to communicate well with the wedding photographer and videographer. If you want a DJ who can liven up the party in a professional and fun way, I recommend Sound Sational Music. No website. Office: 253.847.4387 Cell: 253.376.4674
Click the picture above to see a clip from the reception that Sound Sational DJd and we videographed.
Custom Frames for your Pictures | Art Work
Aaronbrothers Art & Framing offers an excellent selection of frames in all kinds of styles and sizes. If you need custom made frames they will be happy to offer their expertise in creating something you love. If saving money is priority they have a nice selection of pre made frames as well. You can sign up to be on their email list for special offers and news HERE.
Wedding Limo and Transportation Services
Having a nice limo or Bentley isn’t the only requirement to being a good wedding transportation company. We’ve been to plenty of weddings where the limo driver got lost on the way to the reception, didn’t know how to turn on the A/C or music, or just seemed like they were drinking and driving. Here’s to good drivers with nice cars:
British Motor Coach - Matt Lau (Driver) - This is a personal recommendation from our friend Me Ra Koh. The following are her words:
If you need to rent a limo for your wedding, you have to call British Motor Coach! And ask specifically for Matt Lau to be your driver!
Matt was the driver for Mark and Angela’s winter wedding, and he was amazing! He not only made GREAT suggestions of where to take us for good photos, but he knew ALL the in’s and out’s of where to park in downtown Seattle, how to get the car in and out fast, and where the best brick alley is!
Matt’s personality was great! He poured Angela and Mark champagne and treated Angela like a princess. Honestly, he was a huge part to making their day wonderful.
The number to call is 206-283-6600. Tell them you heard about us on our blog! I told Matt I’d do this because of how much I loved working with him, but I don’t think he believed me! 
Seattle Bride magazine is taking their votes for BEST VENDORS in 2006, and you can bet we’re voting for British Motor Coach! If you’ve experienced how great they are, you can vote for them too! (no, they’re not paying me to say all this, I just LOVED working with them, and loved how much joy they brought our couple!)
I’m telling all our Seattle brides to use Matt! Trust me, we’ve seen a lot of drivers, and Matt Lau was AMAZING. Plus, the British Motor Coach is so classy, you can’t go wrong!
Great Churches for Weddings
St. James Cathedral in Seattle has got to be one of the most beautiful cathedrals in the US. When the choir sings, it sounds like Angels are singing and the whole experience is pretty special. The church wedding staff aren’t the most flexible people, meaning no movement by photographers/videographers during the ceremony, but I got along with them just fine.
Bastyr University Chapel at the Kenmore campus of Bastyr University is a grand location for weddings.
Photographer: Todd Kim
Blessed Sacrament Church in Seattle (below) is a historical landmark in Seattle. It is also a beautiful Catholic church to be married in.
Reception Locations
This list of terrific wedding reception locations will be updated from time to time.
The Palace Ballroom in downtown Seattle offers fine food, drinks and great atmosphere. For pictures from a wedding at The Palace Ballroom click HERE.
Other wedding locations reviews in WA state coming soon:
This entry was posted on Thursday, February 1st, 2007 at 2:18 pm and is filed under Business, Wedding Vendors, Wedding Locations, Useful Wedding Info. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
on February 14, 2007 at 4:43 am Living Life Media » Blog Archive » Children’s Portraits by Rebekah Kim wrote:
[…] I just totally love these two pictures Rebekah took of this young ring boy at a wedding we did at Kiana Lodge last year. Look how long his natural eye lashes are! […]
on April 7, 2007 at 3:08 pm Win A Microsoft Zune | John Chow | Living Life Media wrote:
[…] To enter, just do what I did. Send him some link love. By the way, I’ve seen many brides try to use an ipod to orchestrate the music for their wedding processional/reception and although some have been successful, some have failed. I recommend more practice with the ipod or hiring a DJ. […]
on April 27, 2007 at 1:19 am Todd Kim at Work | Photo by Jen Finch =) | Living Life Media wrote:
[…] a couple of years ago. I ran into her again when we did a wedding together at Kiana Lodge for Pauline and Ethan. I was the wedding videographer and Jen was the photographer for both of those weddings. I think […]