Outdoor venues near Salem?

swarrick1986

Just curious what's out there. 

Megz63426

I'm having mine on the Willamette Queen in DT Salem

heidirobbins

My best friend had her wedding at Green Villa. She did the ceremony/reception in the awesome wood barn dance hall. But they have beautiful grounds that you could hold the ceremony and follow with the reception in the barn,,its much classier than just a old barn check it out http://www.greenvilla.us

good luck!

oh and it was fairly inexpensive and allowed you to do your own food, which is so rare!

bethbloom

Willamette Valley Vineyards has a nice outdoor area, BeckenRidge VIneyards is gorgeous (where we got married).

What kind of outdoor venue are you thinking about? Park, vineyard, barn?

she.flyz

WARNING!!! Just last month my husband and I got married at the Oregon Gardens in Silverton and we would like to tell all brides: DO NOT USE THIS VENUE!

In addition to being very pricey, the billing is very shady and management is very poor. Not only did we overpay in advance for food, we also paid in advance for cases of wine and champagne with the understanding we would be refunded for what was unused. At the end of the reception, the bartender told me how many bottles had been used and that I would be refunded (about half of what I paid for); we are STILL battling to get our money back.

Tina, the Garden's event coordinator, who had been very difficult to get a hold of throughout the planning process, did not show up to the rehearsal to cover last minute details as she said she would. There were also several “over looked,” lost, or mishandled events during the planning – such as the lost wine order, mischarging the honeymoon suit, and charging but not reserving the bridal party get-ready room. Tina also over-stepped her bounds many times throughout the evening, including yelling at the bride about there being a wedding cake in the freezer right as I am lined up to walk down the aisle. Absolutely unacceptable etiquette.

In addition to suspicious business practices, the gardens were left a mess by staff the day of the wedding. If it hadn't been for the amazing Groom and Groom's men, the whole day simply wouldn't have happened. In dress blue uniforms, decorated in metals and fresh home from war, these men had to clean scum out of the man made reflection ponds, pick up large piles of debris left in the middle of the wedding aisle, and pick up buckets of gardening tools left in the seating area. The groom's men had to scramble to set up the bar in the garden as guests arrived and serve them water at the designated start time, because the bar and its supplies were still in boxes and the paid staff was nowhere to be found. The groom’s men also had to set up the tables and chairs in the reception area when garden staff unloaded the truck and left them there, despite having had a meeting and mapping out table placement with the on-site coordinator Tina, who assured me her staff would set them up according to the specifications. In a pile and unusable were not a part of my directions.

Additionally, there were no working lights in the any of outdoor bathrooms, half of the lights in the reception area were not working, and the water fountains were not turned on. I'm not sure why we paid over $2500 (plus an additional 18% gratuity) to rent this facility if its basic amenities weren't even working. It would have been a quick fix had any one checked it at all prior to the event.

Using the Garden's on site catering was mandatory and at the upper-high end of catering menus. Food was mediocre and was serve-yourself buffet style. After the wedding, I had more than one guest tell me that when they went up for seconds they were told, "No. This food is for the servers." That is completely unacceptable to tell guests!

After talking to Oregon Garden management after the event, none of the issues above have been resolved. Management gave a very flippant response to these issues. If they continue at this rate, they will run themselves into the ground.

I'm so grateful to our amazing wedding party that went above and beyond the call of duty to pull our big day off. Had it been left to the care of Oregon Garden management and staff, our day would have been a disaster!