Searching for Wedding Venues

I'm gonna make this short and sweet and share with you all 2 of the venues I am leaning towards for the Pre-Hubby and I's wedding. Both are water-view venues and located in the Seattle area. They are both gorgeous and great fits for us, as well as our theme! I'm hoping we can make a final decision on one of these places within the first couple weeks of August.

First up is Golden Gardens Bathhouse. Located at Golden Gardens park in Ballard, WA, this place is my absolute favorite! Its RIGHT on the beach and is absolutely gorgeous. The pictures I've seen of real life weddings that are held at this venue are simply stunning. Its got the water view and beach setting I want, and that old school flair that I want. Back in March, right after our engagement, Pre-Hubby and I went to the park to take a look at the place. Of course there was an event going on when we got there, but we were able to wander around the outside, take a look at the open meadow where ceremonies are typically performed, and wander along the beach. I was in love!

My only concern is that this place is a hot venue and because of this, they have rolling lotteries for reservations. That means that since we want our wedding in August 2013, we have to submit our application before August 1st of this year. They will perform a lottery and if our application is pulled for that day, we have 3 days to submit the $250 deposit. If we don't get pulled, we just don't get it or we have to choose a different date. Also, this venue is a mandatory 8 hour minimum rental, plus a handful of other fees because for being a venue in a city park. Still within our price range, but slightly discouraging to think about. Here are a few of my favorite photos of this venue.

The second place that's hot on our list is Lake Washington Rowing club. This is a last minute find that never came up in my initial venue searches. The pricing is great, the venue is big, and its right on the water. This venue includes a large rounded patio/deck that the woman said many people have chosen to get married on. It provides a great view of the dock and the water and there is a small spark/walking trail nearby. The other advantage of this location is the picture opportunities. This place is 2 blocks away from the famous Fremont Troll. I think it would be awesome to have wedding photos taken there!
While this place is well within our budget, and allows for a rental for the WHOLE DAY (12+hours) with just one fee, they require a much larger deposit to reserve the space (1/2 of the rental fee and a $150 cleaning fee that is refundable as long as the place isn't trashed). That's a lot of money to come up with in a short amount of time, just to reserve the site. The plus for this site though, is that its not as popular as Golden Gardens, therefore we can potentially wait longer to reserve it and have our date still available. Here are some photos I love of the Lake Washington Rowing venue.

So there you have it. Our top two venues. I'd love to know what other people think of them, so let me know your thoughts. I'm really excited to take a second look at each of them in person and really narrow down which one we want to decide on. SO EXCITING!

Peace and Good JuJu,
Holly