And the hunt begins...

We all know the story of Goldilocks…this one is too small, this one is too big, this one is too hot, this one is too cold...this one is juuuuust right. Well, so goes the venue hunt for the Frogs.

After deciding on Chelan for our location, we began discussing options for venues. The area is home to a fast-growing wine valley so my first choice (being the wino I am) was to have our wedding at a winery. Let the hunt begin!

First up…KarMa Vineyards.

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KarMa was one of the wineries that I hadn’t visited in person when we began exploring options but after reviewing their site, stalking them on flickr and searching Google images, I felt as though I had a pretty clear idea of what it looked like. The real perk was that they are the only winery in the area with a wine cave:

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Unfortunately, they were a little unresponsive during our communication process and ultimately we didn’t feel like the cost of the rental was going to be a fit for the amount of rentals and additional costs that would inevitably come up outside of our budget.

We did visit the winery with friends this past summer after ruling it out and enjoyed sitting out on the patio. For the record, the wine cave is super cool (both literally and figuratively – ha!). But that visit reinforced that we had made the right decision in not choosing this for our venue since the outside area was fairly small and it would have been a tight squeeze with the amount of guests on our list and the idea we had envisioned.

Frogger tubing on a past trip to Chelan – I realize this has nothing to do with this post, I just wanted more photos of the area because everyone likes blog posts with photos. You know it and I know it. Should I stop with the Italics?

On the upside, I will say that Frogger’s cousin is getting married there next month so we’re thrilled they found a venue that fits their needs and we’re hoping we might be able to save our pennies and share in their happy day!

So our first choice turned out to be a nice venue but not quite the right fit for us. Feeling slightly discouraged, I still wasn’t ready to give up on a winery.

I began calling and web-stalking to no end…and I was met with more and more disappointment.

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Lake Chelan Winery – my favorite winery in town and offers a super charming backyard style BBQ set-up…but absolutely no view and just not what we had pictured

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Nefarious Vineyards – great wine, great view, great family owners…unfortunately, they don’t do events :(

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Tsillan Cellars – by far the fanciest of all the winery options but the price tag goes along with it, sadly this Tuscan-inspired lovely was not within our budget

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Vin du Lac – adorable set-up but couldn’t accommodate the amount of people we were inviting

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Tunnel Hill – at the time we began looking they were not very experienced with weddings, had just had their first one and would require a large amount of rentals…it was a bummer because I loved the garden feel – it just oozes charm!

Chelan Ridge – under construction and after meeting with the owners (who I absolutely adore) we all decided it would be a stretch to plan for a wedding when they didn’t know if they would be finished in time…total bummer because it’s going to be gor.geous.

While meeting with my new favorite winery owners at Chelan Ridge, we were told to check out a winery called Benson Vineyards which was undergoing some renovations and were supposed to have an incredible view of the lake.

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I tried my best not to get my hopes up but I couldn’t help thinking this could finally be it. As we pulled up over the hill and saw the winery in front of us, we began allowing ourselves to get *a little* excited.

We met with the owner and she took us on a tour of the property. We had to use our imaginations because at the time it was still under construction but we could see the potential of the space. After seeing the interior venues, we walked out among the grounds which are perched high above the lake overlooking the vineyards. She pointed out grassy areas and seating areas, she talked about the flow of the space and the landscaping they envisioned…and then…she walked us over toward the edge and told us we were standing in the space where the altar would be. It was at that point I really let myself feel what a wedding here could be like. My eyes teared up and I just knew this was our location!

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Just a few short weeks later, after trying to secure the location, we were met with yet another disappointment…

Being newly renovated and having never had a wedding or major event, they were not in a position to make weddings a priority. They were also not in a position to offer many amenities in the rental price and ultimately after looking at the situation, we realized it just wasn’t going to be what we had wanted and hoped for. Soooo…back to the drawing board!

Did you have trouble finding the right venue for your wedding?