Weddings in Woodinville-a multi-venue party: an analysis of the show from a guy's POV

Let’s be honest, to a newly engaged guy, few things sound more excruciating than an all-day wedding show. The idea of being surrounded by stressed-out bride-zillas and MOBs in an endless sea of vendor booths at some gigantic convention center is enough to strike fear into the hearts of even the bravest groom-to-be.

Luckily for me, Weddings in Woodinville was nothing like that! It was nothing but a multi-venue party! There was delicious food, exquisite wine, live music and luxury transportation. Even if I wasn’t getting married, it would be a fun day to spend a Sunday (especially when there’s no football game!). And the best part was, everything was geared towards helping us plan the biggest party of our lives.

My fiancé and I have only been engaged a few weeks, so we’re new to this whole wedding thing. It’s hard to know where to begin. There’s invitations, venue, decorations, catering, music, photographer… It seems like the list goes on and on. But Weddings in Woodinville was a way to see everything in action. We met professionals from each aspect of wedding planning in their true element, at a real wedding! OK, it wasn’t a real wedding, but each venue felt like it! Every exhibitor we met was friendly, helpful and relaxed. There was no pressure to make decisions or sign contracts. The focus of the whole day was on fun. It seemed like the exhibitors were enjoying themselves as much as the participants were.

We also loved the prevalence of young entrepreneurs represented among the vendors. For the most part, the folks we met at Weddings in Woodinville weren’t just lowly employees of some big corporate events company. They were owners, often sole proprietors of small businesses. It was invigorating to see young people passionate about their business and we had fun brainstorming ideas for our wedding with them. 

Of the many great ideas we came away with, my favorites were:

1) Drinks at the door – JM Cellars handed everyone a tasting glass of wine as we walked in. What a great way to welcome guests and set the tone of your event!

2) Alternative Desserts – Who needs a wedding cake? We loved the finger-food desserts, especially the cheesecake and chocolates from Divine Confections. And if you’re looking for cake, try the gluten free magic of Stone Layne Baked Specialties.

3) Hand-Drawn Venue Map - Married with Michelle had a lovely and whimsical hand-drawn illustration directing guests to the various attractions at Willows Lodge. It was playful and effective!

4) Potted Plant Centerpieces  - The northwest feel of living ferns and native plants donning the tables at JM Winery blew our minds. They were beautiful and simple. We’re definitely using that in our wedding. Great idea MG Davis Events!

Now I’m trying to figure out how to postpone my wedding for a year or two, so I can go back next year for more tasty appetizers and wine. Or… maybe I can just convince several of my friends to get married next year, so I can take them!

*Weddings in Woodinville-a multi-venue party: an analysis of the show from a guy's POV is a guest blog post from attendee Chris Maccini.  When not blogging you can find him hanging out with the South Lake Union crowd with his beautiful fiance Tracy.

Weddings In Woodinville 2015 at The Columbia Winery video by Pixel Dust Weddings

What an amazing tour this year! Thank you to all our vendors and attendees for making the 6th annual Weddings in Woodinville such a success.  And thank you to Pixel Dust Weddings for this awesome recap of Pink Blossom Events "Winter Sunrise" wedding at Columbia Winery during Weddings in Woodinville 2015.  

Weddings In Woodinville at The Columbia Winery from Pixel Dust Productions/Weddings on Vimeo.

Why attend Weddings in Woodinville? An attendees thoughts

The following is a guest blog from a former Weddings in Woodinville attendee on her experiences attending the tour and how she found her "dream wedding" vendors through it .  Thank you Pam!

Jenny GG Photography

I was actually a little apprehensive about attending the first show as I figured I would be the only "older" bride at the event. I was very happy to see that I wasn't. My girlfriend and I had a great time and I saw a lot of great ideas and vendors for our wedding.

I wanted this wedding to be the wedding I had always dreamed of even though it was my second. With the help of some of the vendors I met, especially Willows Lodge, it was truly that. My then fiance' Don and I attended again in 2014 because I had had so much fun the previous year. After attending the 2013 show, I was able to assure him that he wouldn't be the only man, and we wouldn't be the only older couple. We had pretty much selected and booked all of our vendors by that time, since our wedding was the following month on Valentine's Day, but it was great to be able to see and talk to some of them at the 2014 show.

If you love weddings, wineries, wine tasting and great food, Weddings in Woodinville is definitely an event to attend. That was one of my favorite experiences while planning our wedding. I will be attending this year with my 21 year-old daughter just for fun.... she can start dreaming about her own wedding! Don and I will continue to stay at Willows Lodge and will be staying this Valentine's Day for our first anniversary, and I have booked a hair appointment at Salon Maison for an upcoming event. Even though we are now married, we will continue to visit the wineries for wine tasting, and will continue to use some of the vendors that we met while attending Weddings in Woodinville.

Planning your wedding through Weddings in Woodinville-a former attendees thoughts

The following is a guest blog post from a former Weddings in Woodinville attendee on why she attends the tour every year and how she and her fiancé planned their wedding with the help of our vendors.  Thank you Sarah!

When Devin and I got engaged, I knew for our wedding that I wanted our venue to be at a winery.  Woodinville is the closest "wine country" so I did a quick google search for "woodinville wineries for weddings".  That's how I discovered that there was a specific event that revolved around exactly what I was looking for: Weddings in Woodinville!  I figured that since there was an event dedicated to promoting these specific venues for weddings, they must be the best!  I used the list of venues as my initial baseline of potential wedding venues.  When we visited these venues we fell in love with Januik.  It was really reflective of our style and personalities.  From there we looked at Januik's preferred vendor list and that's how we found our amazing wedding planner Jennifer Taylor at Taylor'd Events.  We used Jennifer's preferred vendor list to research vendors for all aspects of our wedding (photographer, DJ, etc).  We learned that the majority of the vendors we ended up choosing participate in Weddings in Woodinville.  So I know for a fact that they only showcase the best of the best vendors at Weddings in Woodinville!  These are the vendors that have proven to be outstanding in their category.  A lot of times these vendors have worked together in the past, which really make your wedding day go seamless.  

  

Weddings in Woodinville is like no other wedding show.  I love that it's pretty much a wedding themed wine tour.  It feels intimate and personal, not overwhelming and disconnected like most wedding shows.  I love that you really get to explore all aspects of a wedding through a really unique experience.  Each venue tells their own wedding story.  It's so great to see each venue mocked up as a real wedding with a dedicated wedding planner that has picked out specific vendors for all aspects of the wedding.  It's pretty cool that you don't have competing vendors in any one venue, they only have one type of vendor at each venue (like a real wedding).  This is great for soon-to-be brides to be able to focus in on specific vendors for each category and be able to remember at the end of the event.  For instance, "Oh I really liked the invitations at <blank> venue and liked the floral arrangements at <blank> venue."  

  

At the end of the day, my favorite part of Weddings in Woodinville is the amazing food, wine and transportation!  I mean you get to eat, drink and get chauffeured (limo, party bus, etc) from one venue to another.  How awesome is that?!  This keeps me coming back year after year (this will be my third time)!  I always invite newly engaged couples, friends and family.  Everyone always has a great time!  That's another great thing about Weddings in Woodinville, you don't have to be engaged to attend!  It's such a great deal with the food, wine and transportation alone; the pretty wedding decor is a fabulous bonus!  Weddings in Woodinville is an event my husband and I look forward to attending every year!

  

To purchase tickets and learn more about Weddings in Woodinville visit weddingsinwoodinville.com

Amelia Soper Photography

Columbia Winery named as top winery wedding venue by Tasting Room Magazine

Congratulations to our venue partners at Columbia Winery for being selected by Tasting Room Magazine as the #2 top winery for a wedding! 

"Nestled in the heart of Woodinville Wine Country just outside of Seattle, the Columbia Winery offers multiple unique settings perfect for any wedding, including outdoor and indoor locations. Inside, the stylish interior is carefully painted with the colors of Columbia Winery – a chic backdrop for your big day. The largest winery venue in Washington State, Columbia Winery was selected as the #2 top location to host a wedding in Washington!"

Visit Columbia during the Weddings in Woodinville tour and see for yourself on Sunday, January 25, 2015.  Tickets available through Brown Paper Tickets.