The 5 Incredible Wedding Venues in the Willamette Valley

It’s Wedding Wednesday and today on the blog I have an incredible guest giving us some incredible information!!! Welcome Casi!

Hey! It’s Casi here taking over Bettys blog! I’m a mom, educator and photographer over at Casi Yost Photography. I am passionate about community over competition and helping other women grow their photography business. I also adore the snow, and don’t mind the rain here in Oregon. I’m pretty OCD too. I have a notebook just for work, and another for personal. If I don’t have my calendar with me at all times, I’m pretty lost.

I absolutely love the no-b.s. approach to giving information that is beneficial to my couples and to other photographers. In this post I am going to break down some of the best venues in the Willamette Valley and why you might want to consider them for your wedding.

The Willamette Valley is a 150 mile long span in Oregon that goes from Portland all the way down to the southern Oregon coast. The cascade range of mountains keep this area gorgeous and green. It's also perfect for growing some of the best wine around, in my humble opinion! I wanted to chat about my favorite five venues in this area:

Venue 1: Eola Hills Legacy Vineyards in Salem

This is a new venue that is in its second year of hosting events. I met with the owners when they were still dreaming about making it a place to house all kinds of events. It has a gorgeous natural pond, with a small waterfall and gorgeous vines as a backdrop. The flat grassy area is perfect for hosting large numbers of guests. They don’t yet have an indoor space, but are currently working on that. They provide restrooms and work with Life in Tents to create gorgeous glamping tents for you and your guests if you want to have that as part of your wedding. I would recommend this space if you are planning on either housing your guests at local hotels or renting the tent’s from Life in Tents.

Venue 2: Abbey Road Farms in Carlton

This venue allows you to utilize the true beauty of the Willamette Valley. It has three guest rooms in huge silo’s that you can rent for the entire event or even through the weekend. They recently added about 13 acres of grapes, so that will be a gorgeous addition to the venue. There is a dedicated ceremony space that overlooks Trappist Abbey which is a monastery here in Oregon! I personally love the shed that they have renovated into a mini-bar for guests or the guys to get ready in. There is even a stove inside! The doors slide open to the huge fire pit.

They’re currently building a large indoor event center that is set to open in 2019 for the upcoming wedding season. Stay tuned for photos from our styled shoot upcoming in March. They used wood from their old horse arena and are building it to allow tons of natural light in. It will have rooms to get ready in, a full kitchen and even a conference area. I’m so excited to see how it’s going to look when its done.

Venue 3: The Water Oasis in Newberg

This venue is in the heart of wine country and is located closer to the Beaverton area than the other venues. There is a ceremony area, large covered reception pavilion that is completely open in the summer, a large pond with water features and a dedicated building just for couples to get ready. I personally love that it overlooks some beautiful rolling hills, which lets be honest, makes for amazing photos. The indoor reception area has gorgeous drop-down chandeliers and the venue is full service with decorations so that you don’t have to haul as many rentals to this location. The back of the property also has refrigerators and a food prep area for your caterers.

Venue 4: Flinn Block Hall in Albany

Flinn Block Hall is such an historic venue. It has bare brick, gorgeous wood, and wide open windows to let in natural light. I love the areas for the bridal party to get ready. It is a very chic and simple space and allows you to transform it into what you evision. There is a large bar area as well and access to elevators and restrooms for your guests. It also has a great food prep area that is close to the dining area. I personally love the wall of large open windows. The natural light is just gorgeous coming onto the wood floors and brick.

Venue 5: Saint Irene’s in Tualatin

If you really want all in one without having to go anywhere, Saint Irene’s is the newest venue in Oregon for that. Their ceremony area has a gorgeous white chevron wall that is an amazing backdrop for any wedding really. Through a roll up glass wall is the restaurant and bar area. It is so instagram worthy! They provide AV, lighting, catering, tables, chairs, set-up and break-down. It seriously is so easy. You honestly have to look at their photos and you’ll be sold.