This Beacon Hill Winery wedding from late Summer will forever be one of my favorites. Marlee and Brandon are two of the funniest and most stylish people I know. They ooze ‘calm, cool and collected’ but also instantly make you feel comfortable being your truest, weirdest self in their presence. From our first coffee date to the present time, I’m jealous of the people that get to hang out with them regularly. I was looking forward to celebrating them all year and when the day came it did not disappoint. Turns out their friends and family are equally as wonderful.

Beacon Hill Winery is a wedding venue in Oregon Wine country that is both stunning and intimate. With a beautiful garden, guest house and tasting room surrounded by a vineyard, it’s elegant and comfortable at the same time. Much like these two. There are multiple backdrops for a ceremony, a large grassy area for dinner and games, and a patio for cocktail hour and dancing. And if you happen to have to change plans on the day of because of rain (ahem this happened) they have a big beautiful ballroom available with a clean aesthetic and no weird patterned carpet. Plus the wine is really good. A few words from the couple:

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE BEACON HILL AND WHAT DID YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT HAVING YOUR WEDDING THERE?

We live in Seattle, but were pretty set on getting married in the Willamette Valley because our families live in Oregon and California, and because we love wine.  I was exploring the area on google maps, and just happened to find Beacon Hill.  I was thrilled when I saw that they did weddings.  We visited in July and it was gorgeous.  After we looked around for a few minutes, Brandon turned to me and said “it’s perfect” and that was that.  We were looking for a venue that didn’t feel like it was made only for weddings, but that felt like a place we’d want to spend time outside of our wedding day.  We also loved that the area had so much to offer, and could entertain all of our guests for the weekend.  

We loved having our wedding at Beacon Hill for so many reasons.  It’s a beautiful space, indoor and out. The staff was so so so wonderful.  We ended up switching our reception from outside to inside the day of the wedding with essentially no issues.  That was amazing.  My personal favorite detail was being able to see guests arrive downstairs while we waited upstairs for the start of the ceremony-these are some of my favorite photos from the day too.

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR SOMEONE PLANNING A WEDDING AT BEACON HILL? OR PLANNING A WEDDING IN GENERAL?

Our number one recommendation: Keep the traditions and pieces of weddings that you love and ditch the ones that don’t feel authentic to you.  I was so resistant to setting up a rain plan because I did not want to believe that it would rain…but it did.  Everything worked out perfectly, but we could have saved our vendors a headache if we had been more organized for this. For anyone planning at Beacon Hill, think about arranging a shuttle, bus, or Uber for your guests.  Jamie has suggested this.  We decided not to, but wish we had.  Last, do everything you can to extend the celebration into the days leading up to and following your wedding.  This is a one-time thing, so make it last more than a few hours if you can. 

NAME ONE TRADITION YOU HAPPILY DITCHED FOR THE WEDDING AND ONE YOU HAPPILY MADE PART OF YOUR DAY.

I think this is the greatest opportunity to make your wedding your own and ensure everything you do is meaningful for you! Brandon and I decided to walk down the aisle together, and it was so special for both of us.  We wanted to show our loved ones that we were walking into our lives and our future together, and also it was such a comfort to experience that nerve-wracking moment in each other’s company.  Our families walked down the aisle with each other, so nobody was left out. 

We ditched the father-daughter/mother-son dances along with the garter and bouquet tosses.  They didn’t fit us as a couple, they didn’t fit our crowd’s vibe, and they felt really unnatural to us, so we decided early on to just skip them. Last, we ditched cake cutting for a champagne tower that kicked off the reception.  Our caterers (Delilah’s Catering) were excited about it and really took it on.  It was a blast. 

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEMORY FROM YOUR WEDDING DAY?

Brandon: The first look was special. The toasts were the most fun, and probably my favorite moment from the night. Marlee: My favorite moment was walking into the house immediately after the ceremony, and hugging our bridal party and families as they all finished the recessional. Then, seeing all of our guests and celebrating with hugs and smiles.  There was so much joy going around!

IF YOU WERE GOING TO DO IT AGAIN WOULD YOU CHANGE ANYTHING?

We would have been more thoughtful about transportation home for our guests, but that’s honestly it.  If we could have kept the party going even longer, we would have, but the night has to end. 

Scroll on for all the polka dot veil, green suit and champagne tower goodness. Stay til the end to see my favorite use of an engagement photo to date 😉

You can see Marlee and Brandon’s engagement session here, in which we also had to change plans last minute because of rain.

Wonderful vendors:

Venue: Beacon Hill Winery and Vineyard

Flowers: Brier + Ivy

Dress/Boutique: Lola Varma / Dress Theory Seattle

Grooms suit: The Black Tux

Hair/Make-up: BEAUTYSESSION Pdx

Catering: Delilah’s Catering

DJ: Blaze Productions – Chris

Officiant: Heartcrafted Ceremonies