Top 5 Wedding Venues in Spokane and Coeur d'Alene
My name is Brent Looyenga and I'm a Spokane wedding photographer. I've been photographing weddings for almost 15 years now. In the course of time, I've found some incredible wedding venues, and also some horrible ones. Some private property locations have been pretty awesome when done right, and others have left me, a Spokane wedding photographer, the planner for whole day. There are so many things that will contribute to a venue being one of my top 5 wedding venues in Spokane and Coeur d'Alene, but we should talk about a few.
Factors when choosing the top 5 wedding venues in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene
A top 5 wedding venue will have amazing photo spots - This isn’t just about locations, but also a variety of locations. Is the only pretty place the one view? Or do we have forests, fields, and other amazing places to photograph?
The best venues will have excellent customer experiences - Who cares how beautiful a location is if being there isn’t awesome for you, your guests, and even your vendors. Ideally, your wedding day should be awesome for everyone.
Location Flexibility - We need to think a lot about what happens if it rains, snows, or anything other than if a beautiful day happens. Does the venue have a way to make sure things are still awesome? This contributes greatly to how great a venue actually is.
Smaller factors - Other factors I considered were if it was family run (which is better because they have so much interest in making sure you are happy, as their investment is so high), how long you can be at the venue, and if there are some incredible sunset locations.
Considering these factors, these are my top 5 wedding venues in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene.
Hagadone Event Center at the Coeur d'Alene Resort - Best All Around Venue
From rainy, stormy days where you can’t really go outside (Like Lucas and Kellee’s Wedding), to straight winter wonderland (Like Michael and Preson’s Wedding) to absolutely beautiful sunny days (Like Jared and Alexis’ wedding) the Hagadone Event Center shines.
Best wedding venue on the lake by far. - Some of the best sunset locations. - Lots of staff to help setup, make things happen. - Some of the best "backup plans" if you have snow or rain. - Lots of flexibility for photos and large groups. - Very unique for the area.
Settlers Creek in Coeur d'Alene - My Favorite Wedding Venue
Settlers Creek is absolutely beautiful. With probably the most land for a wedding venue in the area, it is not only very close (about 10 minutes from downtown Coeur d’Alene) but it also gives the out on the farm feel with absolute class. Featuring multiple ceremony locations, reception locations and cocktail hour locations, Settlers provides it all. On top of it all, it’s family owned, and so the buy in to make sure your day is perfect is sky high. I absolutely love going to Settlers Creek every year. You should definitely check out Brayden and Aeva’s wedding, Gabe and Bethany’s wedding, or one of the more recent ones; Randy and Payton’s Settlers Creek Wedding.
Incredible flexibility - Family owned (100% buy in to make you happy) - Multiple ceremony and reception locations. - Top tier sunset potential - Many photo locations for mid-day. - One of the only excellent "open field" locations
Arbor Crest Wine Cellars - Best Wedding Venue with a Vineyard
Arbor Crest Wine Cellars has so many great things going for it. An incredible place on a cliff overlooking Spokane. It has multiple ceremony locations, a beautiful enchanted forest, great views, excellent service, and absolutely stunning whether you are there in the spring or the fall. It really is one of the best locations in all of Spokane to get married. Check out Bronson and Brittany’s Fall wedding, as well as Jake and Joanna’s beautiful wedding. Even the review we posted of Brendon and Kaylee’s wedding is a great short read.
Absolutely beautiful - Great sunset potential - Many incredible ceremony locations. - Lots of room for variety. - Excellent staff.
The Historic Davenport Weddings - Best indoor wedding venue
It’s hard to understate the value of a great indoor venue, especially when you’re getting married in November through April. The Historic Davenport ensures you will have a beautiful, classy, wedding and they can still host a lot of your friends and family. It is beautiful, unique, and one of the best urban looking wedding venues. Everything about the Historic Davenport Hotel screams class, and I love going through its halls and ballrooms. You should absolutely check out Ted and Sara’s beautiful Historic Davenport Wedding, as well as Josh and Salina’s both of which were in the early spring. But even Boone and Asti’s engagement shoot does a great job of showing off the many different incredible locations the Davenport has to offer.
Being a 100% indoor venue, it is the ultimate spot for off season weddings. - Very classic vibe - Many locations for ceremony and receptions. - Some great indoor locations to photograph even if outside is nasty. - One of the few venues with some great urban choices for sunset. - Lots of staff to help make your dreams come true.
Beacon Hill Events- Best Ceremony with a View
Beacon Hill Events is a location with some beautiful and flexible locations. From going to great views, to their pond for reflections, to the many trees they have on property, there are a lot of great options and locations for photos. Further, they have excellent getting ready rooms and a super kind staff. There’s so much to love here, and to have it so close to Spokane means there is a lot of flexibility. Like Gabe and Katheryn’s wedding, where they chose to do a ceremony at Our Lady of Lourdes, to John and Renee’s wedding, who decided to stay there for the whole beautiful thing.
Being up on the hill has some beautiful sunsets - Good amount of indoors space incase things needed to be moved. - Lots of staff to make things happen - Plenty of room to get ready
Honorable Mentions - These venues could easily have been on the list. They are beautiful, Flexible, and I love going to them every year.
