Weddingbee Blog

Since picking our beer themed venue—Mr Pretzel and I have developed a crush on the neighborhood it’s in. Serious crush. We go out of our way to visit, shop and hang down there a couple times a month. If we are even remotely in the neighborhood we find a reason to swing by… and maybe peek in the windows of our venue—not that I’m a “venue peeking Tom” or anything… no that’s not it at all.

We’ve enjoyed learning more about the history, charm, and novelties that the neighborhood offers. We fall more and more in love with the location each visit. I’m hoping that our guests can see the charm too—there’s just a little bit of worry that they will be thrown off by the “non-weddingy” surroundings and will think they made a wrong turn or are in the wrong neighborhood. Ummm, yeah, that would kinda suck.

What makes it “non-weddingy”? The Georgetown neighborhood in Seattle is semi industrial. It’s flanked on one side by the interstate, by Boeing Field (where Boeing does flight test on new airplanes) on another, by a railroad on another… The venue itself has some cool history as the Pre-Prohibition era home of Seattle Malt and Brewing Company.

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The Brewery was built in 1903 and operated until 1915 when Washington adopted Prohibition. At one time it was the 6th largest brewery in the world. What, you ask, did they brew there?

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Haven’t heard of it? No? Rainier Beer is a Northwest regional beer akin to Miller Lite, not really something one would associate with the yummy, hoppy, goodness that the Pretzels are so fond of. But it’s a local icon—and thus kinda cool. (Note- in 1999 Rainier Beer ceased being produced in the Northwest—it is now made in California. BOOOO!) I digress—back to the neighborhood.

Since the 1990s the neighborhood has developed a certain aesthetic.

Creatively employing the open, airy brick-walled spaces left behind by industry and manufacturing, and augmenting them with local art and 20th-century detritus, Georgetown’s merchants consistently fashion warm, imaginative interiors: places you want to visit and never want to leave. Just walking through the streets you witness post-squat, industrial bohemian chic. – Laura Cassidy of the Seattle Weekly [Source]

While post-squat, industrial Bohemian chic sounds right up my alley—Jiminy Cricket in the back of my head reminds me that some of our guests will find this strange. I alternate between being worried that our guests won’t see the same charm that we do and not caring if they do or not. “But Pretzel,” you ask, “what does post-squat industrial Bohemian chic look and feel like?”

Check out these images from the neighborhood.

First there are the crazy custom bikes. They pepper the ‘hood and always make me smile. The photo above was taken just down the street from our venue—notice the Malt House sign in the brick work. **swoon!**

There is Oxbow Park which houses two historic buildings (hat and boots) which once were part of a gas station—very Route 66-ish.

Fruit Cocktail Collectibles in Georgetown [Source]

Georgetown is peppered with unique shops, bars, and restaurants. I read somewhere that a large percentage of the businesses are women owned—sweet. It is very community oriented, with an active community group and frequent neighborhood cultural events like the monthly Georgetown Art Attack and the annual Georgetown Festival.

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In the middle of it all is our venue. Our pre-prohibition, brick clad, former beer producing kick a$$ venue. *sigh* Mr Pretzel and I are in love with our venue, the neighborhood, the vibe—all of it. I hope our guests “get it” too. How excited does all of this make me? See for yourself.

I just hope our guests embrace the “post-squat, industrial Bohemian chic”. *sigh*

Are you worried what your guests will think of your venue? Did you look at non-weddingy reception sites?