A Country Location

I have had the privilege of performing several weddings at A Country Location. The grounds are immaculately kept. There are many activities that your guests can bide their time with, including walking the grounds, visiting the pond (there's even a boat you can take out!) and playing a round of croquet. Ample parking onsite and a secluded area, not tangled with any other businesses or property.

We loved this location the moment we saw it. It's beautiful, even in the rain. We were married April 19th and had the good fortune to have snow that day. We had about 175 people. We loved that they provide the outdoor tent and that the floor is cemented for those who are wearing heels. They do have heaters for the tent, however, if you get snow they aren't warm enough to heat the tent fully. We thought the tent was also too crowded for 175. I had a lot of trouble walking between the tables to visit. I would recommend sticking around 150 instead. The barn and grounds are also gorgeous. We have considered using the venue for other parties as well. Great price and great hosts, Marilynn and Forrest are reasonable and flexible. We loved our wedding despite the snow in April. Would have given it five stars but you only get an hour to set up for your party (which is harder than you realize) and the party has to end at 8pm in the summer months. Otherwise it's really 5 star.

A Country Location site is very picturesque --definitely an appropriate & beautiful setting for Your Special Day. However, the owners seem to have a difficult time realizing that it is indeed Your Special Day -- and needlessly contribute to the stress of dealing with all the little details.
In dealing with Marilyn and making any requests -- I always felt as if we were in some way "inconveniencing" her. They are unrealistic in their view that you could setup for a wedding in 1 hour. You can "purchase" additional time @ $200 per hour -- and I must acknowledge & thank her for allowing us in about an hour early with no extra charge. She was adament that they (her "staff")used the several hours prior to your designated start time to "set-up". Yet, 15 minutes before our scheduled ceremony start the chairs for our guests still were not in place--after repeated requests-so that we could complete the decorating. (Therefore we didn't have enough time to line the aisle with the ribbon/tulle swags before guests started to arrive at 2:10 for a 2:30 ceremony). Other things were not in place, as requested on the layout she required 2 weeks in advance. One of the biggest issues(for me) was inserting themselves into our celebration. As we were setting the food into bowls, etc during "set-up" she continued to walk-thru the kitchen & freely help herself to nuts, candy, truffles, etc. Later on she went up to the caterer wanting to know if it was time to eat. I found out after the event that her, her husband(Forrest), son, son-in-law & 2 granddaughters went through the buffet line, availed themselves of the wine & beer and while guests were taking pictures, dancing, etc -- her granddaughters were in the bouncy house we had rented, requests were made of the photographer to take personal pictures, etc. Unfortunately, Marilyn & Forrests' lines between personal & business are blurred. They rented the grounds to us for a specific reason, with specific guidelines. I can understand the need to have on-site representative; but they need to be unobtrusive & removed. Nowhere in the contract did it mention I was required to include & feed 6 members from their family! There were several other incidents that occured which I believe were handled poorly -- including a chair that literally broke apart underneath one of the guests. I consider myself a reasonable business person and do not believe I was demanding, inappropriate or rude in any of my requests or my expectation of their behavior. However, I cannot in good conscience recommend A Country Location --- mainly because they are difficult to deal with and you are made to feel -- not like it is Your Special Day and they want to help make it as such; but rather that you are a dollar sign and there is really nothing special about you!

A Country Location is definetly a beautiful setting for your special day however the attitude and actions of the hosts are really ugly. I consisder myself a very honest, resonable person and found it very hard to work with these people. When we first came to view this location we fell in love with it right away but we should have realized at that time the hosts would be difficult. They took an attitude the first time we met with them, which is not what you expect when someone wishes to have your business. We brushed this off at first as maybe someone having a bad day and booked anyways since we loved the location so much. All along the way through the planning process the owners seemed more interested in talking about themselves and not your wedding. When we went to the final walk through we could hardly get a word in edgewise of what we were envisioning for our day, since the owner would not stop changing the subject and talking about her family troubles. When the wedding day arrived I was nervous and excited as any bride would be. We only had two hours to do pictures and set up before the wedding started and we paid extra to have that second hour, usually you only get one. When we arrived and during the time we were getting ready and the flowers were trying to be set up we found she was showing the location to another couple who where thinking of booking. HOW OBNOXIOUS. She insists on having this time before you show up so she is able to set up chairs. The chairs where not set up until a half hour before the wedding. During the reception she invited her neighbors over and helped herself to two rounds at our buffet line with food piled high. This I found out after the wedding unfourtunatly. Fifteen minutes before the reception was to end and cleanup was to start the host inserted herself into the party and requested the DJ stop playing. We had our own time line that was to be followed by the DJ which corresponed with the hosts rules and was to end five minutes prior to cleanup. When cleaup began my mother and father noticed that there were left over party favors that were intended for guests that did not recieve one. The owner told my mother she took a few favors for herself at which time my mother requested that she please return them that they were for guests. The owner refused to return them and walked away. What kind of a host takes your party favors? It is just disgusting. I loved the setting I truely was disappointed by the actions of the hosts. There are so many beautiful places in Washington State, don't allow yourself to be treated this way on your special day. I highly recommened you do not book your wedding with these people. I gave this location one star only for the beautiful setting.