Rainier Chapter House

As a wedding coordinator, I don't often leave wedding venues reviews but my recent experience at Rainier Chapter House compels me to spread the word about this wonderful Seattle option. Beyond being in a great central location (right off Broadway in Capitol Hill!), Rainier Chapter House was a gorgeous space. More importantly to me as a wedding coordinator, I found the staff to be communicative, accommodating, and dedicated to making sure the couple enjoyed their wedding day. I highly recommend Rainier Chapter House and hope to work there again soon.

I. Love. This. Place. Ok, I might be biased because I just got married here, but seriously, this venue and its staff are fantastic. The manager Peter is super sweet, helpful, and a great communicator. We had several questions throughout the planning process and he always responded within a day. He even held on to some of our belongings our coordinator left behind for three weeks! I wouldn't expect them to do so as they had other events in the meantime, but we were so appreciative of that gesture. Gregory, our host for the wedding night, was also super friendly and helpful.The building is a beautiful, historic multi-level house at the north end of Broadway on Capitol Hill. We had our ceremony and dinner upstairs, with a cocktail hour downstairs; however the downstairs area would be great for a smaller function. The lower level is decorated with such awesome antique furniture and the like, it barely needs any dressing up. There's a piano you can have tuned for your event for a small fee. The upstairs area is spacious with wood floors and allows for great natural lighting (this level is not decorated, so it's a blank slate for you to work with). There's a built-in bar, restrooms, a stage which we used for the DJ, and tons of electrical outlets if you need to plug things in. There's also a little room off of the ladies' restroom with a settee, mirror, and a desk for singing your marriage license and hiding out if you need to take a breather. Downstairs from the main level there are a couple awesome ladies' and gents' lounge rooms/bathrooms/coat rooms, perfect for getting ready or for hiding a stash of the good booze for later on (don't forget to take a photo in the old vault down there). Fortunately this wasn't an issue for us, but be aware there is no elevator so if you have guests with mobility issues it will be difficult if not impossible for them to navigate the building other than the first floor.One of the selling points for us was that the venue rental fee includes tables, folding chairs, dinner and glassware - silverware, pretty blue and white china plates, and real glasses - white table and chair linens, and there is no sales tax due I think to the type of organization that runs the place (of course you can use a rental company if you want different chairs, linens, etc., we just went with what they offered). The whole tab for our 8 hour rental - including the 2 hours of setup and one hour of tear down - was a little over $3000. We fell in love with the aesthetics of the space immediately, but I'd be lying if I said pricing wasn't part of it! They have a list of about 9 caterers you're required to choose from, but they all sounded fantastic. We went with Pyramid Catering who were in line with our budget and have worked at this venue many times; they were awesome in all respects. There's a full kitchen for caterers to work with.I think I've gushed enough. If you're looking for a classy venue in Seattle proper with excellent customer service and which will not push you into debt, I highly recommend the Rainier Chapter House.

Thank you for making my big day absolutely perfect! The staff (Peter and Karen), were professional, impeccable communication and very helpful. They had everything we needed there from tablecloths to silverware. The location was easy to get to and we loved the east coast vibe. It was helpful renting the parking lot over on Aloha to save our guests from dealing with parking.

I just went there for a wedding. It's in a cute part of town. with places to eat and shop. Not much for parking, unless you park on the street, which was fine. Rich in history, which I liked. 2 story Colonial style house, second story had a neat little stage and a big dance floor or banquet hall.If you are into weddings, and Martha Stewart or Martha Washington, then this is the place you should rent.

Okay, so maybe I'm a bit bias when it comes to this place... Hubby and I got married here 3 years ago. When it came time to pick a place, I knew exactly where I wanted to get married. My mom and I would drive by here a lot, especially on the weekends when there was the hustle and bustle of things. So soon after I got engaged, I called mom and told her to make an appointment to go "check it out."We go there originally and the lady who takes care of the place (I think her name is Kay) shows us around. Honestly if there was chickens and donkeys running through the place I probably still would have said yes. That's how much I wanted it to be here.So we promptly put a down payment for May 30th (a Sunday), and a few months later, there we are! Being the bride, I have the luxury of actually parking in the driveway. Everyone else has to trek it, but so what, it's my day!! It's an absolutely great space for a wedding, and the upstairs is great for the reception! They made sure everything was in working order, and they also provide a lot of amenities: tables, chairs, GORGEOUS plates, silverware, etc... If you're gettin' hitched, consider this place. Just get your name in early, or fugetaboutit.

It's really hard for me to rate the DAR in a number of stars. I agree with Carrie H. We recently held our wedding there (March 2008). I chose the venue for the awesome historical aspects and architecture along with the great in-city Cap Hill local. Inside was a great size for our event for about 75 guests We had our ceremony downstairs in the library and reception upstairs, which worked great for set up logistics.But I have to say, the venue is overpriced for the level of service you get from the manager there (yes, still Kay). I expected way more than just one meeting to sign the contract and a lot more help and information from the manager in general. (let alone less attitude) We had to work around her limited schedule to be able to do any planning at the venue. We also had to do a lot of sweet talking to get the venue to help us with our dinner that wasn't buffet style like they are used to handling. Also the contract they provide is not a good contract at all, its full of holes and unclear in places. In summary - I would recommend the venue for looks and location, but would not recommend it for ease of use and price.

I helped organize an event at the Chapter House in the fall of 2010. There was a transfer of management between signing the contract and having our event. There were a few things that were originally agreed to that were apparently a surprise to the new management. Rather than acting in a professional manner to figure things out, the staff was exceedingly rude. Things continued to go down hill, despite our efforts to smooth things over by paying extra fees. The night of the event the staff of the DAR house actually yelled at volunteers and attendees, including board members of our organization. Not surprisingly, they kept our entire deposit, claiming the need to have the venue professionally cleaned, despite their advertising that cleanup is included in the price of venue rental (we did not create an excessive mess and our volunteers did the majority of cleanup, including taking down all of the tables). They also cited "excessive use of lighting and water." ???The building itself is quite nice, but I would strongly recommend looking around and proceeding with caution if this is your #1 choice. At the very least make sure absolutely every conversation you have is documented in writing.

This was the perfect venue for our June 14th wedding. Right up the street from our apartment, and super close to the after party at our neighborhood bar, we couldn't have asked for a more local experience. The space itself is absolutely charming, inside and out. The front lawn and neighborhood were ideal for photos, and the circle drive out front made our vendors' lives that much easier. Peter was instrumental in our event planning, and was readily accessible throughout the planning process. He was very straightforward, but cool as a cucumber as our anxiety levels climbed closer to the big day. Logistics-wise, this venue came at a very competitive price (no sales tax) that included all the tables, chairs, silver, plates, glasses, LINENS, etc. This is pretty unheard of around Seattle, it turns out. Icing on the low-stress cake: only one event per day means the DAR is flexible to YOUR needs and YOUR schedule. We recommend this venue to anyone looking for a local experience in their Capitol Hill neighborhood. It was a perfect fit for the DIY route, and was a great opportunity for our guests to see where we've lived for the last 5+ years.

What a hidden gem! The Rainier Chapter House was perfect for our Capitol Hill wedding reception. It's very charming - the main floor has a vintage sitting room vibe with fancy couches, rugs, and a piano, and the upstairs is basically a blank canvas with perfect white walls and beautiful hardwood floors. This allows you to really do want you want with the space! We chose to keep it pretty simple with just some floral centerpieces and it worked wonderfully.Peter and Karen were a joy to work with; they were excellent, quick communicators.As far as wedding/reception venues go in Seattle, this one was really well priced. Loved that tables/chairs/dishes/flatware were included in the price. The only things that may present slight issues are that there is no parking onsite (although lots of parking options close-by), and that the space is maxed out at 160 guests. We had 115 and I think it'd be too crowded to go much higher than that. There's also no elevator for older folks, but there's not too many stairs and they aren't very steep.

We had an incredible experiencing using the Rainier Chapter House as our wedding venue! Peter manages the house currently, and he is incredibly helpful, responsive, and generous with his time. My husband and I planned our wedding from Australia, so we found this venue online. From pictures, it looked so beautiful but the pictures barely do it justice when you see it in person. When we viewed it for the first time, we knew within minutes we wanted to be married there.The upstairs is a stunning white room with so much natural light from the many windows, and with light hardwood floors. The building itself has so much character and history, which our guests loved and thought highly of! We found the price for the venue was absolutely reasonable as well. Wedding venues these days can be upwards of $6,000 so finding this place felt like a steal. The hardest part about the venue was there was no on-site parking, but with Uber these days, that was a piece of cake to communicate ahead of time.All our guests fell in love with the beautiful venue and keep raving about how perfect it was. I highly recommend the Rainier Chapter House for a wedding! The purity of the white ballroom makes for incredible photos, and gives a beautiful blank canvas for any colors to really pop. Thank you, Peter, and everyone at the House for making our wedding stunning and unforgettable!!