My favorite Leavenworth wedding venue is the Brown Family Homestead. It’s location, just twenty minutes outside of downtown Leavenworth, is the perfect mini-destination wedding location in Washington. It is the wedding venue that I love photographing above all else. Our close friends married there in 2016 (which was my first time photographing the beautiful location). We loved it so much that Allie and I got married there as well in 2018.
We might be a bit biased, but for good reason. The Brown Family Homestead offers everything on our checklist and then some.
Brown Family Homestead Features
Getting Ready Location
Private Lake Location
Venue Grounds
Ceremony Location
Reception Area
Decor
Getting Ready Location
A quaint farmhouse located on the property is the perfect place for everyone to get ready. You may rent the house and sleep there the night before too. It sleeps up to ten people total, which is great for family or a wedding party to all stay in the same place. Imagine waking up already at the venue, so that you can just embrace the full wedding day.
What you get when you do this, is the entire venue for two days. Arrive in the afternoon the day before your wedding for your ceremony rehearsal and dinner at the venue. Have your wedding the next day and then leave the next day late in the morning.
The kitchen space is large and absolutely perfect for a relaxing breakfast. As the morning transitions, it has great light and plenty of space for hair and makeup as well. It’s also perfect for staging things for the reception later in the day.
After the wedding reception ends there is a small treehouse at the edge of the woods for the bride and groom. A real two-story tree house with a cozy little fireplace so you won’t get cold at night. It is perfect for the wedding couple to sleep on their wedding night, near their guests but still maintain privacy.
Guys Getting Ready Location
In between the main house and the reception area is the Annex which provides the groom and his party space for them to relax and get ready as well. It has a vibe that is similar to the main house, it adds to the aesthetic of the property. Inside the annex, are a few couches and mirrors for everyone to be able to get ready at once. My favorite part is the beautiful light that comes in from the windows. Just look at the pictures at the Brown Family Homestead guys getting ready location.
First Look & Private Lake Spot
A hidden gem of the Brown Family Homestead venue is their private access to Lake Wenatchee. Within a short three minute drive, you’ll be on the edge of the gorgeous Lake Wenatchee. The private and quiet location is a good opportunity for portraits or to share your first look away from guests. The view of the mountains plunging into the lake make for a natural and impressive backdrop. Without a two hour hike.
The Venue
There is not a single spot on the property that is no beautiful. You can look in every direction and see something worth photographing in every direction. As a photographer, I never have to avoid a certain spot or only shoot in the same spot each time. No matter what section I’m photographing the wedding there is a beautiful backdrop. For a Leavenworth wedding venue, they have the best 360° mountain view.
The entire property is absolutely beautiful and guests can enjoy exploring during cocktail hour. Wildflowers in bloom, a cozy fire pit (provided no burn ban in effect), and lush green lawns that are perfect for yard games or impromptu lounging. The chicken coop and the horses will certainly keep your guests entertained too.
Brown Family Homestead Ceremony Location
The ceremony location is breathtaking and reason enough to have your wedding at the Brown Family Homestead. At the top of a hill, the arbor and ceremony site overlooks the valley, with mountains hugging closely around. Seeing the Brown Family Homestead house, Harry Potter style looking tent, and mountain in the background is a view you’ll want to look at all day. There are not many Leavenworth wedding venues with views quite like this one.
There is also easy car access to the ceremony site for grandparents who might not be able to make the walk up the hill – They have thought about it all.
For us, it was a huge plus that the arbor and wooden benches are already in place and just waiting for your guests to arrive. It meant not renting chairs or having to shuffle around the after the ceremony to set up for the reception. It also meant not arranging chairs in perfect little equally spaced rows, or thinking up different ceremony layouts – because let’s be real folks when planning a wedding there about a million other tasks that can suck up your time.
For you minimalist couples the arbor is completely beautiful left bare. But there is also the option to add flowers or a fabric swag – the creativity and freedom are yours.
Brown Family Homestead Reception Area
Tables & Dinner Area
Our first question when looking for a wedding venue was, do you include tables and chairs?
If you want gorgeous wooden tables and an eclectic arrangement of antique wooden chairs you would probably have to spend a small fortune to rent it all, but Brown Family Homestead provides tables and chairs free of charge. Yes, read that again. You can seat up to 170 guests at the most welcoming reception. The tables and chairs are already so beautiful and perfect you hardly need to add anymore decor. I don’t think any other of Leavenworth wedding venue includes tables and chairs this nice or unique.
Tent
The tent and string lights have a magical essence, it reminds me of something out of Harry Potter. Watching the sun starting to set is so beautiful as the sky turns blue, with the warm yellow lights from inside the tent. For our October wedding, the sides of the tent were closed to keep the wind out. With the heaters turned on the temperature was comfortable. In the summer the sides can stay open later, if not, all night depending on the weather. From the reception area, you can look back up the hill where the ceremony was and enjoy the surrounding mountainside.
Dance Floor
Also, let’s not forget about my favorite place during a wedding – the dance floor! Under the tent is a wooden dance floor with wood plank walls. As a photographer, this was a selling point for me – avoiding unsightly white plastic walls in the background of the dance floor photos like many other venues.
Decor
There is an abundance of free decorations that you can borrow from the ‘Pinterest Barn’. It is basically an elephant graveyard where past couples donate their old decorations, table settings, signs, glass mugs, etc. for the next couple to borrow. But the qulity of stuff is really good. You could probably plan an entire wedding with everything found inside. Therefore, I like to think a little bit of love that created all the previous weddings at BFH is a part of each future wedding.
However, nothing in there is guaranteed as the next couple to have their wedding could take and use something. It is kind of a pay-it-forward opportunity to leave behind any decor you think someone else may like to use. Take a little, give a little. In fact, we borrowed a large glass mirror for our table arrangements and we left all of our greenery and flowers from our wedding for the upcoming couple to use the very next day.
Outside Vendors
At BFH you have complete freedom to hire whatever caters, rentals, photographers (maybe us even), etc. that you desire. This is a bonus as some venues require you to contract from a small list of their vendors. Of course, Brown Family Homestead is so helpful in offering their top recommendations should you like some insight. Food was very important to us, and through BFH’s referral, we connected with Ravenous Catering. This was another worry-free element of our day. We knew the food was going to be delicious, and we still receive compliments from guests who attended our wedding.
BFH also allows you to bring your own alcohol. This was a big benefit to us as Allie and her Dad are homebrewers and they provided the kegs. We were able to bring the wine and items for our signature drink as well. We hired BFH to staff the bar so that drinks were served to guests throughout the evening (and without any corkage, or hidden fees).
Brown Family Homestead Owners
The Brown Family Homestead would not be what it is without the wonderful staff. Karen and Hannah could not be better venue hosts for your wedding. This mother and daughter team have been hosting weddings for a long time and know everything necessary to make your wedding stress free. Having them on your team is worth it alone. They act as helpful planners throughout the process to make sure your wedding runs smoothly and without forgetting any details. If this article peaked your interested and you want to learn more please reach out to them.
We Hope You Love It
The Brown Family Homestead wedding venue will always hold a special place in our hearts as the place Allie and I got married. We want many others to enjoy it just as we did and have the best wedding imaginable. The Brown Family Homestead is the perfect Leavenworth wedding venue for any multi-day wedding venue. If you want to learn more about the Brown Family Homestead please check out their website the learn more about booking a tour.
