Georgetown Ballroom is a fun and unique place that is definitely one of Seattle’s hidden gems. It is a dedicated event space, so you probably haven’t heard of it unless you’ve bee...n invited to a party there. My (now) husband and I toured several potential wedding venues, but Georgetown Ballroom was the clear winner. I felt something special as soon as I walked in the door and we both fell in love with this place.
Georgetown Ballroom (GB) is the perfect place to host a wedding, birthday party, or corporate event! Here are some of the reasons why we chose it:
1. Location: GB is located in South Seattle and it is really easy to get to from I-5. My husband and I live and work in Seattle, so we were happy that we found a great venue in the city. (We didn’t want to coordinate a wedding located somewhere else, like the Eastside).
2. Parking: Most of our guests have a car, so we wanted to make sure that they had a place to park. GB has private parking lots that they let you use for free. (The other venues we looked at either had no parking options or it cost an additional fee).
3. Indoor/Outdoor space: GB has both indoor and outdoor space! They have two large rooms inside (Ballroom and Mission Theater) plus a private, nicely landscaped courtyard in the back. We did our ceremony in the Ballroom because they have a cool stage that we wanted to use, but there was enough space for us to do it outside if we wanted to. We did our dinner reception in the Mission Theater. We only had 100 guests, but there was enough room for up to 300 people.
4. Décor: GB has a vintage American/Asian vibe and it is nicely decorated (old suitcases, paper lanterns, etc). The only things we brought in were personal items for the guest book table and a couple of tall hurricane candle holders. (Some other venues come completely empty, so you have to spend a lot of money on décor to make it look nice).
5. Bride/Groom suites: GB has two private suites for the bride and groom. They are fully furnished and very comfortable! The suites are located on mezzanines, so you can still see and hear what is going on downstairs. (The other venues we looked at either didn’t have “getting ready” areas or they offered us boring conference rooms).
6. Dance Floor: GB has a nicely sized dance floor which includes a mirror ball and an excellent in-house sound system. My husband and I took dance lessons before the wedding, so we wanted to make sure that we had a suitable place to show off our moves!
7. Food/Drink: You have to use GB’s in-house catering team (except for dessert), but they are amazing! They are good at all types of cuisine (American, Asian, Mexican, etc), plus you get to do a tasting, so you can customize the menu. (It was nice not having to coordinate an outside caterer). You also have to use GB for your drinks, but this was super convenient. They have different package options and they just billed us for the actual number of drinks consumed. (This was so much easier than buying our own drinks, hauling them to the venue, and then taking home random leftovers).
8. Staff: Jerry, the owner, is a really nice guy and does a great job of maintaining the quality of GB. We enjoyed working with his entire staff (Susie, Danielle, Nancy, Angie). They were all friendly, organized, and very responsive, which we greatly appreciated. On the day of our event, I also thought the food servers provided excellent service.