Ray's Boathouse

Professional team, great location and from event planning through delivery, great!

We could not be more pleased and grateful for how wondering our Ray's wedding was -- Pamela is a huge reason for that. From the beginning planning stages, we wanted to keep things simple and low stress. And while it is clear that Ray's can accommodate big wedding visions, ours wasn't... We just wanted a delicious meal with friends and family. Knowing that we wanted to keep things basic and simple, we wondered if we'd get less attention: makes total sense that Pamela's time and attention would be prioritized on bigger budget events (like the wedding the night before us). We honestly felt that was NEVER the case. We felt so well taken care of the entire time. While we knew when we met Pamela that Ray's was the right choice for us, she exceeded our expectations at every turn, all the way up until the rehearsal and the day of. Her know-how, command and direction, and kindness was the reason everything went off without a hitch. We would recommend her (and Ray's) to anyone wholeheartedly and without reservation. We already want to do our event again.

We had a wonderful wedding at Ray’s. We decided to plan a relatively small wedding around 60 people without a wedding planner or a day of wedding coordinator to keep the budget low. Hannah, our event coordinator at Ray’s was patient with endless amount of probably very naive questions as we are just clueless about weddings. She provided reminders and guided us through the process, was able to help make accommodations to last minute requests. The day of the wedding, we were assigned a Captain, Peter. We didn’t have a DJ and he offered to press play for the processional song. Then moved the alter flowers from the ceremony to the sweetheart table to provide more decor during the reception. We didn’t ask, he just was that thoughtful. Needless to say, Ray’s is beautiful, we had the ceremony by the water and the reception right next door looking out to the water again. The price is very reasonable compared to other venues. The food was amazing, all of our guest raved about it. We can’t think of a better place to have a wedding. Highly recommend.

A dream wedding. I hope to never plan another wedding, but if I did - I would choose Ray's again in a heartbeat. S E R V I C E We were fortunate to work with Pamela. She is a responsive, transparent, and caring communicator. She also doles sage advice on everything from seating arrangements to wine pairings to sound system considerations. Ray's/Pamela also suggested wonderful vendors who made our wedding day special (Rayburn Entertainment for MC, sound, and band; Agape Events & Beyond for day-of-coordination). Ray's service staff were all skilled, kind, and inclusive. The LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC guests at our queer wedding felt welcomed. On the day of, Ray's staff handled all set up and tear down for the venue and reception, allowing us and our family and friends to relax and enjoy the day. L O C A T I O N The water, mountain, and sunset views are STUNNING. Several guests told us un-prompted that it was the most beautiful wedding they had attended before. F O O D Many of our family and friends are huge foodies, and people loved the food and drinks! Ray's was able to accommodate allergies and dietary restrictions with tasty dishes.

Ray's helped to make our wedding the most magical, beautiful, and fun day of our lives. Planning was a breeze with the Ray's team - they are responsive to emails, happy to meet onsite to discuss things in more detail, accommodating of various requests (we had our friends play live music for our ceremony + cocktail hour, had specific table layouts we wanted, dietary requests, etc). The plated dinner service was fast and everything was served hot. Our guests are still raving about the drinks (we did their signature cocktails - cucumber gin swizzle -yum!) and the sablefish main dish literally is one of the best seafood dishes we/our guests have ever had. We used their complimentary fresh flowers and also hired their house florist, Shelby Bond/Bond in Bloom, to create floral arrangements for our ceremony that we reused for the dinner table centerpieces. They were absolutely beautiful and the Ray's team did a great job transitioning the cermemony space for our cocktail hour. The view, cost, food, and service are unbeatable -- especially for and in Seattle.

We had a truly great experience getting married at Ray’s. First, their event space is separate from the restaurant, so both private and really lovely. We wanted an outdoor vibe, no easy task in unpredictable April in Seattle, but Ray’s pulls it off perfectly with the gorgeous views over Elliott Bay and an elegant setting. We also wanted to keep ceremony and reception in one place, and it was simple and easy to do it all there. Hannah was our contact and she was an absolute pro. She accommodated all of our quirky add-ons, answering endless questions and offered solid guidance along the way to help us make decisions. We didn’t have a wedding coordinator, instead relying on friends, and the evening went off beautifully. Everyone raved about the food, the location, and feel of the place, and we had the best time. Compared to other wedding venues, we felt Ray’s offered far more value for the price, with team support, table settings, table flowers, set-up, etc. We kept it simple, adding flowers and a photographer, and it was perfect. Their team is clearly very experienced, and handled it all beautifully. We were super happy with our choice. One item of note: If you’re getting married during cooler times of the year, it can be chilly for people sitting closer to the cocktail area so worth potentially renting additional standing heaters.

As an 25 year + event planner, I've worked with lots and lots of event vendors, and Ray's is definitely one of the vendors I would work with again and highly recommend to others. Pamela was my planning contact, and she was responsive, thorough, helpful, and just lovely to deal with. Then, on the day of my clients' wedding, the event staff took great care of all wedding guests in EXACTLY the way I would want them to. They were attentive, welcoming, warm and so very helpful from start to finish, delivering delicious and beautifully presented food at just the right pace. The experience we received from Ray's is what you expect when hosting and event, but it's not always what you get.

I’m back now in California after the holiday trip and the party Christmas Eve at Ray’s was easily the highlight! Thank you, Hannah, for all your help in decision making! Your staff: Doug, Peter, and Lauren were so friendly yet professional. They kept everything on track and made the evening personable for our huge family. We all have very special memories of the evening and look forward to doing it again next year! Don’t lose our reservation!Happy New Year!

Everything was perfect! Gorgeous space with waterfront deck. From start to finish everything went smoothly. The staff was helpful and patient in the planning process and then all the details were executed perfectly. The food was top notch and everyone was very impressed with the quality. We even had lovely weather for the end of October with a sunset over the Olympics and frolicking seals! All this AND a parking lot! Best of Seattle!

I have hosted a family dinner here for many years. The food , service and atmosphere have always been excellent. We had over 50 people this year and everything was perfect.

My wife and I were SO happy with Ray's Boathouse as our wedding & reception venue! Pamela was our advisor throughout and she helped us with everything and made it very easy to coordinate. Everything went absolutely perfectly on the day of the event and we could not have been happier. We HIGHLY recommend this place to anyone planning a special event!! Great food, service and accommodations.

Ray's staff were prompt in responding to my many questions and very accommodating to ensure that my particular requests were satisfied. The venue is so flexible, the view unbeatable. The food was excellent, service top notch. A perfect evening.

Ray's staff was amazing. The staff were so responsive to all of my questions. All things considered, this venue is very reasonable cost-wise--you can omit things you need to in order to cut down on costs and it's highly customizable. We were so lucky that on our wedding day it was hot and sunny (a rarity), and everyone raved about the food and the views. It's truly a gorgeous location and we are so happy we were able to get married there. Highly recommended!

Our wedding was stunning and seamless! Our guests are still raving about the food and setting. Ray's provided stellar service and professionalism throughout the event planning process. Our event manager Hannah was incredible to work with, and went above and beyond to make sure we felt taken care of throughout the planning phases and event execution. The day of the wedding we were taken care of by Pamela who was incredibly thoughtful and kind. If you need one stop shopping for your wedding (food, floral, setup, linens, flawless execution), seriously book Ray's.

I had my wedding at Ray’s boathouse. I feel I did not get the help I needed from the wedding coordinator. I let management/owners know of my negative experience. They did not want to make things right. My family and I will not be back to Ray’s and will not recommend them.

Jenna and the entire Rays team was so accommodating and helpful during the whole process of planning our wedding. You can imagine planning a wedding is hard and stressful under normal circumstances but during COVID it was a constant change of plans and questions. Rays and Jenna in particular were amazing and didn't miss a beat. They were so helpful, super responsive and came up with ways to make our day even more special than we could have ever imagined. The entire team went above and beyond. We look forward to having future events there and eventually our large party!

We had our reception at Ray's Boathouse in early August, and it couldn't have gone better. The staff made everything incredibly easy, from coordinating the food, drinks, and cake, to making sure the other vendors knew the plan. The venue was absolutely gorgeous, we used the standard package and barely added any other decor because the view from the outdoors is so overwhelmingly beautiful! We had a lot of guests from out of town so we wanted to show them everything that is great about Seattle, and Ray's was the perfect setting. We did a cocktail hour and then dinner and dancing, and everyone commented on how delicious the food was. We can't imagine our reception anywhere else, every last detail was perfect.

Amazing food, really competent team and a great place. View was incredible and we had a perfect time. Definetely recomend.

Staff was amazing. Food was outstanding. Perfect day. We loved it.

We had an amazing time planning our wedding at Ray's. Amanda was so accommodating during our 18 month planning period, exchanging well over 100 emails with myself, my fiancé, and our vendors. Ray's offers every amenity imaginable either without cost or at a very reasonable rate. They also contract with local companies to bring in anything you need (tents, linens, chairs, etc.) if you're looking to enhance the space. We had the chance to attend their Open House twice (due to our lengthy engagement), which was a great opportunity to spend time at the venue to really get a sense of the look/feel of the space and how we wanted everything to be on the day-of. Would highly recommend this venue every day of the year!

Take the best review you could write and double it. That's how we feel when describing Ray's staff, location and frankly everything about this fantastic venue. With any wedding, there are a ton of things for you to think about, things change, plans change, you are making decisions with a million different things happening at the same time. Having a venue that has professional staff, who know what they are doing and make everything just flow smoothly is such a comfort. Ray's staff (Jenna was our coordinator) were super helpful from the time we signed on. They had a checklist that was helpful for us to think of all the things that we needed to worry about. Reminded us about various deadline (and were gracious when we were a little bit late). Worked with our photographer and DJ to set up both for the ceremony and reception. On the day of the wedding, Jenna took on the role of day of coordinator and made sure everything went smoothly. We had cancellations on the day of the wedding and Ray's was so easy for us to work with to reconfigure the table, etc. A huge shout out to our Banquet Master who had taken the time to know what we were drinking and had the right wine to top off our wine glasses while we were shuttling from table to table. We were super impressed by him and the rest of the staff. We cannot thank them and our Banquet master in particular enough. They helped make our special day SPECIAL. We could write this entire review on Ray's incredible staff, but you get the idea. Of course, one cannot beat the location. The views of the Olympics are incredible, you are right by the water and the locks. On a late summer day, the shades of red in the sky are even more stunning. One caveat, is that later in the summer, with lots of wildfires, some of that view could be obstructed by smoke...but that is true anywhere in Seattle or the Pacific Northwest (in late summer). In conclusion, we are so very glad to have picked and worked with Ray's and highly recommend their exceptional staff and great location.

Ray's Boathouse is an incredible venue! We had our wedding ceremony and reception there! But, it's the staff and wedding planner Paula who made it an absolute joy for us! From working with us to plan all the details to creating a beautiful masterpiece for us on our wedding day! Paula was there to anticipate our every want and need (like Gin and Tonics in the Bride's Room before the ceremony ) Our family and friends have all shared that this was by far the BEST wedding they've attended! How very lucky we were to have Ray's and their wonderful staff create the wedding of our dreams. Thank you, Paula and Ray's Boathouse for a PERFECT wedding!

We were overwhelmingly happy with our experience at Ray's. They made everything so easy-- all we had to decide was the menu & napkin colors. Our coordinator helped us set a great timeline and made sure everything went off without a hitch. She truly went above and beyond. The rest of the staff was also amazing and assured a successful event. We attended their open house in the spring and had not yet selected most of our vendors. We ended up hiring their house florist (Bond in Bloom), photographer (Starr Photography), and band (Ambiance Jazz Ensemble)-- which was awesome because they all knew the venue so well. Truly a perfect evening and would not hesitate to recommend hosting a wedding here to anyone.

The team at Ray's made our wedding even better than we could have imagined. We worked with Paula and she was so easy to communicate with. She always responded to our emails incredibly quickly and did everything she could to accommodate our requests (including dietary restrictions!). On the day-of, I wasn't worried about anything because I knew Paula and her team were on top of it. The venue is gorgeous, the food was amazing, and the space was perfect for our 50 person wedding. I would recommend Ray's to anyone.

The team at Ray's is OUTSTANDING. We chose the venue because it's where my now husband and I had our first date - and also because the pricing couldn't be beat for what we wanted. Ray's provided a no-fuss experience for us. They took care of everything - from flowers and the gorgeous view, first-class food and drink, to attentive and fun servers, plus a straight-shooting day-of coordinator. Ray's went above and beyond! Arranging the venue was easy and straightforward. The open house at the beginning of the season allowed us to try a number of different dishes, meet different vendors, and ask questions -- while not having someone hovering over our shoulders so that we could be honest about what we liked and didn't. Amanda, our contact and day-of coordinator, was incredibly responsive and happy to answer our questions along the way. She was also very patient during our walk-through and kept everything organized so that we knew what to expect. The day of the wedding Amanda and Kenzee, the server lead/banquet captain, were SO great. My whole family arrived before our scheduled time to set up. The entire team was super accommodating and worked around the hoard of people. My dad even made an observation about some bird excrement on the deck, not thinking anything of it, but Kenzee was out there a minute later getting it cleaned up. Talk about service - what a champ! Everything came together for an unforgettable day. People talked about how superb the food was, commented on the great service, and loved the view and setting. Couldn't be happier with our choice. Thanks, Amanda, Kenzee and team at Ray's - you rock!

One of the best weddings I've ever experienced was at Ray's! The venue is awesome, the people are helpful and friendly, and it made for a wonderful wedding. The happy couple and I still talk about it - we had so much fun, and it was greatly because Ray's was so wonderful. This is a wonderful place to have your wedding!

I got married 9/28/14 at Ray's Boathouse and to sum it all up I would say that my choice to have it at Ray's was the 'best decision I could have made!' When I initially made contact I did so via their website and got a response and PDF's of info from Phyllis. I then went down in person to see the venue and met with Andrea and she gave me a tour of the 'Northwest Room' and surrounding area and from then on all email contact went through her. Andrea was absolutely amazing to work with! She responded to my emails promptly and provided answers to all of my questions. As a bride planning one of the most important days in her life that is costing thousands of dollars she put me at ease. I loved that they had multiple ways for us to do our bar. We could full on host everything, host up to a set dollar amount, host certain beverages, do a drink ticket option, etc. We ended up doing drink tickets which kept our budget in check. Ray’s allowed my family to come and set up THREE HOURS prior to when guests were to arrive! This though isn’t normal as you usually only get 1 hour but there was no other event scheduled before ours. They also allowed us to drop off certain items prior such as lanterns so that they would be setup in plenty time for the event. I had been told that my family would be responsible for laying down and stapling the aisle runner to the dock, but on the day of they did it for us! My guests RAVED about the food which of course was one of the main reason I decided to host my wedding at a highly rated restaurant location instead of a banquet hall, hotel, etc. This venue was absolutely gorgeous. Married right on the water with Puget Sound and mountains behind you, water flowing under feet below the docks, beautiful tented outdoor cocktail hour area and the Northwest room was just the right size for my wedding size (60 guests). There was space for a nice sized dance floor and DJ, and if we hadn’t hired one, an ipod hookup with speakers would have been a free option to utilize. After the wedding we received nothing but compliments about how beautiful everything was. There were a few cons. 1. Andrea whom I spent months talking to via email was not working the day of my wedding so her partner Phyllis was the coordinator the day of. This led to a few things that were talked about in the emails and documented on the event order form not being implemented. For example, the purple linens were supposed to be placed in the wine glasses and not laid across the table. Also, my wedding party was supposed to be able to have unlimited drinks and the bartender later on refused to give my bridesmaid/sister drinks without tickets. (She had placed hers down in the back office area and they disappeared) 2. Guests were allowed to walk through the patio doors from the cocktail hour area into the reception space and sit down instead of that room being closed off until guests were officially supposed to move into that area at 7:00pm. We wanted guests only to be able to walk through the front doors to see the Welcome table and access the bathroom prior to 7:00pm and then through those doors into the reception area. To be fair, I did not clarify this with Ray’s prior to as I had assumed they wouldn’t let guests into that area until cocktail hour was over, so I advise future brides to clearly communicate this with them if it’s important to them.

Ray's was an excellent choice for our wedding ceremony and reception. It was a beautiful setting for a wedding, and I received many compliments from our guests on how lovely it was. The view from Ray's is spectacular! On the day of the wedding, Ray's staff was professional and the food was wonderful. We had a great evening.... everything went smoothly and we had no issues! The only issues I ever had with Ray's was during the planning process... the event coordinator changed and one point after I booked with them, and I was never notified. This caused for a small amount of panic when I could not get a hold of the person who I thought was my contact/coordinator. After getting in contact with the new coordinators, everything worked out well. The only difficulty at that point was that I sometimes received different answers to my questions from the event coordination staff, which was confusing. All in all, everything went smoothly and I'm very happy with my choice of venue. Ray's is a wonderful place to hold a wedding or any other event!

Our daughter's wedding reception was held at Ray's last Saturday for just under 100 people, and everyone had the most wonderful time! It was warm enough for one side of the outside room to be open to Elliot Bay, the food was superb (several people said the salmon was the best they ever ate; others said it was the best wedding food in general they ever had). The staff was helpful in every possible way. We didn't need a wedding planner; we hired a terrific disc jockey and photographer, and Ray's included floral arrangements, flowers on every table, helped set up strobe lights for the dance floor, made plaques for seating arrangements, found the space for the photographer's humorous "photo booth", etc,etc. We had the bar provide wine, beer and cider and there were little tables near it, so people could circulate all night by the water as well as join their dinner tables, and the dancing went on full force until midnight when we sadly had to leave.

Ray's Boathouse was perfect. We got married on their dock with the lovely Shilshole Bay as a backdrop. Perfect for our 100 guest wedding. We were married in March but got lucky with the weather and were able to keep the clear "walls" up for the ceremony. Then they came down during the reception and the lanterns came on and it was a very romantic setting under the tent with the indoor option as well for dancing and food it was great having it all in one place. And the staff are so nice and very helpful! I didn't need a wedding planner!

Ray's was a beautiful location for the rehearsal dinner. It's located right next door to Anthony's and to (our wedding location) the Shilshole Bay Beach Club. They catered to our financial needs, the food was very good (albeit, it took forever to be served) and the service was very friendly. Overall, the experience was above average, not exceptional, but very pleasant. I would definitely recommend them for their location. If you're not having the rehearsal right around the area, I think other places may be better, but I was definitely happy with the experience.

A fabulous location. Our wedding coordinator Liz was extremely easy to work with. Ray's provides a small banquet room off to the side of their resturant so you won't have random's attending. We were married on the outdoor deck (which was completely covered and heated) however had the benefit of the amazing sound of the Seattle rain and VIEW! The decorating was done for us so all I had to do was tell them our color preferences and we were able to just enjoy the day.... oh and the food and beverage were AMAZING!! All of our in town and out of town guests were extremely impressed. We had 50 guests for under $3,000 highly reccommended!

Amy was very attentive and followed up with me all throughout the wedding planning months. It was nice having the catering, tables/chairs, center pieces, linens, and so forth all done for you by the venue. Made planning a lot easier. The views were amazing! Only thing I would say is that the time slots per wedding need to be longer. If you do Ceremony and Reception all at Rays we felt there was no time for a lot of things and ended up not tossing the bouquet and so forth because we were so rushed :(

We had a very small wedding of about 20 people including the bride & groom. We planned our wedding in 2 weeks, but we were lucky enough to find an opening at Ray's Boathouse, one of our favorite restaurants in Seattle. The wedding coordinator was great, she knew we wanted a very simple wedding and didn't overwhelm me with too many minor details. The room we used for both the wedding & dinner was simple but elegantly decorated. Table runner, flowers, candles, iPod dock for music, table for gifts/decorations, cake table, full bar. Everything was great!

My husband and I have always loved dining at Ray's boathouse so we were thrilled when we found out that they have a separate building on the property for functions like weddings that is perfect for under 100 guests. Their coordinator, Amy was so friendly and professional. She answered every question/email as promptly as she could and really went above and beyond. She was even wearing our colors on the day of the wedding. The venue provides neutral floral centerpieces on the tables so that was one extra that I liked not having to worry about. The wedding itself is on a covered dock outside with a wonderful view. The staff was totally happy and my guests had nothing but compiments about the view, the staff, the food, and the service. After the fees (which did end up creeping up a bit) our full dinner with appetizers, beer and wine, and 2 signature cocktails with dessert ended up costing about 45+ per person - I thought it was totally reasonable for the level of service we got. I would recommend this venue to everyone who wants a waterfront wedding with a wonderful meal and a coordinator who knows her stuff.