Skamania Lodge

d all of our guests really enjoyed the food, service, and atmosphere! The only reason we did not give it a '5 star' was because the actual cost of the wedding was far more than they originally told us it would be. There were many extra costs that popped up along the way (as the case with most wedding venues), but this ended up costing thousands of dollars more than our contract originally stated. ACTUAL COST FROM OUR WEDDING: Wedding for 130 people Skamania Lodge Estimate (What they told us to plan on): $100 per person x 130 people = $13,000 (excluding tax) Actual Cost after everything = $21,000 (This only includes venue, food, and drinks - we chose to have an open bar up to $2400, then it turned into cash bar) * EVERYTHING HAS A 7% STATE TAX IN ADDITION TO A 24% SERVICE CHARGE. As you can see, the final cost ended up being $8,000 MORE than they told us it would be, so keep that in mind. If you have a flexible budget and want a BEAUTIFUL place to get married, as well as a great place for family and friends to all stay together for the weekend, then we highly recommend Skamania Lodge. Just be prepared to spend more than you expect based off of your initial estimate :)

own away by the venue itself--we were lucky enough to get married out in the Amphitheater on a beautiful sunny day, with picture perfect views of the Gorge. All of our guests were in from out of state, and they could not get over the views. The food was incredible; the staff was friendly and responsive; the guest rooms were impeccable; my husband and I were treated amazingly. Thank you, Skamania for making our dream wedding a reality!

he day we booked the venue to the day-of the wedding. Not to mention her positive can-do attitude and great organization skills! All of our friends and family were traveling from out of state and everyone couldn't stop gushing about how beautiful Skamania and the surrounding area was. We will definitely be returning for years to come!! :)

tself as a destination wedding site, however, nothing at the lodge works smoothly (there is little to no communication between departments, I was given tons of false information throughout the process, putting together the plan of events was done very sloppily and required that I check and double/triple check every single thing, balls were dropped on multiple fronts, and they try to nickel and dime you ever step of the way, sometimes with very small print), which made planning my destination wedding far more stressful and complicated than it needed to be. Our wedding day was wonderful and went off with only a few glitches, but the planning process leading up to the wedding day was unexpectedly and unnecessarily complicated and stressful. So what was some of the misinformation we were given? On our first visit to the lodge to tour ceremony and reception locations, we were told by a woman named Talia that the on-site spa could bring specialty beds up to our wedding suite to do in-room couples massages. Our friends gifted us couples' massages for right before our rehearsal dinner as a way to help us unwind and enjoy the wedding festivities, and we found out a handful of days beforehand that the spa was, in fact, not set up to do in-room massages. The schedule of events the day of our rehearsal was very tight and we were late to our own rehearsal because we needed to go down to the spa. The only reason our friends got us the couples massages was because they were under the impression the massages could be performed in our room. A second, larger, piece of misinformation involved steaming my wedding dress. On our first visit, I asked Talia if Skamania Lodge has a dry cleaning service in house that I could use to have my wedding dressed steamed before my wedding and she said yes. I found out, again, about a week before our wedding that in fact, Skamania Lodge is not able to steam my dress. Instead, the housekeeping department had a handheld steamer that I was able to use to steam my own dress. Skamania Lodge is 45 minutes outside Portland and is located in a small town, and it was not possible to find someplace nearby that could steam my dress. So the night before my wedding, my Matron of Honor and I were youtubing videos to learn how to steam a wedding dress. While planning our wedding, we worked with a woman named Tiffany, with whom we had many issues. One of the most frustrating experiences I had with Tiffany was when we met her for the first time for our food tasting. She told us who our photographer and officiant would be and said that the officiant loves to talk to couples ahead of time to get to know them so he can customize our ceremony. She said she would put us in contact with both of those people. After a month of hearing from neither, I contacted the photographer directly, and asked Tiffany about getting in contact with the officiant. In her reply email, Tiffany said that our officiant usually does not meet the couple until the wedding day, but that she would pass on my information to him to let him know that I was getting anxious. So, we were told that our officiant likes to connect with the couples, but then when I was double checking about this, I was called an anxious bride? No thanks. Never again.

wanted to get married in the Pacific Northwest. We visited over 10 locations throughout the Portland and Seattle areas, and the moment we walked into Skamania Lodge – we knew it was the place! There are so many different amenities that cater to anyone from children to adults. They have a number of different options for your ceremony, reception, rehearsal dinner, etc. The rooms are beautiful and clean, and it’s so nice that there are different restaurant options too! The weekend of the wedding, many of our guests played golf, hiked, went on wine tours, relaxed at the spa, and just hung out either outside on all of the lawn chairs, or inside in the beautiful foyer. Needless to say, they were all happy and constantly tell us how much they loved it there! So much, that one of our friends actually went back and bought land in Skamania County!! We worked with Talia and Tiffany, and they were absolutely wonderful to work with! The days leading up to the wedding, Tiffany consistently checked in with us to make sure we had everything we needed and helped us with all of our last minute needs. The wedding turned out beautiful and went off without a hitch! We could not be happier and highly recommend Skamania Lodge!

hings multiple times before things were done the way we asked. I should have counted how many rooms we had booked for events. They changed all the time. We got shuffled around from staff to staff which made me feel like my wedding didn't matter. They increased my stress level immensely. I would give them a good 80% of my stress was based around them. When tasting food you can only try the exact amount you are going to have at the event so when we didn't like a few things we just had to guess on what would be good, but we didn't get a chance to try it before hand. We used their sound system which was a mistake on my part. They set it up and said it was ready, but didn't tell anyone how to use it...so it took about 15 minutes during the wedding to work out. They had told me it would connect to my electric piano, but it didn't. All of that being said the day of was amazing. They are very nice in person when you can baby them along. The night before my husband got champagne and chocolate that was for another couple. It was yummy. We got more the next night as well. It is a beautiful location. We can't wait to see the pictures because I am sure they are lovely. We lucked out with a perfect day. Also their liquor/wine/beer selection sucks. Do not use their liquor. It is really cheap. We brought our own wine and luckily we had good whiskey in our rooms.

months after the wedding!

us, so it meant a lot that they thought of the small things that we otherwise probably wouldn't have known about or planned for. Jena was fantastic to work with and I wouldn't have changed a thing about our day or my interactions with Jena and the other staff. We got rave reviews from our guests on the food, venue, and wonderful service they gave to the kids at the wedding. The day and whole weekend were absolutely magical, and I would recommend Skamania Lodge to anyone looking for a peaceful, beautiful, relaxing place for a wedding. It's not cheap, but it's well worth the cost and you do get what you pay for--great service, delicious food, and a day you will never forget!

he ballroom. Food was amazing, service was amazing, and the coordinator was amazing and great to work with. The only bad thing was the pricing for the rooms. Other than that loved this place.

r reception, and the gorgeous views around the lodge. From the time we first contacted Skamania for information everyone was helpful and courteous. They made us feel very special and that our business was appreciated. They were always on hand to help with any details we were having problems with, or even to just suggest some alternatives we hadn't thought of. We had a completely outdoor wedding and it was everything I, as a bride, had dreamed of. They even had a beautiful contingency plan in the even of "Northwest Weather". Could not have asked for a better experience with a venue. I would (and have already) strongly recommend using Skamania for your wedding or any other event for that matter.