{"id":5128,"date":"2015-05-29T09:26:19","date_gmt":"2015-05-29T16:26:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tomellisphoto.com\/blog\/?p=5128"},"modified":"2015-12-09T17:27:28","modified_gmt":"2015-12-10T01:27:28","slug":"wedding-venue-robinswood-house-in-bellevue-wa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tomellisphoto.com\/blog\/wedding-venue-robinswood-house-in-bellevue-wa\/","title":{"rendered":"Wedding Venue Review – Robinswood House in Bellevue, WA"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bellevue Wedding Venue Review – Robinswood House<\/h1>\n

Because I am frequently asked by couples “What are great places to get married in the Seattle area?” I have decided to do a series of reviews of some of my favorite local wedding venues. \u00a0All of the venues that I review will be places with which\u00a0I am very familiar. \u00a0For my initial review I have chosen Robinswood House, located in Bellevue.<\/p>\n

Robinswood House has a special place in my heart. \u00a0In the first few years that I was doing wedding photography I did several weddings there, and I was hooked. \u00a0In the subsequent time that I have been a professional photographer I have photographed a variety of weddings, Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, and even corporate events at Robinswood. \u00a0It is one of my favorite wedding venues in the Seattle area, and now I will elaborate a bit on why I like Robinswood so much.<\/p>\n

Robinswood is located in a large park in Bellevue, just off I90. \u00a0The\u00a0original house\u00a0was built in 1895, and has been added to over the years. \u00a0It features the original hand notched log framing, solid oak floors, and a vintage stone fireplace which has been converted to gas. \u00a0Gorgeous old house, lots of fun for photos!<\/p>\n

You can rent Robinswood for both a wedding and reception, or just for the reception. \u00a0About 1\/3 of the events I have done at Robinswood were “reception only”, with the wedding ceremony usually being held at a church that was not suitable for a reception. \u00a0But what makes Robinswood so special is that it gives you the option of a full-outdoor ceremony in a beautiful garden, or if the weather is not conducive to an outdoor ceremony you can hold it inside a massive tent. \u00a0Tent rental is available through Robinswood between\u00a0June 1 and\u00a0October 1, and outside that period are available from other\u00a0local rental companies. \u00a0For a large wedding,\u00a0in the off-season I would strongly recommend a tent, and even during the summer it is something you should carefully consider.\u00a0\u00a0Hey, this is<\/strong> Seattle and it rains a lot!<\/p>\n

Robinswood house is basically a “park within a park”. \u00a0The grounds of the old mansion include a large lawn (called the English Garden) surrounded by a hedge and gardens that is perfect for outdoor wedding ceremonies. \u00a0There\u00a0are a couple of large patios that can either be left open or covered with tents, depending on the weather. \u00a0The English Garden will accommodate over 200 people for an outdoor ceremony, and the two patios together have more than enough space to hold over 200 guests. \u00a0The house and immediate grounds are separated from the larger Robinswood Park by hedges, trees and large shrubs giving a nice sense of privacy to the grounds.<\/p>\n

The house itself has a large\u00a0addition\u00a0(the Cabana) that is appropriate for either a small to medium indoor wedding ceremony, or for cocktail or meal service. \u00a0During the summer I usually see this room set up for a buffet, with guests then taking their meals outdoors to the patio. \u00a0But I have done some winter weddings at Robinswood where the Cabana has been set up for the ceremony, and then turned over to be the reception hall. \u00a0The size of the Cabana allows for groups of up to ~60 people to be seated comfortably. \u00a0There is another nearby room inside the original house that is often used for buffets as well, allowing the entire Cabana to be set up with tables and\/or chairs.<\/p>\n

Robinswood does not offer in-house catering but does have\u00a0a list of great caterers to handle any size event.<\/p>\n

The main house includes a beautiful living room on the lower level that I love to use for photos. \u00a0The upper floor has been converted into meeting rooms, that can also serve as dressing areas for the wedding party. \u00a0Unlike many venues that offer rather meager dressing areas for the wedding party, at Robinswood you will find large well-lit areas for both the men and women, with plenty of space for the ladies to deal with hair and make-up if needed as well as getting dressed.<\/p>\n

Now to get into why I like Robinswood so much as a photographer.<\/p>\n