Welcome to The Venue Series! We love helping couples find the best fitting venue for their ideal budget via our standalone Venue Hunt Consultation or Venue Hunt add-on for wedding planning packages. As PNW Planners, we've planned and designed in hundreds of Oregon and Washington venues, and we're sharing some of our favorites and why we love them. All photos featured are from weddings we've coordinated, planned, and/or designed.
The Oregon Coast is unlike any other beach - we are convinced! There’s nothing like the cool, misty air of Oregon beaches and getting to watch the mesmerizing waves crash in the background. You can always elope anywhere on the coast, but this blog is for those looking for Oregon Coast wedding venues to host a small to large wedding. There are limited options, depending on what kind of wedding you’re hoping to have, but we’re here to help you find the best one for you. If you’re also considering venues on the Washington coast, be sure to check out our list of Washington Coast & Island venues.
Before you begin planning your Oregon coast wedding, there are a few things you should know.
Public Beaches & Permits
If you live in Oregon, you’re probably well aware that all of Oregon’s beaches are public. While we love that we can always enjoy the beach, it means that for weddings, your event isn’t going to be 100% private. We can assist by notifying people who are setting up close to your event, setting up signage, and monitoring the area, but there is only so much we can do in a public space.
You will also need to obtain a special event permit for a gathering of over 50 people. This permit will allow you to bring in chairs, benches, arbors and other typical rentals, but you can always opt for a standing ceremony.
Beach Weather
We know and love Oregon for its temperate weather, but weather at the beach can be unpredictable. Often, it’s rainy AND windy. Be sure that your wedding has a good rain plan in the case that your open-air beach ceremony or outdoor ceremony gets rained out. Tents will not hold up to the coastal wind, even if you found a rental company that will allow it on the beach. However, we live for days like Grace and Taylor's wedding (right) where it's warm and blue skies.
AirBnB’s
One request we get often is to host a small wedding from a local AirBnB - yes, you can get married in a rental property! But, there are a few restrictions. For one, if you have your eyes on a property, you will need to check directly with the host or owner of the home - sometimes, you’ll need to book the house outside of the AirBnB to host an event there. But once you get approval, here are a few other considerations you’ll need to keep in mind:
Guest Count: You’ll also need to make sure your guest count isn’t exceeding the property’s limit, so plan your guest list accordingly. AirBnB weddings on the coast are best for micro weddings and elopements.
Noise Ordinance: assuming the property is in a residential area, you’ll need to adhere to local noise ordinances - the last thing we want is for the police to roll up to your wedding due to a noise complaint.
Food: Keep in mind that there are some restrictions about how food can be served in a rental property. Typically, a caterer cannot cook or prep inside the residential kitchen of an AirBnB or rental property per the Oregon Food Sanitation Rules. That means you’ll need to make sure your ideal caterer has a community or other local kitchen for food preparation. There is some gray area around hiring a personal chef for a smaller group.
Insurance: always always always opt for getting event insurance! Better yet, make sure your vendors are also insured in the case of any mishaps or damages. Nothing dampers a wedding like legal issues.
The best thing you can do to ensure your Oregon Coast wedding goes smoothly is to hire a wedding planner or coordinator. As PNW wedding planners, we’ve planned and coordinated quite a few coastal weddings over the last few years and had our eyes on a few venues we’d love to be at. Below you’ll find the venues that we’ve been to and loved, and a few that are on our bucket list! And if you’re looking for vendors to build out your wedding team, read to the end to see our preferred list of vendors who are local to the Oregon Coast.
Oregon Coast Wedding Venues
Brookings, OR
Photographer: Luke + Mallory
Why We Love Them: Capella by the Sea is a one of a kind glass chapel nestled in the forest of the Southern Oregon coast. Believe us when we say that our jaw dropped when we first saw this place! This chapel was built in 2009, made with native wood and stone and built in memory of the builder’s late wife (the sweetest love story!). The view overlooks the coastal sky and is situated along Highway 101, just a drive away from various other lookouts and trails and roads down to the oceanfront. This chapel can accommodate up to 49 people, and comes equipped with built-in benches. It’s owned and operated by the City of Brookings, and can be rented by the hour.
Insider Tip: If you’re in love with this ceremony space, you’ll need a great reception space to pair with it. Consider looking into renting the vacation rentals and event spaces at Crook Point in Brookings, OR. There are both large and intimate spaces to host your guests, and it’s an incredible space to spend the weekend on the southern coast.
Cannon Beach, OR
Photographer: Lindsay Blair Photography
Why We Love Them: The Cannon Beach Community hall is the perfect place to celebrate your wedding on the Oregon Coast but in the safety of a covered and heated building. Most community halls are simple blank spaces, but we love how this one has some coastal charm. Its wooden interior and stone fireplace make the venue feel warm and cozy, and the exposed beam and rafters allow for added hanging greenery or draping for an elevated look. When we helped Michael and Maddie plan their wedding here, we helped them secure a beach permit for a ceremony on the beach at the Cannon Beach access point off Ecola Court, and set up their reception at Cannon Beach Community Hall. If it ended up raining, we were prepared to flip the space at the Hall for a fully indoor wedding! They even rented the space for an additional day to host their rehearsal dinner.
The 34’ x 30 feet open space can house up to 130 guests, and we love that the venue rental grants you access to the space from 8:00am to 1:00 am - plenty of time for set up and all your festivities. The space is fairly minimal, but does include bathrooms and a prep kitchen for your catering team to set up shop, 86 folding chairs, over a dozen 6ft folding tables, and the option to add and use their projector and screen rental. And the best part? It’s super affordable, starting at $900 in the off season.
Insider Tip: While the Community hall comes with some included inventory, you’ll need to rent a few additional items. We love using Cannon Beach Party Rentals to secure additional or alternative chairs, extra tables, linens and even decor. You’ll also want to make sure you have a good set up team or a coordination team to help set up, especially if you opt for a beach ceremony. Since the beach is public, you’ll want someone keeping an eye on the rentals or decor on the beach as well as someone to set up at the community hall. Our packages always include two planners on the day of, so we have you covered!
Brookings, OR
Photographer: Luke + Mallory (1-4), Amy Fitch (5-6), & Katy Weaver Photography (7-10)
This venue was also featured in our Oregon Destination Wedding Venue Blog!
Why We Love Them:
Believe us when we say there is some type of magic in this place, and you’ll know it the minute you step foot onsite. Crook Point is located down in the SW corner of Oregon and is one of the few and only places in Oregon that has a private stretch of the Oregon Coast and one of the only views of the iconic Arch Rock. It’s the perfect blend of a beach venue and a woodland forest venue, situated up on the coastal cliffs in gorgeous meadows surrounded by trees that overlook the oceans. Crook Point has been owned by the Crook family for hundreds of years - so long that it precedes the Oregon Public Beach Law, so it’s one of the few and only places that has a private section of the Oregon Coast. This venue is also a vacation rental, so you can book out all or some of the dreamy beach houses to stay the weekend, all of which have private access to the sandy beaches (we highly recommend booking the accommodations to get to enjoy all the magic of Brookings, Oregon!).
This venue spreads across hundreds of acres, with multiple places to host your elopement or wedding with a view from the cliffs of the Oregon Coast. The Arch Rock Main Lawn is the space we love and know the best, and can host larger weddings if you are not planning an elopement.
Your Perfect Bridesmaid was one of the first planners to work at Crook Point and we had the honor of helping to support this family and make an incredible experience for couples hosting their wedding onsite. This venue also recently opened a new indoor venue space, The Mervue Estate, that was only in the beginning stages of construction when we first started planning weddings here in 2019 for our dear friend Katy Weaver Photography. This venue continues to grow and improve, and we continue to love being there.
Insider Tip:
We have so much to share about this venue, being the planning team who has worked there the most! There is no contender for Crook Point, but you will need to plan for a few logistical complications. There aren’t too many options for accommodations in town, so you’ll want to reserve the vacation rentals ASAP or warn your guests that they may need to look out 30 minutes to the next town. The Arch Rock Main Lawn doesn’t have running water or a traditional prep kitchen, so you will need to plan to stock up on water and ice from the store and hire a catering team that can bring in the proper equipment and help manage these complications. You’ll either need to have your caterer build your kitchen, or look at local caterers and be sure to hire on service staff. We always work closely with catering teams and make sure all the boxes are checked so you have a seamless wedding. Being that we’ve been here so many times, we’ve tried a few creative options and are happy to share what worked best.
Pacific City, Siletz Bay at Lincoln City and Cannon Beach, OR
Photographers:
Why We Love Them: Pelican Brewery is one of the few venues that has an ocean view from the comforts of inside, with beach access right out their back doors. Plus, it’s an easy one-stop-shop venue because all the catering and drinks are organized in house, and they have all the tables, chairs and place settings needed to serve your guests! For stocking your bar, you can also bring in your own alcohol and just pay the corkage fee. The venue rental is broken down into the room rental fee, a beach rental fee, rental fees for chairs set up on the beach, and per person food packages.
Pelican Brewing has three locations that host weddings: Pacific City, Siletz Bay in Lincoln City (new!) and Cannon Beach (for small events only)
Insider Tip: Pelican Brewery rents their space for weddings year round, but you’ll find higher room rental fees in early and late summer months, and very limited availability and much higher rental minimums for July and August, since this is the busiest time of the year for beach visitors.
Pelican Brewing in Pacific City
The space at Pacific City can host between 40 and 80 guests. The reception space offers stunning views of Cape Kiwanda and Haystack Rock, and is situated right next to romantic inns to stay the weekend. Alante and Jake’s wedding (featured in Oregon Wedding Day!) started at the nearby Headlands Coastal Lodge and Spa, where they got ready together and read private vows to each other, and then moved to Pelican Brewing just up the road for a beach ceremony and indoor reception.
Photographer: Kilen Murphy
Pelican Brewing at Siletz Bay in Lincoln City
The newest location is such a dream! We had the opportunity to plan and design a styled shoot to show off the Seaview Room, desired for larger events. This location has 5 different private spaces to rent, depending on your guest size, but the Seaview room was made for events. We love the outdoor balcony that overlooks the bay!
Photographer: KMT Photo
Astoria, OR
Photographer: Marcela Pulido
Why We Love Them: If you’re looking for a unique coastal venue not too far from Portland, this is it! The Ruins at The Astor is located in Astoria, OR - the most charming beach town on the northern tip of Oregon. This historic space is one of a kind space. It was originally Hotel Astoria, built in 1921 to be the tallest building in Astoria. Today, the original lobby of the hotel is what we know and love as The Ruins. This space feels like a hidden gem, with so many original details intact but weathered in a romantic kind of way. We’re obsessed with the original tiled floors!
We love that this space lets you choose all your vendors, and that a venue rental on the weekend grants you access for the entire weekend. That means there is no rush to get in or out of your venue, and you have time to set up and grand designs in the beautifully lofted space.
Insider Tip: One thing to keep in mind is that since this space was not originally designed to be a venue, there aren’t many options for storage or back of house areas, meaning that most of the space is visible during the event. However, we can work with you to secure a strategic caterer and the necessary rentals and staffing to have a food truck or drop-off catering at your wedding, or just work with your full-service caterer to build a strategic layout.
Cannon Beach, OR
Photographer: Sweetlife Photography
Why We Love Them: Surfsand Resort is the perfect venue for you if you want a luxurious and convenient beach wedding experience where you can stay the weekend onsite in oceanfront suites. Dinner at Surfsand is catered by the neighboring Wayfarer Restaurant with classic and elevated seafood menu items - because if you’re doing a beach wedding, you might as well have fresh caught fish served! There are options for a plated dinner, buffet dinner, cocktail hour dinner and even a brunch buffet!
Surfsand has two spaces you can rent for your wedding reception, ranging from 50 to 250 guests. The Haystack Gardens is located just across the street from Surfsand Resort and can host 50 guests inside and 250 out on the private garden and lawn (which can be tented!) for an outdoor reception. The Oceanview Ballroom can host 160 seated, and offers a fully indoor experience with an uninterrupted view of the ocean and Haystack rock. For your ceremony, you can opt for the popular beach ceremony, which Surfsand will set up for you
We helped coordinate Grace and Taylors wedding at Surfsand Resort, with a beach ceremony and reception in the Haystack Garden’s lawn under a tent. This space can only be rented June through September, and is a great way to enjoy the misty air throughout your entire wedding.
Insider Tip: We love one-stop-shop venues, but for venues that include catering, you’ll need to make sure you budget for the food and drink minimum, as well as the 5% Cannon Beach Food tax and standard gratuity percentage of the food and drink total.
Other perks of this venue are that a wedding venue rental also comes with a guaranteed room block! It can be difficult to find accommodation in the popular summer months, so this is a huge plus, especially if you have a handful of out of town guests. The prices are based on the normal nightly rate, but you are not held responsible for any rooms that are not booked - they will just be released back to the public after a specific date in your rental agreement.
More Venues!
There are so many other great venues that we haven't had the chance to work at yet, so we've listed a few more that we have our eyes on.
Tillamook, OR
This is a hidden gem that we would love to connect a couple with! The Hydrangea Ranch is in Tillamook, Oregon, nestled in the Oregon Coastal Ranch. While this is not a beach front property, it’s an incredibly picturesque venue spanning over acres of fields and gardens, just close to the coast. There is both an enclosed barn and an open air pavilion to host your reception, and endless options for ceremony. This venue has so much potential! We can hardly believe how much is included for the price it’s at. It’s pet friendly, includes a kitchen prep space with an ice machine, cooler, food warmers and more (unheard of for many outdoor venues, and a venue rental gets you the space for the WHOLE WEEKEND. If you are an outdoors
Coos Bay, OR
Bay Point Landing is a dreamy, modern coastal getaway venue. We’re a sucker for a beautifully designed space that speaks for itself, and the Scandinavian-inspired space is exactly that. This venue is just steps away from the bay, and the lofted event space has panoramic floor to ceiling windows and skylights to take in the view and sunlight. The biggest perk we think is the beautiful teakwood furniture that’s included with the rental. We’ll take wooden furniture over plastic folding chairs and tables any day! It comes with large tables and benches that seat up to 72 guests, as well as a few sets of lounge furniture. The fireplace is usable, and you can even open the garage doors to let in that misty sea breeze. Not only that, but Bay Point Landing also offers modern cabins, airstream suites and RV campsites for a beach glamping experience. If you love this space, let us know because we’d LOVE to help you plan your wedding here!
Want to know that you've found the best venue?
We love helping couples find the best fitting venue for their ideal budget via our standalone Venue Hunt Consultation or Venue Hunt add-on for wedding planning packages. As PNW Planners, we've planned and designed in hundreds of Oregon and Washington venues, and we're sharing some of our favorites and why we love them. All photos featured are from weddings Your Perfect Bridesmaid has coordinated, planned, and/or designed. View more of our Venue Series Blogs below:
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