Valley Vows 2026

Valle y Vows

A ceremonial check list

If there’s anything that requires attention to advance planning, it’s a wedding. So many things to think about, on a grand scale and at the small details level.

“Valley Vows 2026” can’t cover all of that territory, but we’re here to help with some ideas that may jump-start your thinking, or help you refine what you’ve already

decided on. That includes venues (the Methow offers many options); shopping for a wedding dress; and imagining a well-rounded experience. There are many people out there able and ready to help make your special day a unique event, right here in the Methow Valley. Look for our advertisers in “Valley Vows 2026” as a terrific resource. They are poised to provide what you need for a day to remember.

CONTRIBUTORS

Ralph Schwartz

MVN reporter

Shelley Smith Jones

MVN columnist

Ashley Lodato

MVN columnist

Chanelle Carlin

MVN contributor

On the cover:

Finding "that dress" Be patient, practical and open to the unexpected

Begin your story in the Methow

From private resorts to iconic community halls, we’ve got a venue for you

What does a wedding officiant really do?

Expand the experience Activities abound for your wedding party and guests

by

Finding ‘that dress’ Be patient, practical and open to the unexpected

BY SHELLEY SMITH JONES

Choosing a wedding dress can be fun, even magical, but can also become overwhelming with too many choices, decision fatigue, and budget constraints. Still, the joy of the hunt — sharing it with mothers, grandmothers, sisters, and best friends — can create cherished moments to be remembered long past the wedding day.

Determining a budget from the start is key to managing expectations and limiting the search to dresses within the budget. According to a study where wedding site “The Knot” surveyed 17,000 couples who married in 2025, the average cost of a wedding dress is about $2,000.

That study aside, there are many choices from a simple dress on sale at J.C. Penney’s to a dress chosen from a wedding dress re-sale store where sustainability is the foremost goal. One West Coast store even collects and resells donated wedding dresses to raise funds for women’s causes. The choices are many and varied.

Once a budget is decided, brides in the Methow Valley research the options available for finding the “perfect” dress. The pursuit most always involves a road trip given the absence of a local bridal shop. Wenatchee, Spokane, and the Tri-Cities all have bridal boutiques and, of course, Western Washington offers dozens of choices for instore shopping. Some brides brave online shopping, which may involve many “returns.”

Having a style in mind helps initially but often brides find that their final choice is decided viscerally and may be nothing

like they had first imagined. Even though “trends” are predicted for the next wedding season, a bride in the valley chooses to reflect her individual style in her choice. She may choose a popular trend category such as vintage, pop of color, or modern minimalism, but in the end, the dress chooses her and may be its own trendsetter.

The stories of three valley brides

Kylie Tolman met her fiancé

Cody White while participating in Washington State High School

Rodeo — she a barrel racer, he a bull rider. They fell in love and, though young, in their early 20s, became engaged and planned a July wedding on Cody’s parents’ property in Twisp.

Bubbling with enthusiasm, Kylie describes her pursuit of the dress. Since her family home is in Prosser, she first went to the Tri-Cities to shop. “I took my special ladies — my mom, grandmother, sister, and bridesmaids — with me.”

Alas, Kylie came up empty after trying on too many dresses to count. (Remember being overwhelmed. Regrouping, Kylie’s next foray with

her entourage was to Sunnyside, just 15 minutes down the road from Prosser. Fashion Corner tells its story as “a small-town store with a big heart for brides.”

Once again beginning the process of choosing a collection of dresses to try on, Kylie’s mother noted a lovely dress on a mannequin that was not at all the type that Kylie was looking for. However, something about the dress attracted her and she suggested that Kylie give it a look.

Dreaming of a dress with a fitted bodice and a princess style skirt, the mermaid or fishtail style of the dress did not fit her vision — until she put it on.

She said, “It was immediate that it was ‘the dress.’”

Her advice to a bride searching for her visionary dress, “You won’t end up with the dress you thought you wanted.”

Kylie plans to wear her dress for every anniversary of her July 26 wedding. In her late 30s, Melissa Stusinski had sworn off dating and was carrying on with her life working at Trail’s End Bookstore and shoeing horses. After a winter of living by herself in a tiny trailer, she met Mike Jolley, a leatherwork artisan, who had moved back to the valley. They found love and decided to make it official and tie the knot. She would be a June bride at Falls Creek Falls.

Melissa had a limited budget for her dress, so she decided to go over the mountains to shop the variety of bridal stores up and down Interstate 5. She, too, took along her mom, sister, and best friend.

Melissa tried on dresses at the nonprofit store Brides for a Cause, but nothing sparked her passion. Onward the party went to David’s Bridal, a long-standing wedding wear store with an extensive inventory.

There, when “the dress” spoke to her, her best friend said, “That’s

it!” while tears rolled down her cheeks.

Melissa would like to do a photo shoot next summer in her wedding dress while shoeing a horse. “I don’t think that’s ever been done before,” she said.

Heidi Weston met Gregg Hardy serendipitously while out with friends listening to Gregg’s music. Having recently lost her husband Denny to a vicious case of cancer, Heidi wasn’t “looking.” Neither was Gregg. Both in their early 60s, Heidi and Gregg soon felt the sparks fly and, after months of getting to know each other, knew that marriage was in their future. Gregg proposed with an elegant pink sapphire ring and Heidi accepted with delight. A date was set for Nov. 22 at her uncle’s lodge in Oregon.

Having been a classy dresser and seasoned shopper for decades, Heidi felt confident to shop online

weds, needed most everything to set up housekeeping. They chose to use a registry on the website “The Knot.”

Kylie described that she is not “very techy,” and the website made it easy to navigate all things for the wedding.

The gift registry allowed the couple to list the things they needed and a few things that they wanted. Kylie was grateful for the generosity of the friends and family in supplying so many useful as well as monetary gifts.

Having lived on their own for a few years, Melissa and Mike did not need many household gifts. They expressed a desire — for those who wished — to give gifts of money to help them with fencing a pasture and funding a honeymoon, which Melissa described happily as “fully funded.”

Heidi and Gregg, well on the journey of life, did not want gifts of any kind. Instead, they plan a big party with music in the spring at Bear Creek Golf Club to share the joy with their friends and family.

for the perfect dress. The boxes arrived and the pursuit began. She imagined a gold, knee length dress, but realized when the dresses arrived that they weren’t the color for her.

“Gregg gave me a pink sapphire engagement ring, so pink came to mind, and I looked for a blush color, which is what I found, but floor length,” Heidi described her shopping process.

All the other dresses were returned and “the dress” turned out to be completely different from what Heidi had first envisioned.

Heidi is unsure what she will do with her dress. She sold her first wedding dress on consignment 30 some years ago but may not choose that route for the blush beauty.

Three wedding gift plans

Kylie and Cody, as young newly-

97.5 fm

Begin your story in the Methow

From private resorts to iconic community halls, we’ve got a venue for you

BY RALPH SCHWARTZ

The Methow Valley is a highly prized wedding destination — not just for its scenery, but for the sense of authenticity couples find here. Venues across the valley offer everything from tucked-away meadows to expansive resorts with eye-popping backdrops. Rent a historic community hall, or turn an entire ranch or riverside golf course into your own roman-

tic playground. The following list of venues has been completely updated for 2026, with some new additions.

Lodges and inns

• Casia Lodge & Ranch, casialodge.com. On 300 acres near Twisp, Casia Lodge & Ranch offers indoor and outdoor settings for celebrations of all sizes. With wide-open views of the Sawtooth Range and a mix of unique amenities — including fly casting, horseback riding and cooking classes — Casia is a luxury venue with ties to the valley’s histo -

ry and the great outdoors. The Cascade Room can seat up to 80 people. Outside, there’s room for as many as 500 guests.

Twelve guest rooms provide onsite accommodations. The lodge offers full-service planning and day-of support. Casia’s James Beard Award-winning chef focuses on seasonal and local ingredients and can tailor menus to a party’s preferences.

• Freestone Inn, freestoneinn. com. On 100-plus acres, the Freestone Inn in Mazama offers multiple sites for both ceremonies and receptions, and plenty of beautiful

settings for photos. Indoor and outdoor sites are available May through October. Many couples choose a ceremony in the mountains followed by a reception at the inn. The inn hosts indoor gatherings year-round.

The Freestone offers catering for small weddings and rehearsal dinners for up to 50, or rent the kitchen for your own or your caterer’s use. The inn also provides on-site planning and coordination, sound system rentals, bar services, servers and wedding-day assistance.

• Methow Valley Inn, methowvalleyinn.com. The rustic

1912 Methow Valley Inn operates as a group vacation rental. Tucked away but still in the heart of Twisp, the inn is a quiet oasis of gardens surrounding the classic country-style inn. Ceremonies can be held outdoors in the courtyard under a 100-year-old maple, or in the sun room, which seats 30 to 40 comfortably. Your caterer will have the use of a fully equipped farm kitchen. Seven bedrooms can accommodate up to 15 people.

• Sun Mountain Lodge, sunmountainlodge.com. Whether your wedding party totals a dozen or 400, Sun Mountain Lodge has a venue for you. A total of eight locations on the 3,000acre grounds enables couples to craft the experience they desire. Whether you prefer a grand view of Mount Gardner, a serene spot overlooking Patterson Lake, or the intimacy of the wine cellar, you’ll find it at Sun Mountain. Staff can help you plan and coordinate your ceremony, reception, lodging and recreation. Catering is provided by the lodge.

• The Inn at Mazama, innmazama.com, and Base Camp 49, basecamp49.com. The Inn at Mazama offers a spectacular wooded setting in Mazama, with indoor and outdoor wedding options. Book the inn and work with your own caterer and vendors. Staff will help you develop a plan based on your preferences and wedding size. The inn has indoor dining space for up to 40 and works with Cascade Event Rentals to accommodate larger parties in

outdoor tents. There are 18 rooms at the inn, and more than 50 private rentals can accommodate additional guests.

Situated on five riverfront acres, Base Camp 49 features modern architecture surrounded by the bold natural landscape of the upper Methow Valley. The community courtyard and outdoor pavilion provide a comfortable setting for ceremonies and receptions for up to 75 people. On-site restrooms, kitchen, gas grill, covered porches and plenty of parking make this scenic location very guest friendly for an intimate weekend gathering. Luxury casitas can accommodate 24.

Public venues

• Bear Creek Golf Course, bearcreekgolfcourse.com. Nestled among the foothills south of Winthrop, Bear Creek Golf Course is a serene tree-shaded site overlooking Mount Gardner and the rugged mountains of the Sawtooth range and Pasayten Wilderness. The Eagle’s Nest can accommodate 80 people and offers a kitchen, and tables and chairs. Outside caterers are welcome.

• Mazama Community Club, mazamacommunityclub.org.

Available for weddings & events

Indoor venue & beautiful dance floor

Full kitchen & dining area

Very affordable rates

Air conditioned, event tables, chairs, wifi

Twisp Vall eyG r ang e . or g

Teri Pieper

Mazama’s historic schoolhouse has become a beloved center for community gatherings, with a kitchen, an outdoor picnic shelter and views across the Chechaquo Ranch meadow to rugged pine-studded slopes rising above the valley floor. The hall accommodates up to 50 people inside, with tables and chairs available. There are also tables outside in the picnic shelter. Fronting Goat Creek Road, the club is easily accessible and is close to lodging and other Mazama amenities.

• Methow Valley Community Center, methowcommunity.org. On Highway 20 just a block from

the heart of Twisp, the Community Center occupies the historic Twisp High School and offers a roomy, accessible gymnasium remodeled in 2025. The space now offers enhanced lighting and climate-controlled air — toasty in the winter and cool in the summer months. It boasts a full kitchen, plenty of tables and chairs, a sound system, and easy parking. Right next door, the Commons Park offers options for outdoor ceremonies. Bring your own caterer, cooking equipment, serving pieces, place settings and linens. Check the online calendar for availability and additional information on renting the space for your event.

• The Confluence: Art in Twisp, confluencegallery.org. Paintings, drawings, photos and sculpture beautify the light, airy space and stimulate conversation in this popular art gallery in the heart of downtown Twisp. Rental includes tables and chairs. Additional services and features available upon request.

• The Winthrop Barn Auditorium, winthropbarn.com. A popular gathering place that echoes Winthrop’s Old West theme, the Barn touts its status as the largest meeting and

banquet hall in the Methow Valley — with ample parking to boot. It’s also one of the most iconic venues within the Winthrop town limits. The Barn is climate-controlled for year-round comfort with a full kitchen, and plenty of tables and chairs. In 2025, the sound system and stage lights were upgraded, and additional restrooms were built in an adjacent “baby barn.” Additionally, the old fluorescents were recently replaced with warmer bistro lights. The Barn is directly across the Chewuch River from Winthrop’s downtown retail core and adjacent to Mack Lloyd Park, with access to the Methow River — a tranquil backdrop for couples who’d like to exchange vows outdoors. The Barn’s stage will accommodate your band, and there’s plenty of room for dancing.

• The Winthrop Rink, winthroprink.org. Located in Winthrop with plenty of parking, the rink is a unique year-round venue, offering the option of ice skating in the winter and pickleball, ball hockey and other activities in the summer. An upstairs viewing room overlooking the rink and the mountains beyond can accommodate up to 100 people. Lodging is within walking distance.

• Twisp Valley Grange, twispvalleygrange.org. The grange is an affordable, classic community hall with a stage and dance floor upstairs, and a fully equipped kitchen and dining room downstairs. Banquet tables can be set up upstairs as well. The upper level is wheelchair accessible. A few blocks from downtown Twisp, the grange is air conditioned and easy to reach. Parking is ample, and lodging is close by. The wedding package allows day-before access for set-up. Dishes, linens, stemware and PA system included on request.

• The Resort at Gamble Sands, gamblesands.com. Wedding parties gain exclusive use of this destination golf resort during the off season, from November to March. Located on the Columbia River east of Brewster, Gamble Sands offers its cozy Firepit Terrace for an outdoor winter wedding or The Barn,

which can also host the dinner and reception. All-inclusive package rates available for 75 guests, with flexibility to customize the wedding experience. Catering on site with seasonal chef-crafted menus, buffets and desserts.

Private retreats

• Pipestone Canyon Ranch, pipestonecanyonranch.com. This serene retreat is minutes from Twisp, in the scenic hills above Upper Beaver Creek. A spacious event barn boasts sweeping views of lush green lawns, hay fields and the majestic North Cascades. Wedding parties enjoy exclusive access to the entire ranch, with plenty of options for ceremonies and photos. Outdoor weddings can be accommodated during the warmer months, April through October. Packages include tables, chairs and place settings for up to 200 guests. Bring your preferred caterer or use the full kitchen to craft your own meals. While there’s no on-site lodging, six RV hook-ups are available.

• Cooper Creek Manor, coopercreekmanor.com. This historic 1927 estate, formerly Amy’s Manor, sits on six acres nestled in the lower Methow Valley, between Pateros and the town of Methow. Cooper Creek Manor offers intimate outdoor wedding spaces for up to 75 guests and can accommodate 12 lodgers. Staff provide advance wedding planning and day-of support. Wedding parties or their caters have access to a full gourmet kitchen.

• Skalitude Retreat, facebook. com/Skalitude. A refuge in the wilds off Libby Creek in the lower Methow Valley, Skalitude is a pollinator sanctuary and eco-retreat. It’s a private getaway with a wide-open meadow, surrounded by woods and hills at the end of a long dirt road. Access is reasonably easy, but there are no other facilities nearby. Indoor lodging is no longer available; contact the owners to inquire about outdoor weddings, and the possibility of camping and using the 2,000-square-foot Sky Lodge and other amenities.

What does a wedding officiant really do?

BY CHANELLE CARLIN

When you picture your wedding day, there’s usually a moment — that moment — where everything becomes still. Your guests quiet their whispers. Your heart steadies itself. Your partner’s eyes meet yours as you hold hands. Just then, your officiant gently guides you into the most meaningful words you may ever speak.

But what exactly does a wedding officiant do? If you’re like most couples, you might assume our role begins at “Dearly beloved ...” and ends right after “You may kiss.” In reality, a professional officiant’s work goes far deeper and begins long before your ceremony starts. Here are six ways your officiant makes your dream ceremony a reality.

Your officiant crafts your ceremony with intention, expertise, and heart. Your ceremony is the soul of your wedding day. It’s not a formality to get through. It’s an experience to be treasured; however, a beautifully written ceremony doesn’t happen by accident. A professional officiant takes time to get to know the two of you — your story, values, personalities, hopes, and the unique moments that led you to choose one another. From there, your officiant shapes a ceremony that feels like you: meaningful, joyful, reverent, playful, or deeply romantic.

Your ceremony should be:

• Personal — no templates, no recycled paragraphs, no “insert name here.”

• Thoughtfully structured — with emotional pacing that feels natural and deeply resonant.

• Intimate and connected — written so your guests feel invited into this moment with you.

• Aligned with your values — religious, secular, spiritual, cultural, or beautifully blended. Your officiant weaves together a ceremony that honors not only who you are today, but the marriage you are choosing to build together. Your officiant guides you through your entire ceremony journey. A wedding officiant provides far more support than simply showing up on the wedding day. They are here to help you:

• Understand what’s legally required.

• Choose ceremony elements that match your style and personalities.

• Navigate cultural, family, or interfaith considerations.

• Explore unity rituals, readings, blessings, or traditions.

• Write (or refine) your personal vows.

• Design a ceremony experience that flows seamlessly from start to finish.

Think of your officiant as your personal ceremony guide — someone who helps you feel confident, prepared, and fully present on your wedding day.

Your officiant supports you in your vow-writing. If the idea of writing vows (or saying them out loud) makes your stomach twist into knots, you’re not alone. Many couples have never written vows before, but they still want vows that are:

• Personal, but not overly vulnerable.

• Romantic, but not cheesy.

• Meaningful, but not too long.

• Authentic, but also comfortable to say in front of family and friends.

That’s where your officiant can help. They can help you get to the heart of your promises, gain the confidence to share them, and if needed, they can help you share them on the day. Your officiant creates calm on your wedding day. Have you ever seen a duck swimming in a pond? On top of the water, they look relaxed as they glide along, while underneath the water their little feet are paddling furiously. Your officiant is in a similar situation on your wedding day. On the surface, they are calm and serene. Behind the scenes (under the water), they’re orchestrating a dozen moving parts just so the two of you can simply breathe, smile, and take

everything in. Behind the scenes, your officiant:

• Coordinates with your planner, photographer, videographer, musician, and venue.

• Ensures your unity ritual props, vow booklets, rings, and license are ready.

• Troubleshoots unexpected hiccups with ease.

• Manages your ceremony timing and transitions.

• Supports nervous partners, excited emotions, answers last-minute questions.

• Creates a peaceful, grounded moment before the ceremony begins.

Your officiant leads your ceremony with presence, warmth, and professionalism. Your officiant sets the tone for your entire ceremony. They:

• Speak clearly, confidently, and warmly.

• Honor your story without overshadowing it.

• Engage your guests while centering the two of you.

• Create a sense of connection.

• Hold space for emotion.

• Ensure that your ceremony feels effortless and beautifully paced.

This allows your wedding ceremony to become a cherished memory you’ll carry for the rest of your life.

Your officiant handles the legal requirements. One of the most important responsibilities of your officiant is ensuring your marriage is legal. A professional officiant:

• Knows the local marriage laws.

• Ensures your license is valid and complete.

• Guides you through the signing process.

• Returns everything accurately and promptly. It sounds simple, but a single mistake can delay your legal marriage and paperwork. With a seasoned professional, you never have to worry.

A wedding ceremony isn’t something you have to do in our world. When you do choose to have a wedding, whether it’s an elopement, an intimate celebration with your closest people or a grand affair, the ceremony is the moment that anchors everything else — your photos, your reception, your memories, and the beginning of your marriage. Choosing the right officiant means choosing someone who will honor your story and celebrate your relationship. They will support you emotionally as they guide you through the ceremony journey and help you craft a ceremony that feels deeply, unmistakably yours that you’ll remember for the rest of your life. Oh, yes — they will make sure that you are legally married too.

Chanelle Carlin is an Okanogan-based professional wedding officiant. Learn more at www. chanellecarlin.com/.

Expand the experience

Activities abound for your wedding party and guests

BY ASHLEY LODATO

Increasingly, betrothed couples are choosing to extend their nuptials with activities for their wedding parties and/or friends and family before or after the wedding ceremony. There’s meaning in spending time with the people closest to you, especially when you’re gathering to celebrate a milestone moment in life. And your people have often in-

vested significant time and money in joining you at a wedding venue that might be far from where they live. It can be gracious to thank them by offering them more than just a dinner and an evening on the dance floor, and it gives them a longer chance to develop a meaningful relationship with the special place you’ve chosen for your wedding.

Deborah Friend Wilson, Managing Partner at Casia Lodge & Ranch, said, “we are seeing a definite trend with wedding groups seeking activities that bring folks together in meaningful ways and also connect them to the spirit of the Methow Valley.”

If you’ve decided to bookend your wedding with special things for your inner circle to do together in the Methow Valley, first pick up a copy of the most recent Methow Valley News seasonal guide, either Summer or Winter, depending on your wedding date. The guides include food and lodging information, entertainment suggestions, and many other resources that will help you plan your Methow Valley wedding weekend. Whether you’re looking for things for your wedding guests to see, learn, or do, you can quite likely make it happen in the Methow Valley.

See something

For those who want to explore the Methow Valley on foot, offer a self-guided tour of Winthrop and Twisp, where galleries abound. Simply by walking down Riverside Avenue in Winthrop’s “Wild West” downtown and by strolling Glover Street in Twisp, you’ll encounter numerous galleries with permanent and rotating exhibits featuring local and regional artists. Artist studios and maker spaces located on the TwispWorks campus offer another way to see the work of local artisans and to interact with the artists and makers during their

open studio hours.

Homestream Park in Winthrop is home to host of sculptures by the late Virgil “Smoker” Marchand, a member of the Arrow Lakes Band of the Colville Confederated Tribes and a self-taught artist whose practice was based on bronze and steel works. Other outdoor sculpture installations by Rich Beyer, Cordelia Bradburn, Dan Brown, Bernie Hosey, Steve Love, Bruce Morrison, and Barry Stromberger are located at Chickadee Trailhead, Twisp Ponds, TwispWorks, and the Twisp Commons.

A drive up the North Cascades Highway to Washington Pass is a breathtaking experience that guests of all ages and all mobility levels can participate in, while a stroll out to the Overlook provides stunning views of the Methow Valley.

If Casia Lodge is your wedding venue, consider taking your guests on a ranch animal photo shoot. Wedding parties can take a guided walk through the ranch and get up close with their horses, donkey, turkeys, chickens, and cats.

“It’s fun, natural and results in re-

ally fun unique images that become favorite memories,” said Wilson.

Wilson noted that the ranch’s miniature donkey, Jasper, has carved out a niche for himself as every wedding’s most popular guest.

“Jasper is our resident ‘beverage burro’ and happily clocks in for cocktail hours, welcome receptions, morning coffee, or any time

he is requested. He has a custom crafted pack with restaurant-grade beverage containers so guests can help themselves to drinks (beer, batched cocktails, etc.). He’s very agreeable and wears flower headpieces and wreaths, provided by either us or the couple. He’s always a crowd pleaser and one of the most photographed staff members we have. Guests love to give him alfalfa cubes as a tip!”

To get a broad perspective on the Methow Valley, build your wedding activities on a foundation of understanding the valley’s long, vibrant, and complicated history. Start your visit with trips to the Methow Valley Interpretive Center (methowvalleyinterpretivecenter. org) and the Shafer Museum (shafermuseum.org).

The Methow Valley is the homeland of the Methow (mətx̌ʷu) People, who have lived in and cared for the

valley since time immemorial. You can learn more about the mətxʷu at methowdescendants.org and by visiting the Methow Valley Interpretive Center in Twisp.

The Shafer Historical Museum — which is open seasonally May through October — preserves and shares the history, culture and sense of place in the Methow Valley to inspire human connection and learning. With its mining and pioneer history, replicas of trapper cabins, turn-of-the-20th-century dental office, store, school, and assay office, it’s a fascinating glimpse of homesteader history.

Those who seek contemplative experiences for their guests could look into booking private yoga sessions with one of the valley’s many yoga instructors. Casia Lodge offers a sunrise breakfast and meditation option, which Wilson calls “a quiet start to the day that brings the entire

wedding party together with intention before the celebration begins.”

Casia Lodge staff take the group on a short walk to a gazebo in the middle of the ranch for a “serene moment of reflection and gratitude.”

Learn something

If you and your guests are interested in learning something together, a wide range of experiences awaits you in the Methow Valley. A few of the many options includes:

Wine tasting at Casia Lodge (casialodge.com), Lost River Winery (lostriverwinery.com), and Ryzo Wines (ryzowines.com). The wine cellar at Sun Mountain Lodge is a unique venue for a wedding party event (sunmountainlodge.com/ dine/wine-cellar).

Cocktail tastings and classes are available in the Olde English Pub or the Whistling Pig Saloon at Casia Lodge, as well as at Last Chance Distilling (lastchancedistilling. com) and 1908 Barbecue & Bourbon (1908bbqtwisp.com/private-parties).

Fly-casting lessons at Casia Lodge. Wilson said, “Wedding parties love gathering around our trout pond and

we offer private instruction and complimentary fly rods to ensure they have a fun and memorable time.”

Cooking classes at Casia Lodge, which can involve a chef-led harvest in the onsite garden and orchard, where guests join the culinary team to pick ingredients that can be incorporated into their wedding menus: herbs, apples, apricots, pears, cherries.

Wedding party paint nights with artist and art teacher Margaret Kingston give your inner circle access to their inner artists in celebration of your union. (mkoilpaintings.com)

Do something

For those whose guests are active

types, you’ve chosen the right place to host your wedding festivities. In the winter months, you can Nordic ski some of the 200-kilometer Methow Trails network (methowtrails.org), rent the Winthrop Rink for a private party (winthroprink.org/winter/parties-private-ice-rentals), or host a roller-skating party at the Methow Valley Community Center (methowcommunity.org/gym-use-and-rental). Guests at the Abby Creek Inn can organize sledding parties, followed by warming up in the hot tub or dry sauna. The summer months are rift with possibilities, from hiking/biking/ rock climbing (check out the Methow Valley News Summer Guide) to horse-

back riding (sunmountainlodge. com/adventure/horseback-riding). Runners of all speeds are invited to join the weekly Winthrop Trailhead parkrun, which takes place on the Methow Trails campus every Saturday morning (parkrun.us/winthroptrailhead).

The nonprofit Winthrop Rink has many options for private parties in the summer months. Executive Director Ryan Bell said “Our multi-sport court can be set up for basketball, pickleball, soccer, or ball hockey — and we can still offer dedicated space for roller skating at the same time.”

Beyond the court, the Winthrop Rink also “provides a selection of lawn games and plenty of open space around the rink for guests to mingle, relax, and enjoy the mountain views. A full facility rental includes access to the court, locker rooms, bathrooms, skate lobby, and our upstairs viewing room — giving groups plenty of room to spread out,” Bell added.

Wedding parties looking to get wet and wild together can schedule river trips with Methow Rafting (methowrafting.com). They can support large parties (45 or more) in rafts, inflatable kayaks, and tubes and they’re

WEDDING & EVENT CENTER

Versatile Venue: Perfect for small, intimate gatherings or celebrations of up to 200 guests.

Your Style, Your Vision: A blank slate for you to create the wedding of your dreams—decorate and style to match your theme.

WEDDING & EVENT CENTER

Breathtaking Backdrop: Exchange vows with stunning views of an alfalfa field and majestic mountains as your setting. Flexible Atmosphere: Ideal for both casual and formal events.

Convenience Included: Tables, chairs, and place settings provided, saving you time and effort.

Catering Freedom: Choose your own caterer to suit your tastes and preferences.

TWISP, WASHINGTON

448 Balky Hill Road

509-669-8400 Monica

509-860-0678 Joel www.pipestonecanyonranch.com