By Greg Martin
Three important words weddings have in common with real estate: location, location, location.
Finding the right place for the size and scope of a wedding and reception - a venue that will meet the needs of guests and still reflect the spirit of the couple while staying in budget - can be a complicated, thought-provoking process.
But in a town as unique as Missoula, the biggest hurdle may not be figuring out a good place to hold a wedding and reception, but rather choosing the best place among all the options. With the Rocky Mountains as a backdrop for virtually any possible location, quality scenery is almost a given. And with the variety of original and charming venues that Missoula offers, locations with plentiful scenic and attractive man-made amenities are also in good supply.
There have been weddings and receptions at the Missoula Children’s Theater, the Governor’s Room in the Florence Building, The Roxy, the Gibson Mansion, and, as Mary Anne Stimpfling can attest, their own backyards. Stimpfling, a photographer for A-Street Photography, has taken pictures for a number of Missoula weddings.
“I believe Montanans have some of the the classiest backyard weddings ever,” she said.
A home wedding is appealing for people who want a location with direct significance to their life. For some people who attended the University of Montana (UM), the campus is also a place that holds special personal importance – not only is it a scenic location where they spent years getting an education, it’s often the very place where the couple met.
UM Conference and Event Planner Shannon Earley said one of the most popular sites to get married on campus is The Oval in front of Main Hall. There are many appealing attributes to the spot, perhaps the most sensible is the fact that the university does not charge a fee to get married there.
“The Oval is nice because it’s free,” she said. “And it’s a fancy backdrop.”
Many couples who get married on the Oval decide to stay on campus for the reception and have it held in the University Center Ballroom. UM catering is available to provide the food and drinks and they have the flexibility of food choices to meet the needs of small and large weddings with full meals or light snacks.
In fact, several people have had both their wedding and reception in the Ballroom. The multi-purpose room works well on summer days that are too hot as well as for increasingly popular winter weddings. Renting the Ballroom includes a stage, tables, chairs, coat racks and a screen. They also offer special lighting and sound services.
But the Oval and the Ballroom aren’t the only places on campus for a wedding. Some smaller weddings, Earley said, can also be held at the Phyllis Washington Amphitheater right below the trail to the M, the Mansfield Library Mall, and the University Center Atrium. And while many who are drawn to the campus have a connection with the location, it is open to anyone who wants to get married or have their reception there, she said.
Another spot rich in scenery and history is the Northern Rockies Heritage Center on the Fort Missoula grounds. With its wide open spaces, the Center can be the site of a historical or military themed wedding on the Parade Grounds – which includes acres of wide open, lush lawns or the more intimate South Lawn area with its courtly evergreens. In addition, the historic and recently restored Heritage Hall, a 2,100 square foot area in the 1906 neo-classical building, is also a big draw.
Missoula resident Sydney Stauffer had her wedding reception at Heritage Hall in August of 2009. She said she chose it because of its historical qualities and the fact that it was an indoor/outdoor area which could meet the needs of all ages of guests.
“We wanted room for kids to blow their bubbles and have fun but we also wanted a place where the older people could feel comfortable,” she said.
The indoor/outdoor aspect proved particularly useful on that day because it rained during the time of the reception dinner and then the sun came out about the same time the meal was over – complete with a rainbow to greet everyone.
“Who would have thought it would have rained in August,” she said.
Another plus to renting Heritage Hall, Stauffer said, was that they had it for the entire weekend from the rehearsal dinner on Friday to the goodbye brunch on Sunday.
For a downtown Missoula wedding, it’s hard to imagine one more centrally located than Caras Park. The site for many a community festival and a riverside view to boot, Caras Park offers both a large covered area and grassy hills and lawns for enjoying the sun.
Missoula Downtown Association (MDA) Assistant Director Julie Weaver said people who rent the park for weddings and/or receptions get tables, chairs, outdoor walls and a stage set up and then taken down by their staff. The dynamic area of the space and the openness of catering rules provides flexibility for use, she said.
“We don’t have any catering restrictions,” she said. “It’s a nice outdoor venue but you still have the canopy there.”
The wedding season for Caras Park typically begins in May and runs through the end of September. The park has a variety of areas for the wedding to be held including the grassy circle in front of the outdoor stage where the wedding party will walk up from the river trail.
Ideally Weaver recommends interested couples contact the MDA for a reservation six to twelve months ahead of time as availability gets tight the closer to spring, although she said they can always call and check at any time.
Aside from the lack of catering restrictions, Weaver said people also like the fact that they get the park for the whole day without any scheduling pressure to get in and get out.
“Once you rented it, it’s yours for the day. If you want to get in and decorate at 8 a.m., you can,” she said.