Novelty Hill - Januik Winery

As they say, "In vino veritas" and in truth, our wedding at Novelty Hill & Januik Winery was one for the books, with many guests continuously saying even six months later how it was the best wedding they had ever been to. NHJ set the stage for the richly romantic wedding of our dreams and we couldn't be more thankful to all of them. The setting was perfect, we had the best of both worlds with interior spaces that had the warm and inviting charm of modern pacific northwest design and art (with views of the working winery!), and an outside that was a wild and lush garden party. We also loved how the trees brought in the magic of fall. NHJ was the perfect blend of my wife's modern style and my whimsical style. With the design, art, and plants, we only needed decor that highlighted the space itself! We had a large wedding but never felt cramped thanks to the team transforming so many spaces into different venues--they even thought up so many cool ideas such as swapping the aisle for the reflecting pool area which created a dramatic aisle walk down, the fun bocce ball court for casual pre drinks and speeches on the stairwell, the beautiful maple tree garden as a romantic candle dinner, and the lower garden bursting with hydrangeas as the colorful dance floor. We even had the lower wine cellar turned into a kids room which allowed us to make sure everyone was included, while still making sure parents could escape for their own fun! The food was elegant and rich. The team not only fed a huge crowd of people, but they fed them outstandingly well. We hid out in the treehouse room after our vows to enjoy appetizers and champagne for seven minutes (from that room we could watch all our guests enjoying happy hour which I highly recommend!). Every single bite was delicious and well thought out, our vegan friends raved about the care and thought the chefs put into their dishes. We loved that we were able to showcase PNW food (especially the local salmon) to those visiting! The wine, of course, can’t be beat, and even though all our friends and family were fans before, they were all delighted to be drinking so well at a wedding!  NHJ even had mulled wine for our guests which was one of the favorites of the evening! The staff were absurdly kind--our guests mentioned many times how amazing everyone was, and as the brides we were so grateful for how cared for we were! One staff member, who was absolutely in charge of something else entirely, made sure we could have some hot chocolate since we couldn't manage to wade through the crowd to the vendor coffee cart! The staff also worked tirelessly with our numerous vendors, the attention to detail Liz and her team had working with so many people was outstanding--and all while showcasing their famous kindness all the way through the process! Having a venue that was so kind and so good to everyone made the day perfect. Lastly, I can't finish this review without mentioning how much fun the process of wedding planning actually was because the winery team was as excited about the wedding as we were! We felt like we could trust so much of the process to the team because they were so creative and lovely--they made us feel like our event was one of a kind. The confidence we had in them took so much weight off our shoulders. If you're looking for a venue you and your wedded partner will cheers to every time you remember, then NHJ is the place! We feel immensely lucky.