the beauty of the willamette valley in summer is one of those secrets that nature guards pretty closely. most people rightly associate our sweet little home with rain and stay away, which suits us just fine. if one ventures to stay past the rain, he’s persuaded to leave by pollen determined to suffocate every last person in the valley. but survive that trial, and you’ve made it–the rewards are pretty great.

taking advantage of this, weddings naturally happen outside here, utilizing all the gorgeous vistas in the rolling hills to the south, or perhaps the converted farmland north around junction city. trouble’s afoot, however. these wonderful places–and believe me, there’s a lot of them–are starting to come under fire. it’s easy to build a pretty patio, rent some portable bathrooms (if you’ve planned an outdoor wedding in the eugene area, you know how hard it is to find a permanent restroom. yuck.), and call a place a wedding venue. the problem is, most of the land in these lovely rural areas is zoned solely for farming, making it legally complicated to host events.

via tripadvisor

now, king estate winery is being examined for operating a (rather delicious) full service restaurant on their agricultural property. they and other local wineries have been in the process of filing the proper applications to make sure non-wine related operations and events are legitimate. while wineries certainly have the attention of the state, county, and community groups involved, i expect farms and other properties that regularly host events will be drawn into the discussion too.

what does this mean for your wedding? double check with your venue about whether or not they have obtained the proper land use permits for hosting regular events. i’d ask to make sure that information is included in your contract. the best decision would be to only hire a venue that’s completed all the necessary requirements. if you’re not sure about this, you’d better examine their policy regarding what happens to your event and your money if they have to cancel because all their events are shut down. i expect popular venues will be ready for these sorts of questions–make sure that you’re comfortable with their answers.

for some more information, scope this article featured in the register guard today. moving forward from here should help define the sorts of events wineries and other rural venues can host and what practices and amenities they need to do so. with a little luck it may even lead to may even lead to more flush toilets (for the record, the ones at king estate are lovely).

p.s. it’s worth noting that this only applies to places that regularly host and profit from events. your aunt that’s letting you get married in her lovely old barn in exchange for clearing out the blackberries is a-ok, assuming you all get the appropriate insurance and whatnots.