FAQs
Transparent. Direct. Helpful.
What is included in the venue rental?
12 hour rental (10am-10pm)
outdoor or indoor ceremony space
round or rectangular tables to seat up to 100 guests
over 100 padded, natural wood folding chairs
over 3,000 square feet of space in the barn
a 1,300 square foot courtyard
2 acres of grass lawn
groom’s room
bridal suite
granary building
catering prep space
gravel parking lot and grass overflow parking
venue parking assistance
1 indoor restroom for wedding party and 1 outdoor luxury lavatory trailer with 3 bathrooms for guests
barn and courtyard canopied with Edison style bistro lights
built in bar with unrivaled signage
firepit area
many décor items
1 hour rehearsal
onsite venue owners
ability to open or close all large barn doors
unique, exclusive décor/ art pieces
various garden areas
natural wetland/ slough habitat setting
100s of acres of visibility including sunsets
teak patio furniture
2 minutes from I5
and more!
What is the venue max capacity?
We specialize in events with 150 people and under.
Can I pay extra to increase the capacity?
Unfortunately, no. We specialize in medium to small sized events.
What are the venue rental hours?
The rental hours are 10am-10pm.
Can I extend hours in the morning?
Yes. To add an hour to your morning (making your arrival time 9am), you can pay a $250 early arrival fee. This can be added on at anytime.
What time can my vendor have access to the venue?
Vendors can access the property as soon as your rental starts so either 10am or 9am (if you chose to add on the early arrival). Please tell your vendors the arrival time so they aren’t showing up early to the unopen venue grounds.
Some of my vendors like to arrive early to get extra photos or setup done- can you make an exception?
Sorry but we do not make any exceptions on this. We are very busy behind the scenes the morning of making sure every detail on our end is perfect and we greatly rely on the uninterrupted time in the morning to do this.
Can I extend hours in the evening?
We are unable to extend the hours of the event in the evening. The event must end by 1opm.
What should be happening at 10pm when the event has ended?
At 10pm all of the guest, vendors and client(s) need to vacate the premises. All belongings and third party rentals also need to be vacated by this time. Make sure to tell your vendors that they are also to be vacated by 10pm so they can accommodate that into their teardown process.
Do you have restrictions as far as what vendors I can use?
We do not have restrictions as far as choice of vendors! We do have a preferred vendor list of people we have worked with and are confident in their service or products. Remember when finding vendors to always read reviews.
We do require that you use our chosen & exclusive bartending service which is $30 per hour.
Can I bring a food truck?
Absolutely! We love food trucks.
What sort of space do you have for caterers to use (for non food trucks)?
We have a large space with 8 foot rectangular tables for caterers to prep, if need be. We have running water and a full fridge. We do not have a stove and no dishes can be washed at our facility.
What additional items do you provide at no extra charge?
We have a lot of high quality décor items that are available including various types of vases and French galvanized flower buckets, chalkboards, frames, easels, large garden urns, primitive wood toolboxes, wood rounds, antique galvanized wheelbarrow, railroad style carts, metal trough (great for non alcoholic drinks on ice), and more. Some exclusive additions we have at the venue (no additional cost) include a courtyard sculpture, metal tree, custom firepit, large rusted metal signage, a unrivaled bar display, an Espalier apple tree fence, a Rosebar metal arbor, large wreath installations, and our 1966 Airstream Caravel..
Do you allow hard alcohol?
We do not allow hard alcohol at the bar or on the property.
Can we move the bar outside?
Our bar is stationary and cannot be moved.
My friend is a licensed bartender, can they serve instead of me using your exclusive bartender?
Although we try to be flexible, we cannot make any exceptions to this rule.
What items are restricted from the property?
We do not allow candles or flames of any kind, we do not allow releasing of any balloons or other non natural materials into the environment including but not limited to fake floral petals, smoke bombs, fireworks, confetti, etc. We also do not allow firearms on the property.
Do you allow pets?
We do have some flexibility with the wedding client regarding dogs being on the property for the ceremony, please email us if this is something that is important to you. Other than the wedding client ceremony, we do not allow pets on our property for their safety.
Do you allow smoking?
Yes, but only in the designated smoking area which is at the firepit. There is a can located at this area for proper disposal of cigarette butts.
Does the venue setup reception and ceremony areas?
The venue sets up the reception tables. The venue does not set up chairs or ceremony area.
Is there an option to rent patio heaters?
Yes, please email us for more information.
Can I get married indoors or outdoors?
Yes! There are multiple options outside and a great setup on the inside for a ceremony.
Is there a backup plan if it is raining?
Yes, we have a great indoor ceremony space.
Do you offer any discounts?
We do! Friday and Sunday rentals are discounted as well as non peak months including May, June and October.
What is the restroom situation?
We have one indoor restroom that is mainly used for bridal party, client family, and handicapped persons. We have a luxury lavatory trailer unit that has 3 restrooms available in close proximity for guests.
Is there any staff on site during my event?
You betcha. The owners of the venue are on site the entire day. The exclusive bartender will be there for the hours the client chooses.
I am having children at my wedding, do you have any tips?
We wouldn’t say our venue isn’t child friendly but it definitely doesn’t have a ton of things for kids to do (aside from playing in the 2 acres of grass). We do recommend that the client bring in activities (outdoor games, table games, toys, activity kits) for children as a wedding can be a long and boring day for them. We love having littles at the barn but have found they like to (I am going to be direct here like stated above on the header) damage stuff when they are bored (in our experience, they love to break new growth off of trees, pull out gardens/ flowers/ throw rocks at things, etc.). Any damage could potentially result in loss of damage deposit or an insurance claim.
We also require that the client bring a “babysitter” so someone is always watching the children for their safety and to decrease the likelihood of damages.
What is the cleanup policy?
The client is responsible for cleanup which includes putting all tables and chairs up against the west wall of the barn, putting all of our borrowed items back, removing all of your items from the venue (third party items as well), putting all of the garbage into the receptacles (pouring liquids into provided buckets) and sweeping to ensure no food or crumbs are left behind. Any messes made during cake cutting or other activities are also the client's responsibility to cleanup.
Can we pay you to clean up?
For a fee of $500 we will put away the tables and chairs, put away our borrowed items, and sweep the facility. We have added a table busing service for $200 as well.
How do we officially book our date at The Saltbox Barn?
To seal the deal, we require a signed contract and a $1,500 deposit.
Do we get a rehearsal time frame?
Yes, each wedding gets 1 hour rehearsal, usually on the Thursday before their wedding but this may change. We will confirm your rehearsal date two months in advance.
Friday wedding: 6pm-7pm
Saturday Wedding: 7pm-8pm
Sunday wedding: 8pm-9pm
Can we do a rehearsal dinner at the barn?
Not really, the hour rehearsal time is just enough time for everyone to arrive, greet, go over questions, line up and rehearse the procession, say goodbye, and exit. There are a lot of great local restaurants around, we recommend you make reservations to fit the rehearsal schedule.
Where is the venue located?
We are located at 17995 Fir Island Road, Mount Vernon WA 98273
What are the directions to the venue?
From I5 north, take the Conway/ Lake McMurray exit (221) and head left (west) to go over I5 on the overpass. At the roundabout, continue right and take the second exit onto Fir Island Road (still heading west). Continue west and go over the bridge, past the historic Fir-Conway church. Turn into our property which is the first right after the church- look for the tall rusted metal sign near the road and as you get closer, the mustard yellow barn with the rusted sun sculpture on it. We are about 1 mile from the off ramp of I5.
From I5 south, take the Conway/ Lake McMurray exit (221) and head right (west). At the roundabout, continue right and take the second exit onto Fir Island Road (still heading west). Continue west and go over the bridge, past the historic Fir-Conway church. Turn into our property which is the first right after the church- look for the tall rusted metal sign near the road and as you get closer, the mustard yellow barn with the rusted sun sculpture on it. We are about 1 mile from the off ramp of I5.