Full Guide to Having Your Wedding at Within Sodo, Seattle

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You know I looove me a good industrial-chic, brick-walls-galore, loft-style wedding venue – and luckily, Seattle has PLENTY of them. We’ve got countless stunning wedding venues in the downtown Seattle area that feature those upscale industrial warehouse vibes that have become so popular in the last few years. And today, I wanted to feature one of my favorites: Within Sodo Seattle! Boasting tons of flexible + customizable space, beautiful views of the city, and a variety of spacious rooms to celebrate in, you will fall head-over-heels in love with this venue if you’ve been looking for the perfect urban-chic Seattle wedding venue.

Well, what are you waiting for? Keep scrolling to find out everything you need to know about having a Within Sodo wedding!

About Weddings at Within Sodo

Get to know the venue

Like I said already, this venue truly has so much to offer from top to bottom, side to side, corner to corner. And when I say corner to corner, I mean it literally! Whether you’re enjoying the 3,000 square foot rooftop overlooking the city, one of the venue’s five bathrooms, or one of the four 900+ square foot configurable rooms, there’s space for any + every type of celebration.

The Sodo building that now houses this stunning venue had actually served a few purposes already: once as a metal shop, once as an industrial equipment sales location, and once as a furniture storage warehouse. The fact that they’ve transformed the space from an industrial storage house into a rustic-chic wedding venue is absolutely incredible – you would truly never know it wasn’t a wedding venue for the longest time!

When they were transforming this space into the beautiful event venue that it is now, they were intentional about wanting to make it super flexible & adaptable for many types of events. Their goal was to create a “flex space “that would allow each room to conform to different concepts, different guests, different events – and man did they succeed at just that.

So not only can you hold your wedding ceremony and/or your reception at Within Sodo – you can also come back for future parties, work events, art shows, workshops, & so. Much. More.

Benefits of Getting Married at Within Sodo

I’ve already highlighted the incredible way this space has been transformed into something completely new, but there are so many more reasons to love it. Here are my absolute favorite reasons why I love Within Sodo + believe it is such a lovely venue option for Seattle weddings!

Close proximity to downtown Seattle

Located at 2916 Utah Ave S, Within Sodo is situated right, well, within SODO 😉 The SODO neighborhood is a part of Seattle’s industrial district, south of Pike Place Market and just east of Harbor Island. Getting married at a venue anywhere in downtown Seattle means that you’re super close to plenty of bars, restaurants, shopping, unique little back-alley neighborhoods, and of course the waterfront!

This is a huge pro to getting married at Within Sodo, as it means it’s easy for you & your guests to stay somewhere close by, at a downtown Airbnb or one of Seattle’s fancier hotels. (Skip down to this section for a list of nearby hotels!)

It also means you have plenty of opportunities + things to do during the days surrounding your wedding. Whether you’d like to go out for breakfast with your guests the day before, end the night with an afterparty at a downtown bar, or get up early the day after to watch the sunrise over the water, downtown Seattle truly has something for everybody!

10/10 loft-style, industrial + brick vibes

This is a pretty clear-cut one: who doesn’t love the brick + industrial vibe that Within Sodo has done so beautifully? I am STILL not over the trend of loft-style interior design that Within Sodo has taken advantage of beautifully, with high ceilings, exposed beams, and gorgeous brick walls.

I adore how Michelle + Chad’s Within Sodo wedding reception (pictured throughout this blog post) took such advantage of the walls and gorgeous light fixtures while they celebrated with their guests. The lighting that Within Sodo has set up really highlights the simple yet beautiful loft-style architecture – and the nighttime dance floor lights are even more fun!

Beautiful rooftop space available for rent

The Rooftop Deck at Within Sodo is one of my favorite options available to couples! It boasts beautiful views of the Seattle skyline, and offers not only a full bar but also a covered area with a fireplace, heat lamps, a large lounge area, and a huge deck with furniture. Talk about a dream come true for an evening reception overlooking the city at night, relaxing on comfy lounge chairs & patio furniture!

Multiple ceremony sites + rooms

Within Sodo offers multiple ceremony & reception rooms, each with the ability to customize depending on the size and setup of your wedding. You can tie the knot in the raw, open spaces + wood floors of The Gallery, celebrate with your loved ones in The Ballroom, or relax in The Lounge next to the VIP bridal suite. There are truly so many ways to customize your event at Within Sodo, making it a great option for any couple who wants plenty of space to celebrate + make their own, no matter the size or layout of the wedding!

Fully-indoor options

We all know Seattle is famous for its ever-present rain, especially during the fall, winter, + spring seasons (yes, pretty much all-year-round). So you absolutely have to take the potential of rainy weather into consideration when picking your Seattle wedding venue!

One of the biggest benefits of getting married at Within Sodo is that you can have your entire wedding + reception fully indoors, avoiding any worries about potential rainy weather. Everything can be done beautifully indoors if the weather is bad, and you can still absolutely head up to the rooftop for some rainy wedding portraits to get a few outdoor photos!

Ease of customization

I’ve mentioned this multiple times already, but a huge reason I love Within Sodo is how easy it is to customize the space to your unique wedding. Whether you have a private ceremony and an intimate reception or a large wedding with 300 of your favorite people, Within Sodo has the ability to be customized + adapted to whatever you’d like it to be. You can move through different spaces, choose from different types of tables + seating layouts, and overall just have tons of beautiful space to freely celebrate with your loved ones.

Full bar & alcohol services

Finally, Within Sodo offers full bar & alcohol services, which makes it easy for you to toast to your love with delicious drinks that you don’t have to worry about providing! The Parlor room has a large built-in bar, the Rooftop Deck features a full-enclosed bar, and the Ballroom offers a bar service window – meaning it’s easy to grab drinks throughout the night no matter what room(s) you choose to rent. I always recommend creating fun, custom cocktails for your wedding guests to enjoy, just like Michelle & Chad did (see their delicious creations below)!

Downsides of Getting Married at Within Sodo

With every great wedding venue inevitably comes a few downsides – however, I doubt that the couple of not-so-great parts of Within Sodo are anything major that would detract from your dream wedding day!

Wonky parking

The first slight downside is a pretty common one among most of Seattle’s downtown wedding venues: the parking is just not ideal. You can’t really expect much more from a big city, truthfully, but it is something to keep in mind when planning the logistics of your wedding day.

If you or any of your guests drive to the venue, you’ll likely have to park on the street or in a lot a couple of blocks away & walk to the venue.

Or, you can rent some sort of van/limo/party bus to take you and your wedding party to the venue without worrying about parking! Just let your guests know in advance of the parking situation so they can prepare for a short walk and to pay for multiple hours of city parking.

Less-than-inviting entrance on back street

The next not-so-great part about Within Sodo is that because it’s so centrally located in the downtown Seattle area, the venue entrance is located on a back street that’s, well, not the most inviting. You won’t be walking up a grand staircase into a luxury hotel – you’ll feel like you’re walking into a downtown, back-alley-nightclub – but once you’re inside, that feeling will go away almost immediately! It’s just something to be aware of & prepare for.

Within Sodo Wedding Cost

Although Within Sodo’s wedding packages aren’t available to browse through on their website, I can tell you about the process of renting the space!

First, you’ll inquire with them through their website and set up a time for a personalized tour, either on-site or via video. Once you’ve decided to swipe right on Within Sodo as your venue, you’ll receive an invoice based on the rooms you choose to rent out.

To secure your date & desired rental spaces within the venue, you’ll sign a contract and pay half of your rental fee. The remainder of the fee will be due a week before your date, and note that if you’ll be serving alcohol at your wedding, a bar deposit will be due 60 days prior to your date, as well!

FAQ’s About Within Sodo

How many guests can I have at my Within Sodo wedding?

The amount of guests you can have depends on the space(s) you choose to rent at Within Sodo! The venue’s total allowed capacity is 625, able to fit 450 people downstairs and 175 upstairs.

Below are the guest capacities of each room:

Lounge & Ballroom:

Seated ceremony: 200 in each room
Seated reception: 90 in each room with round tables / 120 in each room with long banquet tables

If you use both rooms together, they can fit up to 300 people seated for a ceremony.

Gallery:

Seated ceremony: 120
Seated reception with round tables: 70
Seated reception with long banquet tables: 100

What happens if it rains on our wedding day?

Lucky for you, Within Sodo has so many indoor spaces that you can hold your wedding fully indoors if it rains! The only outdoor space the venue offers is the Rooftop Deck, which you can still take a lil’ trip up to for some gorgeous evening wedding portraits in the rain, overlooking the beautiful city skyline at night.

Is Within Sodo ADA-accessible?

Parts of it! The ground level of Within Sodo is entirely ADA-accessible, but you won’t be able to access the Rooftop Deck, as there are no ramps or elevators due to the building being fairly old.

Can we hold our rehearsal dinner here?

Because Within Sodo is an event space that holds many events throughout the week, holding a rehearsal here right before your wedding is not always possible. However, you can work with the venue to see if you’ll be able to schedule a rehearsal close to your wedding day – and if so, rehearsal time costs an additional $150/hour.

Where do we park at Within Sodo?

You can park on the street near the venue’s 1st Ave doors at 2915 1st Ave. S (free at night & on the weekends), or you can park at the 2916 Utah Ave S address in a paid parking area.

Hotels & Airbnb’s to Stay at Near Within Sodo

Finding a cozy place to crash the night of your wedding is a part of the planning process you won’t want to forget! Below are some of my favorite Airbnb’s & hotels near Within Sodo for you and your guests to book for your time in the city.

Airbnb’s

🏡 Townhouse with Panoramic Views

🏡 Bright Hilltop Home

🏡 Newly Renovated North Beacon Hill Home

🏡 Beautiful Apartment Near Downtown

Hotels

🏢 The Four Seasons Seattle

Did you know you can actually get married at the Four Seasons, too? If you like the idea of tying the knot here instead. Hop on over to this article to learn more about the venue!

🏢 The Edgewater Hotel

You can also get married at the Edgewater Hotel – learn more about it here to see if it’s the right fit for you!

🏢 Fairmont Olympic Hotel

🏢 Embassy Suites by Hilton Seattle

🏢 Silver Cloud Inn

Within Sodo Seattle Wedding Photographer

Now that you know all about why I absolutely adore Within Sodo as a Seattle wedding venue venue, you should also know that it would be the biggest privilege for me to photograph your own Within Sodo wedding! 😉

Learn more about me here if we haven’t connected quite yet, take a peek at my Seattle wedding photography pricing here, and say hi to me here if you’re ready to make this beautiful thing happen. Let’s bring all of your loft-style, industrial-chic, city wedding dreams to life!

Top 10 Downtown Seattle Wedding Venues for Intimate Weddings

Living in Seattle means I have photographed more Seattle weddings than I can count – and have been to plenty of the most stunning venues in the area! So I put together a lovely little list of the Top 10 Downtown Seattle Wedding Venues for Intimate Weddings to help you find the right space for you. Enjoy scrolling through these beautiful event spaces, ranging from more industrial-chic venues similar to Within Sodo, to boujee hotel spaces, to lush outdoor gardens!

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