Kitsap hosts its own wedding tour in March | 2017 Kitsap Wedding Guide

If going to the typical wedding show doesn’t excite you, how about a wedding tour?

Yes, that’s right — a tour — where you can visit six Kitsap County wedding venues in one day. Each will host vendors from the Olympic Peninsula, including cake-makers, florists, officiants, photographers and DJs.

Additionally, at each venue, there will be specialty vendors, those who have expertise in wedding day donuts, a live band, and companies that rent decor for that special day.

“I came up with the idea after thinking about how brides needed to see actual weddings taking place to get a better idea of what a venue would be like,” said Holly Baker, organizer of the tour which is in its second year. “We wanted to have an event that was more fun that just walking in, looking around at tables and walking out. With this tour, it’s like you are walking into a wedding.”

Baker is a member of the Promote Kitsap Weddings group which meets quarterly. The purpose for the group is to keep local brides and grooms here for their weddings and to bring others over from Seattle and the surrounding area.

“A lot of people don’t realize that you can get everything you need right here,” she said. “Brides will work with companies in Seattle and end up paying more for transportation costs and because their prices are just higher.”

Baker, who owns Unique & Chic event rental and design, put Promote Kitsap Weddings together so members could refer customers to each other.

“I know what it’s like to start a small business,” she said. “It’s scary and stressful. I want to help our small businesses grow.”

On March 19, participants will begin at the Ramblin’ Rose Farm, a barn and meadow venue near Port Orchard. There they will sign in and get a “swag bag.” After looking at the venue and the vendors, participants will go to Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Silverdale Beach Hotel in Silverdale, Red Cedar Farm in Poulsbo, and then Port Gamble.

“Each place will be different and have different things,” Baker said. “Instead of just looking at a photographer’s books on a table, at one location a photographer will actually be taking photos just as they would at a wedding.”

Tickets can be purchased online at www.kitsapweddingtour.com. Early Bird tickets are $10 per person; Week-of the event tickets are $12 per person, and day-of event tickets are $15. Vendors who are participating are listed on the website.

Organizers are hoping for 50 brides to attend with their grooms, mothers, best friends, or all together.

“We’re trying to create an experience for them,” Baker said. “We want them to have a fun day, see the vendors in action, and come away from it feeling that they got a lot accomplished.”

This story originally appeared in the 2017 Wedding Guide.

Leslie Kelly can be reached at lkelly@soundpublishing.com.