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Frequently Asked Questions
Thank you for your
inquiry regarding a catered event at The Stimson-Green Mansion. We are
pleased that you are considering the Mansion for your event.
When planning any
type of an event, but even more so when it is as personal as your
wedding, there are always a million questions. We love answering your
questions, so much so that we put together our own list with the
answers. In learning more about the Mansion, our staffing procedures and
the level of service we provide, we feel you will be better prepared in
making choices that are right for you.
Let us begin…
1.) Where is the
location of the Stimson-Green Mansion?
We are located in the
First Hill neighborhood of Seattle, near Swedish and Virginia Mason
Hospitals and just 5 blocks east of downtown.
2.) Is
their convenient parking for my guests?
Yes, there is parking
for 50 vehicles in a covered garaged located directly behind the
Mansion. The charge for using the garage is $150 and includes a
welcoming attendant who will instruct your guests about parking and
entering the Mansion. This garage is used for event parking only and not
open during normal business hours.
3.) Do
you offer handicap parking?
Immediately next to the
house is a small parking area with 8 spots. This lot is available for
early arriving guests, handicap requests, and for clients stopping by
the Mansion for a tour.
4.) Are you ADA
accessible?
Because Stimson-Green
is a landmark property, alterations to the house are not permitted,
therefore this century-old Mansion can present challenges in terms of
accessibility.
5.) When
can we tour the Mansion?
We offer private tours
of the Mansion during normal business hours Monday through Friday.
Understandably, these times do not always work for everyone, therefore
we will do our best to work with your busy schedules and upon request
meet with clients after 5:00pm or on certain Saturdays.
6.) Do
you offer historical architectural tours?
You can inquire
about historical tours through the owners of the Stimson-Green Mansion,
the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation. To reach Cathy Wickwire,
Program Coordinator for the Trust, please call 206-624-9449, or
email,
cwickwire@wa-trust.org.
7.) Do
you allow out side catering?
The Stimson-Green Catering
Company is the exclusive caterer’s for the Mansion. All food is
skillfully and lovingly prepared by our chef and served straight from
our kitchen to the table. We favor small producers and artisans who
share our philosophy of free-range, all natural, wild, or locally grown
produce and product. We offer two separate buffet menus, one for Fall /
Winter and another for Spring / Summer in order to provide you the
freshest, best-of-season, and when ever possible, sustainable food
selections.
8.) Do
you offer vegetarian and vegan menus?
Absolutely! We are
happy to work with your specific menu requests. As you look over our
buffet menus you will notice that we feature many fantastic vegetarian
items some of which are also vegan. Our goal is to understand your needs
and provide you the best possible choices.
9.) Can
we sample your food?
Twice a year we open
our doors and invite new clients as well as all our booked clients to
enjoy an evening tasting our food and experiencing a party at the
Mansion. In January we host a Wedding Open House and our Corporate Open
House is in October.
10.) Do
you make wedding cakes?
Occasionally we must
say no, and this is one of those times. The Seattle, Bellevue area has
many wonderful wedding cake professionals. We will gladly offer
recommendations.
11.) Do
you charge a cake cutting fee?
Our staff is trained in
cutting wedding cakes and we are happy to provide you this service at no
additional charge.
12.)
What about other types of desserts?
Everybody loves a
little something sweet. When is comes to buffets, we specialize in
miniature desserts such as petite tarts, butter cookies, chocolate nut
bars, truffles, and chocolate dipped strawberries. Our chef also
prepares exquisite custom plated desserts.
13.)
How do you handle alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages?
The Mansion is not
licensed to sell alcoholic beverages, but we will provide the bartender
and glassware. Our clients supply all the alcohol for their event along
with a banquet permit, which is easily obtained from any WA State liquor
store. We do not charge a corkage fee, should you choose to serve beer,
wine, and champagne. You may elect to offer your guests hard spirits; we
will then charge $15 for every bottle that we open. Coffee, tea, iced
tea, sparkling cider and water, and a non-alcoholic punch are included
in the beverage fee of $4.25 per person.
14.)
What about red wine and keg beer?
Yes and yes! Today red
wine is even more popular than white wine. You need not worry about a
glass of red wine being spilled, this happens and is considered normal
wear and tear and you will not be charged for damages. We discourage
keg beer, since we do not have the proper cooler for storage and
dispensing. You provide the tub or basin for icing down your keg. It
needs to be delivered cold the day of your event and unfortunately (for
the person delivering the beer), there are several steps to climb in
order to get into the Mansion. We also want to remind you that a keg of
beer typically yields 100 pours, about double what is normally consumed
at our events.
15.)
When can we drop off our alcohol and other party related items?
We are fortunate to
have a large storage area in the Mansion’s basement. You are able to
drop off your alcohol and other party items during business hours
anytime the week of your event. With special requests, we will be as
accommodating as possible. As is customary at all public meeting places,
we are not responsible for lost or stolen property.
16.) How
many guests can you accommodate?
It really depends on
your event.
When booking the Mansion
for a wedding reception with ceremony,
we are able to
comfortably seat up to fifty guests, allowing for a wide aisle. More
often, we host weddings for 100 guests, at which point we seat thirty
guests, allocating standing room for 60-80 guests to see and hear
nicely. For a reception only, when the ceremony was someplace other than
our property or for an event unrelated to a wedding, we can accommodate
up to 150 guests.
17.) Are you able to seat all of our guests?
Depending on the use of
the space for musicians, we can seat approx 75 guests at tables
throughout the Mansion at any one time, and have eighteen chairs with
wine stands around the dining room. Additionally there are settees and
occasional seating for approx 24 more guests. During the warmer summer
months, we set up 5 more tables in the back yard increasing the number
of seats by 25. Remember that buffets are a moving dynamic, and not
everyone is generally seated at one time. For a plated formal dinner we
can seat up to 50 guests in one room or up to 74 using the Library and
the Parlor. These types of fully seated arrangements are perfect for
either social corporate gatherings or family celebrations.
18.) Is there space for dancing?
Dancing takes place in the
Library. Tables are set up around the perimeter of the room leaving an
open space in the middle for dancing. We welcome smaller four-piece
bands and acoustic ensembles as well as DJ services. Due to the intimate
nature of our spaces, we recommend amplification be kept to a minimum.
There is a baby grand piano, which is located in the Library. We also
offer you the use of our CD player.
19.) Do you have space for outdoor weddings?
We have a lovely quaint
courtyard style back yard, which is an ideal space for additional guest
seating with or without a tent. There is an extra rental cost for the
tent. This area also makes a wonderful backdrop for photographs, but is
perhaps a bit too small for the wedding.
Just to the north of
the Mansion is First Hill Park. You may book the park for your ceremony
then walk the short distance to the Mansion for the reception. The staff
at Seattle Parks and Recreation will assist you in reserving the park
for your ceremony and offering you information on tent and chair
rentals. Their number is 206-684-4081.
20.) I have always imagined my pet dog as the ring bearer in our
ceremony, do you allow this at your location?
By all means, but once the
ceremony is over your pet is not allowed to stay on property.
21.) Are we able to get ready at the Mansion and do you have separate
changing rooms for the wedding party?
There are two changing
rooms on the second floor. The bridal room is spacious with several
floor to ceiling mirrors to comfortably accommodate the bride and her
bridal party. The natural lighting from the afternoon sun fills the room
with warmth and tranquility. The men get ready in another room, just
down the hall which has a private bath room, large closets for storing
personal items and yes, 2 full length mirrors. There are several windows
in both changing rooms that open to allow for fresh air and views of the
front yard and tree lined street. Due to timing constraints, most
of our bridal parties arrive with hair and makeup complete and then
change into their wedding attire here. You may want everything to take
place here; this typically takes 2 to 3 additional hours. If the house
is available and not reserved for another event, you may book additional
time. We charge $100 an hour for this time.
22.) Are children allowed to attend events at the Stimson-Green Mansion?
Many children have roamed
the halls of this wonderful old home. We do ask for safety reasons that
all children 10 and under be accompanied by an adult, or may we suggest
that you provide a baby sitting service for your guests with young
children.
23.) What does the Mansion provide?
We are much like a hotel
or country club in that we provide tables, chairs, linen, and service
ware such as Royal Doulton china, flatware, glassware, napkins, and the
use of some lovely accouterments. There are three functioning fireplaces
and a lovely well maintained baby grand piano.
24.) Is there an on-site coordinator?
The staff at the
Stimson-Green Mansion will assist you in planning your event, creating
your menu and time line and then orchestrate your timing. Our services
do not include actual day of wedding coordinating, but we will make sure
all details outlined on your event order are followed.
25.) Who is responsible for set up, break down, and clean up?
Our professional
staff will set up, serve, bartend, and clean up after your event.
26.) Are candles allowed?
Candles are a perfect
decorative accent that add sparkle and create a romantic mood for any
event. However the safety of your guests is important to us. As with
any open flame, we ask that that candles are placed in a heat resistant,
fire proof container that is sturdy and large enough to contain any
drips or melted wax, with the tip of the candle not exceeding the top of
this container. Lighted candles should be placed in areas where they
won’t be knocked over or close to furniture, drapes or flammable
decorations.
27.) Do you offer recommendations for outside services?
We are happy to share our
vendor list for other services that you may need such as, florist,
baker, an officiant, musicians, and photographer.
28.) Are we required using the vendors on your list?
We are proud to be part of
a city that has so many outstanding event professionals. We offer you
our suggestions, most of which have been to the Stimson-Green on several
occasions and know how to work in and around the spaces. If you chose a
vendor who has not been to the Mansion, we recommend that they schedule
time prior to the event to tour the property.
29.) I see you charge a damage deposit – what is this?
It is quite simply a
deposit that is paid for prior to the event, that is refunded in full
after the event, assuming that damage to the Mansion did not occur
during the event. Only in rare circumstances is this deposit retained.
We make a distinction between normal wear and tear on the house and
actual intentional damage.
30.) How do we reserve the Stimson-Green Mansion for our event?
In order to reserve a
date, we require a booking deposit; at the Mansion, this is called a
‘Use Fee.’ The fee ranges between $500 - $1350 and varies depending on
the time day, off season or peak season, and day of the week. Your use
fee is payable to Washington Trust for Historic Preservation, who own
the Mansion, and directly supports the ongoing upkeep and maintenance of
the Mansion.
31) What are the rental times for an event at rent the Mansion?
Our standard times and
what is included in the Use Fee are 11:30 am to 5:00 pm and 6:00 pm to
11:00 pm. You can purchase additional time and the cost for that
additional time is $100 an hour.
32) How far in advance can we reserve your location for our event?
As soon as you are ready.
Since this is generally the first step in the wedding planning process,
we encourage that you start looking for your venue a year out. Summer is
the busiest time, but the wedding season in Seattle continues through
the fall. The slower season is January through April.
33) What types of payment do you accept?
The Washington Trust
accepts Visa, MasterCard, and checks for the use fee. All other payments
are made to the Stimson-Green Catering Company and we accept checks
only.
34.) Are there contracts that we sign?
Yes. Once a decision has
been made to book our facility, we prepare a confirmation packet that
includes two agreements, one to use the mansion, this is the Use
Agreement, and another to use the catering company, and this is the
Event Agreement. You will then return to us, the signed contracts with
the booking deposit. All deposits whether made to the Washington
Trust or the Stimson-Green Catering Company are non refundable.
35.) Should something come up that precludes us from having our event on
the date that we reserved, are we able to transfer our payments to
another day?
Sometimes things happen
that are out of our control and changes occur. Whatever monies have been
paid, we will gladly transfer those payments to another date. This offer
transpires a year from the original booking. However this deposit is non
transferable to other interested parties and therefore cannot be ‘sold.’
36.) How much does it cost to host an event at your facility?
This is a good question,
but not an easy one for us to answer. Not knowing how many guests you
are expecting, or what day of the week or time of year you are planning
this event, or knowing more about the quantity and style of the food you
will be ordering, it would be impossible for us to determine a final
cost. Once we know more about your needs and desires and you have
answered a few of our questions, we will prepare a cost estimate for
your event. For more detailed information about our rates please visit
the Rates section on this website.
We invite you to
continue browsing our site and to view as many of the pages that pertain
to your specific event. We have various fun and beautiful photographs
posted throughout the site. There are menus for you to review and a
section all about us.
Please email or
phone us at 206-624-0474 if you would like one of the
Mansion’s sales staff to check availability for a specific date, or
schedule a time for a personal tour.
Gillian
Baumann Mindy Milton
Catering
Manager Catering Manager
gillian@stimsongreen.com
sgm@stimsongreen.com
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