Bastyr University Wedding Chapel

If I could give bastyr university Chapel a zero, I would. Worst customer service I’ve dealt with in ALL of my wedding planning experience. The people who work there are very rude and inconsiderate. If they can charge you for the air you breathe inside the chapel, they would!!!
It’s so unfortunate because the chapel itself is beautiful but the horrific fees and restrictions and the inconsiderate staff makes it not worth your time, money or effort. We did not get our full deposit back even though we didn’t break/​ruin/​not return anything and even though we followed all the rules they put. We sent multiple emails complaining and we were not able to talk to the manager after many attempts.

It even smells old and reverent.

THANK YOU for the perfect wedding location! We searched everywhere for a wedding venue, but when we came to Bastyr we had to have it. We even changed the date just to make it happen! It’s absolutely breathtaking, and Michelle was very easy to work with. We were nervous to see the price tag when we walked in and saw how beautiful it was, but it was SUCH a great value we were shocked, especially compared to the other venues we checked out in Seattle. All of our family spoke about how gorgeous the chapel was, and how great the ceremony went with the lapel microphone for the chaplain and easy-​to-​use adaptor to play the wedding music over the chapel sound system. It went so smoothly and perfectly, and was a beautiful and special day. THANK YOU!

I’ve been to several weddings and events here now, in the wedding party and in the audience, and I just kind of love this place. There are parts of Bastyr that aren’t all that fancy, or are a little «institutional» feeling, but those elements that remain fall into a somehow just right mix with the grand décor found in the cathedral.
If there was such a genre as «secular Catholic» or «worldly Temple», I think they own the trademark already.
Deep, dark wood with beautiful moldings, hand carved details, soaring ceilings. it’s really beautiful.
For the audience it can be a bit weird. You’re relegated to the benches/​seats that follow the length. not the width… so for a large wedding, you’re craning to one side looking down the walkway towards the stage to see the ceremony.
In a few events, that limited the places the photographers and videographers could be, and in one case, made it impossible for them to blend into the background/​crowd or get specific shot angles.
The space available for brides/​maids and such to get ready isn’t the best or have the most features and the bathrooms are useless as a stand-​in, so know *exactly* what you’ll need in lighting, mirrors, power outlets and such well before-​hand or make arrangements to cover those details somewhere else.
Overall, though, do consider this space for your wedding or other ceremony/​event.

This is a terrific place to make music. The acoustics are ideal, just a hint of reverb, pianissimo can still be heard in the back row, awesome marble floors with wood paneling on the walls to absorb just the perfect amount of echo. Great for a live performance or a recording session.

I recently got married here.
I say that with such ease now, but for anyone who has ever been part of planning a wedding, you know that it is anything but easy! Pam Vaughn, the events coordinator there was a pleasure to work with. They were very accommodating to us regarding our budget and the whole thing went off pretty seamlessly.
A couple of perks about Bastyr:
— The chapel is huge and gorgeous — if you like traditional European style churches, you will love their chapel!
— They’ve started doing receptions there also and the food is top notch. They grow a lot of things locally on their grounds and supplement by buying things locally, so everything is excellect quality. We had a chicken dish and their vegetarian lasagna and had nothing but glowing reviews from all of our guests.
— Compared to a lot of places I priced out, they are very affordable.
Having a wedding officiating business as well, I will definitely be referring Bastyr to my brides.