A dream wedding at a budget. That was our mission. A beautiful forest backdrop, outside venue, variety of spots for photos, and most importantly the flexibility to design the wedding we wanted. The Cabins on Strawberry Hill met us all the way and then much more. Rick and Jay (the owners) started their business with the right mission in mind. They give their all to ensure that every guest feels exceptional and has ample opportunity to make the most of their experience. Most importantly they are available to assist, to give feedback and recommendations, and provide services needed (and even those services not noticed).
We had planned to find a venue that could; provide a beautiful backdrop of the lush forest, could provide for an open/outdoor wedding, had ample services/vendor options, was closed or made private, gave us a lot of time (i.e. more than 3 hours), allowed us to design the wedding, and could accommodate guests staying onsite or nearby. In Arizona there are relatively few options for forest backdrop venues. Those with the options take full advantage with enormous price packages, limited services and event length, and many restrictions.
The morning we found the Cabins. One morning we set out to go to one such location typical venue in Flagstaff. On way we decided to check out this cabin location that had great reviews and decent wedding pictures on the website. To get to the point, oh my goodness. We fell in love with the location and the owners within an instant. On the way up to Flagstaff, my wife and I stated, this next place has a mountain to scale in order to 'one up' Cabins on Strawberry Hill. As we suspected, and hoped to some degree, the Flagstaff location bombed and we drove back down to Cabins on Strawberry Hill (Cabins) to make our reservation.
The owners were extremely helpful in arranging our dates which after a week had to be changed (that was no problem for them, very accommodating). Cabins provided us a list of recommended vendors for catering. We chose Susie's Q, the absolutely best choice! We arranged for a DJ, photo-booth, and had a close friend design the wedding, a family member who did the photography, and my wife the baker made the cake. As stated before, it was paramount that we were allowed to design the wedding to our liking, no exceptions. Hence in major part why we chose Cabins. We were told to visit the property as need (with a courtesy email/call prior to the visit) so we could outline the designs and share those with the Cabins. The folks at the Cabins were playing on our team. In the end the entire property turned into our fantasy wedding. Okay, so we went over a little on budget but that little made for an incredible experience, rather than an upgraded meal option.
Cabins is managed and operated by two brothers whereas all the venues we visited in Prescott, Flagstaff, Payson, Sedona, Florence, Phoenix, Scottsdale are operated by a few dozen to a few hundred staff, and yet only at the Cabins could we have our dream wedding at price tag far more reasonable than the others. It was about our experience. For us to have the most beautiful, fun, and forever memorable weekend and wedding of our lives and of those who joined us. That was only possible the Cabins on Strawberry Hill. So to close, how many stars are given? As we rarely do, we give without question five stars.
Vendors:
Silverrose Bakery - Peoria
Juan Carlos designs - Scottsdale
Susie's Q BBQ - Payson
SnapShot photobooth - Phoenix
Johnny B's Entertainment - Phoenix
Bevmo - Glendale read more