The Creek House - Idyllwild

The Creek House is the third location that we liked.  It is an old Chart House Restaurant located in the northern end of Idyllwild, so it's pretty quiet and the creek is flowing.   When you walk in there is a bar area to the right and the dining area to the left.  In front is the glass windows looking out on the deck.  From the deck you can walk down the stairs to the ceremony area which is right on the creek.  

The deck is very nice and can be used for the meal, dancing/music, hors d'oeuvres, ceremony, etc.  Since it is a restaurant, you don't have to worry about tables/chairs/catering/umbrellas, etc.  They will give good prices on wine and allow you to bring in your own beer, without a fee (they also might be interested in taking on Tom's brew - they only have one micro brew that they sell).  If you reserve the whole restaurant, then there is no facility fee.  You would then use all three areas (inside, deck, outside) and be able to cover issues in the event of inclement  or hot weather.  I think otherwise the facility fee was around $2,000 but she's really negotiable.  Meals ranged from $17 to $40 and they would create a menu based on your preferences.  They can also do an outdoor barbecue. She also said she could do heavy hors d'oeuvres instead of a sit-down dinner.  

The ceremony area is on the creek, you can see the platform and structure.  After the ceremony, the band sets up on the platform and the area is used for dancing and eating.  While the change is happening you can have guests come up to the deck for hors d'oeuvres.  They are considering putting in some type of "floor" either stone, deck, etc.  So it might look different next year.

This is the view from the road looking at the back of the restaurant, across the creek. 

 Right across the street is a lodge, Creekstone Inn, that your wedding party could stay in.  Look at the website (9 rooms, 3 with 2 beds), nice view from back.  You might be able to do rehearsal dinner on deck (or have rehearsal in afternoon and do lunch on deck).  Lots of parking around. 

The woman that owns this lodge also owns the Silver Pines Lodge in the photo below, a few miles away.

I really liked that Lorraine, the manager of the Creek House was very flexible and would work with you on menu planning, set up, etc.  They had everything available and prices were very reasonable.  Even if you paid a $2,000 facility fee, at $40 a meal, you can still be way under budget.  And, have options if the weather does not cooperate.