I’m so excited to feature this week’s featured vendor: Rapid Creek Cidery. Being an Iowa City wedding photographer, I’ve been biting my nails in excitement over this new rustic venue right outside of Iowa City on the Wilson’s Orchard grounds. The rustic and elegant wedding venue, complete with an outdoor ceremony patio under the canopy of an old oak grove, is the perfect balance of a natural setting with modern amenities. Plus, the upper level will be a restaurant for the community to enjoy. I love going to Wilson’s Orchard with my family and clients, and I’m excited to be able to enjoy the beautiful area year round! The owner, Katie, is such a sweetheart and great to work with as you plan your Iowa City wedding. See what she has to say about Rapid Creek Cidery below!
Tell us how Rapid Creek Cidery came to be.
Although Rapid Creek Cidery is now a cidery, restaurant and event space, it all sort of started with the event side. The orchard was receiving more and more inquiries about weddings in recent years. It was often difficult for couples to commit to the venue because the orchard didn’t have an indoor space as a back up for the ceremony and for the reception. Without an indoor space, it was also impossible to have weddings during the orchard season (August through October). Constructing Rapid Creek Cidery was a solution to this problem. Around the same time, Wilson’s Orchard began producing hard cider and raising its own heritage breed pigs and sheep on apple pomace (the remains from pressing cider). Naturally, this led us to incorporate the meat from these animals and the hard cider into the new business, Rapid Creek Cidery. We decided we would want to have great food to complement our unique venue. From there, we decided to open a cidery/restaurant that would allow others in the community to be able to enjoy the orchard and the new venture on a more regular basis.
What makes Rapid Creek a unique venue for couples?
Our venue is unique because it has a lot of character while also being a neutral space for couples to make their own. This really allows couples to do as much or as little decorating as they want and still have a unique venue both inside and outside. Not only is the building constructed from reclaimed barn wood (taken from barns in the area), but it is also overlooking the orchard, pond and willow trees. The cidery is set in an area of the orchard that didn’t ever get a lot of foot traffic. The ceremony site is set in an old oak grove, which is also next to the creek that runs through the orchard. In addition to the setting, our goal for the event space was to have it be as all inclusive as possible. We supply the catering, service staff, chairs tables, dinnerware and glassware.
I think it is important that both people feel comfortable with the venue and can imagine their wedding day in the space.
I love getting to know different couples throughout the planning process – from the first time I show them the venue to their wedding day, and everything in between. It has been great to see people’s excitement about the venue so far!
To schedule a viewing of Rapid Creek Cidery, or to find out more information, contact Katie at the information posted below.
Katie Goering
319-541-7684
katie@rapidcreekcidery.com