CLAY Venues – a Colorado Springs Wedding and Event Venue
Nestled in the heart of downtown Colorado Springs rests the city’s newest and hottest wedding venue. If you haven’t heard of them yet, I’m thrilled to be the first to introduce you to CLAY Venues. If you HAVE heard of CLAY, then you’re probably already aware of what a unique treat this venue is for the city and its couples.
CLAY Venues is a revamped urban space that was specifically created with not only wedding couples, but also creatives in mind. Boasting large bay windows and polished concrete floors, natural light beautifully bounces around inside. Not only does this create a fresh and inviting atmosphere, but it also means your photographer is already set up for success to capture beautiful images with clean light and vibrant colors. (As a photographer – this makes me VERY giddy!)
The team at CLAY is also invested in helping you achieve the wedding of your dreams! From a preferred vendor list to a day-of-coordinator, you can be assured that professionals will be working with you every step of the way. While the vast interior can seem daunting at first (you may be thinking, “how can I find things to fill this space?!”) don’t worry… they have you covered. Seating is including in every rental, in addition to cafe lighting and an array of complementary decor options (such as table numbers, candle vases, and more!) The space is incredibly versatile, and you truly have the flexibility to make the space uniquely yours.
Q/A:
I’ve had a few past opportunities to work with Becky, one of the owners, and her creative vision combined with her genuine spirit truly makes her one of a kind! We recently were able to chat about CLAY, and she answered some questions that interested couples may have about the venue.
How would you describe CLAY? What is the overall aesthetic?
“Industrial Charm meets urban Chic. With exposed beams, white walls and polished cement floors CLAY is the perfect blank slate for your dream wedding to become a reality.”
What makes you unique from other wedding venues in the area?
“CLAY is the only Colorado Springs downtown urban industrial wedding and event venue. We saw a gap in the market and we love the wide array of events that can take place in a venue that provides a blank canvas for our couples to shape and make their own. CLAY really offers our couples the ability to have a unique to them wedding unlike anything else done in the space.”
How many guests can you accommodate?
“We can seat up to 200!”
What comes with a wedding rental?
“Your rental include tables, chairs, cocktail tables, our mobile bar, black wall and a huge perk is our decor closet that offers an ever growing inventory of simple elegant and timeless wedding decor. Saving the best for last, all of our rentals include a DOC (day of coordinator)! We found that so many of our brides were stressed and unsure of what to do in the planning process and on the day of the wedding. To improve the experience, we took that stress out by including our talented and experienced DOC also known as “party starters” ;)”
Do you offer all-inclusive packages, or wedding planning services?
“We do have an all inclusive package of sorts. It’s not as traditional as most all inclusive venues and gives lots of freedom to customize as you build the package. We would love to share more information on this in person on a tour!”
Who are some of your favorite vendors in the area to work with?
“You can find a list of all our favorite vendors here. There are so many amazing vendors in the area and this is just a handful that we have worked with and loved!”
What tips do you have for a newly engaged couple?
“Remember to celebrate and enjoy the engagement season! It goes by quickly! Making sure to nail down a budget. This helps everything else run smoothly as well as helps your vendors know how best to serve you. Lock in a date and then hire a killer team. All these things will help make the planning process easy and fun!”
Finally, what’s (at least) one fun fact about CLAY?
“CLAY Venues has been a lifelong dream of ours. We always called it our oneday dream but when we moved to CO Springs5 years ago we realized there was nothing like CLAY in the area. We wanted to provide a downtown urban industrial venue for couples sooner than we thought. The one day dream became the rightnow dream and it has been such a great adventure.
CLAY is named after Aarons (owner) grandfather. We loved him so much and admired him and the life he led. We want CLAY to be a continuation of that legacy in our family and in our city!
Becky (owner) has been a fine art wedding photographer for 18 years and wanted CLAY to be not only a venue but a place where vendors and couples alike felt welcome and invited to create. We have loved seeing so much creativity happen inside CLAY’s walls and can’t wait for more!
Our slogan at CLAY is “the best is yet to come LET’S PARTY!” it’s on a decal on the floor when you walk in our door. We are always ready to help our couples plan and bring to life the most epic party of their life!
Last but not least we have the CLAYs couple wall where each one of our couples gets to sign their names and wedding date and officially join the CLAY family. It’s by far one of our favorite moments of the night as we see our wall fill up with the kindest, most amazing couples around!”
Interested in learning more?
Click HERE to check out their website!
Thank you Becky for taking the time to answer some questions!
If you’re looking for a venue that doesn’t only photograph beautifully, but can also host an epic party, has mountain views, and is close to all the amenities that downtown Colorado Springs has to offer, PLEASE get you and your newly engaged booty over to CLAY for a tour!
To see a small glimpse of just how awesome this space is, check out more images below from this styled session hosted at CLAY Venues.
Styled by Crystal Mejia Events, a custom burnt orange wall was used as the primary backdrop. Half way through the shoot, we flipped the wall around and took some images with CLAY’s iconic black wall.
How unique is this juxtaposition of color!
Also – can we just take a second and oogle over this veil. STUNNING.
And onto CLAY’s iconic black wall – what a unique (and portable… it has wheels) backdrop for photos!
Be sure to check out these awesome vendors, who collaborated together at CLAY Venues for this shoot!
Photography: (yours truly) – Erin Winter Photography
Planning: Crystal Mejia Events
Venue: CLAY Venues
Bride Model: Peyton Hamlin
Groom Model: Jackson Craft (fun fact, Peyton and Jackson are a couple in real life!)
Gown: Soiree Bridal Boutique
Florals: Calliope Floral
Cake: Trouvaille Bakery
HMUA: Blush Dry Bar
Calligraphy: Pretty Writing
Interested in learning more about another wedding venue in Colorado Springs?
Check out this blog post below:
Younger Ranch Wedding Venue
And to learn more about wedding photography, check out this page!
Thanks for reading, and be sure to follow along on the blog for more venue Q/As, tips, photos, and adventures.
xox
