Welcome to The Venue Series! We love helping couples find the best fitting venue for their ideal budget via our standalone Venue Hunt Consultation or Venue Hunt add-on for wedding planning packages. As PNW Planners, we've planned and designed in hundreds of Oregon and Washington venues, and we're sharing some of our favorites and why we love them. All photos featured are from weddings we've coordinated, planned, and/or designed.
If you’re loving the “Garden Party” wedding trend, you’re going to love these wedding venues near Portland, Oregon. As wedding planners who have scoured every corner for the best venues, believe us when we say Portland doesn't disappoint when it comes to charming garden spaces. Whether you're envisioning a cozy garden nook or a sprawling estate, this city has something for every couple looking to tie the knot surrounded by natural beauty.
These garden wedding venues host a variety of guest sizes and fit a variety of budgets, but if you’re wondering which venue is best fitting for you - reach out to us and we’d love to help you start your Venue Hunt!
Photographers: Dao Jones Media (1-4) & Everlasting Images (4-7)
Why We Love Them:
Abernethy Center lies just outside of Portland in Oregon City and offers two different garden spaces for your ceremony, and an indoor and outdoor tented reception space. The Veiled Garden (paired with the indoor ballroom) and Abigail’s Garden (paired with an outdoor tent) both have classic gazebos and a lush, greenery garden for your ceremony backdrop. The Veiled Garden offers more of a forested backdrop, and Abigail’s Garden has a romantic willow tree looming over the gazebo. This venue is for those who love a clean, well maintained space.
This venue is also great if you are looking for a place with included amenities. They not only have your basics (tables and chairs), in house catering and included place settings and glassware, but they also have a few bonuses like a wooden dance floor, heaters, fans and misters, getting ready rooms, and cafe lighting in their reception spaces. One reason our couples love this space is because the food and beverage minimum is much lower than other venues with in house catering - starting around $5,500 and calculated based on your guest count and dinner style. You’ll find that some hotels that have food and beverage minimums run around $8000 - $12,000 regardless of guest count.
Insider Tip:
Abigail’s Garden comes with a shorter venue rental timeframe, so you will want a wedding coordinator to help you maximize your time here or consider adding on extra hours to your standard 7 hours for set up to clean up. However, events at Abigail’s Garden have to end by 10:30pm, with your last song being before 10:00 pm since the space is outside. The Veiled Garden / Ballroom has a longer 12 hour venue rental, with the event ending as late as 12:00 am.
When searching through the venue’s pricing and packaging, you’ll find that the venue also offers an add on for wedding coordination. When comparing options that are best for you, we recommend comparing their add-ons with our Signature Package or our Premiere Package, which is the most common choice for our Abernethy couples!
Photographers: Dionne Kraus Photography (1-4), Katy Weaver Photography (5-8)
Why We Love Them:
Leach Botanical Garden is a charming, intimate garden space for guest counts of 80 or less. We love it here! If you love the idea of a “secret garden” space, this is the spot. . This garden space spans over 17 acres, with a free flowing creek, a stunning tree deck, a historic manor house, and the cutest stone terrace for your ceremony and reception. The space feels intimate with leafy tree coverage looming above you and natural looking gardens in stone walls surrounding you. This space is truly beautiful on it’s own!
While this venue requires a room flip from ceremony to reception, you can direct your guests to the front of the Manor House for mingling. Live music is always fun in this area to entertain guests while we flip the space with your catering team! We love that there are little nooks to tuck away areas like your dance floor, photo booth, lounge or dessert table. The manor house is also a great place to finish getting ready, tuck away before the ceremony, and stage your buffet or bar so you don’t have to worry about needing tent coverage.
To visit the space, you can walk the garden or attend one of their events or guided strolls any day of the week
Insider Tip:
The garden is open to the public up until 4pm, which will overlap with your venue rental only slightly. We’ve seen some people passing on the nearby public paths during setup, but your event space is blocked off and the garden closes before your event kicks off officially. You’ll also need to plan on a 9:00pm music end time, so if you want to party longer, you’ll want to arrange for an afterparty.
You will want to make sure you have a solid rain plan, as the indoor Fireplace Room can only accommodate 40 people inside. But no worries, our friends at Arden Event Collective have the exact measurements for a tent if needed, and we’re happy to extend our preferred vendor discount when you work with us!
Photographer: Jane and Co Photography
Why We Love Them:
If you haven’t been to Lewis and Clark college, it’s a must to walk around! It’s just 6 miles outside of downtown Portland but tucked away in the forest. The campus is full of beautiful photo spots throughout the wooded area, but the most iconic spot is the Fir Acres Estate Gardens - and it makes for a great wedding venue. This venue feels like you’re stepping back in time, with weathered stone steps, charming stone steps, and an impressive and historic brick manor house with a preserved interior. In addition to the Estate Gardens, there are other rentable spaces for rehearsals, indoor ceremonies and receptions, and getting ready spaces.
We planned and designed a beautiful Sperry tent wedding here, a classic and timeless affair. Natalie and Corey really wanted to prioritize a beautiful venue, and there was no other contender!
Insider Tip:
The college requires vendors to sign a services agreement that outlines specific restrictions and responsibilities, so a professional vendor team is a must to have a seamless experience. More specifically, the college requires you to hire a full-service wedding planner with specific qualifications, but our comprehensive Coordination and Design package as well as our full service Deluxe and Ultimate packages cover all the necessary requirements and then some.
While this venue is stunning, you’ll need to plan to rent most of your amenities from a rental company. We're happy to help you budget for this added expense and guide you to the best options and share our preferred vendor discounts.
Photographer: Leah Beachy Photo & Design
Why We Love Them:
The Oregon Golf Club is one of those venues where we know the wedding is ALWAYS going to be smooth - it’s such a joy to be at that we offer a special package discount when you hire our team as your planner or coordinator! OGC is best known for its elegant Rose Garden ceremony and sophisticated atmosphere - we also know them for their incredible team we love working alongside! This inclusive golf club is tucked away in the hills (a beautiful drive) and offers all the amenities you need, (Chiavari chairs, a polished dance floor, linens, place settings, built in bar, etc) some of which are better than the average options you see at other venues. You only have to bring in your decor and flowers to add your own twist to the space. It can host up to 400 events
This venue is perfect if you want an outdoor ceremony but an indoor reception, don’t want to compromise on the beauty of either space. The long ceremony lawn features a lush, greenery arch that blooms with roses with a symmetrical backdrop and clean hedges for a polished look. Guests enter into the ceremony space, and then filter into the fully enclosed Rose Pavilion with high ceilings, elegant draping, floor to ceiling windows, and (one of the best features) a temperature controlled environment. We also adore the spacious getting ready spaces, with a private balcony that overlooks Mt. Hood and allows you to peek at your guests arriving while you’re tucked away before the ceremony.
Insider Tip:
The well respected country club has a dress code that applies to guests and vendors on your wedding day and during setup, which you’ll need to communicate to your guests and vendors.
Many of the photos you see will feature a sparkler exit - the venue fully facilitates this and even provides the sparklers for you and your guests!
Photographers: Caleb Gaskins (1-5) & Alyson Levy Photography (6-8)
Why We Love Them:
Nestled in the heart of Portland lies the hidden gem of wedding venues: The Overlook House. This historic house offers an intimate space in a modest and quaint garden space that can host your ceremony and reception or serves as a great reception or ceremony only space. It’s one of those venues that feels like you’re getting married in the comfort of your backyard, and we love it for laid-back, garden party weddings. One of its standout features is the full access provided to the house and all its inventory, including basic place settings and serving materials, with only a cleaning fee required. The inventory includes white folding chairs, round tables, and catering space essentials, simplifying the planning process for couples. In other words, if the atmosphere and feeling of the space is the most important, this venue is easy to say yes to.
The historic house offers ample getting-ready space, complete with rooms, bathrooms, and a kitchen, ensuring convenience on the big day. It also makes for a great "introverts' corner,'' adorned with comfortable couches and chairs. The space is small and usually requires a flip from ceremony to reception, or a seated ceremony, but the venue does boast a beautiful welcome porch that’s elevated and can serve as a stage, perfect for memorable moments like your first dance.
Insider Tip:
While the venue has included inventory, be warned that the items offered don’t come in large quantities (some plates and other place setting items cap out at 70 or 80) of each style so it might be a mix-and-match scenario if you’re wanting to use all in-house rentals.
This venue is also nestled in the neighborhood, so there isn’t a designated venue parking lot. Guests will park along the neighborhood, but there’s ample street parking and the quiet neighborhood is a pleasant walk so it hasn’t caused any issues for the weddings we’ve worked there!
The Victorian Belle
Photographers: Auburn Photography (1-4) & Carrie Fey Photography (5-8)
Why We Love Them:
If you’re looking for a venue with charm, the Victorian Belle is it! Like the name suggests, this onsite historic house is frozen in the Victorian era, with ornate architectures, intricate details and woodworking in every corner, and opulent furniture from the bygone era. Surrounding the house is a quaint garden space, with multiple backdrops to choose from. Many of our couples opt for the house itself as the ceremony backdrop, because, well… there’s just nothing quite like it! We’ve also had couples hold their ceremonies in the spacious, protected gazebo on rainy days. The garden has two wide lawn spaces for your reception, one of which fits a tent for your inclement weather plan.
The venue graciously offers 12 hour venue rentals (these are the best!), which means you can get ready entirely in the vintage interior. The 3-story house makes it so both you and your partner can get ready onsite without running into each other.
Insider Tip:
This venue is an all-in-one option with in-house inventory and catering to make it easy for you, but what we love most is that the inventory matches the charm of the venue. They offer vintage cake stands and tea trays, etched glass or crystal plates, ornate chargers, tea cups and saucers, lace overlays and a variety of decor that’s all included. Odds are, if you love the space, you’ll love the inventory as well.
Want to know that you've found the best venue?
We love helping couples find the best fitting venue for their ideal budget via our standalone Venue Hunt Consultation or Venue Hunt add-on for wedding planning packages. As PNW Planners, we've planned and designed in hundreds of Oregon and Washington venues, and we're sharing some of our favorites and why we love them. All photos featured are from weddings Your Perfect Bridesmaid has coordinated, planned, and/or designed. View more of our Venue Series Blogs below: