Outdoor patio venues for rehearsal dinners and special events

Xport Bar and Lounge, from their website.

It’s winter here in Portland: short, damp days are the norm. But before we know it, summer will be here in full force. There’s nothing more glorious than a nice summer day in the Northwest. Everyone wants to spend time outside, so they head to one of our fine restaurants that have outdoor patio venues.

Are you thinking about having a special event or perhaps a rehearsal dinner using an outdoor patio venue? The time to plan that event is now. Once folks start shedding layers and ditching umbrellas, you can be sure that these special outdoor patio event spaces are already booked up.

Here’s a selection of outdoor patio venues for rehearsal dinners and special events in Portland, Oregon. All of them are unique; many feature great views of the city.

Departure

The view from the west patio of Departure Lounge is dramatic! ©Evrim Icoz Photography

This restaurant sits atop the historic Meier and Frank building next to the Pioneer Courthouse. Meier and Frank was THE Portland downtown department store, but is no longer with us. Much of the old building is taken up by The Nines Hotel. Departure features pan-Asian food and its outdoor patio features one of the most impressive views of the city!

Xport Bar and Lounge

The Xport is another downtown rooftop venue. Located above The Porter Hotel, XPort offers eclectic New American cuisine. The patio features sweeping views of the West Hills and the Cascade Mountains.

The Hairy Lobster

Located in the Pearl District, this seafood restaurant has a patio that is directly across from Jamison Square Park. This shaded outdoor patio can accommodate parties from 70-110 people. Editor’s Note 5/26/22: This venue has closed.

Revolution Hall

Revolution Hall.

This Southeast venue consists of the former Washington High School, a public school that served Portland from 1924 to 1981 and counted Linus Pauling as a student. It now hosts Revolution Hall, one of the city’s premier music venues, plus restaurants (including Martha’s), bars, and private event spaces. The Roof Deck Bar is an outdoor patio venue available for private events from mid-June to mid-September.

Shine Distillery

Shine Distillery’s Patio.

This new distillery is located on vibrant North Williams Avenue. Besides spirits, you’ll find a restaurant and a small patio overlooking the neighborhood. Williams Avenue really comes to life during the summer months, manifested in the scores of cyclists you’ll see bounding up the bike lane!

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Hope this list gives you some ideas for outdoor patio venues for rehearsal dinners and special events in Portland, Oregon. And again, we urge you to make your reservations early, and to call us if you need some help planning your event.

{ Happy St. Patrick’s Day! } Dormae and Brian at Bridal Veil Lakes in the Columbia River Gorge

From Emee: It's so very easy to blog about what's going on around town in the world of Portland weddings — however, I'm making more of an effort to go back and blog our own weddings that we have coordinated and planned in the past, under the tagline { Real Weddings }. Some will be little snippets, some will be full features — but my goal by the end of this year, is for our { Real Weddings } tag to be as helpful to Portland couples as possible, full of as many real venue and wedding ideas, and providing inspiration and information to all.

In honor of St. Patrick's day, today's little glimpse is one of our favorite weddings that we coordinated at Bridal Veil Lakes. This Columbia River Gorge wedding included a Celtic handfasting ceremony to reflect the groom's Irish heritage, AND Filipino traditions to reflect the bride's. TOO AWESOME.

Thank you to Scott McNamara for the photos.

Celtic-handfasting-2Above: Dormae and Brian's Celtic-inspired handfasting.

Read more about Irish wedding traditions over at Green Wedding Shoes.

In the Filipino tradition, the ceremony often involves many extended family members called sponsors, and three important rites are used:

  • An exchange of thirteen coins representing the promise of the couple to support and provide for one another and the family.
  • A veil, historically symbolizing being clothed in the love of Christ, but in non-denominational weddings, more often interpreted as a symbol of the couple's home and safe haven in each other.
  • A cord, wrapped around the couple's shoulders, to symbolize the strong bond between the married couple.

        For Filipino weddings that take place in a church, there is also normally a candle lighting. You can read more about Filipino wedding traditions at MyBarong.com.

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Above: the Filipino veil and cord ceremony.

Below: Officiant Lisa Kristen-Scott is seen here, presiding over the couple's exchange of coins.

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Bridal Veil Lakes, as always, is a gorgeous venue.
We've coordinated tons of weddings there and always love it.

Are you incorporating any cultural traditions in your wedding ceremony? Do share with us in the comments!

{ Real Portland Wedding } Vintage Wedding Details at DeArmond Gardens in Hillsboro

The sweet and lovely, vintage wedding look is still a big hit with weddings in Portland. I was looking back through the files (sooo many un-blogged weddings!) and I thought I'd share some of this wonderful wedding, which was also featured on Style Me Pretty. My favorite part about this wedding was that the bride and groom got to put their mark on so many aspects by DIY'ing almost everything — before the event.

But the day of the event (actually, starting months before), they had turned all the goodies over to us to place and style. We loved helping them (and I got to drive a huge U-Haul)! Except for the first photo, photos by Daniel Stark via Style Me Pretty.

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