Friends of the Overlook House Review

A nice place to have a wedding use of the grounds and the entire historic home

Attended a workshop here. A beautiful old house that was perfect for the needs of the workshop. Larger meeting space and plenty of small breakout spaces throughout. Small kitchen, bathrooms upstairs and on the main. Nice little garden and view for stretching your legs during breaks. I would definitely consider using this for a workshop or a small party or wedding.

A cool and versatile place with great views of the Willamette River. Great for group events!

SUCH a beautiful location. I attended a small wedding in the backyard in August at about 5pm. It was absolutely gorgeous! Keep in mind that it's neighborhood street parking only, so arrive early for any event.

This us a great venue for small events in a great historical home.

This is a beautiful place to have an event or wedding. Such a hidden gem! Nice size outdoor area for social distancing

Love this historical piece of Portland. I used to take piano lessons here under Melissa Thornburg.

I went there with a friend and thought it was a really cool place. I think people hire it for weddings and other events. Currently it's not seeing much use, thanks to covid and winter. It's a huge house, with a lot of rooms and a huge yard. There is a view of the river and train yards.

We got married here September 8, 2018, and I am so glad that we chose this venue. Originally, I had my eye on a few other venues that were more expensive and didn't have any amenities included. We chose this venue due to the beautiful backyard, indoor option for food prep, bathrooms, and a rain plan B, and the included perks (DIY flexibility, tables, chairs, dishes, glasses, AND they wash the dishes for you after the event!) I wanted a low-stress, low-cost, beautiful and intimate wedding, and we had that.

Our wedding had 60 people, and we held the ceremony and reception in the backyard. I rented chairs and a pallet bar because they chairs that they have, while free, look a bit like cafeteria chairs. The chair rental was my one splurge. The venue needed minimal decorations to make the space beautiful- the landscaping and arbor make for a beautiful backdrop. We used vendors/friends with businesses for: flowers, video, photo, chairs, ceremony musicians, and sound equipment. We went the DIY route for decorations, food (a friend coordinated cheese/meat trays), drinks (had a friend who has an OLCC license), and everything else.

We were nervous about the trains down below, and while we heard them a few times, it was not a big deal at all. There is plenty of street parking and we walked over to the park for bridal party photos, which was nice.

The couple who manage the venue are kind, quick to respond, and volunteers, so not available at all times of the day, like at other venues. That wasn't a problem for us. We emailed when we had questions, drove by when we needed a refresher, and visited during open house hours on Thursday evenings when we needed to visualize things. The venue rental is for 6 hours, with a fee for each additional hour, but that is my only complaint. I think if it's booked for the day, it would be nice to not have to worry about timing as much. A 7-8 hour rental feels reasonable to me, and would avoid stress of spending more money to ensure enough time to set/clean up.

We were able to have a beautiful wedding that we could afford. I think their materials and website could be updated to reflect how great of a venue it is, but then it would probably get more competitive, and I was grateful to not have to worry about that.