Gray Gables Estate

We had a beautiful outdoor wedding and reception here last week. The entire experience was easy and stress free. Jennifer and Samantha were fantastic to work with and could not be more helpful and accommodating. The food was great and all of my guests had a fabulous time.

Don’t let the location on a map fool you, Gray Gables is a fantastic wedding venue. Nowhere else did we find a location near the Portland area where our guests wouldn’t have to drive 30+ minutes, have ample parking, have a bride and groom suite to get ready in, beautiful grounds that are naturally set up with plenty of outdoor and indoor charm, and somewhere with a day of coordinator who helps you with the venue plan the whole way through. Jennifer was our point-person and we were thoroughly impressed with her willingness to answer all of our questions, her patience and understanding while wedding planning during a pandemic, and just being overall fun to work with! Gray Gables is the complete package. Catering is in house, which some may count as a negative, but the food was fantastic and they even worked with us on a custom menu. The bar is already set up on site so that was super easy. Forte Floral is next door and associated with Gray Gables which was another added bonus. Even with COVID throwing obstacles leading to the big day, on the day of our wedding everything turned out better than we could have hoped for. We are so happy we chose Gray Gables and had the opportunity to work with Jennifer. Highly recommended!

Such a charming and lovely place to get married. Our guests were so impressed with how beautiful and quaint the grounds are. The food is top notch along with the setting. Jennifer is great to work with and so flexible! I have the best memories of our wedding day.

We had booked Gray Gables estate, and everything was great up until Covid19. We’re scheduled for 9/3/2020, and the Venue didn't even bother to contact us to reassure us or check in with us if we wanted to postpone or anything. I had to reach out to them to see what can be done. The Venue is not canceling or giving any refunds. They told me to wait six weeks before my wedding, which I can't do that as everyone is coming for another state and Country all 90 guests. During this pandemic, they are not even allowed to book any travel, so don't know how I'm going to have a Wedding that no one can come to. They wouldn't also let me postpone as an option. There was no act of God clause in the contract, so I still lose out. You would think they would want to work with their brides. I guess not. Don't book here; trust me on this. I've spoken with other local Venues, and they are letting their brides postpone some have even given them their deposits back.

It was the perfect venue on the perfect summer day. Thank you, Samantha, and the rest of the gray gables staff for a fairytale of a wedding. Everything was beyond any expectation I had, it was truly a perfect day. The venue has it all, the staff is amazing, the communication is great. I never had to worry about anything. Cannot recommend them enough!

I've been writing this review in my head for the last month because I knew I had to make it as amazing and I felt towards our venue and the owner, Samantha. My now-husband and I looked at 6 venues and none could compare to Gray Gables Estate (GGE). Besides swiping yes to my future husband, choosing GGE to be our spot was the best decision I could have made! The venue itself is breathtakingly gorgeous, serene and just beautiful. We wanted everything outdoors - and it worked magically. But - the very BEST thing about GGE was Samantha. She is the owner and wedding coordinator, and by the end of our wedding, I wanted to marry her instead! She was flawless in every step, she knew what myself and my bridal party needed before we even asked. She literally anticipated every single thing you could imagine. She facilitated all the rentals we would need, so that I only had to work with her. She suggested tons of great ideas which were all perfect. She was accommodating to my random requests (brought in baby goats!) and politely dealt with some unruly groomsmen during rehearsal. Day of wedding was so stress free for me, and all because of Sam! She wrangled the cake delivery, musicians arriving, DJ coming, GOATS!, photo booth, and allll the rental deliveries! I was able to relax with my girls in the awesome house and just enjoyed every minute of my day. DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND CHOOSE GRAY GABLES ESTATE FOR YOUR WEDDING!!!

There honestly are not enough words for us to describe how incredible our wedding day was. From our first meeting with Samantha (the on-site day-of coordinator) through the end of our reception, all communication was thorough, professional, and incredibly helpful. This review will cover 3 different pieces of what came with the venue: Samantha (and staff), the food, and the venue itself. Samantha & Staff: At our first venue visit, Samantha walked us through the property, (which is naturally gorgeous, by the way) and did an amazing job at explaining how the flowers and trees would look at the time of our wedding (nearly a year before the actual wedding date). This was the best "pitch" we had heard throughout our 10 different venue tours, and was a big selling point for us. Over the months after signing our contract, Samantha held wedding planning meetings with us every other month to keep us on track and to ensure that we had considered everything we needed. Samantha refers to herself as a day-of coordinator, but really, she did a lot of planning with us along the way. We, unfortunately, did not get to interact with the other staff members much throughout our wedding, however, we were receiving raving reviews from our guests all night of the servers and the bartenders. In fact, I'm still hearing about how wonderful everyone was. I also appreciated that the servers brought the passed appetizers over to the area where family photos were being taken (something I hadn't even thought to ask for, but greatly appreciated). The Food: Gray Gables requires you to use their in-house catering menu. The food here is ridiculously good - this isn't an exaggeration. We served beef short ribs and salmon to nearly 150 people via a buffet and not a single portion was dry or underseasoned. The chefs at Gray Gables really know what they're doing. In addition to the raving reviews we've received from our guests about the staff, the reviews have been even more complimentary to the food we chose for dinner and the appetizers during our cocktail hour. The Venue: We were initially floored by how gorgeous the venue was during our first tour. There was lots of greenery, flowers, and beautiful spaces for outdoor photos. The venue is also decorated with twinkle-lights which add a soft romantic vibe to the entire property. The lights are permanent fixtures and you are not charged extra for these. The groom's room is the best groom's room that we saw while touring venues. It's a separate house (not a coat closet) and even has a full-size pool table! The bridal suite was also stunning. It's in the main manor house and has a full bathroom, space for hair and makeup (with LOTS of natural lighting) and comfortable couches and chairs for the downtime before the ceremony. We held our reception in the ballroom, which is adorned with breathtaking crystal chandeliers. The venue is very flexible when it comes to softening the space with long, draped chiffon. We chose to have this hung along the back wall of the venue space and it was perfect. The venue also coordinates all linen rentals, which was super helpful for us. All in all, we were obsessed with our venue before the wedding, but we're even more obsessed after. Thank you SO much to the wonderful staff at Gray Gables for giving us our dream wedding day!

Our wedding coordinator was amazing, all the staff was fantastic, and the food was the best thing about our wedding! Downfalls included not being able to take left over food home with us and the bride and groom drinks not being very stiff, But other than that everything was amazing and we can't think Gray gables enough for all they did for our amazing day!

Lorenzen

Gray Gables was the PERFECT venue. Samantha went above and beyond with her team and everything was more than I could have hoped for. It was beautiful and everyone had an amazing time. She was so knowledgeable and professional, the planning and day of seemed to go flawlessly. I recommend her and this venue times a million. Thank you so so much, Victoria and Cory September 2018.

If you’re looking for a venue that has it pretty dialed in for weddings, this is it! From providing space for both the groomsmen and bridal party to get ready and to relax, their excellent chef who works on site, to the venue liason/planner who also manages the day of-this place had it all! Even the grounds are so spectacular that I saved money on decorations (didn’t need them)... As a bride, I felt like once I got all my helpers working on set up, I was able to just focus on myself and enjoying my special day with my husband-to-be... I absolutely credit Gray Gables with providing everything we needed to enjoy the heck out of our special day. Professional, courteous, helpful-a class act all the way! Can’t thank Jennifer and Bryce enough...

Jennifer and the team at Gray Gables Estate were amazing! The venue is beyond beautiful and our wedding there was perfect! Everything from the ground cover, the garden, the beautiful pavilion and ballroom to the food were amazing! Everything was gorgeous! Jennifer is so easy to work with and amazing! I highly recommend this venue to any bride to be that wants a beautiful and elegant location for their perfect special day.

Samantha and the team at Gray Gables were amazing! We planned our wedding from out of state so it was nice to have a team we could rely on to make out wedding day exactly as we had imagined plus more! The venue was amazing and our guests are still talking about how great the food was! Gray Gables was the perfect venue for our wedding.

We just had our wedding and reception at Gray Gables Estate, and we could not be happier! The wedding was beautiful, and it went off without a hitch! First of all we drove to Portland in the middle of an ice storm to look at two venues. The first (Abernathy Center) cancelled on us via email (even though we had spoken with us over the phone) while we were already on the road. Now having 3 hours to kill we called Gray Gables to see if we could move our appointment up. Jennifer Agard was very sweet & flexible. She said she could meet us in 30 minutes. She gave us a tour of the venue which was gorgeous even covered in ice and snow. Jennifer gave us cool insights into the history of the venue and pointed out small details that she knew from having her own wedding there. (Like the fact that you can see guests arriving from the bridal getting ready room, but they can't see you.) We booked on the spot and it was best decision. Jennifer was so on top of everything, but still calm and collected. She was made for this job. She set the expectations for when we would need to meet again, and what details we needed to think about. Gray Gables does their own catering. The rate is pretty competitive for what we found in Portland, and the food is AMAZING! Our guests are still raving about the dinner we served. They rent all their own linens which was super convenient. They also coordinated our sparkler exit, and it was beautiful. Jennifer clearly knows what she's doing, she guided us when setting up the timeline of the wedding day and sure enough it went flawlessly. On our wedding day, she was right there guiding us from one thing to the next without being in the way or drawing any attention to herself. She was the invisible orchestrator that made the day seamless. On top of it all the venue is just absolutely gorgeous. It is conveniently located for guests staying in downtown Portland. It has an enchanting feel to it, and it made our wedding feel so intimate. The little lights in every bush and tree on the property just felt magical. You may end up paying a little more for this venue, but it's worth every penny for the beautiful venue, the amazing food, and the kind & competent staff.

This place was amazing. Made all my dreams come true. Samantha was amazing to work with. Great food, venue, and experience. Would highly recommend them to anybody

Gray Gables Estate was the perfect wedding venue, these people know what they are doing. Everything was ran so efficiently and flawlessly, the staff works hard to make it enjoyable for the bride, groom and all of their guests. We received so many compliments from our guests about how good the service was and how stunning the venue itself was. With the elegant ballroom with its sparkly, crystal chandeliers and the garden with its lush greenery and twinkling lights, it was truly a fairy tale wedding, we couldn't have imagined anything more perfect.

I wanted to write a 5 star review through the whole planning process, but had to wait until the big day to see how it all unfolded. My wedding was 5-star perfect. Samantha was amazing through through the entire planning process and made sure my wedding day went smoothly. The grounds are filled with a variety of photo opportunities. The food for our chosen buffet dinner was AMAZING! Finally all the vendors Sam helped us select were easy to work with and on point with my wedding vision. The day goes by so fast but Gray Gables makes sure you get to enjoy all of it. I'm a happy bride!

In a word - Perfect! Our son and his beautiful bride were married here on Sep 10, 2016 and the venue was beyond anything I could have imagined... Both the Bride and Groom visited a year earlier and picked Gray Gables over four other venues, they were able to have a taste of their menu and go over everything with Samantha before they left to go back to Boston. During the last year, they put everything in place with Samantha guiding them the entire way. The wedding day was gorgeous and the gardens were the perfect setting for the guests to wander in before the wedding. The ceremony was held outside and the reception in the stunning reception hall. EVERYTHING went like clockwork! They guys had a great time before the wedding in the groom's room and I visited the bride in the beautiful rooms in the old house. The buffet was delicious, so many of the guests commented on the great food, and especially the service of the staff. All we had to do was get ourselves ready - Samantha and her staff took care of everything else! We could not have imagined a more perfect day, beyond anything I was expecting - we just relaxed and enjoyed family and friends, just the way it should be! Thank you, Samantha and your staff, you are exceptional...

I recently got married here and it was the PERFECT night! As soon as we visited this venue we knew it was where we wanted to get married. The gardens and landscape look stunning and the ballroom is beautiful!! It was nice spaces for both the groom and bride to get ready. We worked with Samantha and she was so easy to work with, answered questions quickly and patiently, and was very professional. Our entire wedding process went smoothly and was even better than I envisioned it. Samantha worked hard the day of making sure everything was set up properly, looked nice, and made sure things were perfect for our special day. She went above and beyond our expectations. I highly recommend this venue!

Gray Gables Estate made planning our wedding reception very easy and it was a picture perfect wedding. The grounds was absolutely beautiful and picturesque. The wedding parties had adequate space to hang out and get ready for the wedding without any hiccups. The staff was outstanding and quickly accommodated any need for any individual. I have only praise for Gray Gables Estate and absolutely no complaints. I would recommend this venue to any person looking to have a beautiful stress free wedding.

My experience with Gray Gables started online. I reached out to the venue because their reviews were great, their photos were beautiful, and I felt like this was definitely a place I could see myself getting married. I tried to ignore the typos on their website but from my first communication with Gray Gables, I could tell their customer service and professionalism was lacking. I emailed back and forth a couple times with a nameless person and scheduled a Saturday morning appointment a month in advance. I then reached out a week or two later for some additional budgeting information and was asked to again book a visit. I was less than thrilled that they didn't know I had an appointment scheduled but took it as an opportunity to confirm our meeting day and time. I then flew from Raleigh, NC to Portland, OR to visit my finance's and my top three venue choices. On the day of our scheduled appointment we showed up to find no one at the venue. We walked around the grounds in the pouring down rain to try to find the person who we were certain had "just lost track of time and not stepped out to meet us", to no avail. My fiancé called and left a voicemail, as no one answered on an early Saturday morning. After waiting nearly 40 minutes, hoping someone would show up, we finally left. I received a call 36 hours later saying they didn't have the appointment on the calendar but would love to reschedule, but by that point I was headed back to the East Coast and would prefer to not waste any more of my time. Needless to say my experience with Gray Gables was excessively poor and very disappointing. We will obviously not be getting married here and from my experience, I would encourage you to look else where for a wedding venue in the Portland area!

I am the Mom of the bride and handled many of the details for my daughter's wedding, as she lives out of state. Samantha was a fabulous resource and was always happy to help me with whatever I needed. The venue is stunning, hands down, and the polite and friendly service Sam provided to both myself and our guests was outstanding. I do not have a single complaint and I highly recommend Gray Gables and Samantha for your wedding needs. Thank you for a truly beautiful and memorable evening!

This venue was simply perfect for my fairytale love story wedding. The ladies worked great with my event coordinators as well as other vendor . They went above and beyond for this crazy bridzilla

Although the location is beautiful and I was highly considering having my wedding there, the customer service is disappointing. I emailed them in inquire about pricing information for renting their venue and catering options. It took several days to get a response back, and when they did respond it was very short and not a lot of information.

An incredible venue that simply made our wedding that much more wonderful. The staff is outstanding, and very knowledgeable, and incredibly helpful in dealing with unruly groomsmen!!! Don't hesitate - book this place and you won't regret it!

They were so on top of everything and it was so beautiful.

This property is absolutely gorgeous, especially at night when all the twinkle lights are lit up. The best part is the inclusive packages and the service provided by the coordinators. My fiance and I got to meet with our coordinator several times to decide on all the details for our wedding, and having an experienced person there with us was so helpful. On the day of the wedding, our coordinator took all the stress of schedules and timelines off our shoulders, and simply guided us around to where we needed to be, so we didn't have to worry about it. It was a beautiful wedding, and our guests kept raving about the venue.

Can you imagine in the process of wedding planning and the stresses it brings, having your wedding venue burn down 2 weeks before your wedding and come to the realization the venue owners were lying and cheating you the entire time? That is what happened to us. We were planning on having our wedding at the View Point Inn. Two and half weeks before our wedding we heard news of the venue catching fire. The destruction was devastating beyond immediate repair. We then found out that the owners let their fire insurance lapse and had to file for bankruptcy. They had no remorse for the soon-to-be brides and did nothing to help out the new situation. We thought our storybook wedding would never happen. After putting 8 months into preparing and planning we watched as all our hard work seemed to burn to the ground. When we thought we had nowhere to turn Gray Gables made our dream wedding come true. We met with Barb who is a coordinator at the venue and told her our story. Within the same day she worked with us and did all she could to reconstruct our vision. Barb and the Gray Gables team went above and beyond to map out a menu, coordinate the fine details such as decorations, and any other dreams we had. She did such an amazing job coordinating and had a calm demeanor I felt unexpectedly relaxed despite our circumstances. She worked with the colors we had already picked out (Tiffany Blue…which they have perfect new Tiffany Blue napkins), helped with our menu (the food was astounding and complimented by our guests), and accommodated for any decoration ideas. She worked with our financial budget and sympathized with our situation. Gray Gables proved to be an honest wedding venue. Integrity is evident and they can be completely trusted with one of the most important days of your life. Our story started with a tragedy and deception and ended with a happily ever after thanks to Barb, Gray Gables Estate, and everyone on their team.

We had our wedding here Summer 2011. Genevieve was who I worked with it and she was great. The day of the wedding..she did it all...I can't even imagine how things would have ran if she wasn't there making sure things were moving along and happening. It was great! we had no worries and everything just went great.

I went to a wedding here and was totally shocked by the lack of customer service. It seemed to be a production....first this and then that...Then the coordinator would snap her fingers as if to hurry the bride and groom along. It was awful. The worst was when the served cake. The bride had three flavors and as guests, we didn't get to choose. The servers literally threw the plates of cake out to us as if they were frisbees then rushed us out in order to have time for the next wedding that was coming in as we were leaving....UNACCEPTABLE!

This location is absolutely stunning and we are so glad to have picked it. If you book here you get a wedding coordinator as part of the package which was FABULOUS (we had Genivieve)and saved me a lot of time and energy as far as planning goes, it also really makes the day of smooth and worry free and means you don't have to worry about ensuring vendors will show up and take care of things on time or delegate out responsibilities to anyone to ensure things go as planned the day of which is really nice. One big draw back is you have to use their caterer and we were EXTREMELY upset the day of because we paid for food for 100 guests, had less than 85 actually show up and they RAN OUT of food!!! They also took the food away before people had finished eating, and of course there was no going back for seconds or anything like that. We are working with our wedding coordinator to see if we can get some sort of refund but that is still up in the air... Overall it was a beautiful day but we were NOT impressed by the catering and you don't have a choice if you decided to get married here.