Leach Botanical Garden

ate, woodsy feel. Leach was the perfect fit!The property made for gorgeous photos. The manor house is charming and has rooms to get ready in as well as the lovely fireplace room. But our favorite part of the gardens is the terrace. It’s a beautiful courtyard off of the manor house with a pergola and a beautiful tree in the center. We decided to get married under the tree and also use the space for our reception. The event staff at Leach was able to suggest many options to tailor the space to our needs. There was plenty of space for our 40 guests, tables, buffet, dance floor, and game area. We also used the courtyard in front of the manor house for a happy hour between the ceremony and reception. The transition was seamless thanks to the event crew (which cost us extra, but was worth it). I liked that Leach provided all of the tables, chairs, linens, plateware, silverware, and glassware. For music, we decided to use personal speakers and a playlist that we created. They didn’t allow large amps, or DJs other than their own. Because the gardens are in a residential area, the volume couldn’t be louder than a certain level, but we had music loud enough to fill the space and it was still at an acceptable level. The only stressful part of the process was that Leach doesn’t allow you or your vendors to be on the site before your venue start time. The venue was a little pricey for the minimum of 6 hours, so we didn’t want to buy additional hours, but they are available. Luckily, we decorated the space in about 45 minutes (mostly because we went minimal on the decorations due to the beauty of the gardens), so we didn’t lose too much time. We had debated using the market lighting package (4 strings of bulb lights across the terrace), but it cost over $400, which we felt was a little ridiculous. We decided to buy lanterns, but we didn’t even use them because there were flood lights on the manor house and the gardening shed that cast plenty of light onto the terrace (and they were free!). Overall, Leach is a natural beauty and all of our guests were thoroughly impressed with with it. It was a little pricey, but it was exactly what we had pictured for our wedding day and we were incredibly happy with our choice.

them! Thank you so much for helping us on our special day!

anted for our event. I want to get married here every year!

setting up, resetting for reception and takedown.

aken at the garden so we didn't have to be far from our guests for too long. Of special note, Nadia was invaluable to our wedding. We met with her and thought that we could get through the wedding day without additional services, but she literally saved our wedding day. When vendors were late and the original setup was not ideal, she was there to give her expert advice and lead the vendors. I could not recommend her enough.

ou're having your wedding outside like we did--the interior is also beautiful). We had a small wedding of about 25 people, so we had our ceremony in front of the little outdoor fireplace across the creek and the reception in the courtyard. Leach provided all the tables and chairs (awesome!) and a place for myself and my groom to get ready (we didn't have a wedding party, but I think they can accommodate that as well). Nadia was very helpful throughout the process, answering all our questions and providing recommendations for vendors. Our caterer (White Pepper) was one of her recommendations and we're extremely pleased with our choice. Nadia was even there the day of the wedding and helped with set up and tear down. It's a really great value for the money spent considering how expensive venues can be and how lovely this place is. I would recommend it to a friend or have my wedding there again if I were to do it all over.

ty went, we made the absolute best decision EVER! First off, I have to say Leach is a well hidden gem in Portland. We have friends who grew up 2 miles from Leach, who said they didn't know it was there, nor that they knew how beautiful it was. We met with Nadia, who is the wedding/event coordinator for Leach, and who is simply amazing. She guided us the whole way, meeting with us when we needed to, emailing or phoning other times. We got to the venue at 2pm and found our caterer already there and working, and were introduced to the staff on site. Every time I tried to do something, I was told, "We'll take care of everything - go and enjoy yourself!". The day was perfect and beautiful; we couldn't have picked a better one. Every guest that came in told us how beautiful they found Leach, and one even said they wanted to come back to do her daughter's senior pictures there. We were so very lucky to find Leach when we moved to Portland back in 2002, and I'm glad that we were able to use the facility for our special day. I cannot recommend Leach Botanical and her staff highly enough! If you're looking for a beautiful, quaint, and intimate spot for a wedding or other celebration, you simply must choose Leach Botanical!

e made. My wife found the place online and it fit our budget, had lots of room, and Jessica was awesome. The day went smoothly and our wedding was perfect, just like my wife :)

s very nice and easy to work with. I loved our wedding day. The only reason I gave service a 4/5 was because the day of coordinator was helpful but very pushy. Other than that, everything was great. The space does have certain rules for preservation purposes (like no rose petals, no hard alcohol, etc.) but there was a lot of space to use, especially in the manor house, and there were plenty of tables and chairs to use. GREAT venue!

It is definitely a do-it-yourself kind of place, but if you are okay with doing the coordinating and set-up yourself then this is a great option. I paid $700 for a six hour rental which included all the tables and chairs-- I'd say it was a bargain.

d have guessed it was there. Molly, the event coordinator there was very helpful. The spot where the ceremony is held is gorgeous. Make sure you don't miss out on the river rock cabin that is across the creek! If you're looking to have some amazing photos this is a great place!

perfect setting for our pictures with mature and well maintained gardens. There is a gorgeous arbor in the courtyard for the ceremony. The staff was wonderful to work with and they let me come in before hand to measure and take pictures so I would know what best would work for decor, they were all very pleasant to work with. This was also the perfect fit for our limited budget and they let us bring in our own food (it didn't have to be a catered meal). It was small and I would say you wouldn't want more than 60 people there, but this helped make the wedding a more intimate gathering. The only downside is that the dressing areas are small and dark, I would recommend getting ready before hand for the bridal party. You also are in charge of setting up everything, but the chairs, tables and even some accessories are available to you. This was an amazing site and I strongly recommend it!

ce you turn a corner, you head into the forest, next to Johnson Creek. The ceremony took place on the East Terrace, quiet, serene, everything I wanted. Everyone who knows the Leach Botanical Gardens commented on how beautiful it is. However, you don't have to suffer for the perfect location. It was affordable, the staff was easy to work with, and our on-site supervisor helped out when we needed an extra hand (even when we didn't!).