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About once a month, I get asked to tour a new wedding venue. Usually, I decline these invites for various reasons but earlier this month, I heard from a place in Portland, Oregon, called The Den.
Two lines from their email jumped out to me: The space features “a rotating selection of local art from BiPoC artists and crafters” and “The Den is a minority-owned business and has been a safe space for our LGBTQ friends since the beginning.”
This kind of front-and-center values-sharing is rare in an industry where, just a couple of months ago, I had a less-than-fun conversation with another new Oregon venue about that space’s gendered getting-ready rooms so I figured, “These people sound cool. Let’s book a tour.”
My two cents: For a couple who likes music, industrial Portland, and inclusivity, visit The Den.
The place is, at its core, a music venue with a full stage and professional A/V packages unlike anything I’ve seen at other venues. (Side note: They do corporate events too, which makes sense since they have SO MANY PROJECTORS.) Combine the A/V with the projectors and I could see this space turning into a really wild time for a group who loves to d-a-n-c-e dance.
As for the industrial bit, the venue is right next to the railroad and you will hear it but also, that’s kind of the Eastside by the water, right?
On that note, I’d highly recommend doing food carts here, if you book. There’s a fenced outdoor area for it and food carts would offset the somewhat challenging bar and food prep situation (there’s dedicated space but no plumbing behind the bar, which is easier to work around than it sounds if you talk to your caterer about it early; these interview questions will help).
Beyond the bar, the other two notable cons are parking and rentals. For the first, there are six parking spots that come with any rental. Other than that, it’s paid street parking up until 6 p.m. Notably, the six dedicated spots are more than several venues in the same area offer so it’s actually a nice perk.
As for rentals, The Den doesn’t have much inventory in terms of tables and chairs but the rental rates are currently low enough that it would probably be a wash if you book tables, chairs, etc. from an outside company, which many folks do even with venues that do have that stuff in stock. The Den does have some funky lounge furniture that comes with so that’s rad.
Last but not least I'll mention one detail that resonated with me: The signs on the bathrooms can be easily removed so you can offer non-gendered spaces to your guests and vendors. I have never seen a venue proactively offer this before; usually, my clients have to ask for it.
Learn more about The Den: thedenpdx.com and @TheDenPortland
Check out the other wedding venues I’ve reviewed.