Elaine was AMAZING! I have never seen someone work so hard for the service of others, and you could tell she was having a blast while doing it. Elaine got us amazing deals and extra space. She makes her work personal. She worked very close with my mother-in-law to prepare the most gorgeous rehearsal dinner. My husband and I were amazed when we walked in...it was a dream! Elaine was open to all communication and even insisted we come in for a brunch with her to get to know each other better and plan our event just they way we wanted it. I wish we had known how wonderful the experience was going to be because I would have chosen to have her in charge of our wedding as well!
Great service and even greater memories!

This was a phenomenal experience for us. I mean, what can I say about Elaine and her team -- they're absolute rock stars, end of story. First off, they were super friendly and communicative with us; we were never left waiting on them. Second, Elaine hit a home run with making us feel as comfortable and welcomed as possible. Her and her team were very attentive, and worked closely with us on the details. On the day of, the venue just knocked our socks off -- really, it was breathtakingly beautiful. (And all thanks to the meticulous time and dedication they put in to the details.) We simply had a beautiful event. Bottom line, Elaine and her team are a one-of-a-kind. They're a one in a million. You won't be disappointed.

We were married in July, and I can't explain how wonderful our experiences were with the River's Edge / Aquariva. We had our rehearsal walkthrough, ceremony and reception there. All went flawlessly, thanks to Elaine (Director of Catering), Nate (Banquet Manager), Seth Tucker (Executive Chef) and the entire River's Edge / Aquariva team.

Elaine was a huge asset to our wedding planning for months approaching our big day. She met with us often in person and always called and emailed us back quickly when we had one of our many questions. As many couples learn, planning a wedding can be a stressful full time job. Elaine took so much off our plate and helped us with the details we hadn't even thought of. She was just as wonderful the day of our wedding, even running to get me a last minute sip of water right before I walked down the aisle because I was so nervous. I will always be grateful to her for making our wedding such a beautiful and memorable day.

Chef Seth was also wonderful during our food tasting and the appetizers and entrees came out just as delicious on our wedding day. Many of our friends and family commented on how great the food was and I know many have visited the restaurant since our wedding. The servers and bartender were top notch and the lead catering server, Nate, went above and beyond to make sure we were completely content the entire evening. He was absolutely wonderful!

The outdoor ceremony site and the reception area are both beautiful. You are steps away from the Willamette and the views are unbelievably gorgeous. You can't ask for a better location to have your wedding in Portland.

We also stayed the weekend at the River's Edge hotel along with many of our traveling family and friends. The hotel is elegant and the staff is awesome. The views are breathtaking and some of our guests were even given room upgrades. Everyone left completely content.

I would absolutely recommend this location for your big day!

this is the perfect location and venue for a wedding for about 100 guests. The grounds and hotel are immaculate. The food was superb. And most importantly the entire crew at River's Edge were excellent! From our first meeting we knew we were in great hands....every detail was flawlessly performed and we were so fortunate to be able to work with Elaine and the whole team. It was wonderful to turn the entire event over to such a great planner so that we did not have to worry about a thing.

We would highly recommend River's Edge and their wedding planners to design, oversee and execute your perfect event!!!!

Courtney, from the River's Edge was amazing! She was quick to respond to my many questions and enabled me to relax on the day of my wedding and know that everything was taken care of. The whole staff from the front desk at the hotel to the restaurant and catering staff at the Aquariver were nothing but friendly, accommodating and hardworking. We had our ceremony on the lawn overlooking the river and our reception upstairs in the Aquariver and both provided a beautiful setting. The food was really good and many of our guests commented on how much they liked it. The price is very reasonable for a venue close to downtown and one that can accommodate up to 120 people. We could not have picked a better place to have our wedding!

Absolute Perfection!!!! We looked for a long time to try and find the perfect venue and we definitely found it at the River’s Edge Hotel and Spa. From our initial consult to our big day everything was perfect. Throughout the whole planning process Leslie and Courtney were available to meet and discuss details and they responded quickly to emails. It was clear from the initial consult that they were very organized and detail oriented.
The whole venue is stunning with floor to ceiling views of the river in the banquet rooms and restaurant. Since it’s right on the boardwalk there is a lot of outdoor space to enjoy. Right off the banquet room there is a huge deck with a staircase to the boardwalk so people were able to spread out and enjoy the evening. The ceremony was held in the banquet rooms and from there we went downstairs to the restaurant area for a cocktail reception while the room was being flipped. The room was flipped quickly and efficiently and we were able to begin the reception in no time. The waiters and bartenders were great and my guest commented on how friendly and fun they were. Everything was coordinated flawlessly and was very well organized.
The food looked and tasted great.
We also chose this location because we had a lot of out of town guest that were going to need a place to stay. The accommodations are first class and the rooms are gorgeous. The front desk did a great job of getting everyone checked in quickly and even upgraded some of the rooms where they could.
Overall, if you are looking for a great place to have a wedding there’s no place better then the River’s Edge Hotel. They are detail oriented, organized and you can’t beat the amazing view. I would STRONGLY recommend them to anyone. Leslie and Courtney are the best in the business and you couldn’t find anyone better to help you plan your big day.

I am a wedding coordinator and I helped a couple with their wedding at Aquariva. We had a buy out for the day. We were allowed to arrive quite early in the day to set up. Every single staff member that I encountered was extremely professional, friendly and informed. We had a few last minute changes and they had absolutely no problem adjusting our original plans. The creativity of the staff and the flexibility of the space made this wedding a unique experience. We did the ceremony upstairs and came downstairs for cocktail hour and dinner. The staff flipped the upstairs into a lounge/dance room for toasts, cake and dancing. They took couches and bistro's from other parts of the venue and made it totally cool and hip! I was impressed by the number of staff they had working. No one seemed overworked or too busy to answer questions of the guests or me. I loved coordinating there and I would definitely refer more couples to Aquariva. It was an overall great experience.

My husband and I got married in the upstairs part of the restaurant, had our cocktail reception outside on the patio and grounds while they flipped the room, and then came back upstairs for our dinner reception. We and our guests had a wonderful time and thought everything looked great! We wanted a very simple, classy reception -- good food and wine but no dancing. The restaurant worked with our florist and baker (we had cupcakes brought in for dessert) on our big day, so we didn't have to worry about coordinating anything the day of. We had homemade touches throughout (we made our own placecards and table cards) and they were put out without a problem. As the bride and groom, we felt totally taken care of that day -- the servers made sure we weren't forgotten (ie: they made sure to bring us a plate of apps during the cocktail hour so we could eat while mingling -- as crazy as it sounds, it's easy to forget to eat on your wedding day). The servers were friendly, polite, and professional. Our guests raved about the food (even my picky relatives were gushing over the steak option), which we were able to taste and customize to what we liked well in advance (ie: we were able to mix and match which sides we wanted with what entrees). When we went in for our tastings (we got to do a food one and a wine one), we were treated generously and respectfully. We had an exceptionally helpful server advise us when we tasted wines. The event coordinator met with us as often as we wanted (I am a Type A person so I had lots of questions and instruction along the way :-) and was always a reassuring and calming presence. She worked with us on the budget we had in mind and was transparent about the costs. After pricing several venues, we felt Aquariva was the most bang for our buck without sacrificing what we deemed most important for our special day: a uniquely Portland experience (river views!), good food (the chef at the time made it happen for sure), and an intimate venue (we had about 125 guests total -- mostly family -- dining upstairs). We definitely felt we spent our money wisely on our special day. The views of the river in the summertime, the service, and the quality of food all made Aquariva a perfect choice for us. The wonderful part is that we get to go back to the place where we got married for our anniversary dinner every year. :-)

Wonderful place to hold my event. They even upgraded us to a suite for our wedding night stay at the hotel. Love the free valet parking. The food was delicious. Beautiful view of the river. They were incredibly personable and accommodating.

If there was a way to rate each category higher, we would. Aquariva/The Avalon went above and beyond what I ever thought our wedding would be. My husband and I still talk about our wedding often, and Still get compliments on how wonderful the wedding and reception truly was. I have talked with SOOO many women who say "i wish our wedding would have had ____" or "it all went well except for___." I can honestly say that the more and more i re-play how the entire process went, i wouldn't change ANYTHING and it really is all thanks to Aquariva/The Avalon. (Leslie and Courtney are fantastic to work with. They were like our personal wedding coordinators without the added expense!)

One thing i found VERY important is when you ask for something and you get a price, that is actually what the price ends up being. There are truly no hidden costs with the final bill. We had a certain dollar amount we wanted to stay under, And make sure we hit the minimum and the staff was fantastic about keeping my parents informed at where we were at throughout the night so that they knew to keep the bar open longer or when to start to cut back so that it truly fit into our entire budget.

I have recommended Aquariva for wedding & reception to many people and will Always continue to do so. The Avalon Hotel was beautiful, clean and quiet. Perfect for the night of the wedding and out of town guests to stay at. It truly was the wedding of our dreams and plan to go back each year to celebrate around our anniversary!