McMenamins Kennedy School Reviews

We were married on March 29th, 2024 at Kennedy School, and honestly we can't even fit enough positive comments in this space. It was perfect. The Kennedy School staff were accommodating in every possible way - we didn't even have to think for a moment about the flow of events, nor the food and drink. Super professional and communicative leading up to the event and a perfect wedding day. Would highly recommend to anyone looking for a fairly budget conscious but still super intimate and well done in every way possible, wedding.

Mandy and her team were amazing to work with at Kennedy School. We had LOTS of questions and Mandy was always on top of answering everything so we could plan the perfect wedding. The ceremony was in the courtyard where we put up a tent and it looked amazing with the lights and arch. Then we held the reception in the gym and an unofficial after-party in the boiler room. The gym was arranged perfectly, the set up was seamless. The food was amazing, they were great about all of the allergies our group had and making it all nut-free. All of the guests said just how perfect of a venue it was to match our personalities. We had an incident with a guest having wine spilled on her dress by another guest and the staff were amazing about helping to get the stain out and her dress dried quickly so she could rejoin the party. They were above and beyond on so much! Not to mention that we stayed there for a week with our guests, some guests just staying the weekend though. But it was such a nice venue to be able to walk to each other's rooms and get to hangout in the soaking pool and go to the movies as a group all in one place. The venue also has so many photo opportunities inside and out that made it perfect for our wedding photos. Overall had such a perfect fanatic wedding and the venue made that possible. It was really reasonable we felt price wise and you got so much included with that price, really made it stress-free with everything they do for you all included.

The venue space was exactly what we wanted. The coordinators and staff were incredibly friendly and professional.

We were so lucky to snag The Kennedy School Hotel for our wedding. This venue has so much going for it -- there is so much natural charm that we did almost nothing to "decorate" it, which saved us both money and planning time for our wedding. We also had the service in the gym courtyard and the reception in the gym, but had access to both indoor and outdoor spaces throughout, which gave our guests tremendous flexibility (and would have allowed us to reimagine the wedding to be entirely indoors if the weather hadn't cooperated). Many of our guests stayed in the hotel as well and enjoyed the experience tremendously. The McMenamins staff were on top of everything from planning to execution -- I can't point to a single thing that went wrong.

We used The Attic event space for our wedding reception and everyone had a amazing time! It was great to have it at Edgefield because there is alot for people to do there and it is a fun location. The staff was great, the event staff did a great job with helping to coordinate our event and any questions we had. They give you the event space just with the minimum food and beverage fee reached, so this was very cost effective for us!

I would totally recommend this place! Having food, alcohol, and venue all be the same place was great! Everyone loved the food and the pictures are all turning out stunning from the grounds!

Everything you could ask for in a wedding venue. Beautiful space, helpful coordinator and staff, and affordable.

Our experience having our wedding reception at Kennedy School was AMAZING!!! Working with Mackenzie Daumen was an absolute pleasure every step of the way. She was very communicative, responsive, bubbly, kind, and easy going. We appreciated her input on questions we had that we were not sure about based on never having planned a big event like this before as well as creating templates for us to decide on how we wanted our tables to be arranged and what types of tables to use. Mackenzie was patient with my indecisive abilities and was able to easily accommodate last minute (the week before) requests such as needing to use the projector. Mackenzie was on top of our event every step of the way!

The area was BEAUTIFUL. We love the style of the Mina Parson's room as well as all of Kennedy School. Everything was laid out perfectly, table cloths, napkins, chairs, silverware, the buffet table, everything. It was a perfect layout with plenty of space to walk around as well as be seated. The natural décor of the room was absolutely fabulous such as the chalkboards (super fun) and the tiny desk in the corner with the light (beautiful.)

Our service was FABULOUS. Working with Poppy was the greatest. She was so friendly, communicative, patient, and kind with our party. She had the warmest demeanor. She checked in consistently and was able to answer all questions. She was also patient in when she needed to talk to me about anything and kind when communicating with me. We had a couple of other servers come in and out of the event and I was unable to catch all of their names. Our carver was polite and very kind. Service was perfect! Food came out on time, drinks were often replenished as needed, and we never felt rushed to move onto the next part of our night or delayed to wait for anything.

Food and beverage was DELICIOUS!!! The food was so great, we got many comments from our guests as well that they loved the food, too. I wish Prime Rib was on the menu because I'd love to go to Kennedy School again just to sit in the restaurant and order it! I also loved the crab cakes, shrimp, and cocktail sauce. Everything was just delicious and amazing. Perfectly cooked, prepared, and served. Drinks came on time and were wonderful as well.

My parents, aunt, and my husband's aunt, uncle, and aunt's mother all stayed at the hotel. They LOVED their stay. The chalkboards were fun, the decorations were amazing, and they loved the style of their rooms including the names above the door. All guests felt it was truly unique and well maintained. Beds were comfortable, as well.

I want to have another event just so I can book with Kennedy School and work with Mackenzie and Poppy again! Highly recommend having an event with Kennedy School.

My husband and I just felt so pampered and appreciated on our special day and everything leading up to when working with Mackenzie. We could not have asked for a better venue or service. Everything was perfect. We also were so appreciative of our cute little gift of the cards, pint glasses, pencil, and lunch box. Thank you so much for your time with us. We really hope to work with you again.

The Kennedy School is the perfect spot for an intimate wedding ceremony. Stevie was a great event coordinator and made the process easy and enjoyable. We had a variety of options for food and drinks and the staff made our day perfect.

The planning was made easy for us. The space was beautiful. Food and beverage was delicious.

This place is perfect for those who are so over the fluffy white generic weddings and are looking for something special they will never forget!

cannot recommend this place enough! my wedding was truly perfect because of the venue, staff and everything that went on during the planning process and on the actual wedding day! the edgefield coordinator, tyson, was a dream to work with: always available for questions, suggestions and 100% transparency until the very end. the venue was beautiful, staff was attentive, friendly, and could deal with any minor mistakes that always end up happening. the food was delicious, hotel was clean and everything was set up according to the wedding day plan (reception/ceremony). we also used an outside day of coordinator and a photographer from their referral list and they were awesome as well! it's so easy to have the catering, reception, ceremony, and rehearsal dinner at one place and to be able to stay there as well! do yourself a favor and have your wedding here, you won't regret it!

Our's was more than a wedding, it was an experience. we showed a movie, held a memorial for a friend since passed, and it couldn't have been better. The staff, the food, the decorations were expertly executed. So many staff willing to go the extra mile to help us not only look, but feel amazing the whole time. Mandy Orvis, was an amazing coordinator from the Kennedy School, she and her staff went the extra mile time and again to help us make fantasy a reality. Each person from the wait staff to the catering managers, were kind, attentive and willing to work with us every step of the way. this venue is so unique in it's style and feel, it's truly a Portland institution that has to be experienced to be appreciated. I would recommend that anyone looking for truly authentic piece of Portland History to be wed, or simply stay for an evening, check out the Kennedy School. Be sure to get a pint of Terminator Stout, if you're so inclined. My wedding was everything and so much more than I could have hoped.

Our recent commitment ceremony at the Kennedy school was very successful. The staff, from Kim, the event planner to the caterers to the set-up and clean-up staff were very responsive to our requests, made useful suggestions when we weren’t sure about some decisions, and reassured us all along the way. The day of the event couldn’t have gone more smoothly and Suzanne and Heather were very attentive and helpful to our queries and requested adjustments on the day. . Everything went off without a hitch. The price was quite reasonable and we felt very satisfied about the value for money.
We couldn’t be happier with our decision to hold the event at the Kennedy School.

We live in Washington and had our wedding here. Everything was perfect!!! The food was amazing, Jennifer was a fabulous coordinator, the waitstaff was awesome and everyone had a fantastic time!!!!

This place is a gem and they have weddings down! They made the planning process so easy for us and they took great care of us and our guests on the big day.

Working with Mandy and the Kennedy School was a dream. They have done this a million times and will go out of their way to be accommodating. Very affordable, unique, and excellent service! Have your wedding here!

Peter gave us the tour.... knowable and fun! Mandy was our main go to for the event. She was there every step of the way to answer all my questions in a very timely manner. She even helped me pick the colors of the liens and the tables! The space was perfect for our small Hogwarts wedding! I can’t say enough about the staff. The team captain was quick and always one step ahead of us! They even help these first time bride and groom managed the flow of the reception. Everyone had a great time and I felt extremely less stressed knowing I had them on my team.

Had our daughters wedding in the courtyard and reception in gym. Would highly recommend McMenamins Kennedy School to host event. The grounds are beautiful and staff were great to work with. We rented two rooms for two day to have area for bridal party to get ready. Would do it again.

I cannot recommend the Kennedy School more highly for an event. I was planning a wedding for 85 guests from 5,000 miles away and didn't have time to hire individual vendors. I am originally from Portland, Oregon, so I was already familiar with McMenamin's food and beverage service, but really was blown away by the level of service we had from our Sales Coordinator (Peter Liptak) and all of the Catering/Event Staff. Peter helped me coordinate the entire thing via email (and one last minute visit!) and was super responsive. On the day of our event, all of the staff was on point and helped to create the perfect day for us and our guests. And the value that McMenamin's offers is unparalleled - the space, the tables/chairs, linen, EVERYTHING was included and made it so easy to manage the budget. I was so happy I went with Kennedy School for my event - all went off without a hitch.

Kennedy School was the perfect spot for our wedding! Peter and Mandy were awesome and very helpful through the entire process. They answered our many questions about the menu and logistics, and coordinated the venue perfectly. We had the Gym and the Courtyard, and those two spaces were great for our wedding with about 90 guests. We ended up having the ceremony inside the Gym because of rain, and that still worked out really well. When the weather cleared up it was awesome having the outdoor space in the Courtyard for people to get fresh air (and to play corn hole, which we rented through Kennedy School and was a lot of fun). The food was great and the bar staff was really nice and did a great job. Everyone said they thought the venue was really unique and fun, and with McMenamins taking care of so much it really made planning a lot easier for us. They even boxed up our leftovers from our wedding cake and the buffet, so we had plenty of food to take home with us!

I had my wedding at the Kennedy School on September 12, 2015. It was such an incredible day, and the Kennedy School was a major factor in making it that way. From the time we booked with Amanda, I was amazed at the speedy customer service. She was so quick and helpful with any questions we had. The service on the night of by the staff was top notch as well. Most of my guests had never been to a Mcmennamins and were blown away by the charm and quirkiness that our venue provided. I hardly used any decor so the schools unique personality could shine through. I got several complements on the food and beers as well. Look no further if you want a beautiful and unique venue that will make your wedding shine.

We stayed our entire wedding weekend in our venue. We were treated like rock stars! Our day was perfect! The staff was amazing! I wish I could relive that weekend over and over!

This was the absolute perfect wedding venue. Our ceremony was held in the courtyard and our reception followed in the gymnasium, and both were perfect. We had 60 guests, almost all from out of town, and they were unanimous in their satisfaction with and praise for the Kennedy school. There is so much to do--movie theater, soaking pool, four different bars/restaurants--that you don't even need to leave the hotel to have a good time. But the location is also great for venturing out and seeing Portland. Our event coordinator was Beth, and she was great to work with. She was very responsive to questions and made the planning process super easy and straightforward. I couldn't have asked for a better experience.

This was the venue for my ceremony and reception, which I had in the same room. It was super easy and stress free! They removed some of the tables from the dance floor after the ceremony to accommodate the reception dancing. We had a bar, and food, and both were delicious! The venue was really fun and beautiful. We received so many compliments on it!!