forestry center or west end theater?

jeaston63

My fiance and I are trying to decide between the Forestry Center (Miller Hall) and the West End Theater (12th and Taylor). I'm wondering if anyone has experiences with either venue? At the West End we would have to use their caterer because it would cost prohibitive otherwise, so if anyone has feedback on food there I'd greatly appreciate it. We're planning from DC and won't be able to do tastings with caterers until Christmas, but need to book the venue before then.thanks!

Rochelle&Matt

You can pick from a list of caterers at the forestry center. The space is really large and open, but the draw back for me, and why we decided to go elsewhere, was that it was $2000 to ue and insanely outdated. Have you seen the forestry center? I believe they have exras you can add on like a stage and screen for pictures, etc, and they have a huge kitchen for the caterer to use. I have never been to the West End Theater, but i tlooks light and bright with cool wood floors and maybe offers an outdoor patio to get some fresh air. It's also a fraction of the price to use. This seems like a space i would go for if I was planning.

DramaGeek

How many people are you inviting and what's the parking situation in each place?  From an aesthetics angle, I'd probably go with west end based on pictures.  However, there are soooo many things to consider - cost, parking situation, gut feeling being just a few.

mayflymanitou

I was at the West End theater a couple of weeks ago, and the space was lovely.  One potential downside would be the lack of off-street parking.  Also, I was surprised to see that all the food prep/ cooking was taking place outside in an alley and out on the street.  Not sure if that's their normal operating procedure, but it seemed a little unsanitary to me and would be worth asking about for sure.

sassypdxbride

I personally like West End better---Forestry Center was a bit too rustic/woodsy for me.

jeaston63

Thanks all! We're still looking into both. Trying to get our budget in order. The West End is actually $2500 just for the rental, so I don't know!

Saucypaws

I was married at The Ecotrust building in the Pearl and we held our reception at the Westend in August.  I loved the space. The layout was great and my guest all loved the vintage style of the building. They were also great to work with. We used Simpatica Caterers and they grilled everything (salmon, paella, tri-tip) onsite. Obviously you can't grill inside the building so they set up the grills in front of the venue. Our guests all loved the fact they could watch the food being cooked.  We looked into using the on-site caterer and got a great references for them. I think they cook off-site and deliver the food.  In the end we went with Simpatica Catering as we were familiar with their reputation. Our guests are still talking about how great the food was. We were really pleased with the Westend and the level of service they offer. Feel free to email me if you have any questions about the Westend and I will try and post photos soon.