Polaris Hall Reviews

Polaris Hall was the perfect wedding venue for my daughter. We really appreciated how easy it was to work with Leslie, how quick she was to respond to questions and help us (we were extra pesky because my daughter was out of the country, so there was a lot of back-and-forth during planning).

I appreciated how upfront the costs were. Every other place we visited had hidden fees (for lights, for music, for outside catering, you name it). We had toyed with the idea of self-catering (so glad we didn't do that!), so it was really nice that we could reserve a spot and decide later about catering. We did end up adding two hours to the 8-hour rental, which gave the caterers plenty of time, and also meant it was easier for us to get in before the off-site ceremony to do a little decorating (twinkly lights on tables, flowers...)

For the party, the layout is great. The kitchen is much bigger than many of the sites we visited, so the caterers like it (and if we had self-catered, it would have been a godsend). There are three extra rooms downstairs, the bar room, and the hallway--it made for a much more pleasant party. People who needed a quiet break could retreat to quiet spaces, and come back into the ballroom for cake or a little dancing.

The ballroom is really quite lovely--our party started at 6 PM. When we arrived, sunlight was streaming in through the second-story ballroom windows. As the sun set, the chandeliers gave off a soft light. It was really just lovely.

Our only complaint: We really wish they'd kept the old name, North Star Ballroom!

Leslie is wonderful to work with! North Star is a cute place at a great price, when looking for venues so many we found charged corkage fees for bringing in your own alcohol on top of the already high price of the venue itself, but North Star Ballroom doesn't have any of those weird hidden costs. They provide tables and chairs which they set up and break down, and Leslie was really flexible with us coming to see the venue a few times before the wedding and having our rehearsal at the venue.

We knew immediately that North Star was our venue when we took a tour. We really loved their flexibility (no preferred or required vendors!), as well as their responsiveness, the low price, and the charming decor and character of the space itself. Because you get the entire building to use for your event, we were able to have a bridal ready room, a childcare room, a spot for our photobooth in the separate bar room, and a full kitchen for our caterers to use.

Leslie is wonderfully helpful with timely reminders and past layouts to use as examples. She let me view the space a couple extra times to make sure I knew how I wanted the room set up. Not to mention the Ballroom itself is GORGEOUS. So tastefully decorated that my work was made easy!

Best venue I could fine that would allow us to pick our own vendors and cater our own reception. Very easy to work with, and very prompt in answering all our questions, we would absolutely use North Star again.

The space was absolutely stunning! And the staff were so helpful and nice. The price can not be beat in the Portland area. Everything about this place was perfect for the vintage wedding. And I saved a bunch of money on decorations because the venue didn't need a thing!

I want to start off by saying how amazingly beautiful North Star Ballroom is. It was perfect for the style and colors of our wedding. I loved the fact that we didn't have to do much decoration to make this place look beautiful. I also loved the fact that there was plenty of room downstairs for the buffet and for the kids to hang out. The double sided bar was absolutely amazing too. This place's set up is ideal. I really had no issue at all with the service or place. I love the fact that they allow you to bring in your own vendors as well. This was a selling point for me. The only change I would like to see is for the ballroom to be rented out for more than 8 hours. I felt like everything was a little rushed since the 8 hours included set up and tear down time. It would have just been easier to not have such a strict time restraint. This is possibly because I chose to do my ceremony and reception here which I am sure is different from most other weddings. Otherwise, AMAZING! Thank you so much for making me wedding look and feel amazing!

We booked this place for an evening reception. While I personally did not like the color of the decor in the hall, the lighting was adjusted so you couldn't really notice the color of the curtains and benches to the point where it wasn't an issue. The venue easily accommodated our small reception, and had a bar, which is always a bonus. Comparatively, the price was good to other venues in the area. They have a small speaker system that we were able to plug our iPod into for free. The only main issue was the lady we booked it with. She was a bit spacey, and didn't really explain much too us, and forgot some of what we told her regarding what we wanted. She was easy to reach by e-mail, responded quickly, and double checked everything with us so overall it was a very pleasant experience.

A beautiful antique building! Requires little decoration other than your tables because of the awesome architecture. A little spendy, but you make up for it by being able to bring in your own food and beverages so it definitely evens out the venue cost. The only real downside is that they do not allow fireworks of any kind and i had my heart set on sparklers for our exit.

Very prompt to answer any questions. Easy to get a hold of. Very helpful.