Melody Ballroom

This is an amazing place to have a wedding reception! We’re in the middle of planning ours for this July, and I have to say they have amazing customer service and the process aren’t so bad. It’s gorgeous, quirky, and worth it! :) we totally recommend using this place. We’re in the lower ballroom, but the upper ballroom so amazing as well.

Came here several weeks ago while looking for a wedding venue. First off, parking isn’t the greatest. With the number of guests I planned on inviting to my wedding, I knew that guests would probably complain about the street parking. The area is also a tad bit sketchy. We weren’t greeted when we arrived but to be fair, we didn’t set up an appointment or anything, just wanted to peak in and see the venue. So if you want a tour or would like to talk to someone who works here, I suggest emailing or calling first. The ballroom was gorgeous! I loved the lighting, I loved the chandeliers, I loved the hardwood floors.

HANDS DOWN THE BEST EXPERIENCE WE EVER HAD! We were first introduced to Erin as the wedding coordinator back in Spring 2014 & really enjoyed her company and professionalism. We had a long 15-​month engagement and was later introduced to Kevin who took over for Erin a few months into the planning process. We were actually quite nervous about this hand-​off, but it was surprisingly seamless & painless. Kevin is a very kind & professional individual. His attention to detail is remarkable and he is very prompt & responsive to any and all questions you have, big or small. We thought we would run circles around the venue coordinator with our nit-​picky details, but in all honesty, he was so on-​top of things & kept us in line & on time: sketch of the ballroom to scale with table numbers, aisle runners, seating arrangement, dim lighting preferences, exact timing of all events/​announcements, suggestions/​recommendations for food & beverage pairing & selection, invitation (s) to seasonal food tastings, etc. We never thought wedding planning would be so much fun & painless. It was a beautiful day and there were absolutely no surprises day-​of. The venue was flexible in a number of areas and gave us more time if we needed the night of since people wanted to party later than we expected, allowed us to pick up our extra décor & items later in the week rather than deal with the headache to transport everything that night, gave us early morning access to get ready & set-​up… it was a fantastic experience and if I had to recommend a wedding venue to anyone, it would be the Melody Ballroom, no questions. Thank you for a wonderful experience and we were blessed to do business with such an honest & professional venue!

We had new product rollouts and sales training at the Melody ballroom. In order to take all our employees through the training we booked this venue for three days in a row Right off the bat when we met Kathleen who was the lady that took care of all our food and amenities for the event we knew it would be a very positive experience.
Kathleen and her team were always attentive and helpful without being intrusive at all during our training sessions.
Coffee; various beverages and breakfast treats were always ready well before the meetings started every day. Not just the typical fare either. Fresh fruit; healthy breakfast snacks; nuts; trail mixes and the selection was broad enough for anyone to find something they liked.
Lunch was also done very well as they have a full kitchen staff that can cater to your needs. They set up lunch for us buffet style. We had a nice selection of fruit; cheeses and meats; a nice salad; chicken breast with pesto sauce; pork tenderloin and pasta. Oh and Tiramisu cupcakes for dessert!
After the meeting on each day we had a social hour which they provided various appetizers including fresh Dungeness crab on bell pepper slices; beef satay; chicken with chipotle mayo and various cheeses; breads and a full dessert table to go with the beer and wine. Some of the appetizers were served by the staff walking among us which was a nice touch.
Our whole time there Kathleen and her staff were very helpful and welcoming.
Great experience! Thanks Kathleen and team for being such gracious hosts!

The only times I’ve ever been to the Melody are the annual Vampire’s Masquerade Ball hosted by Lady Raven.
Every year the venue outdoes itself with décor, lighting, performances, and bar selections.
The ballroom lends itself perfectly to a night of dark romance with big columns, high ceilings, and just enough space to make the masses comfortable.
I would love to recreate the looks I have seen for the Masquerade ball for a wedding.
Haven’t been disappointed yet, and you better believe I’ll be back next year, and the year after!

What a great place for the perfect party. The big party. Whether it’s a room full of Pirates, or one of masqueraders, the Melody has something for everyone.
I’ve been to 3 events at this place now and they’ve all been pretty awesome. The only thing I don’t like about it is the entrance. Straight ahead and up the stairs which can leave a line of people outside in the cold while waiting to get in.
There are 2 levels here, allowing for different things to occur at the same party. Music and dancing upstairs, dinner and a show down. It’s pretty perfect actually. The staff is great, making sure that everything is ready for the onslaught. Right out of the gate they are on their game.
There are lots of venues in the area for large parties but I think the Melody is one of the biggest. I’m not exactly sure about that but the other ballrooms I’ve been to aren’t quite as big as this one.
If you’re planning a big soirée, I think this is the place for it. They’ll take care of everything.

The first time I came to the Melody ballroom was for my High School prom. Expectations were high, but not necessarily for the venue. I wanted to slow dance to Backstreet Boys with a certain someone that wasn’t necessarily the girl I went with. Let’s just say that prom expectations are never met and just leave it at that.
Although I didn’t drive up to the Melody blasting the Star Wars theme song like that fateful night so many years ago, I did roll up in a swaggy costume. The kids say swaggy at their proms these days, I’m hip with the slang. The Boogie Nights Halloween Party (2012 edition) was a rip-​roarin’ good time, made especially tubular by the best 80s cover band in Portland, Radical Revolution. I realize that I’m critiquing the space, so I won’t get stuck in a dance-​tangent here.
Drinks were good, they were served lickety-​split, and the food looked good too, although I didn’t try any. Nice classy venue that has a great janitorial staff. I mean, what more do you need from a ballroom really?
I’ll leave you with this chunk of advice: If you come for a dance party (prom, halloween, mitzvah, what have you) wear your dancing shoes. If you come for a work soirée, there’s a great room downstairs to grab a drink and disappear to. Make your own dance party. And dance like your boss isn’t watching.

Just visited the Melody Ballroom for their Boogie Nights Halloween Party.
The party was super fun and the Melody Ballroom offered the awesome spooky haunted hotel feel that made it all just right.
Spacious ballroom and then basement rooms for more dancing, a second bar, and a photo booth. It was fun running around and exploring the space.
Only downside? The drinks were super weak. I had a cocktail for $ 7 that I’m pretty sure was koolaid blended with ice. I think they forgot the alcohol… I know it’s telling of most venue spots that the drinks aren’t going to be good. I guess, I’ll save that 5 star review for when I find one that can get it all right.

The basement area reaked off pot. On the upside, a very handsome police officer came in to inspect the place.
Meow.

I was just here for 2012’s Vampire Masquerade Ball and this was a beautiful venue for the event! The design, the architecture, everything was fantastic. Things were laid out well both upstairs and downstairs so that people could dance, mingle and talk without blocking up traffic — a good thing when there’s many, many women there in full hoop skirts! Even the lines for food and drinks were laid out so as not to block things up or keep people waiting forever. The staff was friendly and prompt at keeping things moving and cleaned up as well. Overall, a very enjoyable experience!

Ten years ago Hubby and I got married in the Melody Ballroom.
We looked ALL OVER the Portland area for the right venue. You would not believe the weird rules and strange charges many wedding venues have, ridiculous! Or the lady with the beautiful garden out west with an awesome view, who said no alcohol.PERIOD. WTF?
The woman who runs the Melody is a caterer and she was very reasonable and straightforward. We liked that. We had two hundred plus guests, we got married in the upper ballroom on a Saturday night, and we brought in a dj. We got our cake from Jaciva’s, our flowers from Linda Loving, and we let the ballroom lady do the rest. (our photographer was gong through menopause and had a psychotic break during our wedding but that’s another story). Most of our guests stayed at a hotel near the LLoyd center. The Melody was conveniently located for our out of town guests. It worked.(the parking was a little rough but they explain to you where you can park and have arrangements with other buildings nearby for events).
Mostly the wedding went just fine. There was a wedding downstairs at the same time as ours, which made for a little less attention from the staff, maybe (things like they forgot to get someone to put the fresh flowers on my cake, or come cut it, etc. but that’s what all those aunts are for!) but nothing bad. We did our service with chairs lined up on two sides (just like a church, sorta) and then staff from the ballroom rearranged everything while people milled around with beverages waiting for the buffet.
The food was really really good, they did lots of hot and cold appetizers and finger foods, fresh fruit, little pastries, yummy things… and open beer and wine. Microbrew on tap! Champagne with the cake. Everyone said it was the best wedding food they’d ever had. And the dance floor was awesome. I just looked at their website, it costs $ 2800 for the room rental. My dad paid $ 2000 ten years ago. That’s not bad at all, really.(That price includes a lot of things like the servers and the set up and the linens and some flowers and candles, etc, and a picnic lunch for the bride and groom for later, and etc. etc. I can’t remember it all any more) The food charges were reasonable I thought. And they bought back the wine that didn’t get drunk. People didn’t drink a lot of wine, as it turns out, more microbrew.
Now, it’s been ten years, so anything could have happened, but the room itself is still very romantic and beautiful.(we stuck our heads in not too long ago with our kid, to show her where her parents tied the knot) We took ballroom dance classes before our wedding (I almost killed him during the lessons but decided I didn’t want to be a widow that way) and it was really special to do our big waltz in that beautiful room. I won’t ever forget it. I didn’t even step on his feet!

I am a fan of the Melody Ballroom basically because it is the home of the membership meetings for the Cascade Blues Assn.
Positives:
1 — a large venue with comfortable table seating,
2 — a large dance floor
3 — a full bar with friendly bartenders.
Drawbacks:
1 — The only food they serve is nachos. C’mon… it can’t be that difficult to serve other options!
2 –The sound system — this place is known for its music venues — ya think they’d be able to invest in a sound system that is effective.
3 — Parking: it can be challenging to find parking in this neighborhood so I suggest if you are going to attend a popular event — get there early enough to cruise the neighboring streets.

I had never been to this venue before and then several years ago the Vampire’s Masquerade Ball moved here. This event has, over the years, grown to being nearly 1000 people stretched over both floors of the venue buying drinks, eating food, dancing, watching performers and the venue handles everything so well. The staff are always very friendly and try to keep the lines down for both bars though with that many people it can be difficult at times. Drinks are very stiff — just a warning. The ballroom itself really is stunning and I was impressed with the sheer magnitude of this Portland landmark. They have kept the venue up so well over the years.