Where to begin…read more.. The decor and atmosphere are top notch, the people are cool and friendly and the food is totally different for the area. The owner brought the Philadelphia food style to Maine and is perfect. The two guys (and daughter) who run the place are by far the nicest people I've ever met. Go in more than once and they'll greet you by your first name. I highly recommend this place to anyone traveling to or living in the area,

The BAD Elephant…read more Blue Elephant is AMATURE catering at best. In a few words: disorganized and dysfunctional management, poor communication, tasteless and bland food. This placed doesn't even deserve one star. Thankfully, boxed pizza saved the day. We hired them for our wedding a few years back to serve apps and a sit down dinner. As appetizers were passed, we noticed there were NO bacon wrapped scallops. Instead, Blue Elephant REPLACED this with some fig-thing! Apparently they were unable or simply forgot to get the scallops?? This last minute substitutions was made WITHOUT our knowledge and without ANY price adjustment/refund towards the bill, which of course they make you prepay in full. No satisfaction guarantee with this company. The plated dinner was such a disaster! The steak was so disgusting and poorly cooked, no one ate it and the brussel sprouts that accompanied it were completely inedible. How do you mess up brussel sprouts?! It was really upsetting to see all the thousands of dollars worth of food, be dumped into the trash. Some of our guests actually LEFT our wedding and brought back PIZZA!! So this is what you get when you spend thousands and hire people who claim to have 27 years of catering experience?? How embarrassing. Not to mention, you can expect a ridiculous delay in emails, expect to make numerous calls to get a hold of either Ruben or Fausto and prepare yourself for lots of confusion and unexpected menu changes without being notified or reimbursed. Hiring the BAD Elephant was a total waste of money and I would never recommend them to anybody!

I could not have been more impressed with Mainely Events. Liz and her team are exactly what you…read morewant in an event planner/party rental service: creative, articulate, organized, professional, and fun! I initially called Mainely Events to see if they had or could recommend a balloon installer for a shower that I was throwing. After briefly talking with Liz, I ended up hiring them to execute and rent all the decor for the event. Liz was outstanding, she listened to my initial thoughts on what I envisioned and ran with it to create the most magical day for my friend's bridal shower! The linens, balloons, and party decor were executed flawlessly! I cannot praise her team enough. The mother-of-the-bride and bride were so impressed! Thank you again Liz for all of your help!

From the owner: Party rental service located in southern Maine. At Mainely Events, we understand every occasion is…read moreuniquethats why weve built our business around offering an array of products to bring the venue of your dreams to life. Our new line of tables, chairs, tents and party accessories in a variety of styles and sizes help you create the perfect atmosphere in the perfect location for your next event. Whether youre hosting a wedding, graduation party or any number of special gatherings, you can trust our knowledgeable staff to help you plan, design and build your ideal venue from the ground up. Thats the Mainely Event advantage: personalized planning for your one-of-a-kind event. Contact us today for an estimate, meeting or to book an event. Party rental service. We cater to events, parties, Corporate Events, Weddings.

They showed up late... did not bring the correct color linens for the wedding... did not bring…read moreenough linens for the tables ordered. Then upon pick up they were rude, swore, and were threatening. Do yourself a favor and go somewhere else!

We rented pretty much everything for our daughter's outdoor wedding - 2 tents, the wooden harvest…read moretables and chairs, garden chairs for the ceremony, birch arbor, table settings, glasses, etc. Everything was beautiful and they were right on time with delivery and pick up. I also really appreciated how quickly they would get back to me when I had questions or needed to make changes. I would definitely recommend this company to anyone planning an event!

We felt so fortunate to have found Churchill Events! They provided a wide variety of delicious…read morefinger foods for a gathering in New Gloucester. I asked for a focus on Maine foods plus some vegan items - they met every wish, with many tasty items. Their staff was superb, from initial planning right through serving and passing foods among the guests. A completely fun and pleasant experience!

The first time we used Churchill Events was for my wedding, almost 24 years ago. Craig and his…read morestaff were phenomenal! Incredibly knowledgeable, friendly, helpful, and the food was amazing. Since then, we have continued to use Churchill events for large family gatherings or cocktail parties. My parents are celebrating their 80th birthdays this year and our very first choice was to go with Churchill Events. Craig and his crew are top notch professionals who know completely what they are doing. They have always done their very best to get us exactly what we want. This family birthday will be perfect.

About a year ago, I had a pretty cruddy customer service experience with another party rental…read morecompany in the Greater Portland area, so I made a vow to try A Plus Party Rentals for my next big shindig. Pros: + I needed round, high-top, cocktail tables. At the other party rental place: $40. At A Plus Party Rental? $8. I KID YOU NOT. I don't understand this at all, but it's magical and I'll take it. Segue... + Generally speaking, their prices are always a bit cheaper than the other big party rental place in South Portland. Did I ever tell you the one about the $40 high-top cocktails? No? See above. + They had all the items I needed when I showed up. At the other party rental place, they hemmed and hawed with me about what I needed and when I needed it by. + Even though they weren't supposed to (and I hope this doesn't get them in trouble), the two young men in the "warehouse" area loaded all of our equipment in and out of our U-Haul. To sit back and watch them load made me feel like a princess... I did ask multiple times if I could help, and they very politely told me I didn't have to. They were respectful, they were responsible, and they were thoughtful - asked questions about what we were doing before the event, remembered who we were and asked about our event when we went to return everything, and even helped us clean the U-Haul after (knowing U-Haul fines for any piece of litter left in the bed or cab). + Every person I encountered - from the young men, to the woman in the office, to the man with the delivery truck (who I think was the owner) - was a rockstar at customer service. Accommodating, efficient, timely... I so appreciated being treated like a customer here, while at the other party rental place I was made to feel like a joke. Thank you, A Plus Party Rentals, for treating me like a human regardless of the size of my order! Cons: - For the life of her, the woman I was speaking to when I called could not understand me despite spelling everything out multiple times very slowly; as such my name and address were completely wrong when I got my receipt which I had to call a second and third time to have sent to me when they didn't send it the first and second time I called asking for it. - They are located REALLY off the beaten path. If you're throwing a party in Portland proper, it's quite the extra effort to get the stuff from A Plus Party Rentals and bring it back into town. All in all, these folks are worth your time if you like being treated with respect and saving money. Two things I know I appreciate always!

I sent multiple emails asking for a quote... never got anything back. Eventually my fiancé called…read moreand had about an 45 min convo with them and they stated they would email us the quote. We never got anything and have called multiple times and left voicemails thinking they might have gotten the email wrong. Still no response. Don't waste your time.

We have used DSTP on two separate occasions in the past two years. Both events were private parties…read morehosting 25-50 people of varying musical desires. For both events all of the entertainment was provided by DSTP. The music, general and specific announcements, setup process, equipment - all was exceptional. Most importantly, during each evening they were able to read the crowd and offer either quiet opportunity for conversation or music that brought the entire group together in music. We did Karaoke and dancing and did not take advantage of the games - but we will next party. I highly recommend Don't Stop The Party Entertainment.

We had a Winter Wonderland Party at our retirement community this weekend, and I cannot tell you…read morehow professional and wonderful TJ and Vito were. They were great at reading the audience, taking requests and getting the party started! They even assisted in getting the line dancing going! I would definitely recommend and will be using them again in the future!

I don't even know where to begin. Kevin is hands down INCREDIBLE at what he does. He photographed…read moreour wedding and also had a huge part in doubling as our wedding planner the days leading up, and the day of the wedding. I can't even put in to words how easy he made the entire day start to finish. The photographs he captured were nothing short of amazing and he made the process so fun at the same time. His assistant Alexis was as incredible as Kevin and so helpful throughout the day. Kevin's energy and creativity is exactly what every wedding needs. He made the process so much more than just taking pictures. His ability to multi-task and deal with the wedding party, wild children, our French bulldog, elderly relatives that can't get around well and still be able to orchestrate a perfect wedding was just amazing to watch. He was down right impressive. I can't recommend Good Maine enough. It felt more like we were legitimately hanging out with two of our friends when we were doing photos between our first look and ceremony. If you're looking for a wedding photographer, I can promise you, stop looking and call Kevin ASAP! Trust his process and his vision because it's nothing short of amazing. AmyKate & Brian

Working with Kevin was, in a word, incredible! From the moment my husband and I first met him, he…read morewas a pleasure to work with. He is kind, genuine, and extremely patient when it comes to any questions or concerns you might have about your big day. He is always willing to talk on the phone or set up a meeting about anything you need! But the real highlight was our actual wedding day. Kevin goes out of his way to make the day feel fun and stress-free. He has incredible time management and organization to keep things running smoothly, all while keeping everyone smiling, laughing, and having a great time! He is the perfect day-of coordinator, and a really wonderful photographer as well. We are already head-over-heels for our preview photos -- he has such a talent for capturing beautiful photographs... and he even managed to make my 13-year-old niece smile (not an easy task!) And his skills as a DJ are just as incredible... he managed to get so many people out on the dance floor, and our guests were all raving about how fun he was! He helped to make our wedding day the most amazing day of our lives. We are so grateful!

We had the privilege of DJ Matt dj'ing our wedding, and we couldn't be happier! We had very…read morespecific requests and Matt rolled with it and made it even better! We are so grateful for the role he played in our big day!

Greg from Beat Train was the best DJ we could have asked for! I think almost every guest has…read morementioned how much fun they had on the dance floor, and what they don't even know is that behind the scenes, Greg was absolutely instrumental in keeping the day's timeline running smoothly. Every time we talked, both while planning the day as well as on our wedding day itself, Greg's calm demeanor gave us such confidence that everything was in good hands. I know our officiants felt the same way when he came early to help them sound check. Thank you Greg and Beat Train!

Wanting to celebrate Maine Maple Sunday without driving too far, my friend and I chose Cooper's…read moreFarm in Windham (and weren't surprised to see many other Portland-based faces there). Which advertised that they had maple syrup demos all day, complimentary maple syrup on ice cream, a self-guided walking tour of their farm, and maple-products for sale (including syrup, candy, coated nuts, cotton candy, whoopie pies, etc.)... and, yep, that's EXACTLY what we got! The only thing we were missing was watching someone actually tap a tree (or provide a hands-on demo of such a fun thing). Still... it was a great time! Mostly, Cooper's is a small farm raising registered AMHA mini ponies (which they've been doing since 2004). They also have a greenhouse, raise registered Charolais cattle, and have some gorgeous peacocks. All of which you can check out, take photos of, but shouldn't really be touching ("please don't feed your fingers to the mini ponies" being one of the better signs I've seen in a while!). We had a great time on Maine Maple Sunday, despite the negative temperatures thanks to a terribly fierce wind chill. We only had to wait in line for about ten minutes to check out the sugar shack (we arrived at 10:30am; when we left around noon, the line was out to the street though... lesson here? On Maine Maple Sunday COME EARLY), which was warm and steamy. The employees inside were abundantly nice, patient, thoughtful, and well educated. Kudos to them for maintaining those dispositions with the hoards of people coming through! There was ALSO a pancake and bacon breakfast for just $7.50, peacock feathers for sale for just $1, and - yes - loads of maple-based goodies. I left with some amber syrup "rich in flavor", candies, and maple coated cashews (which are sweeter and more maple-y than I expected them to be.... so sinful!). Yum. Anyway, if you're looking for somewhere close by to celebrated Maine Maple Sunday in years to come, Cooper's will provided a couple hours of entertainment for sure!

I loved going to Cooper's Maine Maple Sunday! This was my first maple Sunday but if this is how it…read moreis every year I wouldn't mind doing it again (or at least stopping by to get some awesome maple products every once in a while). First we took the tour through the hut where the syrup is made. The gentleman working the station was very knowledgable. I wish I had more questions prepared for him. The tour ends in a shop complete with maple cotton candy, maple shakers, maple nuts (the cashews are AMAZING), amber and dark maple syrup, and maple candies. I bought everything haha it was all so good. Then as you exit you get a small vanilla ice cream topped with maple syrup. Super great addition to the tour even though it was cold outside. We were then able to walk around the premises and saw the most adorable mini ponies (one had a new born!). Then we found the cows, peacocks, pheasants, and trees that were tapped for sap. Cooper's for MMS (that's what the cool kids call it) was fun and educational. I would go to another event at this farm :)