500 Pearl

Celebrate Love in the Heart of Downtown Buffalo

Holds ceremonies and receptions

5.0

Verified reviews from real couples

We are just over the moon with how our reception turned out! 500 Pearl is a gorgeous venue with everything onsite and the Forbes Theatre has so much character, we knew it was our venue the moment we walked in. Our coordinator Bri was absolutely outstanding through the whole process answering questions, giving advice, and reassuring us that our vision would come to life. The food was delicious, the signature drinks were a hit, and the late night snack options were a fan favorite! We had multiple people comment that ours was one of the best weddings they attended!

Shauna S.

5.0

Working with Brianna and her team at 500 Pearl was like working with a Godsend that we didn't know we needed. Everyone talks about wedding stress... and one would often think, "oh, that's not applicable to us" (We were those people) but let us tell you - wedding stress is very real. The staff at 500 Pearl were absolutely incredible, and the level of professionalism and hospitality was second to none. Their organization and attentiveness was stress relieving. Every question was answered, and the scheduling and event planning had been gone through with a fine tooth comb to ensure our peace of mind. Everything was perfect, and I could not recommend them enough. If you're looking for a classic, yet posh event that runs smoothly - this is your place. Don't pass it up!

Andrea T.

5.0

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Kimberly Allinger

CATERING SALES MANAGER

AWARD WINNER

Thanks to recommendations from couples on The Knot

In the vibrant heart of Buffalo, New York, 500 Pearl offers a warm and memorable setting where historic character meets modern elegance. Originally built in 1914 for the Fraternal Order of the Eagles, this beautifully restored venue honors its timeless architecture while offering the comfort, style, and sophistication couples want for an unforgettable wedding celebration. From grand celebrations to intimate gatherings, 500 Pearl features stunning event spaces that can be tailored to your vision. The Forbes Theatre, with its classic Italian-inspired design, creates a dramatic and elegant backdrop for ceremonies and receptions. Grand Aeries offers a beautiful setting with soaring details and an inviting atmosphere, while The Fuhrmann Room, Exchange Room, and 1914 Room provide flexible options for celebrations of varying sizes and styles. Forbes Theater: Accommodates a reception with dance floor for 250+ guests, with a balcony ceremony option for 200+ guests. Grand Aeries Ballroom: Accommodates a reception with dance floor for 225+ guests. The Fuhrmann Room: Accommodates a reception with dance floor for 120 guests and a ceremony for 200 guests. 1914 Room: Accommodates a reception with dance floor for 90 guests and a ceremony for 180 guests. Couples can enjoy thoughtfully designed getting-ready spaces that offer comfort and ease before the celebration begins. With attentive event coordination, exceptional catering, and the flexibility to personalize your day with trusted vendors, 500 Pearl helps ensure every detail feels intentional, seamless, and uniquely yours. We invite couples to explore everything 500 Pearl has to offer and imagine their wedding day unfolding in a setting filled with history, beauty, and celebration. Schedule a tour to experience the spaces in person and begin bringing your dream wedding to life. Services Certified Wedding Planner to help guide your celebration. White or ivory floor-length table linens with coordinating overlay A selection of napkin colors to complement your décor Votive candles, China, glassware, silverware, and tables provided Complimentary Gold Chiavari Chairs in Forbes and Silver Chiavari Chairs in Grand Aeries A culinary tasting for the wedding couple On-site catering from our talented culinary team Complimentary WiFi access throughout 500 Pearl Discounted suite rates for “getting ready” rooms Self and valet parking available for all events at an additional cost Photos on our page are from the following vendors: -For Love & Life Photography, Adelle Tucker -Vows at Dawn, Rachel Maloney -Stefan Ludwig Photo + Video -Hannah Kathleen Porzio Photography -Anomaly Photography, Amy Greene -Neil & Danielle Urban Photography -Mouw Photography, Amanda Mouw -Rebecca O'Hara Photography -Megan Ann Photography Be sure to check out the gallery for an exclusive 360° Virtual Tour, and experience the breathtaking beauty of 500 Pearl today!

7+ years in business

Speaks English

Small team (2-10 members)

Amenities + details

Amenities

Ceremony Area

Dressing Room

Handicap Accessible

Indoor Event Space

On-Site Accommodations

Reception Area

Wireless Internet

Ceremony Types

Civil Union

Commitment Ceremony

Elopement

Interfaith Ceremony

Non-Religious Ceremony

Religious Ceremony

Second Wedding

Vow Renewal Ceremony

Settings

Ballroom

Historic Venue

Hotel

Rooftop

Venue Service Offerings

Bar & Drinks

Food & Catering

Planning

Rentals & Equipment

Service Staff

Awards and Affiliations

2021 'Best of Weddings'

Join couples who chose award-winning vendors for their wedding

Meet the team

Kimberly Allinger

Catering Sales Manager

Hospitality professional with 35 years of experience in catering, event planning, and guest services. Proven track record of creating memorable events, building strong client relationships, and leading successful hospitality operations. As a Marriott Certified Wedding Planner, I specialize in designing and executing seamless wedding celebrations while exceeding guest expectations through exceptional service and attention to detail.

5.0

out of 5.0

16 reviews

Your trust is our goal. Our community relies on honest reviews to help you make those big decisions with ease.

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Shauna S

6/20/2023

We are just over the moon with how our reception turned out! 500 Pearl is a gorgeous venue with everything onsite and the Forbes Theatre has so much character, we knew it was our v...

enue the moment we walked in. Our coordinator Bri was absolutely outstanding through the whole process answering questions, giving advice, and reassuring us that our vision would come to life. The food was delicious, the signature drinks were a hit, and the late night snack options were a fan favorite! We had multiple people comment that ours was one of the best weddings they attended!

Response from 500 Pearl on 06/08/2024

Thank you for trusting 500 Pearl with your special day! Best wishes to you both!

Andrea T

12/29/2022

Working with Brianna and her team at 500 Pearl was like working with a Godsend that we didn't know we needed. Everyone talks about wedding stress... and one would often think, "oh,...

that's not applicable to us" (We were those people) but let us tell you - wedding stress is very real. The staff at 500 Pearl were absolutely incredible, and the level of professionalism and hospitality was second to none. Their organization and attentiveness was stress relieving. Every question was answered, and the scheduling and event planning had been gone through with a fine tooth comb to ensure our peace of mind. Everything was perfect, and I could not recommend them enough. If you're looking for a classic, yet posh event that runs smoothly - this is your place. Don't pass it up!

Response from 500 Pearl on 06/08/2024

Thank you for trusting 500 Pearl with your special day! Best wishes to you both!

Any questions?

Kaitlyn R

12/14/2022

Working with the staff at 500 Pearl was a breeze! Everything was so organized and the shared planning documents made things so, so simple. Any detail we asked about or wanted was t...

aken care of and there was not a single hiccup the day of the wedding!

Response from 500 Pearl on 06/08/2024

Thank you for trusting 500 Pearl with your special day! Best wishes to you both!

Alexandra G

11/26/2022

I highly recommend having your wedding at 500 Pearl in Buffalo NY. We chose this venue for the convenience of everything being in one place - hotel, ceremony, reception, after part...

y and it did not disappoint. The space itself is beautiful and was able to accommodate all of our needs. We worked with Brianna Chadwell who was a DREAM. She truly helped bring our vision to life, made recommendations, and went above and beyond the day of to make sure everything ran smoothly.

Response from 500 Pearl on 06/08/2024

Thank you for trusting 500 Pearl with your special day! Best wishes to you both!

Emily L

10/09/2022

From the moment we saw the Forbes Theater at 500 Pearl, we knew we had to have our reception there. It is such a gorgeous space and even though it’s a big room, it feels intimate. ...

We had our entire day there, starting with getting ready in the bi-level suite, our first look on Patrick’s rooftop, photos in the venue and around the theater district, ceremony in the Fuhrmann Room, reception in Forbes and Sunday brunch in the 1914 Room. Honestly everything was perfect. The getting ready suite is amazing if you have a big bridal party - it’s two floors and we had the girls upstairs and the guys downstairs. We loved doing our first look on the rooftop with views of the city behind us. Fuhrmann is a simple room for the ceremony but we were able to dress it up with a few simple additions. Forbes is stunning, looks great with almost every color scheme, has a stage for the band/DJ and a patio if the weather is nice. And the brunch in 1914 was simple but just what we needed. The venue is also connected to the Aloft (Marriott) hotel, and since many of our guests were from out of town, it was really important to us that people didn’t have to drive all over town. You really can’t beat the convenience of having everything in one place and I know our guests appreciated being able to relax. Now onto the staff. I can’t say enough good things about Christine, our coordinator. From day one, she didn’t miss a beat. She had every detail documented and most importantly was such a “yes” person. Anything we wanted (within reason), she did her best to give to us. She was kind and compassionate, responsive, and you can tell she really takes her job to heart. On the day of, she was present and running around getting us whatever we needed. The rest of the staff was also great, the servers, bartenders, and everyone else involved. We got a lot of compliments about the service and the food and felt like we were personally taken care of. All around, we had an excellent experience and would recommend 500 Pearl and Christine any day!

Response from 500 Pearl on 06/08/2024

Thank you for trusting 500 Pearl with your special day! Best wishes to you both!

Joey M

8/30/2021

Excellent food, staff, communication, coordination and history. If you prefer historic Buffalo, this place has plenty of options for you.

Jake F

8/23/2021

Kristy and the entire team at 500 Pearl were absolutely amazing throughout our 2+ year planning process with them. All of the staff, bartenders, and helpers on the day of the were...

incredibly helpful and attentive - making our day even better than we imagined. Our guests commented on how great the service and food was, and we would have to agree. While the help on the day of the wedding was amazing, it’s really the time leading up to the wedding that we were so impressed by. COVID created so many challenges and changing situations and regulations, making planning a wedding incredibly challenging. 500 Pearl and their team treated my wife and I with such compassion and flexibility, making a stressful situation much more bearable. They really were a partner in navigating the situation, and for that we cannot help but be grateful and give our highest recommendation.

Melanie J

8/22/2021

From start to finish the staff at 500 Pearl was nothing short of amazing. They made sure that every detail was perfect for our day. From the front desk staff at the hotel to the wa...

it staff at the reception, everyone was so kind and accommodating. They really went above and beyond to make our day perfect. I highly recommend working with them as you won’t find better people to achieve your vision.

Andrea P

10/05/2020

We knew from the moment we walked into the Forbes Theater at 500 Pearl that we NEEDED to host our wedding there. Kristy has been a saint from Day 1 and has answered every question ...

we had (even the ridiculous ones). Needless to say, when we started to panic about what could happen to our wedding next year if COVID was still an issue, we met with Kristy and she put us at ease. My fiance and I were worried that COVID would ruin our wedding planning experience, but Kristy and the team at 500 Pearl refused to let that happen! She laid out all of our options should things not be able to run as planned and helped to walk us through each scenario. No matter what happens next year, we know that under no circumstance will be be out any of our hard earned money. 500 Pearl is beautiful and the staff there is beyond professional and understanding. I wish all of my friends would move to Buffalo so everyone can have their wedding at 500 Pearl!

Jeanette B

10/05/2020

My Fiance and I decided to go with 500 Pearl for our wedding venue. We made the decision last year, for a wedding date of 9/12/2020. The property is beautiful and offers many uniqu...

e factors when considering for your wedding venue. The process leading up to our wedding was smooth, and our event planner Kristy was such a big help and easy to get a hold of and get answers to all my questions and concerns. . Shortly after the process began, COVID hit, and everything stopped. We held out as long as we could before we regrettably had to postpone our wedding. Kristy was wonderful and extremely understanding. She provided us a list of alternative dates with no penalty and made the process as smooth as possible so I did not have to stress about a thing. She has been in contact since, to keep me updated, and is very accommodating with our specific requests for our wedding day. I am very thankful we have someone who is so helpful to be with us during this process, as it is very stressful in general, especially with a pandemic on top of it. We are holding on to hope that we will be able to have the wedding we pictured before this all started, and we are excited to have it in such a beautiful and unique venue!

Libby M

10/01/2020

Kristy and her team at 500 Pearl have gone above and beyond from when we toured the venue to date. There was a special champagne toast waiting for us along with a personalized lett...

er board and gift bag, and honestly these touches were the deciding factor for us. We felt honored and valued and cannot imagine our big day somewhere else. We’ve also had a tasting already and the food far exceeded our expectations. We are looking forward to next October and hoping to make our guests feel as special as we have so far!

Heather S

10/01/2020

500 Pearl is absolutely gorgeous. It has amazing views of the city of Buffalo whether you are booking a room through Aloft or visiting the rooftop bar (the sunset is incredible up ...

there). They have awesome drinks and food, and very friendly staff. My fiancé and I booked our wedding reception there after falling in love with the historical newly renovated Forbes Theater. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19 we have had to postpone our reception to next year. Although I expected the process of postponement to be quite brutal, working with Kristy (sales and event planner) the process has been nothing but smooth sailing. She has been incredibly helpful and great to work with throughout this whole planning process. She’s quick to respond, insightful and very supportive. You can tell she wants to do everything she can to ensure the event is special and runs smoothly. I truly recommend visiting 500Pearl for a night out, and/or hosting an event. It’s really something special, and has been a great addition to the city of Buffalo. Once we have our reception there I will write a review based on how it was in more detail but for now I figured people deserved to know how great 500Pearl has been throughout this whole process.

Lisa H

10/01/2020

After touring several venues in the Buffalo area, my fiancé and I toured the Forbes Theatre and knew this was it! The venue space itself is breathtaking. It's an old theatre that h...

as been recently restored. The gold hand-painted ceiling is really one of a kind. There's even a marquee that will be lit up with our names and date which is a really nice touch. With the convenience of the Aloft hotel next door it seriously has everything you could hope for from a venue and so much more. Kristy has been our main person of contact and has been very attentive and accommodating, answering all of our questions. With COVID still an issue for the foreseeable future, Kristy has reassured us that 500 Pearl will work with us to make sure we are happy. We had our food tasting a week ago and everyone agreed this was by far some of the best food and presentation they've had at a wedding! Here's to looking forward to 2021 and the wedding we've been planning for. If you haven't toured 500 Pearl and their venue spaces yet please consider. It won't disappoint you.

sara v

10/01/2020

Every part of the wedding planning process has been wonderful so far thanks to Kristy at 500 Pearl - she is knowledgeable and amazing to work with ! Couldn’t be happier

Alayna D

10/01/2020

Postponing my wedding was heartbreaking but I felt like Kristy at 500 Pearl truly cared about us and all of her brides and grooms. She has been extremely responsive and accommodati...

ng throughout the planning process. We booked the venue and got a quote from another staff member before the venue was completely finished, and Kristy has been so wonderful working with us to make sure the space is everything we imagined when we first toured the space!! I am so excited to see the room and taste the amazing food on the day of :)

Sarah M

9/04/2020

We are so excited to get married at the beautiful Forbes Theater next year, and are absolutely devastated for everyone who was looking forward to using the venue in 2020 and wasn't...

able to. We knew immediately that we were going to get the most bang for our buck at 500 Pearl, each package even included a specialty cocktail. Kristy and the team have been awesome, really responsive and have answered all of our questions promptly. We would highly recommend!

Service area & Contact info

500 Pearl Street, Buffalo, NY

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(716) 382-6094

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500 Pearl

Kimberly Allinger

Catering Sales Manager

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500 Pearl

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