American Visionary Art Museum

Working with AVAM was thankfully one of the easiest parts of our wedding! Less than 2 months before our wedding, our original venue backed out due to the COVID restrictions - the original venue had told us we could possibly have 100-200 guests, but at the last second, told us they could only allow 25 people indoors (turns out all of us were reading the wrong rules for capacity). We were so panicked since we had already been planning to have at least a hundred people for our May 2021 wedding. I had posted on one of the Facebook wedding groups for Maryland brides, and I am SO glad that Rhea (the event coordinator at AVAM) reached out to me regarding their availability. It was somehow one of the only dates available, and since Baltimore city was at 50%, they were able to accommodate 245 people at that time (max capacity 490, which is huge for a venue located inside of any city!). Rhea was extremely responsive and so easy to work with throughout this very hectic and last minute process. She went above and beyond, helped us find a new caterer, figure out parking for our guests, coordinated our walk throughs with other vendors, etc. The venue itself is so cool, and our guests are still talking about how awesome and unique everything was! We used the downstairs and outdoor areas for our cocktail hour, and the big ballroom upstairs for the reception. Everyone loved the exhibits at the museum and it made for awesome photos/conversation/entertainment during cocktail hour for all ages. The location is also right next to the harbor and Federal Hill park, so the background of any of the photos near the venue were also great. The reception hall upstairs was huge - again, it fits 490 at max capacity. We were able to make really nice decorations, have a big stage for our DJ and band, and had plenty of room for our photobooth, 2 bars, cake table, etc, even with 200 guests. After the event, they made sure we had everything with us and did a final walk through the following day to make sure nothing was left behind. If you are looking for a large, unique/fun venue, inside the city, I highly recommend AVAM!!

We had an absolutely beautiful wedding ceremony on the grand staircase of the museum. Every single guest was wow-ed by the venue. Those who had been there before already loved it and those who were visiting for the first time couldn't believe their eyes. Michele, the venue coordinator, is a true professional and lovely to work with. She's incredibly responsive, spoke with all of our vendors, allowed us to see the space multiple times with multiple people, and answered innumerable questions. Day of, all went off without a single hitch. It was the best day of our lives in the most beautiful space imaginable. Thank you Michele and AVAM!

We had our ceremony on the spiral stairs in the main museum building and our reception in the Sculpture Barn afterwards. I cannot recommend this venue enough! From the moment we did our walk-through with the events coordinator Michelle, we knew were in good hands. The venue itself is gorgeous and so fun and creative—our guests were all in awe of it and were raving about how fun it all was!! Don’t hesitate, book this place and trust everything Michelle tells you! You won’t regret it!

We could not be happier that we booked AVAM's JRVC building for our wedding! The space was so unique & our guests (majority from out of town) were so happy to experience it! The venue really helped to make such a memorable event truly spectacular. Michele was very responsive & great to work with! All of the staff were professional and positive. We would highly recommend it

We got married here on May 27 and cannot speak highly enough about AVAM.  Though there was a torrential downpour for almost the entire duration of the wedding, the museum (represented by Michele, the wonderfully helpful and responsive event coordinator/director/person you talk to about getting married at AVAM) did everything to help us bring the thing off.  The barn was perfect, and the museum itself was wonderful for some offbeat photos after the ceremony.  I would highly recommend that anybody looking for an unconventional wedding venue in Baltimore look at AVAM and the sculpture garden in particular.

We loved our wedding at AVAM! As soon as we saw the venue we fell in love with it. We loved the uniqueness of the museum and it's location in Baltimore. We had our ceremony on the first floor of the JRVC and our reception on the 3rd floor. Michele is so wonderful to work with and was amazing with responding to my questions promptly and providing ideas and feedback to fit the vision we had for our wedding day.

This is such a unique and trendy venue! Our guests had a great time. Michele is wonderful and helpful too! We also found that many vendors love working with AVAM :)

My husband and I got married on 10/4/15 in the Sculpture Garden and had our reception in the Sculpture Barn. We loved working with the event coordinator, Michele. She was so responsive to all of our questions and concerns and was always willing to help out. She offered to let us use lighting that was leftover from another event and she even offered to let us move our wedding into their bigger space when our big day was threatened by Hurricane Joaquin. Those things really meant a lot to us. The museum itself is spectacular and the night ended up being incredibly beautiful. All of my guests loved our venue and so did we! It will be a night we'll never forget!

The venue was great as usual! Michelle was great to work with and answered all of our questions quickly and efficiently!

We loved this venue! The staff was amazingly helpful and responsive throughout the planning process. We couldn't have asked for a better experience! The garden was a beautiful spot for the ceremony and the sculpture barn was perfect for reception.

We wanted to find something that was reasonably priced for a venue in July, and AVAM was SO much bang for your buck. This venue was absolutely amazing for functionality, natural beauty, and funk! We initially loved the price and the convenience for our guests... everyone but one person was from out of town (we are from PA) so we love that people could walk everywhere, water taxi, etc. And there's parking literally steps from the museum for those that did want to drive around the harbor instead of walking or taking a cab. It is just such a fun venue and after seeing all of our centerpieces and aisle set up, it was even more stunning than I ever imagined! The brick building is such a naturally gorgeous backdrop it doesn't really need much decorating! The garden and all of the sculptures were so much fun for our guests. PLUS our guests got to go into the museum for free until 9:30 to walk through the exhibits (I think this is only for those that use the barn/sculpture garden, which we did). There was another wedding going on at the last building (JRVC) and so a few guests wandered into the wrong wedding, which was humorous. So I might suggest having prominently displayed signs. We didn't have a "welcome to the _________ wedding" sign, so that might have been helpful! Other than that, I have absolutely nothing bad to say about this venue. We received so many compliments and it was just perfect!!!!

This space was amazing from start to finish! Michele, the salesperson, was an amazing contact and was very upfront about the space's capabilities. We had our ceremony on the 1st floor of the JRVC and ceremony on the 3rd floor. The 3rd floor is very simple, yet elegant, which allowed my husband and I to decorate to our liking. Tables and chairs were included in the cost of the rental of the JRVC space, which we didn't find very often with other spaces. AVAM is also very convenient for guests staying in downtown hotels.

Michele is wonderful and easy to work with, always ready with an answer to any question. I was out of the area for most of the planning so we did almost all communication by email, and she always responded quickly. Our guests loved the venue (Ceremony on stairs, reception in Sculpture Barn) and talked about how beautiful and different it was from any place they had ever been. They also enjoyed being able to walk around the museum during the reception. The lighting in the barn made for stunning pictures. Suggestions: There is no dedicated parking but there are meters and a parking garage nearby. We didn't have any problems for our 80 person wedding, but for a larger wedding I would suggest utilizing some of the recommended paid parking options. I would also allot extra time for photos because there are just too many options to get them all in!

No complaints at all about this venue! Everyone was very helpful and extremely nice! I loved everything about this place!

Loved AVAM! Everyone loved how unique our venue was.

We could not of picked a better place to have our wedding. Michelle was very helpful and responds in a very timely matter. The venue was beautiful, big enough to fit our 240 guests and have room to dance! Lots of areas for your pictures!

We held our ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception at the American Visionary Art Museum and could not have asked for a better venue!! It was beautiful, eclectic, and the wedding coordinator, Michele, was wonderful to work with. We highly recommend this venue to any couple who is looking for a unique and memorable space for their wedding!

Love this place great for a wedding renewal very classy elegant and romantic.

Gorgeous, fun venue. Michelle was a huge help planning both our ceremony and reception at AVAM.

This venue is fabulous if you want something different and outside the box. They did a great job but they are s little pricey and for the price I paid my table was shakey and I had to have if switched but that did not help. For what you are paying the tables and chairs should be perfect.

Michele and the staff at AVAM were so helpful. I just loved them. They

The American Visionary Art Museum is the key to a truly unique wedding -- our guests can't stop raving about what a fun and different venue we had! Behind the scenes, Michelle - the museum's event coordinator - is an absolute joy to work with. She was helpful in so many unexpected ways -- always available, gave valuable recommendations for other vendors, knew the space well to make suggestions about what would and wouldn't work, was flexible, and was dedicated to our satisfaction and helping us create a memorable event. The possibilities are endless inside the museum -- the spaces are a rustic blank slate to create your own tables, linens, florals, stages, musicians, food, dance floors -- anything and everything! Absorb the creative energy teeming from the entire campus and let your imagination dictate the results. Yours guests will rave about your wedding for years to come. And your photos? They'll be fabulous... every nook of this place is spectacular. One word of caution -- this is not a "cookie cutter" wedding venue, meaning that you'll need to hand pick all of your vendors. But that's the fun of it all!

AVAM was the perfect venue for my husband and I. It matched our personality. Although it is a little expensive, it is completely worth it if you are a looking for an artsy out of the box wedding venue. Also, Michele, who is responsible for the facility rental was beyond helpful throughout the planning process.

The event coordinator is sweet and easy to work with,and very available for meetings/easy to reach by phone. The location is so interesting and was absolutely beautiful,we were both so thrilled to have gotten married here! It was very hot and we did end up getting rain, but we were prepared with a backup plan and they give you a discounted rate for August because there is no AC... so obviously it isn't their fault it ended up being so humid for our particular day! All in all AVAM is an excellent location for a unique wedding and went well with vision of a less formal wedding. They have a list of food vendors they want you to use, but this was not a problem for me as there were plenty of options and all of them seemed great (and could be made to fit just about any budget) and they allow you to pick just about all of your own vendors for everything else, you just have to get your vendors to sign a form.

Working with Michelle was wonderful. She was always ready with an answer and quick to respond to any questions we had. We were married in the sculpture garden at the museum. All of my guests commented what a beautiful and unique setting it was. Definitely memorable!

Perfect venue for a unique, funky and one of a kind wedding.

I loved! it I loved! Very beautiful Place i get goose bumps just talking about my wedding being there!!!!!!!

This place is perfect for couples who are looking for an artsy/industrial/totally blank slate to work with for you wedding day. I fell in love with the space once I saw it - it will forever remain a memory of our very special day in Baltimore.