American Visionary Art Museum

ather was perfect, sunny with a slight breeze, and we married in the lush wildflower garden. Happy hour took place in the museum cafe, Cielo Verde which is filled with art, plants, and sunlight. The balcony at the cafe is lit with string lights at night - so lovely. Plus, our guests had access to all the museum’s galleries which was such a cool bonus. Our reception was held in the sculpture barn and dinner was catered by Cielo Verde (incredible, flavorful Latin-Mediterranean cuisine!). Rhea, AVAM’s director of rentals and events was quick to respond and super helpful throughout the planning process. I cannot recommend AVAM enough!

riginal 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!!

nd 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!

d 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!

nue 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

ted 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.

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.

sive 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!

for the ceremony and the sculpture barn was perfect for reception.

auty, 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!!!!

oor 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.

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!

and have room to dance! Lots of areas for your pictures!

ordinator, 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!

to have if switched but that did not help. For what you are paying the tables and chairs should be perfect.

he 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!

the box wedding venue. Also, Michele, who is responsible for the facility rental was beyond helpful throughout the planning process.

h 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.

of my guests commented what a beautiful and unique setting it was. Definitely memorable!

ll forever remain a memory of our very special day in Baltimore.