Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation

Perfect in every way! We had our wedding reception at the Charles River Museum on April 2, 2022. The museum was closed for awhile — the pandemic, then a renovation — but the wait was well worth it. For context, we had about 100 guests. The movement of the space is ideal — cocktail hour in the museum proper, then dinner / dancing in the BEAUTIFUL Jackson Room ballroom. We’re both history nerds so we love the flavor of the museum, but our guests seemed to really enjoy it too. The space is industrial, think brickwork and iron. We just added a few flowers, cafe lights, and candles, and we had magic! Very romantic. There is also a lot of parking available, just across the river (the Charles “river” here being a very small stream). There is an enchanting little bridge connecting the parking lot / garage to what feels like a private boardwalk entrance to the museum. This boardwalk is also the perfect spot for a send-off :) Jill is a delight to work with. She is so friendly, kind, and helpful. We picked out the Charles River Museum first, then used Jill’s resources to connect with other vendors: caterer, florals, DJ. I cannot recommend this venue enough!

From start to finish we were incredibly pleased with CRMII. We worked with Jillian initially and her knowledge about the space and friendliness was fantastic. After working with Jillian we started working with Anna who was such a pleasure to work with on the day of the event and after. The pricing structure is very transparent and I never felt like I was hoodwinked by it. The events packet that the museum provides is incredibly helpful as well. It helped us nail down our vendor team within a few weeks. Our guests LOVED the space. Having a January wedding it was great to have a space that allowed the guests to escape the load dance music or just be away from the reception hall. The venue truly allows you to be creative with your decor and how you set up the space. I would highly recommend using the Charles River Museum as part of your special day! We do not regret it in the slightest!

If you're looking for a laid-back and historical venue, the Charles River Museum in Waltham, MA is just what you're looking for! With 104 guests, most from out of town, this was the perfect venue for people to catch up, learn about my hometown and enjoy great food and drinks. Jill, the event coordinator, was willing to help with any before, day of or after things my groom and I needed. She also walked us through the entire day so that we had a piece of mind. I can't wait to go back and see more exhibits when I return home for the holidays :) Shannon & Jordan

What a treat to have my wedding here. The function hall is huge, high-ceilinged, brick, and stunning. The body of the museum is beautiful and has so many interesting objects all around. Besides, the Charles runs right outside, and it's so gorgeous. Working with Jillian at CRMII was also a pleasure--she is absolutely on top of everything, and made the whole process so easy.

We couldn't be happier with our choice of the Charles River Museum as a wedding venue. Jill and her team were wildly accommodating throughout the process and worked with us to structure an event that aligned with our vision. Jill worked closely with the wedding planner, caterer, florist, DJ, and games vendor to ensure that all parties had everything they needed to make the evening a success. The space is suitable for a range of purposes. We had a pre-ceremony cocktail party downstairs in the main exhibit hall, held the wedding ceremony in the main upstairs room, and used the adjacent upstairs spaces - including the gallery - for games. The venue's ramps made the transitions accessible to guests with mobility impairments, a key consideration for our elderly attendees. The river boardwalk provided an ideal backdrop for pre-wedding photos, and the whole event looks incredible on camera. We're fortunate to have found the CRMII and would recommend it enthusiastically to anyone in the market for a unique wedding venue in the Boston area.

We had a great experience with Jillian at the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation. She was very professional, helped us plan and organize all the little details, and was patient as we worked and reworked some of our wedding details and asked question after question. The space was beautiful and unique and made for a great backdrop for our wedding.

We absolutely loved our wedding reception at the Charles River Museum!! We worked with several staff members there and all were responsive to emails/calls, always available to set up visits, and overall very accommodating! The Charles River Museum does require you to chose a caterer from their list of authorized vendors (we were happy with our caterer as well!). Our DJ was also one of their recommended vendors, and did a wonderful job! Based on those two choices, I would say that the Charles River Museum does a great job of recommending vendors to work with! I got so many compliments from my guests on the venue itself - it really stands out for its uniqueness and character! The wedding reception was everything I envisioned it to be. Also, clean up was a piece of cake! The stuff I had brought and set up was all collected into boxes. My parents were able to pick it up the next morning. We had a wonderful experience working with the Charles River Museum!

Getting married at the Charles River Museum was the best choice we made throughout our entire wedding process. The venue is so unique, guests are still talking about how wonderful and fun it was. Jill was an absolute pleasure to work with and was so speedy with all of her responses. They accommodated some of our unique needs, knowing that we were leaving town right after our wedding. All in all, she made the process so seamless and the venue is essentially a blank canvas you can make into whatever you want. If you partner with the right design group or caterer, they can help your vision come to life. Jill also offered many suggestions throughout the process since she knows what works best in the museum. You do need to be aware that you have to bring in all your vendors, which I liked because it allowed us to make the wedding our own. Absolutely perfect!

We could not be happier that we chose Charles River Museum as our wedding venue. It is such a beautiful, unique, and engaging venue. Our guests were absolutely in love with it—we were getting constant compliments throughout the night and we still are to this day! Jill at CMRII was so wonderful to work with. Her calm and supportive demeanor made us feel so comfortable with how the day was going to go. It is not an all-inclusive venue, in that you have to bring everything in, but it was so worth it to have this amazing and memorable space. We highly recommend picking CMRII as a wedding venue and working with Jill to make your day possible.

The museum was an amazing venue for our wedding. Jillian and the museum staff were really helpful along the way answering questions and on the day of making sure everything went off without a hitch. The Jackson Room is such a great space for ceremonies and receptions, and our guests had a lot of fun exploring the museums exhibits during our cocktail hour.

Charles River Museum of Industry was an amazing venue and Jillian was a professional, communicative, and calm coordinator! Honestly, she adjusted the ceremony placement at the very last minute in order to satisfy both me and my mom. The museum was fun, spacious, and had so many interesting details. My amazing photographers (Novella photography - LOVED Matt and Paulette) had a blast getting creative in this venue space. I have been eyeing this venue for years and was so thrilled to have the wedding of my dreams in this historical, beautiful space. The ceremony outside, the cocktail hour in the main museum, and the reception in the Jackson room was a perfect flow for the evening. I loved getting married here and my photos definitely reflect the unique beauty of the venue.

As an offbeat couple, we really wanted to find a venue that felt unique and would feel like us. Every other place we saw just felt too basic. The Charles River Museum ended up being the perfect place for us! Our guests all told us how incredibly cool they thought the venue was, and it really is! The only thing that I would consider before booking, is to truly understand that you are renting the bare space, and nothing else. It ultimately made our wedding more expensive than originally thought due to the caterer having to essentially bring a kitchen with them to the venue.

The Charles River Museum is such a unique venue and I am so happy we found it! Our guests could not stop raving about it! Jill was a pleasure to work with throughout the whole process.

We had our reception at the Charles River Museum in October 2017, and were so happy with the experience! If you are looking for a unique venue with lots of character, this place is for you. We started working with Jill, but later worked with Anna, both of whom were incredibly responsive and helpful in answering all our questions. We had many email exchanges and a site visit to review all the details before the big day. There are some things to keep in mind if you are planning your reception here: using the outside park requires a permit from the city of Waltham, parking is in a separate lot (but close to the museum), gaining handicapped access requires a bit of coordination, and so on. These are all things to discuss as you get closer to the wedding. The price for the museum was very reasonable, but keep in mind that everything else (linens, flatware, chairs, etc.) need to be rented separately. Overall, we were very happy with our reception at the museum, and would highly recommend it to other couples!

We had our November 2017 wedding at the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation, and we were so thrilled with the way it turned out! We knew we didn't want a traditional wedding venue, and this space is so unique and totally fit the bill. Jill and Anna were a pleasure to work with; very accommodating and responsive to email. I would definitely recommend this venue! We had our ceremony and reception (flipped) upstairs in the main ballroom, and the cocktail hour downstairs in the museum. All of our guests loved looking around and chatting among the exhibits. The one thing I will note is that booking CRMII is just booking a venue... you still need to book the rest of your event staff/vendors separately. This isn't a big deal (and the venue has many recommendations for vendors -- all of whom we booked from their list), but if you're looking for something "all-inclusive," this definitely isn't it.

We had our October 6, 2017 wedding here and I cannot recommend the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation enough! The space is beautiful and unique and the staff is professional and friendly! Anyone looking for a non-traditional space with staff that will work with your vision, this is the place for you! We fell in love with the space right away! From the beginning of the planning process Jill and everyone at the museum was amazing. They provided us with vendor lists and advice for working with the space. Because the Jackson room is so large and the museum only provides tables and chairs, there are a lot of logistics and vendors to work with. Throughout the whole planning process Jill made herself available to answer any questions we had and accommodate any changes. Jill and Ana worked closely with our coordinator, bar, caterer and other vendors to help our vision come true! The day of, everything ran so smooth! The staff were available and willing to help, but were not in the way of guests and allowed everyone to have fun. Everyone who attended the wedding was amazed by the space! They wanted to take pictures everywhere and explore all night. We couldn’t have been happier!

The Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation was literally the perfect setting for my wedding on August 5th, 2017. The industrial backdrop went so well with the rest of my very natural and light décor. Literally every location of the venue provides the perfect backdrop for a photo, so I’ve just been so in awe of each picture I’ve seen! All of my guests were traveling from Pennsylvania, and many people said that the venue itself was worth the trip. The museum displays provided entertainment for guests the entire night, whether they were just learning about the displays or taking photos in the phone booth. The space itself fit everyone perfectly and allowed for a great flow of events from the ceremony to cocktail hour to the reception. Not to mention, the museum staff was an absolute pleasure to work with!! Jill, Anna, and Cora were all super responsive and accommodating to all our requests and needs. Thank you or making the day so smooth, enjoyable, and beautiful!

The Charles River Museum was absolutely perfect for our wedding, and working with Jill (the venue coordinator) was so stress-free and easy. She was very quick to respond, and super flexible. The space itself is incredibly cool, and kept all of our guests entertained. We did our ceremony outside in Landry Park, which was the perfect little space before moving all the guests inside for cocktail hour and the reception. We added bistro lights to the Jackson Room for our reception, and I would highly recommend it - I think it really helps warm up the space (pro-tip: ask the lighting company to put them on a dimmer). We followed previous reviewers' advice and had signs pointing the way for guests along with instructions for parking and it went off without a hitch. Overall, it was perfect for us and we would highly recommend it.

CRMII was absolutely amazing!! If you are looking for a unique, industrial venue this is perfect. We got married in the park outside the museum, had cocktail hour on the first floor, and had the reception in the Jackson room upstairs. Guests were so entertained during cocktail hour with the metal stamping, looking at the exhibits, punching in time cards, you name it. The reception space was the perfect size for eating and dancing, and had a great lounge area for guests who wanted to step away from the noise and relax. Jill (the event manager) was always so responsive to any questions/ideas we had. I can't think of a single thing I would change!!

We were so fortunate to find this venue in our home town! It was the perfect place for us to get married as a fairly non-traditional couple. We got married indoors in the Jackson Room, and it was beautiful as a ceremony space. Our cocktail reception was downstairs, and our guests really enjoyed roaming around the museum. The Jackson Room was totally transformed for our reception, and it was lovely. Other than the aesthetic, the main reason we chose the museum for our venue is because there were so few restrictions! We could have the space for a prolonged period, put up the lights and decor we wanted to, and there were no rules about set alcohol times. We loved working with Jill, who was super relaxed and helpful throughout the process. Also, they have a great list of vendors and have wonderful suggestions about how to decorate the space. A perfect venue!

This venue is so incredible. From the moment we saw it, we knew it was the one. There is an adorable little park right on the river next to the museum that you can rent out if you want an outdoor ceremony, but the indoor options are just as amazing, which is perfect for unpredictable New England weather. We had our wedding ceremony and reception inside, and it looked absolutely perfect. Everyone keeps telling us how gorgeous and unique the venue was! It's also awesome because you can choose from a list of catering services that fit your budget. Jill, the events manager there was also an absolute pleasure to work with. She is so kind and helpful, and super responsive for all the inevitable questions that pop up. I couldn't recommend this place more!

This venue is seriously a hidden gem. We had our wedding here in November 2015, and we were so impressed not only with the gorgeous building and surrounding property, but also Jill, the event coordinator, and the suggested vendors. This venue will work with your budget and everyone is so helpful and accommodating. We loved being able to choose our caterer, and Premier Bartending knew the space so well and worked with us to make the day seamless and stress free. The day was perfect, our guests raved about the venue, and the space had so much character and photo opportunities. Have your wedding here!!!

We just had our wedding ceremony and reception at the Charles River Museum (3/29/2016) and it was wonderful! We had the ceremony upstairs in the Jackson room, cocktail hour in the main museum and dinner/dancing back in the Jackson room. There was enough space for our ~150 guests and a 6-piece band. If you're looking for 160+ guests, the space will be tight with a band--but workable with a DJ. The museum was beautiful and doesn't need additional decorations; many guests told us they loved the space. Also, since we first booked the museum last year, the museum has undergone several upgrades--including bigger bathrooms & a new walkway outside the museum that was great for pictures--that we got to take advantage of. Finally, Jill, the museum coordinator, was incredibly responsive, easy to work with, professional and very accommodating. We would definitely recommend it!

This is one of the most unique museums around, and it was more than perfect to host our wedding. The last place I wanted to get married in was a banquet hall or a hotel ballroom, and this place was the complete opposite. We had our ceremony outside in Landry Park (it was late October and the foliage was unreal), and the cocktail hour and reception inside. Our guests could not stop commenting on how amazing the museum was and how they'd never seen anything like it. The ballroom is HUGE and the fact that it's an old textile mill meant huge windows and lots of brick, so beautiful! Jill always responded quickly to each and every email and the event staff was great the night of our wedding. I can't say enough amazing things about this place, we'll cherish it forever.

I feel so lucky to have found this museum! As a Jewish couple having a kosher wedding, my husband and I were looking for a venue that would let us bring in an outside caterer and not charge us a ridiculous fee to do it! I came across the Charles River Museum of Industry entirely by accident, went to go visit and fell in love. My husband and I wanted something different. We didn't want the hotel ballroom, we didn't want a typical event space. CRMI is neither! The building is a converted textile mill from the 1800's located right on the banks of the Charles. The first floor (exhibit room) is full of vintage tools, machines and even an old fire truck (that you can sit on!). There are rotating exhibits featuring art work, industrial design and, of course, watches. The large exhibit room has two-story ceilings, enormous windows and beautiful brick. The event room, the Jackson room, keeps with the brick but adds a touch of elegance. There are 8 chandeliers providing a glow to the room, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the river and enough space for 150 seated with a dance floor. The space blends industrial with elegant in a way that perfectly matched our vision. Since the museum is not your "typical" wedding venue, there is a lot less red tape to deal with. They are very easy to work with, incredibly accommodating and more affordable than I could have hoped for. We worked with Christine over the course of the year and she was wonderful. Since most of the staff at the museum are volunteers, she can be a bit hard to reach, but it never posed a problem for us. On the day of, the museum looked great and everything ran smoothly. We had use of the entire facility and people seemed to love it! I will say, that if you're looking for a wedding venue that provides planning, oversight and other such services, this is probably not your place. We didn't want or need that, though, and we LOVED it! Our pictures look amazing - both the ones inside the museum and the ones outside on the grounds. We are thrilled with our choice to do our wedding at the CRMI!