Children's Museum Of Pittsburgh

My husband and I had our wedding at MuseumLab on August 28, 2021 after rescheduling four times due to COVID. We cannot speak highly enough about MuseumLab and their staff. They patiently worked with us as we rescheduled our wedding and made sure we were doing what was right for us. They are punctual, helped us to develop floor plans, and were a great value for your money. You can bring your own alcohol which is a major cost saver, and the rental costs are split up by the rooms your guests are using at a given time. MuseumLab itself is a STUNNING venue as well - it is a historic building that has a ruins chic vibe with a modern twist. Funky artwork made the venue both interesting and modern. Guests and other vendors couldn't stop commenting on how beautiful and cool the venue was. We'd also like to give a special shout out to Jenna Shuknecht at MuseumLab who helped us with the majority oft he planning process before starting her own wedding planning business Wildly Loved. Jenna was responsive, creative, worked within our budget, and helped us to formulate our vision for the big day. She is pleasant and an absolute joy to work with! Allyson King who took over for Jenna a week or two before our wedding date was also amazing and made the whole day flow easily. Everyone was wonderful!

We were scheduled to have our wedding in the beautiful MuseumLab space in May of 2020. We unfortunately ended up postponing and eventually cancelling due to COVID-19. However, I still wanted to give a shout out to Jenna at the MuseumLab for her flexibility and understanding throughout the process. My fiancé and I were both super impressed by her preparedness and organization at our first meeting to tour the space, and we leave the experience feeling even more impressed by her compassion and graciousness when we were forced to postpone and cancel. The building is stunning, spacious, and filled with character, but the real reason to book the MuseumLab for your wedding is the fabulous customer service.

We scheduled to use Museumlab (of Children's Museum) for both our ceremony and our reception. However, covid happened and everything had to be cancelled. I felt compelled to still leave a review for the experience we had with the employees of Museumlab (Specifically Jenna). Throughout the emotional roller coaster that is cancelling your wedding, Jenna always responded quickly and with kindness that was so appreciated. Although her company was suffering, it felt as though she was on our side and was not judgmental for the decisions we made. She was always patient and empathetic for our situation. Although this is not a typical review for a wedding venue (when the wedding actually happens hahah!), I hope it provides alternative insight. I would 100% want Jenna and Museumlab in my corner for the times it goes right, and the times it doesn't.

We were the first wedding reception at the MuseumLab and we were confident that it was going to be wonderful. Jenna, the event coordinator, was a pleasure to work with throughout the whole planning experience. She was always available to have a meeting, go over the agenda for the reception, and layout of the space. We chose to use all three levels of the space: first floor for the cocktail hour and first dance, second floor for the dancing, cookie table, and La Prima coffee table, and the third floor for the dinner. We loved that we had the option to use the whole MuseumLab for our wedding reception. The space is so unique and we loved the look of the walls, and how it was left in, "ruins." It has a lot of character and gives you a sense of what the space was. The Grable Gallery was were we chose to have our first dance and it was so amazing! The floor is original and the ceiling features a laser cut fabric inspired by the original stained glass. Guests loved having the cocktail hour on the first floor, there were games, a photo booth, lots of exhibits to explore. Having dinner on the third floor was also really special, we had about 110 guests and it was a perfect size space for that amount of people. We did a kings table for the bridal party and significant others, plus round tables. The windows and brick walls were a perfect backdrop. The second floor was such a great space for a dance floor, it features a high ceilings and an option for the guests on the third floor to watch the dancing from the balcony. We had such a blast dancing the night away. Guests that didn't like to dance were able to go back to the first floor and continue interacting with the exhibits. Overall the MuseumLab exceeded our expectations for our reception. Even though it was the first reception, it didn't feel like that. The staff were wonderful and kept the night moving smoothly. I would recommend this space to anyone that is looking for a fun, unique space with lots of character that allows guests to do more than the typical cocktail hour. Every floor of the MuseumLab is amazing. I am so glad we chose MuseumLab for our wedding reception!

We are so happy we chose to have our wedding at the Children's Museum. Eric and Jenna were so helpful and easy to work with throughout the planning process, and the whole evening went off without a hitch! This unique venue was perfect for us as a couple - the space is classy and elegant, but no one is taking themselves too seriously ;) We had a lot of kids at our wedding and they loved playing in the climbing wall in the lobby (we didn't pay to open any of the exhibit). The museum is also a deal compared to similar venues in downtown Pittsburgh - the BYO alcohol policy saved us a lot of money. Overall it was a wonderful experience and we wouldn't change a thing!

I cannot say enough wonderful things about The Children's Museum! Not only is the space fun, unique & beautiful, but the staff is what sealed the deal for choosing this as our reception venue. Jenna, Eric & team were fabulous!!!! They put my worries to ease, and I was able to fully trust them (which is hard for me to do) to set up the room exactly how I envisioned. Not only that, Jenna & Eric have great personalities and genuinely care about one of the biggest (if not the biggest) day of your life. If I could give this place 10 stars, I would!

WOW. They were incredible. Jenna is a dream to work with. Every single person we interacted with at the museum was wonderful, even the security guards! We were so taken care of and really loved the beautiful big red room. It was perfect for our wedding, and tons of dancing. Jenna really made our day stress-free and seamless. We also loved the ability to bring our own alcohol, it was us a lot of $ and gave us the flexibility we wanted to make our own bar for our friends. We also loved the ability to take fun pictures and have a different and colorful setting for the party part of our day.

We had our wedding at the Children's Museum on June 3, 2017. The space speaks for itself--it's absolutely beautiful. Every interaction with the staff (especially Eric and Jenna) was incredibly easy. Sometimes I would walk away from meetings thinking "am I missing something? Why is this so easy?" Truly every step of the way Jenna and Eric were there to answer my questions and calm my nerves. The day of everything ran as smoothly as they promised it would. We dropped off our decorations and cookies the day before and everything was set up the way I'd envisioned it. Every staff member we encountered day of was kind, eager to help and enthusiastic. Eric even helped turn on some of the exhibits while my husband and I were taking pictures around the museum during our cocktail hour. We ended up renting the Big Red Room from 7-11 and the Studio from 6-8 for cocktail hour. Guests loved the permanent photobooth in the BRR and laughed about it all night. The beauty of both rooms really cuts down on the need for things like up lighting and extensive decorations--the rooms themselves are beautiful! We went with Big Burrito for catering and it was fantastic. Since Children's only works with a few caterers the coordination between both parties was flawless. I would get married here 100x over and cannot recommend it enough!

The Children's Museum was so much fun, and all of the marble and the red made for some glorious photos. It was a really great space; unique, fun, and still fitting for our black tie wedding. The space didn't feel cramped at all, and we loved the photobooth and the silly faces wall. Having the porch and the lobby were great spaces for people to move around, and there was lots of room "backstage" for outfit changes or what have you. Jenna and the whole events team were very accommodating and quick to respond, we definitely had a lot of questions and changes! We had really been hoping to use big burrito for our catering, and were really pleased that they were one of the vendors for the museum. The parking included for our guests was so helpful, and it took so much stress off our shoulders to have Jenna & Eric coordinating everything and all of the vendors so that day, all we had to do was show up and have fun! All in all, it was a really fun and beautiful space that was unique and memorable and made for a perfect evening!

Absolutely perfect venue. All of our guests raved the whole night (and are still raving) about how much they loved the venue. Jenna was always available throughout the process. She always quickly responded to emails and was available to meet when we wanted to come by in person. The night of, her and Eric made everything flow so smoothly. The venue allowed us to really customize our ceremony and rehearsal. The only restriction was the caterer we could use. We were able to bring our own alcohol, our own signs and props, and all our own cookies. They were open to all of our ideas about how to set up the event and allowed us to completely customize the wedding. I would absolutely recommend the Children's Museum for couples looking for a beautiful and unique venue.

I did a massive amount of research for my wedding. I thoroughly vetted just about every single wedding venue in the greater Pittsburgh area, as well as parts of West Virginia and Ohio. We fell in love with The Children’s Museum immediately, and that love only deepened as time went by. Their catering selection is fantastic, they let us bring our own alcohol, and they perfectly captured our desired aesthetic of whimsical fun. And out of all the possible venues I checked out, none offered the amenities of the Children’s Museum. And you know what is the greatest of those amenities? Jenna, the events coordinator. From the first time I met with her, I was struck by just how personable she was. Jenna was happy for me. I’m probably, like, the ten thousandth wedding she’s done, but Jenna was genuinely happy for me. Look: planning a wedding is a very stressful experience in a lot of ways, and working with someone like her has a tremendously positive impact on your emotional help. Jenna was always there. I asked a lot of questions, I had a lot of requests, and if she ever got exasperated, she never showed it. She was tremendously flexible about everything, and was a superb wedding coordinator on the day of. There is no praise too great for her, and some day people will write songs about her.

Came across the museum because I was looking for a reasonably priced venue within the city that allows you to bring in your own alcohol...but felt like I stumbled on a gem! Everything about working with the Children's Museum was wonderful. The planning was wonderful, day of Eanna made sure everything went perfectly, and they even made sure my veil got back to me afterwards! Would recommend this venue to anyone!

Beautiful, unique and fun! Our wedding at the Children’s Museum was amazing! The museum is one of kind and everything about the venue and working with the event coordinator, Jenna, exceeded my expectations. The modern yet classy Big Red Room is absolutely stunning and the museum has tons of fabulous photo opportunities both inside and out. We had our ceremony in the art studio, cocktail hour in the lobby and reception in the Big Red Room. The rooms accommodated 120 guests easily. Jenna was FANTASTIC to work with. She is super sweet, very responsive and has great ideas! She helped us think outside the box to make our vision come to life and made the planning process stress free, took care of the details and communicated directly with our caterer. Jenna was there to make sure everything went smoothly and that my husband and I were taken care of on our special day. The ceremony had to be moved inside due to rain and the staff transformed the art studio without missing a beat. Our guests loved the fun and colorful ambiance and had a great time using silly faces, which is one of many cool, unique features of the museum. If you can afford the cost for the extra hour I highly recommend it.

Often in these reviews, you read a great deal about the venue or the end result -- and I'll certainly speak to those two -- but not nearly enough regarding the actual process leading up to the wedding. We had several vendors who absolutely nailed our execution and did a technically great job. However, they often brought stress or pain during the actual process, which is tough as wedding planning is already grueling. I am pleased to say, however, our experience with the Children's Museum was perfect in every respect. The building is every bit as magical as you hope it will be, and the staff -- especially Jenna -- was some of the most professional, bright, and helpful we ever worked with. We had an unusual idea for our wedding; we opted out of the big red room, had our dining in the room with the streamers, and had our dancing in the lobby. The Museum, while having never done this arrangement, enthusiastically worked with us to make it work. They let out DJ come in to inspect the area, sent us cad drawings to show how the dance floor could work, and spoke to all our vendors to ensure a flawless execution. Jenna was a machine throughout it all, and was a perfect partner as we progressed. But that's only half of it. We had many hiccups as we progressed, and if she was ever stressed out by them, we'd never, ever know it. She was constantly sweet and calm, and in our darker hours, that was beyond appreciated. With the cocktail hour in the garage, our guests marveled at how cool and creative the space was, and really soaked in the museum. It went better than we could have possibly hoped, and we're so grateful. If the Children's museum is your aesthetic, don't even bother looking anywhere else. You won't be disappointed.

We loved our wedding at the Children's Museum! The price of the space was very affordable compared to other unique venues in the city, and Jenna was amazing to work with and kept everything running smoothly throughout the whole planning process. All of our guests also loved the venue and got to play in the exhibits, especially in the Garage. Highly recommend to anyone who wants an interesting and unique wedding venue with some Pittsburgh flair!

I cannot say enough about my experience with the Children's Museum for my wedding. I knew that my husband and I had stumbled upon something special during our first meeting with Jenna, the special events manager, at the museum and after choosing to have our ceremony and reception there, we were never disappointed with our choice. Jenna kept us at ease throughout the planning process by helping with everything, communicating with us and our vendors to keep the day organized, and was so helpful the night of the wedding by always checking in with us to make sure that we were comfortable and having a good time. The museum itself is such a spectacular venue for a wedding - it is so beautiful, colorful, and creative and was the perfect space for us and our guests. The rest of the staff at the museum worked so hard to set up for the wedding and even helped us to load everything up into our car at the end of the night. I never worried about anything during the planning process because I knew that all of the details were handled and in good hands. I highly recommend using the museum for weddings and events - the staff is so friendly and professional and the creative space will not disappoint!

Words can not express how fantastic Jenna and her staff at the Museum are. I can't thank them enough for the tremendous work, they truly made for a stress-free day. (I'm not kidding.) Jenna is amazing, she makes you feel like you don't have to worry about a thing..which I didn't. We got so many compliments on the entire event afterwards that I would recommend this venue to any other bride in a heartbeat. She made the suggestion of having our ceremony outside the museum at Buhl Park, which saves money, and for a very small fee the museum will set up chairs for you. You can also provide your own alcohol which is almost unheard of nowadays. Their catering offerings are great, we went with big Burrito, and had a fantastic experience with them as well. It is such a fun and unique space...you could go without any added decorations and it would be beautiful!! Thanks again to Jenna and all of the staff there that made it a flawless event!

My husband and I loved working with the people at the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh to plan our wedding reception. The staff (especially Jenna) were so wonderful in making our vision come true and keeping the atmosphere what we wanted it to be: fun! At the end of the night, we had a hiccup when our shuttle driver did not show up. Jenna and the people at the Children's Museum let us hang around in the lobby well after the time we had reserved it for. That was a life-saver. Also, when it came to packing up our guest book, vases, etc., the workers handled our items with such care and packed them all so well, it was like we had just bought them in the store. I would recommend this venue for anyone looking for a reception or ceremony (or both) venue that wants to work with wonderful people who care about your wedding as much as you do!

Jenna and her staff were absolutely wonderful! The catered to our every whim and didn't blink an eye! Thank you all for the perfect place to play on our perfect day!

we got married in the studio with 60 guests. it was the perfect size. Jenna is great and was more then helpful with everything throughout the process of planning and on the actual day. I would do it all over again. definitely get the extra hour, you'll regret it if you don't.

My groom and I really liked the look of the Children's Museum online and from some of the photos of other weddings that had taken place there, but wow, when we saw it in person and met with Jenna, we were sold. I feel like you get SO much for your money having your wedding here (note: we only had our reception here, in the Big Red Room). They include all the tables and chairs! What?! You can (actually have to) buy your own booze—this may be a negative for some people, but it was a HUGE positive for us, as we saved A LOT of money and were able to get exactly what we wanted (like an assortment of beers from Church Brew Works). And, it's so artsy and colorful that it doesn't take much to make the space really spectacular. We kind of catered our colors to the colors of the space and it was really perfect. Also, we had 100 guests, and the size of the space was just right (although you could totally get away with more, I'm sure all the way up to 200). I loved this space and Jenna was so great to work with. A+++ ——— a hidden wedding reception gem!

The Children's Museum of Pittsburgh is a gem, a modern and beautiful space to host a party-like wedding reception. We rented out the studio and the "red room" - and of course, the lobby was part of the rental, too. We used the studio space for cocktail hour. Based on the recommendation of their event contact, Jenna, we had painting, paper-making, etc. open to guests -- and kids and adults LOVED that aspect. Our reception was in the main red room (which serves as the cafeteria during museum hours) and with the help of a lighting expert, and our modern / minimalist taste, the room was striking. There was tons of room for dancing, which was very important to us. Additionally, we explored the museum for our wedding photos, which are amazing. During the planning process, Jenna was helpful. She communicated directly with our caterer, so I didn't actually need to communicate a whole lot with her, which helped me as a time-starved bride. Overall, I think that with the right vendors and the right taste, you can't find a better wedding reception location in Pittsburgh.

I should start off by saying that we did not use this event space for our wedding. However, they did offer a good bit of flexibility, but they don't do a lot of weddings so you are pretty much on your own for all of the planning. The event planner didn't offer much in the way of help, but was willing to work with any idea we had. They provided the tables and you can use their chairs if you want a basic all clear cafe chair (actually not bad looking, very contemporary style). Their prices were dependent on the room you wanted to rent. The one down side is the time limitations since they are open to the public during the day. They allowed for very little time for set up unless you want to start your event after 7 pm. A positive to the space is the need for little decoration since the museum has beautiful architecture and installed art work. Also, if you ask they can be flexible with the vendor you use for catering even though they have preferred vendors.