Grand Rapids Art Museum

layouts, and we didn't expect her to be so helpful all evening on the day-of to make sure everything went smoothly, including having a staff member play our playlist and helping everyone get down the aisle at the right time. She was beyond fantastic. We couldn't imagine a better place to celebrate our big day. And the photos on the covered veranda beforehand were unbelievable. So incredibly scenic and intimate.

interactive. The venue itself is beautiful and I was very impressed with everything as a whole.

heir main hall for reception was wonderful. It was the perfect flow for an event, and everything was right there! The staff was helpful with any questions I had. Only down side is there are no on site accommodations or help the day of with the coordination, and I ended up having to rent chairs because they did not have more than 100 that matched for the reception. Both of these things were minor though in the big picture as the space and staff speak for themselves in being a fantastic venue. If you're looking for a downtown space that's easily accessible, this is definitely it!

the whole evening flow perfectly. The staff was so quick to response to each email and made you feel like a priority. Our guests loved the venue and it was the perfect place to showcase the town that we fell in love in! We definitely recommend this venue for a wedding ceremony or reception!

on as well as dance the night away. The staff was very professional and helpful. Thank you for helping us pull off an amazing wedding !

nd Rapids, however, the GRAM goes well beyond a clean & stylish venue that you might find elsewhere. It's a museum, meaning, it's curated and timeless. We preferred this as it stood on its own, not needing much decoration. The reviews on The Knot seem to be severely dated as the management truly bent over backward for us, giving us personal cell phone numbers to reach them at any hour. They were extremely accommodating and understanding to our special day and vision. We spoke with Karen, Corey, and Stephanie and they were all very professional and responded in a timely manner. We ended up working with Stephanie and she was very thorough and communicative. Wendy, the beverage coordinator made sure to get exactly what we wanted to be served at our dinner. She coordinated with her wine vendors on her own time during the weekend to make sure everything worked out on time. Overall, we are so thrilled with how everything turned out and highly recommend the GRAM. We had our event on the upstairs veranda and it was perfect for a smaller, intimate wedding. Thank you, GRAM team!

and make the planning for your event seamless. In addition to great staff, the venue is so beautiful! I'd definitely recommend the GRAM.

he management there almost made it a nightmare for me. It is very expensive to rent so I expected good customer service and was so disappointed with what I got. So many things went wrong: they screwed up and we couldn't have a rehearsal, hard to get in touch with, very forgetful/not organized, no one did their job the day of my wedding, etc. So it added a lot of stress for me. So overall, beautiful place but stressful.

in love with the architecture, and the building is exactly what we wanted for our ceremony and reception. We found the GRAM event planner very difficult to work with as we couldn't reach her in a timely fashion. My fiancé and I would leave multiple messages (via email and telephone), only to be responded to weeks later. Also, the event planner led us to believe that we would have GRAM staff assistance (and more than one person) with our set-up and break-down of our decor the day of the wedding. We received only minimal GRAM assistance (tables placed where needed) from one staff member. The GRAM facility is expensive for events, and basically you are just using the facility for your event; there is no GRAM staff assistance. The event planner wasn't even there on my wedding day to make sure everything ran smoothly. No one was there to inform guests to enter the auditorium after cocktail hour or keep taps on the flow of the wedding. My photographer had to basically tell people to enter the auditorium before we arrived. The day of the wedding we could not set up the dining room until 1 p.m., and we were informed a GRAM staff member would be available to us to assist us with the dining room setup. The only assistance we received was the placement of tables in the room. Fortunately, we had several family members to set the linens, chairs, and table decor. We could not set up the lobby and bar areas until 4 p.m. and again had no GRAM assistance. Were it not for the hard work of my family members (a team of them), we would not have been able to set everything up in time and tear down at the end of the evening. We were also told by the planner that we could do sparklers on the bottom of the entrance steps outside the building but the security staff yelled at my guests to get away and made them stand so far away from the building basically across the sidewalk in the bushes. I paid extra to have my wedding run longer in the night, but as soon as it was time to leave, the security staff were rude and yelling at our guests, telling them to get out. People barely had time to grab their stuff and leave. My family had to frantically tear down everything and get it to the loading dock to be taken away while being yelled at. The GRAM bartender and her staff were wonderful to work with. They did a fantastic job. However, for the money spent on the GRAM facility, I’m very disappointed in how my guests and I were treated. The GRAM event planner basically tells you what you want to hear. When they have your money, you are on your own; there is no support from the GRAM staff and the security staff are just horribly rude. Had I known about the lack of GRAM assistance, I would have picked a different venue.

lp me plan and execute my modern vision. Karen listened to what I wanted and put it into action. The rest of the staff on the day of my wedding was so nice and very professional. Worth every penny, we would have paid much more for this amazing venue because they were so accommodating. We were able to make use of several pieces of furniture already there in the museum to give the dance part of our reception a clud feel without having to spend a lot of money on rentals. Our out-of-town guests were SO impressed. The special events coordinator made herself available to all of my other vendors and acted like a personal wedding planner, and this really made planning my own wedding a total breeze. Our day was perfect thanks to her and the rest of the staff at the GRAM.

il the week of the wedding which makes making other plans difficult, but the final result was wonderful. So if you can put up with a little stress with lack of early planning, it will be great.

kend (we toured on a Thursday). We called and e-mailed multiple times and heard nothing. Two weeks later she e-mailed us saying the date had been taken. I find it highly unprofessional that she avoided my calls and e-mails as we were going to place a full deposit on the space. I will never recommend this venue to anyone based on the uncooperative nature of their coordinator. Now we have to find another space for our ceremony. I sincerely hope that no other brides have to go through this kind of stress from an unprofessional vendor.

Less was truly more. In a last minute move of "better safe than sorry," instead of being married outside at their LEED waterfall (their water recycling system), we were married inside in the lobby. The marble flooring, soaring ceilings, glass and artwork provided the perfect scene for our day. Our family & friends had no idea we were actually SUPPOSED to be married outdoors, they were so impressed with how beautiful it was in there! It also helped bring our budget back in line because we were able to provide simple decor and florals to make it our own, as opposed to wholly going overboard on trying to make a hotel conference room look like us. it was perfect, the guests loved being able to wander the galleries, and the other vendors were fighting to be on the team that worked for our wedding. I'd say it was a success!

was so romantic and beautiful. Highly recommend, and a great price too.