Grand Rapids Downtown Market

m, down to a room to store bags and purses. They charged us $250 to access the space 30 minutes earlier even though there were no other events in the space that day. Their reservation windows are very limited, adding an extreme level of stress to whoever is helping you set up your space. We had to beg to adjust our reservation window to allow us to start accessing the space starting at 4pm, when guests start arriving at 5pm, giving our set up team only 1 hour to decorate for an entire wedding. That's where we had to pay the additional fee to give them just a small amount of extra time. I'm just not sure how all these couples are having their weddings here and not being forced to eat dinner at 9pm given how late this venue has you accessing the space. They also require you to choose one of their limited caterers (none of which we were excited about) and require all your vendors to be licensed. It all adds up. I will say that the staff are very nice and responsive, but this venue is so strict and restrictive and unforgiving in what it will allow you to do that I'm not sure I would recommend anyone to book with them (unless you have a large budget and a wedding planner taking on all this stress for you). I bet our pictures will look great though!

a balcony, so any people who need a break from the noise can easily step outside for a moment without going far. Overall awesome venue.

Everyone talked all night about how beautiful the wedding and greenhouse was! 12/10 recommend!

ry is incredible, and lights/setup are just awesome. The fact that they coordinate well with so many vendors makes it a breeze too. Planning was so easy with their support! I can’t recommend downtown market enough.

e itself is gorgeous and we couldn’t ask for more helpful and accommodating staff. If we could do it all over we wouldn’t change a thing!

lways upbeat and excited for the event. It was a warm early September day and we were able to keep the room cool and comfortable. The ceremony didn’t start until 5:30, which helped. The space is so beautiful, didn’t require much decorating. We had Love’s Ice Cream cart for the dessert instead of cake. So delicious and everyone loved it. Bar tending staff did a really nice job Juju did a buffet for the food. Flavors were good, presentation was just ok. Highly recommend

e came together to get Om our guests accommodated to the Terrace - and then it was calling for rain! The Shed outside ended up being so beyond perfect and changing plans multiple times was surprisingly easy, because of the wonderful staff. They are awesome, the venue is beautiful and you will not be disappointed!

g was everything we could wish for. Amazing customer service, great price, and delicious food - they have everything you need and want in a wedding! Highly recommend! Our family and friends still talk about this being the most beautiful wedding they've been to.

onsive to my various questions. The pictures were absolutely beautiful. It was great to have the downstairs market available for my out-of-town guests to have an activity between the ceremony and reception. Great experience.

g process so incredibly easy, I don't think our wedding would have been such a success without them. The team and process the Market has in place is great for any bride that isn't trying to do every little thing herself. I couldn't recommend this venue more for a wedding.

ers, no sashes, no runners, no nothing, this space shined all on its own which was great. I also loved the circle set up that was offered, it felt very unique and we got tons of compliments on it. The staff is very knowledgeable and friendly, they answered all of our questions and responded quickly. There were two downsides, we couldn't schedule our rehearsal until very close to the wedding which made it difficult to plan the rehearsal dinner, and the space was very warm. While the do have A/C they cannot turn it up because it will harm the plants. My husband and I don't recall the heat at all on the day of, however our guests said it was a bit toasty, but that comes with the territory of a greenhouse in the summer in the afternoon so it was expected. Overall I would recommend the greenhouse and a beautiful venue that you don't have to accessorize.

ancy by the time you factored in humidity. The thermometer in the greenhouse showed 92 degrees, evidence that the AC was very inadequate to keep the room comfortable. It was embarrassing to have to ask our guests to enter such an atmosphere. There is no doubt that the setting is lovely, BUT we were miserable in there. They brought in a couple of large fans which helped move the hot air a bit, but then fan noise made it difficult for some to hear the pastor and the vows. We questioned them before booking and were told "We do have air conditioning in the greenhouse that works to keep the space comfortable... We have 4 air conditioning units that we pump as much cool air in as possible... We do all we can to maintain a comfortable temp for your guests in the space." It was anything but a comfortable temp. After booking, and having heard another wedding was too hot, we emailed the market again, their response: "I understand your concerns based on your friend's experience this past weekend. We will do everything we can to keep the room as comfortable for your guests as possible." We are left to wonder what they consider comfortable? The weather report for Grand Rapids (July 19 and 20, 2019) is "Severe Excessive Heat Warning" and 92 degrees with high humidity and heat indices 100+. Which was exactly what we had for our wedding - inside the Downtown Market! The national weather service calls these temperatures unsafe and dangerous. The Downtown Market calls it "comfortable".

e process and they made us feel like family in a way. The venue itself was so beautiful and we got several compliments from people afterward telling us how unique and awesome the Market is. We would highly, highly recommend anyone have their event here. The only other thing worth noting is that we had our ceremony in the greenhouse and our reception in the banquet room. We had a short ceremony and it got a little warm at one point, but we provided hand fans to our guests, which was a huge hit. The banquet hall was incredible though and food catered by Slow's BBQ was top notch. Thank you all!

bly beautiful, it needs almost no decoration. What we loved was giving the guests $5 gift cards to use at the market between the ceremony and the reception!

ady in there made it very easy for decoration since we didn’t need to do anything. It was a little warm in there but that’s to be expected in a greenhouse. We also had our first look in the gardenroom which I’m very excited to see our pictures and how they turned out! All of the event staff was very helpful and accommodating through the entire planning which made it very easy for us to plan our wedding without a wedding planner. We had our reception in the banquet room which also turned out perfect. Having to use all vendors for the food and beverage that were within the market worked out very well and made us not stress about anything since they know the space. If you are looking for a space for your wedding I would highly recommend checking out the Downtown Market Grand Rapids! This was the first and only venue we looked at for our wedding and it all turned out perfect!

fect. Our family kept commenting how beautiful and unique the venue was.

We had about 170 people, with about 20 of those in the wedding party and were able to set up the room in a traditional aisle format comfortably, but not much extra room. They do offer a different layout for larger groups, however. The sound system worked well and we had the officiant mic’d up without any issues and played the music we wanted from a phone for an interlude, our entrance, and exit. We also had a handheld mic for reading our vows, it all worked perfectly! The Downtown Market is a public building, which is a pro/con depending on how you look at things. It was nice being able to grab a drink at Slow’s and food in the market, but that also means there’s plenty of random people around. Didn’t bother us, but something to keep in mind. The actual ceremony itself was private and closed to the public, so you don’t have to worry abut them dropping in on the ceremony. We had to direct guests up stairs as it wasn’t immediately clear where to go, but that wasn’t a big issue. Parking is free for the first half hour, but otherwise a small fee. We advised guests to carpool to mitigate this, especially if your big day happens to be a big one at the market and parking is particularly limited. This also makes it easy to visit whenever you want before/after and a place to go back and visit in the years to come. Unfortunately, our original coordinator left for another job in between booking everything and the big day. So, there was a definite disconnect with the new coordinator. There was no one to meet the bridal party in the morning when they arrived to finish getting ready, nor any contact until about a half an hour before they arrived in the weeks leading up to the event. Because of this, she was trying to “coordinate” the ceremony without any idea of how it was supposed to go. Whereas the wedding party knew what they were supposed to do, we went to rehearsal. This wasn’t a big issue, we pushed through it. But it made my entrance with my mother come with a stern face as I prevented her from forcing us to enter before the officiant called the room to order and made opening remarks. She was also dressed very casually, not an issue she’s not in photos, but if you’re going to represent the downtown market for a formal wedding, business casual is at least appropriate. I don’t want to give the impression that any of this ruined our day in the slightest. Just little frustrations. Since this coordinator was new, and we may have been her first wedding since starting it’s understandable and I’m sure she’ll improve. The venue is otherwise regardless very beautiful and a superb place for a ceremony (probably a reception, too, if you can afford it). We’d recommend it to anyone looking for a beautiful place to get married!

d hot. All in all, I highly recommend for an amazing experience that will awe your guests!

hey book up incredibly fast. Their event coordinators were very friendly and easy to get in touch with. The tables, chairs and linens were exactly where we had discussed in meetings. The only negative I can say about the market is you are limited on food vendors (they have 4 exclusive vendors that you have to choose from within the market, however, Vault Catering was delicious!) All of our guests were blown away by the vibe and views of Downtown Market. There isn`t a venue that is even comparable to this one on the West side of the state!!

g. We fell in love with the natural light and outdoor space, but we still are getting compliments about how cool, unique, and modern the venue was for a wedding reception. The DTM team was incredibly easy to work with too, such a pleasure!

se to have our wedding at the market!

d wedding. The only reason I gave 4 stars was because I was not super happy with the communication between the events team. It seemed like they didn't communicate with each other, which at times was frustrating.