The majestic, art deco Hall of State is the crown jewel of Fair Park. Built by the State of Texas for the 1936 Centennial Exposition, the Hall of State has hosted events honoring presidents, royalty, heads of state, and other dignitaries for over seventy years.
Located just minutes from Downtown Dallas, the Hall of State offers a unique, historic, lovely venue for your once-in-a-lifetime, very special event. Imagine cocktails in the impressive Hall of Heroes followed by a sumptuous dinner in the Great Hall, dancing under the stars in clear tents set up on the front lawn, or a spectacular wedding ceremony on the Portico Tejas ... At the Hall of State, the possibilities to make your own history are endless!
Pricing details
Starting prices
Reception:
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Ceremony:
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Bar services:
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Catering:
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Starting prices don't include service fees, taxes, gratuity, and rental fees. Guest count and seasonality may also affect prices.
Amenities + details
Amenities
Ceremony Area
Dressing Room
Handicap Accessible
Indoor Event Space
Outdoor Event Space
Reception Area
Wireless Internet
Ceremony Types
Civil Union
Commitment Ceremony
Interfaith Ceremony
Non-Religious Ceremony
Religious Ceremony
Second Wedding
Vow Renewal Ceremony
Settings
Ballroom
Historic Venue
Museum
Venue Service Offerings
Rentals & Equipment
Any questions?
Meet the team
Sonja Foster, CSEP
Manager
Hall of State Rental and Special Events Manager Sonja Foster has over fifteen years experience working with couples to help make their wedding day not only magical but stress free, as well. With a background as a certified special event planner, and fourteen years of event coordination on the Fair Park campus, her goal is to handle all venue and park logistics so you can focus on what matters most : your wedding day!
From your initial contact, Sonja will make sure your venue rental experience is easy, enjoyable, and unforgettable. She truly cares about you and your special event!
Reviews
4.6
out of 5.0
11 reviews
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Review Summary
This AI-generated summary is a snapshot of this vendor's ratings and feedback.
The Hall of State is described as a breathtaking and luxurious wedding venue, offering a perfect blend of historic architecture and modern amenities. Reviewers found the space to be magical, with stunning surroundings that set the stage for a memorable event. While some minor issues like external noise and seating comfort were noted, the venue's beauty and the professionalism of the team, including Sonja, were highlighted as key factors in ensuring a wonderful wedding experience.
Review photos
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Elizabeth J
5.0
11/26/2024
Our wedding would not have been nearly the event that it was if it was not held at the HOS. Every guest’s jaw was on the floor seeing the beauty of the space. You barely even need to do any work in order to put on an event that feels luxurious. The team at HOS was easy to work with. We were blessed with the perfect November day, and had the most stunning ceremony outside. And we would do it over again in a heartbeat.
That being said, for future couples I just want to note a few things to be aware of, fair park is a very active area, and the day of our rehearsal they were doing an event right in front of the HOS feeding the homeless, of course we are pro this, but if it had been during a friday night wedding… there was no place to park, there were shower buses parked in front, you get the picture. Even on our wedding day there was a marching band practicing out front - so you can imagine it would not have been ideal for an outdoor ceremony, as well as planes flying overhead during our vows (which they have zero control of course). You need a fire permit from the city of Dallas to have any candles - don’t wait to find that out two weeks before… They do not have enough matching cushions for their chairs for 150 people, so our guests had to sit without cushions. But hopefully they will rectify that. And the AC is not controlled at the venue so you are at the whim of the Dallas city government on if you get air conditioning. Also just triple check with the venue that the list of provided items is accurate, I heard from my planner that many of the tables were different then the size promised so there were linen issues, but again a small issue for a venue with such grandier.
response12/02/2024
Hi Elizabeth! We are so happy to hear that you enjoyed your wedding at the Hall of State! ...
We take pride in our venue and strive to make each client's special day exactly what they dreamed it would be, and that their guests are not only entertained but awed by the magnificence of this historical landmark!
A couple items we would like to touch on in regard to your review:
1. We currently own 300 black chair cushions and 300 ivory chair cushions. Your event followed a corporate event where they utilized half and half. We apologize that the previous event's tear down crew did not replace half of the cushions so that they all matched! Going forward, we will strive to make sure that both color cushions are in the storage area and available for every event to use.
2. Fair Park is a city owned park, and it is a living thing. There are times when a Fair Park hosted event happens and it has a slight impact on our Hall of State events. Unfortunately, we are at their mercy; however, we do try to make our rental clients and/or their planners aware of the situation so they can plan accordingly. Even though Fair Park was busy on the day of your rehearsal, we are happy to hear that your event day was not affected. If there would have been a Fair Park event scheduled for your event day, parking lot 3E would have been fenced in and reserved for your guests.
3. Regarding heat/AC in the building, we do have the ability to adjust the room temperature by two (2) degrees in either direction. Unfortunately, with the size of the building, it takes several hours for the temperature change to be felt. Going forward we will make the temp adjustment when event setup begins so that the event itself will be comfortable.
4. Finally, the number of tables and sizes listed on our rental agreement is correct. As with most venues, we sometimes acquire random size tables that are left from rental events. By that same token, we occasionally have the random table removed from the venue by a table/chair rental company. We do a quarterly inventory to make sure our posted number are accurate. We apologize if there was a certain size table you needed that wasn't available.
Again, thank you for hosting your wedding at the Hall of State! The pictures look beautiful, and the November weather was perfect. We sincerely appreciate you taking the time to give us a review ... FIVE stars! Thank you! Please come back to visit us often ... we love keeping in contact with our rental clients!
Chris B
5.0
4/08/2024
Our wedding at Hall of State was nothing short of magical, and we owe a huge thanks to Sonja and the entire team for making it all possible.
The venue itself is breathtaking. From the moment we stepped foot inside, we knew it was the perfect setting for our wedding.
Couldn't be happier, Hall of State is the perfect blend of historic architecture and modern amenities.
response04/09/2024
Thank you so much for the wonderful review, Chris. We are so happy to hear that you enjoye...
d your special day, and that your wedding was everything you hoped it would be at the Hall of State. We wish you all the best in your new marriage!
Any questions?
Cynthia L
5.0
7/15/2022
When a Texas girl marries a Kansas City boy, there is no better place to have a party than the Great Texas Hall Of State. The grandeur and beauty of the building exemplifies Texas hospitality at its finest. The staff was unbelievably accommodating and professional and our evening was magical.
response07/15/2022
We are so happy to hear that you and your guests enjoyed the wedding at our venue! That Te...
xas girl and Kansas City boy's wedding was absolutely gorgeous ... the Hall of State was sparkling, and the bride was stunning!
Thank you again for hosting this wonderful event at the Hall of State. Please come back to visit us often!
Liliane S
4.0
5/15/2022
The historic Hall is State is absolutely gorgeous and surrounded by the scenic landscape of Fair Park. Highly affordable compared to any comparable Dallas venues. Tons of guest parking. Includes all furniture you could need. The vendor contact was easy to work with and accommodating. Our wedding was first scheduled a few weeks after COVID first broke out and they were flexible about letting us reschedule twice with no additional fees. My only reason for not giving 5 stars is that when we initially toured, the venue was about to undergo major renovations which would have meant dirt mounds and scaffolding during our wedding but we were not told this before signing a contract. Fortunately, given the postponements, the restoration was complete by the time we actually got married, so it all worked out, and we were offered a "construction" discount.
Alexandria S
5.0
5/13/2022
You are able to make your day whatever you’d like here! So many possibilities; it’s beautiful.
response05/13/2022
We are so very happy to hear that your day was all you dreamed it would be, and that you l...
oved the venue. Please come back to visit us often ... we love keeping in touch with our couples! Thanks <3
Tahirah F
4.0
1/06/2020
The Hall of State was absolutely beautiful and so unique. You cannot beat the grandeur of the venue, and especially the gold medallion in the great hall. Having our wedding here made it feel like a world class event, and the venue really spoke for itself with its timeless architecture and built-in features. The HoS required very minimal decoration, which was a huge saving for our budget. Nora is the site coordinator and she was great to work with, extremely kind and accommodating, and she even allowed me to use my caterer even though they were not on the approved list (they had experience working in a historical venue). The only downside to the venue was extensive construction work on the outside of the building at the time of our wedding. This was not planned when we signed our contract and paid the deposit, but Nora made some concessions to make up for this. Although this didn't affect our event taking place inside, we missed out on some iconic photos on the front steps and our guests had to find their way in through the side door. I wish there would have been a way to avoid the construction due to the contracts DHS had to fulfill with weddings, corporate parties etc., but this is a city owned building and I understand that this was out of their hands. The bridal suite is also a bit small, it was a miracle that we were able to get two hairstylists, two makeup artists, and six girls to fit in here for a few hours. But it worked for our needs and we got some beautiful photos in this classic room. I'd still recommend their onsite suite over getting ready at a hotel nearby, much more convenient. As long as there isn't any construction/restoration going on, I highly recommend the Hall of State for a truly memorable and unique event to any future DFW brides.
Stephanie L
5.0
8/25/2018
This venue is like no other. My guests were amazed by this venue and how grand it looked and felt. With this venue you don’t need much decor because the venue is already beautiful. The price is unbeatable. You’ll be shocked. I highly recommend this venue to couples especially if you’re on a tight budget.
Laura S
5.0
11/25/2013
This building is beautiful! We were the first couple to ever be married outside in the backyard and considering it was not routine for them it went pretty well. I think there would have been a little more effort from the HOS (Hall of State) to get us some answers about power supply and lighting etc but all in all everything turned out amazing. One side attraction aside from the AMAZING beauty of the infrastructure was that it was a lower expense as it is owned by the city, however, you have to use the caterer that is partnered and pay some fees for outside vendors.
Our wedding was very small and they weren't much used to that either but all of our guests were so very pleased as were we!
At least go have a look, the initial awe of the inside of the building is amazing not to mention the history it holds.
Sarah F
4.0
4/28/2013
We loved our wedding venue! It was so unique and special. We got so many compliments and raves from our guests about our wedding venue.
Michelle Hope was great and was patient with us, even with all of our many questions throughout the process. Michelle also provided our catering through Food Glorious Food, so that was really convenient for us, and the food was quite tasty.
The only issue we had with the venue was the acoustics. It’s a little challenging in there because it’s so large and the echo was bad during the speeches. As long as you’re aware of that, it’s a problem that can be solved.
Rebecca S
4.0
7/21/2011
The Hall of State was my dream wedding site. I had thought about it for years, and in the end the site was beautiful! The lighting was perfect, the flowers were beautiful, the band was excellent, but Beth Albright the site event wedding coordinator was another story. She over promised just about everything, meaning she said we could do this and that, but in the end there was a reason it couldn't happen. Especially, if it wasn't on her list it wasn't going to happen. Funny thing about that list... she didn't even follow her own list. My rating is for the the venue not the venue's hired help. I would give Beth at rating of 2 stars and that is pushing it. Please be careful when you use this gorgeous venue; you get more than the site.
Traci B
5.0
8/25/2007
It was very grand with great architectural elements: columns, artwork, medallion...Very classy and sophisticated.;The bride and groom changing rooms are small.
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