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About this vendor
We are a manuscript museum with two locations located in the heart of Buffalo. We hold wedding ceremonies at both our North and Porter Hall facilities, and wedding receptions at our Porter Hall facility. To find out more information on our facilities please send us an email at kmuseumbuf@aol.com.
Amenities + details
Ceremony Area
Reception Area
Covered Outdoors Space
Dressing Room
Handicap Accessible
Indoor Event Space
Liability Insurance
On-Site Accommodations
Outdoor Event Space
Wireless Internet
Settings
- Historic Venue
- Library
- Museum
Reviews
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4.9
out of 5.09 reviews
For this DYI mother of the bride / wedding planner working with a limited budget, Karpeles Museum was the perfect choice! We used both North Hall - for the ceremony and Porter Hall...
- for the reception.
Both places are gorgeous and big - with Porter Hall at 7,000 square feet. Our guests lowered from 110 or so to the final of around 82 (Delta fear drop off), so there was plenty of space. We rented 7 air scrubbers for safety too.
Porter Hall is admittedly a little tired, but soon to have fresh paint, and the stained glass has suffered damage, but it really works as a wedding venue.
North Hall is ideal for a ceremony! We hired the resident pipe organist Billy Brandau - the pipe organ there is wonderful! (Porter Hall's out of commission). He even arranged a composition of Nina's for the bridal processional!
Major kudos to the staff! Anna and Olivia were delightful to work with - charming and gracious and readily available; Tom was a big help with the physical stuff; and director Chris was a perfect resource for how to handle the plans, including a couple sticky situations!
I strongly recommend both venues!
We are so lucky to have found Karpeles Manuscript Museum for our wedding ceremony. We had never heard of Karpeles but decided to check it out. Chris was so amazing from the moment ...
we met him, right through the day of our wedding. He checked in with us regularly (especially as our plans changed over time due to Covid) and went above and beyond to help us have the perfect day. Aside from the incredible people we worked with, the building itself is out of this world. We had our ceremony at the North Hall and all of our guests raved about how beautiful it was. Karpeles was perfect for our wedding and we can’t recommend it highly enough.
Picking a venue is often the most stressful part of planning, especially for a type A bride like myself. When hunting I was looking for a beautiful, historic piece of Buffalo but ...
also a place that would let me put my own spin on things and take creative control of hiring my own vendors. Karpeles (and Chris the director of Karpeles) absolutely blew us away and was exactly what we were looking for. We had our reception at Porter Hall and it is such a Buffalo Gem. It is stunning, and the fact that its mostly white made it a beautiful canvas you could build off of. The white arches, warm wood accents, side room with the fireplace, and central organ gave the space so much warmth and class. I also loved that the main room was big enough for tables and a dancefloor without having to move anything around, we had about 160 people. The side rooms were perfect to set up our buffet, and then we put our bar in the fireplace side room, I loved that the building made it so people could wander and explore a bit, we had an ice cream truck come and there is a beautiful garden out front where people at their ice cream and relaxed too. Karpeles saved and beautifully restored this building and it is a wonderful museum that displays priceless documents, one of my favorite moments at our wedding was when I quietly stepped away and looked at one of the cases and noticed it held an original copy of Puccini's Madame Butterfly, I thought how cool that such a masterpiece is present for a special day in my little life. Anyways, anecdote aside, I really wanted my wedding to have a classy and vintage (but not pretentious) atmosphere and this was the perfect place. It was also very cool that friends and family who grew up in Buff got to see a building they've never visited before (instead of going to the same banquet halls they've been to a bunch). This venue is more for a bride who is okay with taking on a little extra stress of finding a caterer, and bringing in things like tables, chairs, decor, DJ, etc. You are renting the building and Chris and staff of the building are amazing and will help you with anything or any questions and go above in beyond with recommendations and assistance but ultimately it is up to you to hire your vendors and coordinate everything (I liked this because than my fiancee and I could pick all the people we worked with and could make every detail really feel like us, but this much creative control could definitely be overwhelming if you are more the type of person who wants a package where everything is provided for you). I also have to say Chris really became a good friend through this process. He is extremely professional but with a warmth and passion that you don't often see in the wedding Biz. He wants you to have the day of your dreams and will try to help in every way, he also answers emails extremely quick and always answers in full detail, but also always asks how you are doing and remembers to human aspect of what Brides are going through, just an awesome guy. I was hoping to have things like a sparkler exit and candlesticks at the tables, two things that are big no no's in a lot of spaces or banquet halls but Chris said as long as we properly plan for it and take a couple precautions we could do almost anything we'd like. I pride myself on being blunt and honest and I can honestly say brides are lucky to have a place like Karpeles exist in Buffalo, do not hesitate to pick them!
Chris was great to work with. He was so helpful and constantly asked if there was anything he could do to make my day easier. He was very accommodating to all my questions and req...
uests. The ceremony went off without a hitch.
I'd had Karpeles in the back of my mind for years. When my now husband proposed I couldn't wait to show him the space, he loved it. We had our ceremony and our reception at the Por...
ter Hall location and other than it being 90 degrees outside in late September (with no AC inside), it was absolutely perfect. Chris was really helpful and attentive throughout the whole process. I felt like a maniac sending him so many emails in the weeks leading up to the wedding, but he seemed a-ok with it. The space itself is so unique. We didn't want a run of the mill wedding venue so this fit the bill. Be warned that you have to rent EVERYTHING if you choose to go with this space, but other than lots of logistics to think about, that worked out just fine. Another huge plus was that we were given access to the space three days before the wedding, I wouldn't have been able to manage setup otherwise. I was a little bit worried about only having street parking for guests but I didn't (and haven't) heard a single person complain about that. Bathrooms are a little tricky if you have anybody who is in a wheelchair. Our caterer didn't have any issues with the space, nor did our awesome band (sound was awesome). I highly recommend Karpeles for your ceremony AND reception.
This was the most beautiful venue! (We used North Hall). It had the feeling of a church, with the high ceilings and pews (which my husband and I loved, since using my church wasn't...
an option) and it had a TON of history (which my husband loves!) Chris was amazing to work with - both with email and over the phone, as well as the staff we interacted with each time we visited! This is an inexpensive option if you're looking for a more traditional setting - and because of the beautiful space and the candles along the front (which you can use for free!) decoration needs are minimal - we just did a few silk floral arrangements on the edge of the pews! Our guests raved at this venue! It's definitely a hidden gem in Buffalo!!
We got married at the NORTH HALL. It's a beautiful old monumental building with huge gorgeous pillars outside and large high ceilings inside. It's a beautiful, stunning building . ...
All of my guests were so impressed by it. We wanted to get married relatively close to our reception (the foundry suites) which was only a few miles up the road. Karpele's staff was beyond accommodating and so ridiculously friendly. They responded to e-mails so quickly and always there to help the process go more smoothly. They had someone on staff for the rehearsal and the day of the wedding. They even let us have our french bulldog in the wedding which was a huge bonus!!
I got married at the porter location June 18th. I have to say my whole experience with Chris and getting married at this location, was the least stressful part of my wedding planni...
ng! Chris made it so easy and relaxed. I could start bringing decor the Tuesday before the wedding.. And he helped suggest rental companies for chairs. Chris opened early so we could set up two days before and even helped make the curtains we rented look perfect with his handyman! Not to mention the location is so organic and beautiful. It has all the features of a church that people love (organ, stain glass windows) while being unique in it's own way. We got so many compliments. You don't need to do much to make this place look even more amazing then it already does. But Chris will let you add what ever personal touches your vision entails. We had 260 guest fit VERY comfortably in this venue, with room to spare. The place is amphitheater stye, and the floors are at a slant down to the alter, so everyone can see you! We could see every face while we were standing up there it was awesome! 5 stars this place rocks .. it was an unexpected find for us and we could not have been happier.
What a beautiful place for a ceremony! We loved it here! It was perfect for the church feel without being a church, so we could bring in our own Reverend! The staff was amazing ...
and went above and beyond to make sure we had everything we needed for our special day! They even allowed us to have our rehearsal dinner right on site which worked out to be amazing!!! We have so many beautiful photos from the inside alone! Gorgeous! Definitely check them out if you are looking for a unique ceremony site that hasn't been over done! There's also the option to have your reception here if you choose! Cost was less than $1000 but that's not an option so I chose NA, sooooo reasonable!
Contact
453 Porter Ave, Buffalo, NY
Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum