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Louisville Water Tower Park | WaterWorks Museum

4.2

(10)

3005 River Road, Louisville, KY

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About This Vendor

Weddings and Celebrations

Wherever you turn, you’ll find enchanting architectural backdrops for that perfect photo. This National Historic Landmark offers: 2,200 square-foot Grand Hall with a brass spiral staircase 50-foot high ceiling Large, ornate windows with dramatic views of the River Side Terrace and Ohio River Two easily accessible outdoor patios: River Side Terrace and Water Tower Plaza Spacious River Side Lawn for tented receptions and parties Michaelis Events for food, beverage and rentals Warming kitchen First floor restrooms Free access to the WaterWorks museum, located in the West Wing Complimentary AV Venue Capacity and Rental Information Our versatile space can accommodate parties of 350 or more people when using the outdoor River Side Lawn. Learn more about rental rates and what's included in venue rental, including seating capacity and location options. Please know Louisville Water Tower Park will be closed all of 2022 due to planned renovations. We will not be booking events in 2022, but look forward to offering a more beautiful and better venue in 2023. Catering and Rental Needs Michaelis Events (link is external) is the exclusive caterer and rental provider for the Louisville Water Tower Park. They are recognized for their high standards of excellence across a wide range of budgets, tastes, and preferences, while consistently delivering superior food and beverage service. As an added convenience, Michaelis can also assist with all of your rental needs. Rental Process Rental agreements are processed on a first-received basis and available dates may be held for put 14 days. A deposit of $500 is required by the end of the 14-day period to secure your date. Please keep in mind that spring and fall are popular wedding seasons so we encourage you to book your date as early as possible. For more information or to schedule a site visit, please call 502.897.1481 or complete and submit our contact form.

Amenities + Details

Dressing Room

Handicap Accessible

Indoor Event Space

Liability Insurance

Outdoor Event Space

Reception Area

Wireless Internet

On-Site Accommodations

Outdoor - Covered

Ceremony Types

Civil Union, Commitment Ceremony, Elopement, Interfaith Ceremony, Non-Religious Ceremony, Religious Ceremony, Second Wedding , Vow Renewal Ceremony

Guest Capacity

Up to 200

Settings

Historic Venue, Museum, Park

Venue Service Offerings

Food & Catering

Louisville Water Tower Park | WaterWorks Museum Reviews

Reviewed On 8/30/2020 by Alexa W

What a perfect place for our wedding! If you're looking for a place with multiple beautiful options, this is the place. They have the gorgeous and iconic white water tower out front (amazing for a ceremony), the scenic back patio right on the r...

iver (we had our reception out there), and an indoor option with beautiful, tall windows overlooking the river. This is a museum, but know that if you rent this venue, it will be open only to you and your party. To the public, the Water Tower will say "Closed for a Private Event." So you won't have random people in the parking lot or walking the grounds during your celebration. The ladies who work at the water tower are lovely and so helpful! A complaint I see in others' reviews here on theknot.com is that you have to use a specific company for your catering and rentals. The company, Michaelis, is a great vendor to work with. The food is delicious! Personally, I was okay with only having this one option because that meant I didn't have to find my own caterer and rental company (my husband and I live in Texas and couldn't meet caterers and go to tastings and whatnot). It was mentioned at my wedding here that Michaelis may not be the sole vendor for this venue anymore. So definitely worth asking/looking into more. To give you an idea of what you would have to use Michaelis for (assuming it stays the sole vendor): catering, rentals (chairs, any extra tables aside from what the Water Tower has), bar (there is an option where you supply the alcohol and Michaelis provides the servers and mixers- MUCH CHEAPER). But other things (florists, DJ, photographer, videographer, etc.) you don't have to use through them.

Reviewed On 11/06/2019 by Paxton R

We had our wedding here on November 2, 2019. We had the ceremony outside in the front and cocktail hour outside in the back and dinner and dancing inside. The spaces are versatile and were very adaptive to what we wanted. Also, even though ther...

e was a bit of a cold snap, we were able to implement a weather backup plan to make sure that we could still use the great spaces at the venue. Repeatedly, our guests gushed about how beautiful the venue was! Main note to keep in mind is that they have an exclusive caterer/event rental company - so if your heart is sent on a specific caterer, this venue might not be for you. Additionally, the caterer/event rental company will add a "15% facility fee" that goes to the Water Tower - factor this in when you are creating a budget. All of the staff at the Water Tower were wonderful, and they were always available when I had questions. A great experience all around!

Reviewed On 8/16/2018 by Kristen A

We had a great experience at the water tower for our wedding! We really wanted something different for ourselves and our guests. Everyone raved about the venue and their experience! I do have to say our MC/DJ was awesome which helped in that ex...

perience.... my suggestion is to make sure you have a MC or wedding coordinator. Some things that you may want to think about if you plan on using this venue: there is a 15% facility fee that is charged to you via the caterer & rental company. This can add up quickly. We worked it into our budget which worked out fine for us. It is explained in the contract, but it is not really talked about up front which I think the venue should do a better job about discussing that. Im giving 4/5 stars because the venue was strict on making sure I used a baker for my cake that was licensed and insured. I decided to use their exclusive caterer to make it easy and the caterer also sold me on using them. When I saw the cake, it was nothing like I had sent them. An assistant from the caterer also emailed me a few days before my wedding to confirm the picture and I even got a response that the picture was received. Our day would have been close to perfect if it wasn’t for the cake.

Reviewed On 2/10/2018 by Kristin B

I looked into having a wedding here but the hidden cost of the catering is deceptive. The venue itself is affordable but they force you to use their extremely overpriced caterer. I'm looking into a place with more flexibility that will work w...

ith my overall vision.

Reviewed On 4/07/2017 by M O

The Venue is beautiful but I wish they had been more upfront about the cost. It seems inexpensive but you do end up getting charged an additional 15% of whatever your catering bill is as a "kitchen charge." It can add hundreds of dollars or eve...

n more onto your wedding budget unexpectedly. It was not mentioned in our contract at all but is actually a side contract they have with their food vendors. It's actually not legal either; my father consulted his lawyer but we decided it wasn't worth arbitration. The other fact that bothered me about it is food isn't even prepared in their "kitchen." Which is just a fridge, a prep space, and sinks. It was the only stress point to the entire thing and I really felt lied to and taken advantage of. It wasn't the caterers fault either because it would've kicked back to them and they would've paid money to the venue instead of me. Tacky tacky tacky.

Response from the Vendor on 04/10/2017

Thank you for taking time to review Louisville Water Tower Park and glad to hear you enjoyed our venue atmosphere and landscape. Sorry to hear you feel mislead in your rental experience. We try to be as transparent as possible during our site v...

isits and subsequent rental correspondence.

Reviewed On 9/26/2016 by Nicole A

this place is so amazing! it turned out to be more beautiful than I thought. we got so many compliments. I'd do it all over again if i could. the perfect venue

Reviewed On 9/04/2016 by Rachel H

We were married August 13th 2016 and couldn't have been more pleased with Louisville Water Tower Park. Allison and her staff were extremely helpful and communication was great. The venue was a bit smaller than others that we had looked at but...

was plenty of space for our ~100 guests.

Reviewed On 4/21/2016 by Hilary B

I had my wedding here in April 2016 and it was an absolutely gorgeous venue. Spectacular view and building. There were a lot of options for the reception and ceremony. Only four stars because they don't have their own tables/ chairs, you have t...

o rent them which adds to the price and communication was rocky at first. But they helped tremendously with coordination the day of and for the rehearsal. Everything went flawlessly. Also, they kept the museum open which was perfect for the Photo Booth and to keep the children entertained.

Response from the Vendor on 04/22/2016

Thank you for the review and kind words. We wish you both well as you begin your new life together - Cheers.

Reviewed On 10/25/2011 by Jessica C

we had our wedding here in october 2011. It was perfect, Eugune was amazing and was very helpful. Ceremony outside and reception inside. Couldn't be more pleased with Keith and his staff!