About this vendor
Recently awarded by Boston Magazine's: Best of Boston Weddings 2022, as the best industrial venue!
Mill 1 at Open Square is a historic wedding venue hosting stylish parties in Holyoke, MA. The property builds upon the echoes of its industrial past to offer you a space that is at once rugged and distinctly beautiful. Located in the heart of Holyoke’s charming downtown, you can avail of its accommodations and easy access to nature. The owners are immensely proud of their venue and will support you throughout your wedding experience.
In a past life Mill 1 at Open Square played an important role in the economy of Holyoke. This stunning paper mill was renovated by new owners and redefined once more as a place of community. You will love its industrial-chic style which builds upon the property’s foundations to create an interior that is both polished yet authentically rugged. The work and care put in by the Open Square team shows on every sand-blasted brick wall and gleaming maple floorboard. Large factory windows welcome in natural light that illuminates a spacious setting with a raised ceiling. You can arrange the space as you wish, allowing for a level of flexibility when planning. There is also the option of dining al fresco in the summer months, with access to the nearby canal bridge included with the rental of the venue.
Amenities + details
Ceremony Area
Dressing Room
Handicap Accessible
Indoor Event Space
Liability Insurance
Reception Area
Wireless Internet
Covered Outdoors Space
On-Site Accommodations
Outdoor Event Space
Business Attributes
- Woman-owned Business
Ceremony Types
- Civil Union
- Non-Religious Ceremony
- Vow Renewal Ceremony
Settings
- Ballroom
- Beach
- Waterfront
- Historic Venue
- Industrial & Warehouse
Venue Service Offerings
- Bar & Drinks
- Food & Catering
- Planning
- Wedding Design
- Rentals & Equipment
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Reviews
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4.4
out of 5.019 reviews
Review photos
Showing slide number 1 out of 5
A day of pure magic! Our wedding at Mill One was stunning. It was the perfect venue for us, as we wanted something different than the typical barn weddings we were going to as gues...
ts. The brick, exposed beams, photo ops (indoor and out), were all so perfect. We can’t say enough great things about Adrianna and the whole Mill One team that made it all happen. From the planning meetings, rehearsal to the big day Adrianna kept me as stress free as I could possible be, which is not easy. She is truly professional, accommodating, friendly and kept everyone in line and on track! The set up of our wedding was perfect and exactly as I envisioned. Even when there was a little freak out pre-reception about a certain décor Adrianna was on top of it to make it work. Adrianna made sure that we were taken care of as the bride and groom, a drink waiting and the passed hors d’oeuvres in our bridal suite that we would not have been able to enjoy otherwise. Beth, the head bartender was just as fabulous. The cocktails were yummy and the fact that we were able to get a specific type of gin in honor of my late father was a small detail that made the world to me. The day flies by so you want to make sure that you enjoy every moment, and Adrianna and her amazing crew made that happen for us!
Our experience with the Mill 1 venue was amazing. The wedding coordinators, Adrianna and Will were very well at communicating and very attentive to details. It was very easy going ...
and the venue itself is beautiful. The bridal suite and grooms suite was also a plus to have to get ready. The bartenders were amazing, everything flowed very well. I highly recommend!
We hosted our wedding at Mill 1 last weekend and I couldn’t recommend it more! Emily and Adrianna were amazing to work with and the day went by so flawlessly. Adrianna was there th...
e day of and worked closely with all of my vendors to make sure everything went perfectly. She was super accommodating and even brought us champagne while we were doing all of our pictures with the photographers. The venue is so unique and gorgeous and I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect day!
We fell in love and booked this venue a year in advance. Due to COVID-19 restrictions put in place by The Governor Charlie Baker we were unable to hold our wedding as stated in the...
contract, a contract that we had paid in full.
We had to forgo our wedding becuase of the Pandemic and ALL of our vendors except Mill 1 refunded us and were extremely gracious. The owner believed that he was not in breach of contract even though we paid for a space for 50+ guests, a dance floor, & a bar which due to COVID-19 he was unable to provide any of those things. its NO ONES fault that these restrictions were put in place it just comes down to being able to provide what was paid for. None of us would have thought a year ago that we would be "social distancing" and wearing face masks everywhere we go.
The owner stopped replying to emails after we asked him straight up (so he would simple have to say YES, he can provide us with was was in the contract or NO, he cannot. )
We had to get our lawyer to reach out and inform the owner that he was in fact in breach of the contract & that further action will be taken if he continues to refuse to return our money.
He told our lawyer that he would give us half of our money back but only if we signed an NDA so we couldnt inform the public on how he chooses to run his business no less how he chooses to treat consumers during a PANDEMIC. Our lawyer asked him for that in writing...we never got it.
Spoke to our lawyer today (7/29/2020) and we have to formally sue the venue, John Aubin had no response to the letter our lawyer sent over on 7/21/2020.
Today is 9/8/2020 and yesterday we finally received correspondence with the venue. We got an email from Regina (event coordinator) asking us if we would be using the space on 9/12/2020 for our wedding. Our attorney reached out to the venues owner John Aubin on 9/5/2020 to inform him that we would be continuing with our choice to modify our wedding that we had paid in full for & that he could reach out at any time prior to discuss options but either way we would be continuing with legal action against Mill 1. We got no response from him. The email from Regina was fowarded by us to our attorney who kindly informed her of where we stood on the matter. Please note that Regina also mentioned that we needed to respond to her by 9/8 so they decided to reach out at 1am, on a Holiday weekend, only 5 days prior to our original wedding date, and give us 1 day to respond, ONLY after the owner received notice that we would be perusing further legal action, coincidence? We don't think so either.
Today 9/14/2020 - our wedding was supposed to be held on 9/12/2020. We haven’t heard a peep from Mill 1 or John Aubin.
Today is 12/30/2021- Yes, the end of 2021. We haven’t heard a thing from John Aubin BUT we got an official court date today. We will see him in court January 26th 2022.
Today is 1/26/2022 - Court was cancelled DUE TO COVID (ironic isn't it?)
We also learned today that we are NOT alone and that he has done the exact same thing to other couples during the Covid 19 pandemic despite telling us we were the ONLY COUPLE NOT TO RESCHEDULE OUR WEDDING.
4/13/2023 TWENTY TWENTY THREE- we’ve been to multiple court dates and John’s tactics have works, we’re exhausted new parents and we can’t do it anymore 🤷🏼♀️ anyways, a word of caution, stay away. We’ve spoken to SEVERAL other couples who have also had to sue the venue and WON (they got their money back thank goodness)
This place was absolutely beautiful. The coordinator Regina was super nice and helpful throughout the whole process. The venue was beautiful and handicap accessible which was impor...
tant to us. Cheaper then most places and you got more from this place then most places as well. you could decorate the venue to your liking so it fit you and your vision. I Honestly couldn't see myself getting married anywhere else. This place was perfect
Beautiful space. OUTSTANDING bartending staff that made sure everyone of my guests had what they needed. My guests couldn't stop gushing about how perfect everything was and how go...
rgeous the space was. It was a perfect wedding; everything went as planned. Reggie was wonderful to work with. Our ceremony was at the venue as well, and the set up there was spectacular. Their altar piece is a must! The cocktail lounge area is the perfect size for around 160-170 guests in my opinion. I would also pick Longitude for your caterer. Our wedding was beginning of October during a slight cold spell, and the ceremony space, despite not being air conditioned, stayed at a normal temperature.
Mill 1 was an absolutely perfect venue for our wedding. The brick, natural lighting, and open spaces made for a beautiful day, and even more beautiful photos. We worked mostly with...
Regina, and she was an absolute dream to work with. She was professional, helpful, and responsive, and made sure to account for every last detail to make our day perfect. The other staff we worked with were also wonderful, including the bar manager Beth who made our signature cocktail vision come to life. Couldn't have asked for a more perfect wedding day or planning experience. I would highly recommend Mill 1 to anyone considering booking it.
We had our wedding at Mill 1 on 4/16/2022. Mill 1 was the second venue we viewed and we fell in love immediately. It was absolutely perfect for what my husband and I were looking...
for. The building is beautiful. We had our Ceremony in the space located in Mill 4. It was the perfect size to accommodate our guests. We had 145 people attend. The reception was held in Mill 1 and I was more than pleased with how the event turned out. We had a blast dancing the night away! Our guests continue to make comments about how they had such a good time as well. Reggie was extremely helpful and flexible throughout the planning process and provided prompt responses to all of our questions/requests. We also hired Donna McGill for decor set up and she completely nailed our vision for both the ceremony space as well as the reception area. We had been quoted at various spaces during the wedding planning process and Mill 1 was by far the most affordable for our budget. Highly recommend!
What a beautiful venue! We fell in love with Mill 1 the moment we walked in, and were so happy to have our wedding in such a historic, stunning, green location. We held our ceremon...
y in the Mill 4 ceremony space on-site and reception in Mill 1. We had a main point of contact that helped coordinate details with us and was very flexible in letting us come back to show the venue to our parents. The venue has also started to offer more features and benefits to couples, which makes it nearly a one-stop-shop for all of your wedding planning needs. Our wedding was perfect and we received so many compliments on Mill 1! The space made for beautiful pictures and an even more beautiful in-person experience. Completely unforgettable!
Mill 1 was the BEST place for my husband and I to have our wedding. It was the first place we looked at and we booked it on the spot! For starters it is obviously a gorgeous space ...
and very our style. The brick, giant windows and hard wood floors are just wonderful. The staff is so kind and helpful throughout this whole process. If you want to DANCE all night, this is the spot. We had roughly 120 guests, most of them dancing, and there was still plenty of room for everyone. Trust me, the dance floor is not something to over look! Wonderful spot, 10 stars!
Mill 1 was absolutely perfect for our ideal wedding venue! We were impressed with Mill 1 from when we first went for a tour. Our day of coordinator, Julie, was responsive and helpf...
ul whenever questions arose. As we approached the day of our wedding, the weather reports were predicting the hottest day of the summer. We had planned to hold our ceremony in Mill 4, which does not have AC. When I emailed in a panic to see if we could move the ceremony to Mill 1, where the reception was being held, Julie was nothing short of accommodating and understanding and was able to move our ceremony without any problems. Mill 1 also offers so many different spaces for unique and beautiful photos, as well as a separate groom and bridal suite for both wedding parties to get ready in. We received so many compliments from our guests on everything about Mill 1. I highly recommend this venue - you will not be disappointed!
The space was amazing ! All of the staff was fantastic! The down down side to this venue is the time in order to set up. They don't allow you to set up more than 3 hours in advance...
of your function . With me being a bit of a control freak it was a bit hard for me to allow someone else to set up my reception and not see it until we for announced in. Other than that this venue was beautiful!
Was hoping to look into Mill 1 as a venue for my September 2019 wedding and I sent an inquiry. The coordinator, Julie, responded promptly. One of my main concerns was AC in the spa...
ce because a coworker had told me that the ceremony area did not have it as of 2016. Julie told me that the ceremony area still does not have AC but that would not be a problem for a September wedding. Maybe Julie is new to New England weather, but it can definitely be well above 85 degrees in September! Julie also called me by the wrong name and replied that they had my wedding date open.... but she had the date wrong. I still decided to give her a chance and ask if we could come in for a tour. It has been almost a week since that email so I can say without a doubt that this disorganized venue is not worth the stress! I was looking forward to considering Mill 1 prior to this awful customer service experience!
This venue is absolutely stunning. It was the first place we saw and everything we saw after just couldn't compete. The floors are stunning. With all of the exposed brick, you real...
ly don't need that much decor. The reception place is huge and accommodated our 135 guests very comfortably with a large dance floor. We also booked Mill 4 for the ceremony and again, the space is stunning. The aesthetic of venue was everything that I wanted and the whole day was everything I hoped for. Beyond this, the mill produces its own electricity using the turbines that ran the factory. Although this might not be a factor for many couples, it was for us. We were thrilled that we were giving our money to a place that cares about being green. The reason why I did not give the venue the stars it should have received is because of the venue coordinator. We booked the space over a year out with a different venue coordinator who was so nice and friendly. In between booking and our wedding, another venue coordinator, Julie, came in. I'm sort of glad that we didn't meet Julie before booking because I don't know if we would have ultimately booked the space. Julie appeared to care more about the tour she was giving the day of the wedding than our wedding. She was extremely unhelpful. She might have coordinated the other vendors well but every interaction I had with her was negative. She said she would coordinate the rehearsal - she didn't do anything. She said that she would come and get us when it was time for the ceremony to start, she didn't. We ended up just walking over because we were already 10 minutes late. So not only did she not do anything she said she would do, she was unpleasant to even interact with. Overall, the space is gorgeous and I would still overall recommend it. However, I also recommend hiring a day of coordinator and make sure you interact with this venue coordinator as little as possible.
We knew the second we walked into Mill 1 that it was the perfect venue for our wedding this past September. Maggie provided us with an amazing tour of the space. We particularly lo...
ved that she referenced lots of personal details from various weddings…She really made us feel like Mill 1 cares about their couples! We were so frequently turned off by “wedding factory” vibes we got from other places during our search for a venue…Maggie was refreshing!
Aesthetically, you can’t get much better than this for an indoor venue. Brick walls, large windows, those floors…it is an incredible blank slate that you have a lot of freedom to customize (or not). Personally, we liked the venue so much we didn’t want to take away from it and have too much going on. The bar selection and bar service was excellent!
Their list of preferred vendors was clutch as we were out of state. We found our hotels, DJ, and caterer from their recommendations and were NOT disappointed in the least. All of the vendors also commented on how much they liked working with and at Mill 1.
I would highly recommend getting a DOC or wedding planner. Our Mill 1 event coordinator Julie was available for questions and such prior to the wedding but they mean it when they don’t decorate or supervise the event. The day of our wedding, she was actually training a new staff member and giving tours so she wasn’t available to help us out much... We actually had to hunt her down to ask for directions to places to do our first look and take pictures. In the end we managed just fine but especially for a DIY bride, it was crucial to hire someone to set up and make sure the day flowed.
Beautiful industrial venue which we turned into an industrial glam venue with white/black and gold decor. My guests were wowed by the architecture. Mill One staff were easy to work...
with and everything was on point! Price point is good as well. An expensive look for a reasonable price.
Beautiful venue. The brick adds a nice rustic look. Initially the communication was great, but towards the end the communication could have been better.
We had lined up a few venues to check out for our ceremony and reception, and Mill 1 was the first place we visited. After meeting Maggie and seeing the space, we were hooked! We c...
ancelled our other appointments and reserved our date. The fact that Open Square is a carbon-neutral space was a huge bonus for us, too.
The space was the perfect size for our reception (about 100 guests), and the staff worked hard to make sure that everything went smoothly before and during our wedding. The bar staff were on top of their game, too. So many of our guests remarked on how wonderful the space was, and we couldn't have been happier with our big day!
The space itself is an old paper mill that was converted into an event space. The result is an Industrial-chic green space, completely powering itself and it's neighbors from energ...
y prouduced by the mill. We loved that it could accommodate a large wedding, which is something a ton of other vendors in the area couldn't do. The staff helped sort out details with me starting over a year before the wedding, up until the day before. My guests all loved the space, commenting on the beautiful hardwood floors, exposed brick, and large windows. A plus is that there's lots of parking, so your guests don't have to worry about leaving their car far away. Hannah was great on the day-of as our event manager. She made sure every detail was accounted for and that the night went super smoothly. Michelle answered all of my many questions, and I emailed with her starting over a year before my wedding, in the early stages of planning, up until the day before. She was prompt with her responses which is something I know all brides will appreciate. Maggie helped map out directions for my guests and give suggestions on alternate routes, modifying them at a moment's notice to help guests avoid traffic from large events happening nearby. Sarah helped organize parking and helped us make seating chart, making a graph with multiple options for us until we found one that was perfect for a semi-complicated party! Overall everyone had a great time, and our wedding was a total success. I know this will be the new go-to wedding venue in the Western Mass area. Highly reccommend!!
Contact
1 Open Square Way, Holyoke, MA
Mill 1 at Open Square