Milwaukee County Historical Society

r our ceremony, they were punctual, kept us on track, were so much fun to be around, and even brought us our signature drinks when we didn't have a chance to grab one before dinner! Beyond day of, this team also went above and beyond to make us feel like we were ready for the day in advance. Any question we had, both Bella and Nick were quick to respond with a reassuring solution. I cannot thank them enough for all that they did! I would recommend them to anyone looking for a venue.

so excited to showcase it to our guests. About halfway through planning, we found out that the venue event space had changed ownership, which could have been very stressful in wedding planning. However, Two Birds took over and made the transition absolutely seamless, all while honoring any prior agreements we had. Bella in particular was so easy to work with and communicated well with us and all our other vendors to set everything up, which was greatly appreciated as we were planning the wedding out of town. Bella worked so well and closely with our day-of coordinator as well that it was hard to tell that they were from two separate teams, the day could not have gone any more smoothly despite so many moving parts, and she really made it our dream wedding. We held our ceremony in Pere Marquette park directly behind the society, followed by a cocktail hour on the society’s patio (which is conveniently shaded in the summer, making it very comfortable for guests). Dinner was on the second floor, and guests were floored by the gorgeous and intricate ceilings as they walked up the stairs. The size of the first floor was more than enough room for our wedding of 165, and the shape of the room allowed for easy flow between dancing, mingling, and the bar. Almost every guest has commented to us about how unique and gorgeous this venue is, and they especially loved the bank vault behind the dance floor. We truly had the most perfect day in a stunning venue, and cannot recommend this venue or Bella and the Two Birds team enough.

ed with our vendors to ensure everything came together. Would highly recommend/

guests didn't have much bad to say about the space. The one down side was that it was very warm inside (90 degree day). We were told that the air conditioning was turned off because guests were complaining it was blowing on them (too cold), but when we asked them to turn it back on they said it was up as far as it could go. Definitely didn't feel like it. Thankfully we were able to open up a side door to let some cooler air in. All in all, I'd highly recommend the space!

er was being served and what time will the band start. This "Event Manager" seemed completely unphased by my shock that she did not know this information. The unprofessional behavior continued throughout the evening, ending with a man in shorts and t-shirt walking into the wedding claiming to be the manager/owner of the building cursing and pushing people. My 15-year-old nephew and 14-year-old son were the first of many guests this man came up to cursing and pushing.

regarding masks and was not something any of us had experienced at any public venue. We continue to hear many of the same stories and when it was brought to their attention, we never got an apology or even responsibility taken for their staff's behavior. We basically were notified that things have been put into place to better communicate the CDC expectations. This was the most expensive venue we looked at, but felt the experience our guests would have would be well worth it. Very disappointed is putting it mildly!!

ou won't have to spend loads of money decorating the space. Morgan, the events manager, was incredibly easy to work with. She answered all my questions and had everything prepared exactly how we discussed. Morgan had her wedding reception at the venue too and gave us some fantastic tips and tricks. I highly recommend this venue.

efforts in the planning process. The space is beautiful, unique and memorable. Our guests are still talking about it!

so many compliments on it. The space is so ornate that we did not really invest anything in decor and it still looked stunning. The staff was also really helpful and helped to make our day perfect.

tsoever and got so many compliments from our guests about how beautiful our venue was. We loved the bank vault and the "vintage" feel of the building. So little decoration required...a natural beauty!

team helping us out and working with us.

d guests. It is a timeless beautiful building with great staff.

We especially loved the historic bank vaults as well as the Love and MKE signs. The built in decor was so unique that we had to bring very few of our own decorations. Amanda was fabulous to work with. She was always very prompt when responding to emails and we felt like she was on our side. When we had issues with other vendors, she would do whatever possible to accommodate our needs. Amanda played a huge part in making our day special. Our guests absolutely loved the Milwaukee County Historical Society. We still get compliments to this day about how beautiful the venue was. The photo booth inside the bank vault was also a huge hit! I would highly recommend the Milwaukee County Historical Society to anyone who is looking for a unique venue in the heart of downtown Milwaukee.

fantastic to work with and very accommodating. Amanda works with you every step of the way and is always willing to answer your questions. A huge plus to this venue is that you can have access to the upstairs and downstairs portions of the facility, as well as the outdoor, patio area. It was so nice to utilize so much space and we loved that dinner and dancing could be hosted in separate areas - in a way it gives guests a full tour of the building! We had plenty of space for our 175 guests. Beautiful space for a beautiful and one in a lifetime night!

cess. We met with her about a month before our wedding to go over final details and she offered some great insight and tips. We received many compliments from guests about the venue. Would highly recommend to anyone!

per convenient and the management was easy to work with.

o dancing and desserts down stairs worked really well! Our guests stayed mostly at the Hyatt hotel which is just across the street so can't beat that!

the historical society the morning of the wedding. You would think that situation would be a nightmare but it ended up going so smoothly that I wondered why I hadn’t planned to have the ceremony there in the first place! Amanda was SO helpful, especially with our rain situation and answering my millions of questions leading up to our big day. Our guests had so much fun and I received so many compliments on the venue. It does end up being a bit expensive when you add in rentals for chairs, tables etc. but it is so worth it!

you can have access to both the upstairs and downstairs, as well as the patio outside adjacent to Pere Marquette Park. This way we could have multiple "stations" for guests to hang out-- dancing, bar area, game tables, and outside. It was also really awesome to have parts of the MCHS summer exhibit there for our guests to see-- particularly for our out of town guests, as they got to get a glimpse into some Milwaukee history. Amanda, the coordinator, was really awesome to work with, and our event went off without a hitch. It was the perfect space for a perfect day!

guests were from out of town and they kept saying how "unique" the venue was! It used to be an old bank and now it's a historical museum. They had a beer exhibit, which only added to the "Milwaukee-ness" of the wedding. We had a large party (about 230 guests) but it didn't feel cramped at all. We had to split seating, about 17 tables upstairs and 7 tables downstairs. The venue representatives were very helpful during the process. I met with Amanda a few times a few months before the wedding to discuss our day and had a bigger meeting with all the vendors. Everything went smoothly and they helped with the cleanup afterwards. Renting the venue is pricey, definitely not for someone on a small budget. The reason is that you have to rent tables and chairs and all furniture through an exclusive 3rd party, which is the most expensive in the area. Parking, though, is cheap. We rented the Journal Sentinel lot across the street for a small fee. We probably would've been able to rent the Art Museum for that cost, but the uniqueness of the Historical Society is worth the price. You have a list of about 8-10 caterers to choose from. We chose Chef Jacks. Something new this year (which we didn't have to do) is that bar/liquor is now only through 1 exclusive company, Canopies, which I am not fond of. What I liked is that cocktail hour can be held outside on the brick pavement next to the park. My only suggestion is to add more lighting in that area. Despite that, this is one of the most memorable wedding venues in Milwaukee. If you want to make a statement, choose this place!

nd are so unique! Our guests loved the venue and it truly made our wedding the best day of our lives. We chose to have our ceremony and reception all in the same building, and we were pleased with how easily the space accommodated a ceremony, cocktail hour, dinner, and dancing. I definitely recommend this classy venue to any bride. My only piece of advice is to plan your decorating very well. The building is open to the public until 3pm, and with a 5pm wedding, this gave us a super short amount of time to set up the building. Just be aware of this beforehand and plan accordingly.

ter one visit with the wedding coordinator there, we knew this was the place we wanted to have our wedding. CUSTOMER SERVICE About a year after we booked the venue, there was a new person in the wedding coordinator position. Amanda reached out to us to let us know she was the new contact. Because we live in Austin, TX, we only met Amanda via phone until the week of the wedding. We liked her immediately. She is warm and friendly, and extremely helpful. We had some issues with the rentals company (Canopies), and Amanda went out of her way to help us solve those issues. She also made time for us the week before the wedding to walk us through the venue and plan out everything, from the location of the ceremony, to the DJ, to the grand entrance. The day of the wedding, she directed Canopies on where to place the chairs for the ceremony, and she set up a ton of stuff that Zilli (our caterer) was paid to do. Amanda seriously did everything she possibly could to make the wedding run as smoothly as possible. Amanda's colleague, Elisa, was also wonderful. We cannot say enough about the fantastic customer service and thoughtfulness of the MCHS staff. STUNNING VENUE If you haven't been to MCHS, make the time to take a trip there. It is absolutely stunning. The gilding and marble are gorgeous, and the bank vaults are so cool. Everyone at our wedding kept saying that ours was the most beautiful, memorable wedding they had ever attended. The setting is just beautiful. We originally wanted to have our ceremony on the patio, and some issues with the rentals company made us change it to indoors at the last minute. Have your ceremony inside in front of the vault! It is awesome! We cannot say enough about the beauty and uniqueness of this venue. Also, where else can you and your Badger-loving guests dance to jump around in a giant bank vault? So cool. The only challenge with this venue is that it is very expensive. The venue itself costs a lot to rent, and then you have to bring in EVERYTHING-chairs, tables, linens, sound, etc. That being said, the venue is so beautiful and ornate that it doesn't require a lot of decorations.

(for a reasonable fee). The facility rental fee is just that; it doesn't include table/chair rental or any day-of services at all. The coordinator checked in with the father of the bride early in the evening so he knew who to talk to if there were any issues. The venue did get very warm, and the upstairs acoustics were less than ideal for after dinner speeches. (To avoid that issue if your dinner is upstairs, make sure your DJ has speakers for upstairs instead of just the lower-level dance speakers.) The coordinator should have been dressed more professionally; guests were not aware that she was the coordinator due to her attire. The late-night coordinator was rude to the father of the bride at the end of the evening, demanding that he make sure that everything be removed from the venue - even as our flower lady was in the process of cleaning up. Overall, despite these issues, we wouldn't have envisioned having our reception anywhere else.

d, wrongly, that the grounds would get at least minimal attention come wedding season. Boy was I wrong! Apparently there were budget cuts so my mom, sister, fiancé and I spent hours there a few days before the wedding wedding and picking up trash. I was upset because I the venue wasn't cheap and I had to devote scarce time towards something that I thought would be taken care of. My only other issue was with the coordinator being a bit rude.

le beams made for a gorgeous location. The day, the night, the event was everything we hoped and then some!

e the ceiling pop! The only downside was that it got very warm upstairs during dinner, to the point where the windows were fogging up. We asked multiple times to fix the temperature before it was done. That was a bummer. I would definitely check out this awesome venue, but make sure to reiterate with them the importance of keeping guests comfortable and being liberal with their air conditioning.

s a little-known gem in the middle of Milwaukee, so despite the fact that all of our friends are getting married, we were the first to use this venue. My guests loved the two-tiered style and the classic Milwaukee feel. You can really make this place your own - we put a photobooth in one of the old bank vaults and set up cabaret tables outside so guests could enjoy the view of the river and city skyline. My only disappointments had to do with additional offerings. You must order tables, chairs, etc. from an outside vendor. The venue doesn't have any sort of sound system, so you must work with your band or dj to set up extra microphones and speakers for speeches during dinner. I would definitely recommend this venue to other brides. We planned our entire wedding around the idea of "showing off MKE" to all of our out of town guests. This wedding venue was the perfect way to do that!

in love with the architecture and history of the building when we toured, and although it was more than we wanted to spend initially we couldn't say no - and we did not regret it. We received hundreds of compliments from our guests, many from the Milwaukee area, who had no idea the building existed! We worked with Katie throughout the planning process and she was friendly, professional and helpful. She even ensured that they displayed Milwaukee Brewery memorabilia in the basement exhibit as we had requested, which was awesome. Another plus was being able to take pictures inside the building the day of the wedding, since we got married on a cold November day. The entire building is also wheelchair accessible - my maid of honor and a few wedding guests were wheelchair users and we had no issues with accessibility. I highly recommend having your wedding at MCHS!

was wonderful to work with and so helpful! Our wedding day was perfect- we received numerous compliments on the venue. We had many guests from out of state so the "old Milwaukee" feel was really important for me to share! This venue is a bit more expensive than some because you have to rent everything seperately but it is honestly worth EVERY penny - completely breathtaking! If you are looking for a venue that really shows off Milwaukee or you are planning a vintage wedding and want to impress your guests - GET MARRIED HERE!!!