Peabody Essex Museum

to the staff. Natalia, along with all of our vendors, made the day so enjoyable and we’re wonderful to work with! We love that it’s a place we can always go back to visit! 

engaged that we wanted to have our wedding at the PEM. Having lived in Salem this place meant a lot to us and we were certain it would be the perfect venue. Perfect does not to it justice! Natalia and her team were able to create the most magical experience for us, our family, and our guests. They transform an already gorgeous venue space into the most stunning and elegant space you can imagine. Natalia is a pro at this and you notice that immediately. She is always there to answer your questions, give you perfect advice, and be your friend during this process. She truly wants what is best for you and does everything to make it happen. To get married in one of the oldest museums in the country is a remarkable experience. I really love that my husband and I can go back whenever we want to walk the same steps, stand where we said "I do", and transport back to the most special night of our lives. 

, and gave us all a lovely experience. They use a proprietary caterer at the PEM, which could not have been better. I highly recommend this venue

autiful space and we are so glad we chose PEM for our wedding!

e so easy to work with. They did an incredible job, we could not have been happier with the day!

nt completely smoothly with no issues thanks to the entire PEM team. I would recommend them a thousand times. There aren't enough good words to write about our experience working with them and having our wedding there!!

xtra decor, lighting, etc. We went pretty minimal on these "extras" for our wedding, but our guests still loved the venue, commenting on how elegant the space was, how much they loved walking through the galleries and seeing the exhibits as part of the wedding experience, and how fun and interesting was the East India Marine Hall in which we had the dinner and dancing. Second, the on-site staff and in-house/exclusive caterer, Gourmet Catering (GC), handled everything with aplomb day of. Our wedding went super smoothly and PEM and GC really went above-and-beyond in terms of their level of service: (1) We had a beautiful staging room, which was always well-stocked with food and beverages (champagne, among other drinks) as we transitioned from ceremony to cocktail hour to dinner and dancing and made for a great place to take pictures. (2) PEM and GC staff frequently checked in with us to make sure everything was going well, though without at all being overbearing and even helped with some last-minute hair adjustments. (3) PEM staff did all of the setup and breakdown for us -- we didn't have to worry about a thing. Finally, we love Salem and the area around the museum. PEM is situated in a great place for pre- and post-wedding activities. People often asked, as they do, whether we were stressed about the wedding. Especially as the date drew near. With PEM as our venue, I can honestly say that the answer was always no. We're so happy with our decision to choose PEM.

our wedding night, the night of our lives. Our wedding night was exactly what we had dreamt of and looking back there is nowhere better to get married than the Peabody Essex museum. From the uniqueness of the venue to the immersion of art, it was the perfect blend to bring our wedding to life.

informative, putting us at ease throughout the planning process. On the day of, the venue was transformed into a magical, one-of-a-kind space that perfectly captured the vibe we were going for. Natalia was especially helpful, guiding us through all the decisions, communicating with our vendors, and making us feel completely prepared. The value she provided was truly exceptional, and we're so grateful to have celebrated our special day in such a beautiful and unforgettable setting.

ut day so special. Natalia was especially lovely. She helped with every detail big and small, answered countless questions and was incredibly kind and calm each step of the way. Thank you Natalia and everyone at PEM!

ted that we were in good hands. Natalia is an absolute joy to work with: we exchanged so many emails and calls over the course of one year, and she was accommodating and on top of all the little details (like lighting details and where we would do outfit changes between the ceremony and reception). Not only were the logistics a breeze, our guests were so impressed with the PEM as a venue. They were able to visit the famous Yin Yu Tang (Chinese house) during the day, and each of the rooms and atriums that the wedding was held in were beautifully laid out. We are so, so happy that we were able to hold our wedding at the PEM!

apable, knowledgeable, and responsive, and made the entire planning process far less stressful. We did not hire a wedding planner which we had worried about, but Natalia goes so above and beyond that we knew we were in good hands. We had multiple calls leading up to the wedding and Natalia was always prepared to answer any question we had. The museum itself is beautiful and historic and makes for a perfect, memorable venue. We had the best time, as did our guests. We cannot recommend the PEM enough!

um is beautiful, and we have so many amazing memories and photos from the big day! We also loved the caterer and the different areas for the cocktail hour and the reception. Natalia and the rest of the staff were so organized that we didn't need to hire a separate wedding planner. Overall choosing the PEM for our wedding venue was one of the best decisions we made for our big day.

so we decided to investigate. After visiting the museum with a wedding in mind and speaking with Natalia, the Director of Event Rentals, we knew we had found the right place. We loved that everything was clearly laid out and transparent. Also, since they have an exclusive caterer, they are used to working in tandem, which translated to everything going smoothly on the big day. People always say to expect that something may go not quite as you plan on the wedding day. However, everything went 100% the way it was planned, and we attribute that to the seamless coordination of the vendors that PEM handles. Also, there was so much care in terms of taking care of all our belongings, such as the ketubah, which had to be stored during the reception. We chose the Marine Hall to have the ceremony and the Atrium for the reception, which made the most sense given the size of our wedding party. Since it's in Salem as well, our guests enjoyed taking in all the magic of the Witch City!

m at PEM was professional, accommodating, and made every detail come together seamlessly. Guests were blown away by the setting, and we couldn’t have imagined a more perfect venue for our special day. PEM truly made our wedding a one-of-a-kind event we’ll treasure forever!

, kind, and organized through both the planning and the day of. We also appreciated how upfront they were with information as there wasn't any small text you could miss or info you had to chase down. We will never forget our wedding at PEM. Highly recommended! Ashley & Brian

her team were flawlessly organized and professional. They truly make your day special and more importantly stress free! The Garden Atrium, East India Maritime Hall, and Main Atrium are large open spaces that look gorgeous in photos. PEM also offers additional spaces available to the couple for photos and one v one time leading up to the reception. More importantly, with all the moving parts of a wedding day, you'll be able to relax knowing that all of your plans/ideas will come together with sophisticated precision. Salem as a whole offers so many options that your guests will appreciate. From multiple lodging locations within walking distance to the venue to historic tours, restaurants, and shops that will keep your guests excited about your special day. All in all, the Peabody Essex Museum is the best decision and the cherry on top, it's a venue you can visit year after year and remember the best night of your life!

rience with the intricacies of running a wedding. Natalia and PEM ticked all of these boxes, along with being such an incredibly beautiful building, and an experience that our guests will never forget. Natalia was with us through the whole process, toured us through the space, gave our parents a second tour, and let us come by as much as we needed to plan out our ideas. She was even there overseeing the set up on our day, and made sure to check in with us! Even as a functioning museum having many rules to protect the art, they always worked with us to be as flexible as possible and offered us solutions as needed. We loved our whole experience, and love that we can come back and visit our wedding venue anytime :) Thank you to the whole PEM team, and especially Natalia!

ife. My husband & I, along with all of our guests, were blown away when we saw the reception room on our Wedding Day (the lights, flowers, décor, setup, etc!) – there were a lot of WOWs! We decided to hold our ceremony at the Immaculate Conception Church which allowed us to do a “Second Line” where our band (American Midnight Band – highly recommend!) played a sax/drum while our guests danced through the streets of Salem (behind our horse and carriage!) from the Church to the PEM. Not only does the PEM blow your guests away in the pure beauty of the Museum but holding your Wedding in Salem brings another level of fun and creativity for what you can do. Our guests raved about the food as well (short ribs and salmon!!). We are SO HAPPY we chose PEM as our Wedding reception venue.

our special day. Natalia is the most knowledgeable and easy person to work with. She was always there to answer our questions, hop on a call, or let us tour the venue multiple times. Natalia also has such a calm presence that is so comforting when wedding planning is so stressful. We always felt like everything would be okay after talking to her. The staff and security were also so kind to us and our guests. Everything about this venue was absolutely perfect.

ge at the PEM. We had a wedding of 80-90 guests and held our ceremony in the Main Atrium, the cocktail hour by the Garden, and the reception in the East India Marine Hall, with every room more beautiful than the last. Full-support coordination made it so that we didn't even need to hire a wedding planner, the PEM team was so totally on the ball and there for us at every turn. Hiring the PEM as your venue is choosing an incredible venue at a beyond reasonable price, managed by kind, generous, supportive staff. If you are considering the PEM: Pick it. You won't regret it.

inators are also fantastic. 10/10 recommend

errated component is how beautiful the lighting is in the evening in the West India Room where our ceremony was held. And Natalia was incredibly helpful in coordinating vendors and everything else.

with - very professional and buttoned up, but also incredibly kind, empathetic, and flexible based on our needs. Overall, we would absolutely recommend PEM as a wedding venue. The only thing that was a bit challenging during our experience was the venue's caterer, which provided very high quality food that everyone loved but was also very expensive. It's a good idea to get a sense of the full scale of the cost of the caterer before committing to PEM.

d responsive and made sure everything was perfect for our day. We were surrounded by so much love and care from the Peabody Essex team! So many guests commented on how beautiful the venue was with all of the art and how delicious the food was. I would recommend the Peabody Essex Museum to anyone looking for a wedding venue in Massachusetts - Salem is such a cute area as well for guests to explore. Thank you so much to Natalia and the Peabody team for making everything run smoothly - it was the perfect day!

hat are painted blue. The ceremony went wonderfully in the East India Marine Hall and the reception in the Atrium was a blast. Natalia was always very communicative and happy to answer any and all of my questions and she made sure that there were enough high chairs for the toddlers who attended and she made sure that there was no problem with using the lighting selection I wanted. We loved this venue and we plan on visiting the museum every so often because it's just so wonderful.

nswer any and every question we had. We were also able to schedule multiple visits to go over wedding day logistics. We selected to have our ceremony in the main atrium, cocktails in the garden atrium and reception in the East India Hall. Our guests loved that they were able to view artwork as they walked through. They also commented on how wonderful the dinner service and waitstaff was. I wouldn't change one thing about our wedding and highly recommend the PEM as a venue for anyone looking for a unique experience for the wedding party and guests.

lly wedding-y) and also offers a pretty turn-key solution for weddings. We used all of the PEM suggested vendors which made planning relatively simple. Echoing many of the reviews here, Natalia is amazing to work with. She is responsive and patient and she is able to pull from years of experience to provide advice and vendor recommendations. She and the rest of the staff made our wedding night so fun and seamless. In the end, our guests all said they had a great time and a regular comment was how incredible the space was. 10/10 experience at PEM and I recommend it completely!

s through the ups and downs. We were fully taken care of from the moment we stepped inside until the last guest left with Natalia (PEM) and Ann (Gourmet) helping with last-minute to-dos and tweaking the schedule throughout the night to ensure that my husband and I, and all of our guests, had everything we needed to fully enjoy the night without any stress. The venue itself is gorgeous and offers guests an added experience with surprise reveals throughout the space, the food is the highest quality with wide-ranging options, and the staff was both extremely professional and also really fun! Here's our quick story about the absolute gem that is PEM: While it was admittedly not what we were initially looking for, we immediately knew it was right on our first visit: a unique blend of modern and quite literally historic, which impresses each time you turn a corner from one space to the next. The staff, Natalia in particular, gave us the no-pressure tour and walked us through the whole experience. When we went back to sign the contract, I decided to flip everything on its head to make sure our white-tie wedding was exactly how I envisioned it. They worked with us on every detail and we were all set for our 2020 winter wedding until Covid shut it all down. Natalia worked with us to rebook for NYE (even more exciting) the following year without any issues. Then another round of Covid restrictions. Natalia and their catering partner Gourmet jumped on dozens of calls helping us workshop logistics and backup plans, and in the end, they made us extremely comfortable with whatever direction we ended up taking. Ultimately we pulled the plug for a second time just a week before and immediately rescheduled to Memorial Day Weekend 2022. We worked with Natalia and Ann (from Gourmet) to redesign the winter wedding of our dreams into a summer version. We tweaked the menu, played with the flow of the space, and in the end, we pulled off the perfect night. We're smiling from ear to ear in every photo, and the PEM staff was a big part of that. The way PEM and Gourmet treated us through really difficult times showed their true character to be genuinely invested in their clients' experience. If you're looking for a venue that feels both impressive but intimate, fancy but not overstated, and unique, at least go take a tour. I feel like the options to personalize it are endless and the backdrops for photos throughout the museum are an added bonus.

ghly enjoyed themselves, especially in the Chamber of Light and Shadows room. We worked with an amazing team, and Natalia and her team are top tiered - they're all kind, responsive, and are so willing to help make your vision for your dream wedding come true. Definitely recommend them!

e together so perfectly, and it was more than anything we could have imagined. Our guests had the most incredible time, and we would get married there all over again if we could!

hallenges our way, Natalia kept every step of planning stress-free. Our wedding was exactly what we wanted, thanks to Natalia's expertise and her team's professionalism. We are so glad that the Peabody Essex Museum is part of our story!

misfortune of having to postpone my daughter’s wedding twice because of Covid. Natalia could not have been more kind and accommodating. We had to pivot many times, and the museum made it as stress-free for us as possible. I would enthusiastically recommend the museum for a lovely and memorable event.

I am so happy to have gotten married at a museum for many other reasons, like I can go back and visit the rooms I got married in!! The staff was on point and did everything with precision. Natasha, the lady in charge, is so kind and helpful. She made the whole process so smooth! 5 well deserved stars.

ght to work with, always available to answer our questions or offer her advice. She is both very professional and organized ... as well as sweet and fun. The venue itself ... I mean what can be said?! It's a beautiful museum and so you are surrounded by art and architecture that is breathtaking. The main atrium is the perfect spot for a reception, the East India Marine Hall is open and bright and makes a perfect ceremony location, and the Garden Atrium lends itself to a perfect relaxed cocktail hour. The photos we got at this venue are spectacular and can't be beat!! Book here if you want a gorgeous and stress-free wedding!!

seum was going to be the right fit for our wedding. Natalia was fun to work with and her knowledge and vendor recommendations helped make the planning process as easy as can be. The wedding weekend itself was made extra special by the tucked away cozy feel of Salem which has plenty to offer guests in the hours leading up to the wedding. We were happy to be able to hold the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception all within different rooms of the Peabody Essex Museum which led to an enchanting and uninterrupted experience for all. This is a magical venue and highly recommended.

incredibly kind and knowledgeable, especially Natalia Laskaris (Director of Events). My husband and I were absolutely blown away by Natalia’s composure, professionalism and talent throughout every step of the planning process. We were most notably grateful for some advice she shared in the home-stretch; it truly helped us enjoy every moment of the wedding we worked so hard to plan. We couldn’t have picked a better venue for such an important occasion — mainly because of Natalia!

entire experience completely stress free. We are so thankful to have had such an accommodating and genuine coordinator at such a beautiful and unique venue. The reception went flawlessly, which is a testament to the great leadership and coordination of the PEM staff.