Pittsburgh Opera

The venue really is a blank canvas. That being said, it could be intimidating to many and a day of coordinator or wedding planner would be highly recommended. We had 150 guests which was a good amount for the space though you could have fit more. Nice, larger bathrooms (compared to many other venues), and parking was not a problem.

Get on the waiting list! You will not find a more beautiful industrial space for the money. If you are looking for a rustic, lofty, raw space to be your blank canvas, this is it. They do have tables and chairs available as a part of the package, but will work with you to get whatever rentals you need in and out. (Ours came from from all occasions rentals). They also have a small kitchen your caterers can work out of, bar stations you can serve from, and dressing rooms if you want them. If you think you might want it, get on the list now! We barely got a date and contacted them 16 months in advance. Meet the rest of my highly recommendable team: Pittsburgh Opera House Arvay Event Design Kelli Burns Entertainment Big Burrito Catering Third Termite Press Jos A. Bank Elite Coach Westin Arthur Murray Wedding Chaplain.com ShutterBooth

The Pittsburgh Opera was the perfect venue for our reception! I had always dreamed of an over the top and glamorous venue, but once I started looking into food/alcohol costs, I had to scratch many venues off my list. The Pittsburgh Opera allows you to rent the space and make it yours. You can bring in your own alcohol (we calculated that it saved us $6,000) and your own caterer, also saving us thousands. The space already has a ton of character with the exposed brick, but we were able to transform it into an elegant space with lighting. We hung lights from the catwalk above and used uplighting to enhance the exposed brick around the space. It's a blank slate, but it's not a boring white banquet hall. We had 200 guests and they fit perfectly. We used the smaller room for a cocktail hour and then the curtains opened up into the larger room for dinner. The cocktail room also housed our bar, a photo booth, the gift table, and dessert table. The location was perfect. Parking is a little tricky (guests chose from street parking or a near-by $5 lot), but everyone figured it out quickly and I didn't hear any complaints. It was great having so many hotels and activities close by for our out of town guests. Sean was fabulous to work with! He always responded to my emails quickly and was able to work with all of our requests. He allowed us to stop by one Saturday to see how another wedding was set-up. We also met a couple of times prior to the wedding to review all of the details. He was able to configure the tables in a way that everyone fit nicely and we still had enough room for the dance floor. I cannot imagine finding a better person to work with! I loved everything about the Pittsburgh Opera and I would highly recommend it for any kind of an event. It helped to save us a lot of money, but we also had to put in a lot of our own work (set-up, decorations, tear-down). It was so worth it in the end though!

The Pittsburgh Opera space is a real hidden gem in the Pittsburgh wedding venue market. We were looking for a unique venue with a lot of character and it was just that. We had numerous guests ask how we found it because they had never even known it was there but were really amazed with the space. The possibilities in the space are endless and it has a lot of opportunity and flexibility for DIY brides. When the curtain was pulled back to reveal the main space, our guests were in awe. The space was breathtaking. From our initial visit Sean Holsing was very friendly, professional and helpful throughout the entire process. We were able to have access to the space several times to work through some ideas. Being an out of town bride, he made the planning process very easy. For the actual day, since Sean was out of town, Shawn Fertitta was our point of contact. She was there the day before to assist us with our needs while we had access to the space to setup and decorate. She was a pleasure to work with and made the entire event go seamlessly from setup, to coordinating with rental vendors, to serving our every need at the reception. She did it all! The professionalism of the staff really made the day stress-free for our family and us. They were very accommodating in allowing us to setup the day before and even leave all of our decorations, etc. there until pickup on Monday. This allowed our family and friends to enjoy the entire evening instead of worrying about taking everything out of there. If you're lucky enough to secure a date (due to popularity they are quickly filling up these days), I would absolutely recommend this venue to any bride!