The Historic Concord Exchange

the morning. I was in contact with Alex up to that day and Alex was really responsive. When we got to the venue, it was locked. We went around the building to try the other doors, but they were locked, too. I called Alex (the number I dialed did not match the number on the voicemail) and left a voicemail. I also messaged Alex on The Knot. We waited for 25 minutes before we called it quits. Today is Monday and I have received no response from Alex. I would not recommend this place.

the day of - she answered every single one of my many questions with complete transparency, gave us many words of advice, confirmed and double-checked details that I would have completely forgotten, was there to help set up, helped orchestrate the entire day from start to finish, and wasn’t even phased when things went wrong. We really appreciated everything HCE had to offer, including in-house catering and bar service, Karna as our venue coordinator, rehearsal and ceremony onsite, security, chairs/tables/linens/dinnerware/glassware/silverware (not to mention set up and take down of all these!), use of the entire building, hotel rooms, decor, free and abundant parking... I could go on. We feel so lucky to have found HCE during our venue search, it is a true gem and everything we could have wanted for our wedding day!

amazing advice and was there cheering us on every step of the way. Duke’s food was delicious, the venue was stunning. We could not have asked for a better space for our wedding and would absolutely recommend the Historic Concord Exchange to everyone.

he end cost because so many things “were not included” this was not the case at the Historic Concord Exchange. The quote we got to start with was what we ended with and Karna added a few amazing extras. She was organized and flexible. I didn’t have to worry about a thing on my wedding day because she took care of everything. She knew the venue really well and made great recommendations. I have already recommended this venue to all of my friends. It was a dream wedding thanks to Karna.

h a big heart and works so hard to accommodate any requests during the planning process. Definitely recommend this beautiful, unique venue!

rocess and kept with us. We had a fantastic wedding day that went by so fast and was so much fun. There was some miscommunication on the food but it was still really good. Our day was a dream and the process to that point was smooth. The venue was gorgeous and arranged to suit our needs (such as a kid's room, a game room, etc.). It was unfortunate that we had to pay for the lights to be put back up; I think that the the ones who pay to take them down should pay to put them back up. This was a minor detail though. Overall, I would recommend for anyone who would love a whimsical wedding. That's what our day was, a day just full of love and whimsy.

of the staff for our rehearsal and wedding day were extraordinarily warm, welcoming and friendly. Some of the many features that helped us decide on the HCE were the fact that they offer so many services. An amazingly stunning building(that will be all yours the day of your wedding, so you don’t have to worry about sharing spaces with other parties) tables, linens, and china, including a DJ in the contract, offering up to 14 guest rooms for the wedding party to spend the night after the wedding and having in house catering and bars. They basically checked off a lot of the things that we would have had to organize ourselves if we went elsewhere, which that alone is a very big deal. The wedding day schedule was very tight for us and having Karna, Liz and the rest of the staff there to help was a game changer. All of our wedding guests have been complimenting us on having a beautiful and fun wedding, and it would not have been possible without The Historic Concord Exchange.

ce. Food is done in-house and they have a preferred DJ company (Complete) so that helps decrease the number of decisions a couple has to make. Karna, the venue coordinator, really is the gem of this place and its best representative. She was responsive to emails, practical (never tried to up-sell us and actually gave a lot of practical advice from her extensive experience), well-organized, and always willing to go the extra mile. We were planning from afar, and she help accommodate our crazy schedules. We were so impressed with how the day went and the incredible value we got. The rest of the staff worked really hard as well to help our day go as seamlessly as possible.

son-in-law with a horse drawn carriage ride through a local company that Karna went out of her way to help arrange. Everyone who works at the venue was incredibly helpful the day of the wedding. It was so convenient to have the rooms upstairs available before and after the wedding. The venue itself is gorgeous and very little decorating is necessary. The food was delicious and the chef is very accommodating with diet restrictions. I am so glad this was the venue my daughter and son-in-law chose for their special day!

really nice bar--like a real legit bar that you and all your guests can gather around--which was great for our cocktail hour. We also chose to do our ceremony at HCE prior to our reception which worked out really well. It made it easy for us and our guests! We were also pleased with the food. We had the panko crusted walleye and the wild rice stuffed chicken (along with a veg option) and both were very good. One last surprise with this venue...they have 14 guest rooms that are designated just for you and your bridal party/friends/family. It meant that we could keep the party going late into the evening, even after last call. I had many people say that it was one of the best venues they had ever seen. :) Happy wedding planning!

esign of the building. The event coordinator, Karna, and the chef, Duke, were both amazing and very knowledgeable and helpful during the wedding planning process. Isaac and I were going to school in another state while wedding planning and Karna did a fantastic job at coordinating with us and accommodating our schedules. Unfortunately, only a few weeks before our wedding, Isaac had a family tragedy occur that forced us to reorganize a lot of the wedding details. Karna was more than willing to work with us to make the necessary changes during this difficult time. On the day of our wedding everything went very smoothly. The building and rooms were ready for us at the designated time and everyone was able to get where they needed to be. Karna did a fantastic job at coordinating the ceremony and letting the wedding party know when and where to be when it was time to begin. She was also very on top of keeping Isaac and I updated during the reception and checked on us to make sure we were happy and everything was good. The food tasted absolutely delicious! Every bride dreams of the perfect wedding day and I am very happy to say that my wedding day at The Historic Concord Exchange was an absolute fairy tale.

to get the last things done on the day of, and she was amazing and came in and helped me finish setting things up and helped organize people. She was willing to meet with us before, if I had any questions and was very responsive on emails. We found them on the Knot and WeddingWire and we actually just live up the street from the venue so we knew what it would look like inside.  It's such a beautiful setting you hardly have to decorate it all. We obviously brought in some of our own touches, though. They have chair covers and other decorations that you can rent.  Duke was the chef and did a great job. Food is obviously a little different on the day of with how much they have to make versus the tasting day, but we  received positive comments from all of our guests. We actually rented some of the hotel rooms upstairs too, which anyone who stayed there was super excited about. It's nice to just be able to go right upstairs and not have to transfer to a hotel. The rooms are very unique and were fun to stay in. Serving staff and bartenders were on top of everything! I don't think I can say this enough...Karna is AMAZING, AMAZING, AMAZING!!!! I hope someone else I know gets married there so I can go back to experience it from the guests side too :-)

ing, which I found strange. Otherwise those minor details I would have my wedding at this venue again.

ome of our guests right after the wedding was also so convenient and fun!

inced that the wedding took place in an actual castle and that my wife is an actual princess. However, a venue is only as good as who they recommended, and HCE uses an absolutely horrible company for the DJ services and recommends them for photo, video, and lighting, and puts on a monthly promotional night for them. We paid this company like they were professionals, however they had the same skill and camera equipment as amateurs. Going with this company resulted in losing about 90% of the video from our wedding that we will never get back, and it was completely their fault. HCE itself is amazing, they just need to find better companies to work with and recommend.

place. The Concord Exchange fit us perfectly, and working with Karna was probably the best part of it. From our first meeting, Karna helped us envision our wedding and gave us tons of suggestions of how we could include everything we wanted. She helped us figure out how to do the wedding on our budget, and even suggested ways for us to save money, though it would mean less for her business. She was patient with us when we had lots of questions and last minute changes, and she really took the time to make sure we had everything we needed. Karna also has hundreds of rental items, so we saved money by using her vases, decorations, etc. The food was incredible, and was the perfect balance between tasty and fancy. The building itself has so much space, and we got to rent the space for the entire day. We also had time to come in the day before and decorate for several hours before our rehearsal. The only thing that could have been a little better was the sound quality when people were using the mics. Our guests had trouble hearing at points during the ceremony and reception. Besides that, it was the most romantic and perfect space for us and our guests to celebrate. I would highly recommend getting married here.

lpful, and yet unobtrusive. The food was excellent. I highly recommend this place.

und this hidden gem to host our wedding reception.

storical elegance and flexibility seemed like the perfect venue for our ceremony and reception. Karna, the venue owner and our venue coordinator, went above and beyond helping us customize every detail. Her positive charm and experience made it very easy to plan our big day. We were able to select a custom food option that was just as delicious as our other food selections. Many of our guests shared with us how lovely their experience was at the venue. I highly recommend this venue for a wedding ceremony and reception!

d rooms on the upper floors that you and your guests can spend the night in! I would recommend this venue to anyone!

a number of coordinators in that time and the new coordinators Molly and Karna are a dream to work with. We booked about a year and a half before our wedding and worked with 2 other coordinators prior to these gals. It was a bit frustrating and stressful to learn of the turnover, but Molly/Karna are awesome and set up a meeting with us promptly to talk about the details for our big day! They are thorough with their communication, fair with their pricing, and stick to their word. They will give you their honest opinion, even if it means you'll end up spending less money at their facility! They want you and the guests to have a great time. The sun was shining in my husband and my eyes during dinner. Next thing you know- Karna is placing a screen on the sweetheart balcony to block the sun from our eyes. Duke, the chef is AMAZING. We had a number of guests tell us the meal that we served was the best meal they had ever had at an event. Every plate came out hot and delicious! The portions were generous and no-one went hungry. They have quite the variety on their menu as far as options as well. Of note, it is a very old building and does get warm when you throw 200+ people in! The air conditioning can be cranked, but it can get a bit stuffy in high traffic areas. The natural beauty and elegance of this building coupled with the affordable price point decreased the need to decorate a ton- another perk! Highly recommended and would choose this venue all over again in a heartbeat!

oved the venue. The food was very good as well. The even coordinator, Lisa, went WAY above and beyond what we expected of her our wedding was perfect.

e got so many compliments on our wedding venue and atmosphere and that was in large part due to this magical place. It fulfilled my wildest wedding dreams. I got to get married in an old castle and it was so amazing! As an extra bonus there are hotel rooms upstairs (away from the party) for the wedding party to rent out the night of the wedding and lots of near by hotels. Honestly I have zero complaints about our venue and highly recommend it to all brides/grooms!

tting outside for 50 minutes we had to go back to the hotel to start getting ready there instead so I had to pay for all the hair and makeup people to travel to the hotel. When the coordinator finally called me after I made many calls & sent a lot of emails her response was she looked at the wrong time & we were lucky she wasn't charging us more money anyways. I made my mom deal with any contact with her the rest of the day as I did not want to deal with her. So the entire day was delayed by an hour & we got only half the pictures we wanted to take, we were extremely rushed & stressed all day because of it. When the keg ran out later in the night the bartenders didn't bother to tell us so guests ended up paying for their own beers for a half hour until a guest told me & I told the bartenders to tap the other keg. We had a random man from the street come in on our reception & our best man had to make him leave as the security we had to pay for couldn’t be found. The only reason I even gave 3 stars was because the servers were good, the food was very good, and the location is beautiful. Although, the place needs some sprucing up as the carpet upstairs s all uneven, it’s a trip hazard, & the ceiling leaks if it rains. Do not do ivory linens through them as none of their linens are the same color ivory the napkins are a different color than the table cloths & the some of the table cloths don’t even match. Also, when we came to setup none of the tables, chairs, or linens were setup so we had to set them up which was a lot of work on top of everything else we had to do. Honestly, I had so many things go wrong on my wedding day beyond just this vendor & it was the most stressful day of my life; which is very sad.

ceremony or reception. I got so many compliments on how great the venue was. The staff was also fabulous and made sure we were having a great time and everything was going smoothly. The food was amazing as well. At the end of the night we got so many compliments about the venue and the food. If you're looking for a vintage venue for your wedding- do yourself a favor and check this venue out!

onsive, professional, detail oriented! The site was set exactly to our specifications and looked amazing. HCE is an exceptional value; so reasonable when compared to other venues. Highly recommend!

dding planner. She was easy to contact during the planning process and we very prompt with responses to my questions. The only frustrating part of our experience with the HCE was having the venue wedding planner changed on us three times. Once Christine took over the position everything went fine.

ion is nearly impossible. The coordinator is not available on a daily basis 9-5. Response to questions came only after angry threats to take our business elsewhere. Access to the site for tours, planning and layout is horrible. On some visits to the site we were left standing outside waiting for someone to show up and open the door. Get everything in writing or an email. The bright side, the bartenders, servers and maintenance staff are delightful, hardworking and the most helpful. They were around more than the coordinator. The food for the rehearsal dinner was excellent. The main entrees on the night of the wedding were adequate, however the vegetables were extremely under cooked, nearly raw. Many guests complained to us about this. Most embarrassing to us as hosts for rehearsal dinner which we also held at the facility was the HCE staff shut the lights off on us at 8:45 PM. Apparently they wanted us to leave. Our guests were still visiting and buying drinks from the bar. We were never told there was a closing time for rehearsal dinner. In addition, they ran out of some types of wine. Heartbreaking and also embarrassing is the condition of this lovely old building. It has the potential to be a fantastic and unique venue. Many areas are dirty, paint chipping, railings wobbly and not secured to the wall. It is not charming because it is old. It is simply dirty and in need of repair. Some of the hotel rooms lack hot water or have holes with insulation showing to the outside. Carpet on most floors is filthy and some areas have large rips. Windows are dirty and lack curtains. Dusty and dead bugs in many window sills. Swarms of fruit flies in bar areas. Limited electrical outlets available which can also be challenging for musicians or performers. If someone cared and put a little effort into restoring this lovely old building it could be amazing. I would imagine they would be booked years out, if this site was taken care of. Many areas in the venue are simply "a big hot mess", including accessibility to coordinator. Good luck.

very smoothly, and we really enjoyed it. The staff were polite and helpful on the day. I was very impressed with the final product. However, the planning of the day was very difficult. Because we live abroad, we had to do the planning by email and phone. The planner at the HCE often did not respond to emails or only responded to portions. By the end, we were very frustrated and had to threaten to take our business elsewhere more than once. If you do rent this beautiful venue, know that there will be chasing involved.

all went smoothly. Even with the event coordinator quitting/fired (I still don't know what happened)three weeks before the event. They brought in a new coordinator who had worked there in the past, and Shannon picked things up and didn't miss a beat. She gave me excellent suggestions on tweeking things and was very fun and easy to work with. The food is phenomenal and Duke Lynberg the chef is fantastic. They even created specific meals for two of my guests that must eat gluten free. The building itself is a treasure on it's own. It is so elegant and different, my guests were really wowed. I would highly recommend having your event at HCE.

que layout. Although our guests had to sit on 2 levels for dinner, it seemed like everyone was close and intimate. I highly recommend this venue (and the staff is wonderful to work with!).

thout a hitch! I highly reccomend this place for a wedding.

y were flexible and accommodating with our requests. Their head chef is very talented and passionate about his job. We chose to use their in-house DJ and he did a wonderful job running our ceremony music and reception.

the price of renting the venue. They have a few different options for space, so if you don't need the entire building, you can rent a portion instead. The food was exceptional, and the service was delightful. The only value that seemed overpriced was for the alcohol, but after learning of other wedding venue pricing, it was much less expensive than most other places. Hotel rooms were also available, some are still being converted from storage into usable space, but the rooms we used were amazing. The coordinator, Mary, was wonderful though the whole process. She was willing to work with us and make sure all of our needs had been met; she was simply amazing the day of the wedding to make sure everything was running smoothly.

ility. It is currently open to the public on Friday and Saturday nights so you either need to be wrapped up by 10pm or hold your wedding on a Sunday like we did.