The MSU Union

49 Abbot Rd 220 Trowbridge Rd, East Lansing, MI

201-250 guest capacity

This venue can host up to 250 guests

About this vendor

Be the belle of the ball in our Grand Ballroom, featuring marble walls, and crown molding creating an atmosphere of timeless and traditional elegance. The adjoining sun porch adds an extra dimension to your event and is the perfect setting for a bar, reception items and gift table. The Grand Ballroom accommodates up to 250 people.

Amenities + details

Handicap Accessible

Indoor Event Space

Reception Area

Covered Outdoors Space

Dressing Room

Liability Insurance

On-Site Accommodations

Outdoor Event Space

Wireless Internet

Guest Capacity

Up to 250

Settings

Ballroom
Historic Venue

Venue Service Offerings

Planning
Rentals & Equipment
Service Staff

4.6

out of 5.0

8 reviews

Search reviews

7/10/2017 • Tara M

My husband and I had the best reception we could have ever had with the MSU Union. It was very easy to work with the staff here and since there were no parties before ours in our specific banquet hall we were able to go in Friday afternoon and set up the centerpieces for the Saturday reception. They were more than willing to do the centerpieces for me but because the centerpieces were a bit complicated we just opted to do it ourselves. They also worked very well with all of our vendors and was in contact with our specific vendors during the whole preparation period. The only negative we had (which is why there are 4 stars instead of five) is that between the time that we booked the union up until the wedding, there were a total of three different wedding coordinators. This was a pain because when one would quit they would hire a new one and the new coordinator would ask to meet with us and each time the information would not be saved for the next coordinator. Other than that everything went perfect!

10/28/2014 •

My husband and I are huge Spartan fans so we definitely wanted to get married on or near campus. It was lovely being able to do it at the Union. The ballroom is huge and very nice. I loved the accommodations. The prices for food weren't too bad although we were surprised to see that buffet costs more than plated. Patrick, the banquet manager, was AWESOME!!! He even let me stop in for another reception they were setting up just so I could see how things looked. He also helped us with our wedding party table seating arrangement that we were having issues with. The only thing I would say negatively is that when working with Katie she was sometimes hard to get a hold of. She was extremely pleasant but I didn't like how we had to send multiple emails sometimes. And when we met a couple of times she had to rush out to pick up her kids. So then we felt rushed which is not a good feeling to have when planning a wedding. But she was very nice and personable. Definitely recommend this venue for a wedding reception.

9/02/2014 • Amy P

As two MSU alums getting married at the end of August, we wanted to find an air-conditioned location on campus for our wedding. The Union ballroom was a great spot. The coordinator, Kade, was wonderful to work with. She answered all emails promptly and was really flexible when it came time for our tasting. We were planning the wedding from out of state and Kade made it so easy! The food was fantastic. We opted for a chicken (airline chicken) and vegetarian meal (mushroom strudel) and guests raved about both. Service was prompt for everyone. We added a second bar to make sure that guests never had to stand in line for a drink, and I heard many happy guests talking about the selection. The banquet coordinator, Patrick, was also great! He met us downstairs when we arrived at the Union from our ceremony and worked with our DJ to keep us out of sight until our entrance. The ballroom was beautifully set up. The staff did a great job making sure everything was where it belonged and checked in with me (the bride) a perfect amount– not too often, but enough to let me know what was going on! Overall, the MSU Union was a wonderful place for a wedding reception.

4/15/2014 • Emily D

Where do I even start? The food was wonderful, the coordinators and staff were so on top of everything, they were able to craft my wedding to my exact desires, and when the fire alarm went off unexpectedly during the reception (it is a public building), the staff handled everyone with grace and it did not impact the wedding in a negative manner at all! In fact, it made the night even better! We had a 15 month engagement, during which the staff was always responsive to our questions. I would without a doubt recommend them to any Spartan alums wanting to get married on campus.

3/04/2014 • Ashley

The MSU Union Ballroom is an amazing place to hold your wedding reception! The venue is beautiful and the staff is so helpful. They think of and take care of everything for you! Once the wedding day arrived I didn't have to worry about anything and everything turned out better than I could have imagained

7/25/2013 • Michelle B

I could not have asked for a better reception experience! The ballroom staff was AMAZING! Katie was SO great to work with and I felt at ease working with her. She made sure every detail was covered and because of that I could relax and enjoy the day! The night of the reception the staff was extremely helpful and super polite. I hear so many comments about how great they were! I HIGHLY recommend Katie and her staff!

6/25/2013 • Nathan Y

We had our reception at the MSU Union ballroom on 5/25 and it was a great venue for 2 Spartan Alumni! We also booked the alumni chapel for our ceremony so they offer a reception room at the union for free when you book the chapel which was a nice bonus. The ballroom has a max of 250 and we ended up at around 170 which felt like a good number for the room, not too crowded and not too empty. Any lower than 150 would probably be too small for the ballroom and more than 200 would feel pretty tight even though the capacity is supposed to be 250. They do have several other rooms to accomodate smaller events but this is the biggest one I believe. The union staff were super helpful with our planning, we had 2 coordinators as our first one got promoted to a different department during our engagement. Kade was our second coordinator and she was extremely helpful and responsive especially leading up to the event. She was very on top of things and frequently changed our estimates as we got more concrete numbers in which was helpful in figuring out our final cost. She was also very organized and went step by step through the reception plan and helped us make decisions on the number of appetizers and many other details. Last minute I called to see if she could get a TV put in by the bar to watch the Wings playoff game and she got it done really quickly. We had a tasting a few months prior. They let us try 3 different entrees, you could try more for a price, and the chef answered all of our questions and was open to changing things up on the menu if we wanted. The food was handled by Spartan Signature Catering which is all in house and they did a great job. We had the airline chicken and pistachio encrusted whitefish as our entrees. They were both delicious and the portions were huge. Our guests all said they enjoyed the food. They also let us offer a veggie option and kids entrée without charging an additional entrée fee as long as it was less than 10% of the total head count. For our appetizers we had the mini beef wellingtons and spanakopita as well as veggies and cheese and crackers, all were very tasty. We were taking pictures during cocktail hour but they put a plate of apps at the head table for us when we arrived which was a nice touch. We also had a late night snack of sliders which were a big hit. The Union is a great place for Spartan alums to have their reception. I’d choose it again if I had to do it all over.