About this vendor
The Otten on Main is a wedding venue located in Kansas City, MO. Situated in the historic Crossroads Arts District, this elegant property served as a hotel for many years. The building was originally constructed in 1918 and has since been lovingly restored while preserving key art deco design elements. Seamlessly combining an industrial-chic style with a sense of vintage charm, it offers a stylish setting to tie the knot.
To start your day at The Otten on Main, you can get ready in their luxurious on-site dressing rooms. This space is great for relaxing and enjoying time with loved ones before making your way down the aisle. There are two main areas to choose from for your ceremony and reception. The venue’s spacious rooftop bar provides a picturesque setting to say “I do” as you take in the breathtaking views of the city below. Inside, the second-floor ballroom has everything you need for a sophisticated wedding banquet. You and up to 300 guests can admire the room’s beautiful high ceilings, exposed brickwork, cedar accent wall, and white-washed beams adorned with twinkling lights. After, you can take advantage of their spacious dance floor for your evening entertainment. The ballroom can be easily rearranged to accommodate your needs, making it the perfect blank canvas for a personal and memorable experience.
The dedicated coordination team at The Otten on Main offers a wide range of packages to ensure your big day runs smoothly. Their catering staff can prepare a delicious variety of dishes, including options for people with dietary requirements. They also have bartenders to keep you and your loved ones refreshed. An in-house sound system and outdoor patio furniture are available for cocktail receptions. They also offer a private shuttle service, ample parking, and rental items. Set up and clean up are provided by staff, allowing you to enjoy time with your guests.
Amenities + details
Ceremony Area
Dressing Room
Handicap Accessible
Indoor Event Space
On-Site Accommodations
Outdoor Event Space
Reception Area
Wireless Internet
Covered Outdoors Space
Liability Insurance
Ceremony Types
- Civil Union
- Commitment Ceremony
- Elopement
- Interfaith Ceremony
- Non-Religious Ceremony
- Religious Ceremony
Settings
- Ballroom
- Historic Venue
- Industrial & Warehouse
- Loft
- Rooftop
Venue Service Offerings
- Bar & Drinks
- Bar Rental
- Destination Weddings
- Destination Wedding Planning
- Food & Catering
- Planning
Reviews
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4.3
out of 5.015 reviews
Review photos
Showing slide number 1 out of 6
If we could do things over, we would choose to have our wedding somewhere else. Despite how beautiful the venue is, it was not worth the headaches caused by the Otten’s management ...
and staff’s lack of organization and communication. They made several promises before we signed a contract that were not upheld. They did not provide all the alcohol that we paid for. On the day of our wedding, they told us that they were cutting our rental time on the rooftop by 2 hours. We had signed and paid for a 10-hour time block that ended at midnight. They tried to cut it to 10 so they could open it to the public sooner. We had to negotiate with the staff to at least let us have our last dance on the rooftop at 11 before they opened it to the public. The people covering our event had no idea what was agreed to and in our contract. I literally had to pull my phone out during our reception to search for old emails and messages to prove to their own staff what was agreed to. Not exactly what I wanted to be worrying about during my own wedding reception. Afterwords, management tried to downplay their mistakes and even tried to blame us for a couple of them. These are just a few of the problems that we faced with the Otten leading up to, the day of, and the days following our wedding. For the amount of money we paid them, they were a total mess. The one positive thing I will say is Johnny, the GM of Vye, was phenomenal. He was the only person associated with the venue who actually tried to help us and make things right. Other than Johnny, we have nothing good to say about The Otten and their staff. We would never recommend anyone book the Otten for their wedding after our experience with them.
We got married 9/9/23. Our venue was amazing! The Otten had a rooftop with bar and main floor reception space with bar. It was exactly what we wanted and management was understandi...
ng, kind, personable, and so helpful. There were some changes to their business in between signing and the wedding, but they were incredibly transparent and accommodating. Doug & Pam were a pleasure to work with. The space had great amenities and even features a public bar on the main floor to the side now, which is great for guests that want to keep partying!! Everything was very reasonable and the unobstructed view of KC is hard to beat. 10/10 recommend.
Best day ever! The Otten on Main is such a beautiful venue, and the staff really goes above and beyond. Great communication and attention to detail.
Our wedding was so perfect because of Doug and everyone at the Otten. The view of Kansas City is unmatched and they went above and beyond to make sure everything was perfect for ou...
r big day!
The space at The Otten was absolutely gorgeous! Between the views on the rooftop, the brick walls, hardwood floors and string lights, the overall look was a dream! We received so m...
any compliments from our guests and our photos turned out fantastic! I really enjoyed working with Christie, she took over as event manager after we signed our contract and was extremely helpful and accommodating to make sure our day was perfect!
This venue was fantastic! We booked this venue over a year before our wedding. We loved the industrial/rustic vibe of the reception area and the view from the rooftop. We used the ...
rooftop for our ceremony - we were able to rehearse on Friday night before our rehearsal dinner. Christie was great to have and asked plenty of questions and had great suggestions to make the ceremony perfect for us. On Saturday she was there the whole time willing to help out wherever she could and managed all the vendors arriving throughout the day. During the entire day there was only one hiccup and she got to the bottom it causing no stress on myself or anyone else. I could not recommend this venue more, and if you do choose to go with The Otten, you will be in great hands with Christie!!
First I have to say that our wedding was great and the venue is beautiful. I can tell that they have put a lot of work into making the space worth it. We rented both the indoor spa...
ce and the rooftop, and it was wonderful.
I hate to say it, but the management was SO stressful to work with. Between the miscommunication and the LACK of communication, I do not think the stress was worth it. My event coordinator even had a hard time getting in contact with the management! There were promises made when the contract was signed that I was told could not be upheld. It was not on the contract so I felt like I couldn't argue, but closer to the event I realized that a lot of the promises that were made were listed in the brochure I was given for the venue.
In a nutshell, I had to make several "compromises" on my end AFTER the contract was signed in order for things to go smoothly, and the management itself just rolled around in the dough we already dropped. Good for them.
While I loved the venue, I felt like a lot of the money I spent here was wasted.
We took the venue tour and were blown away by the rooftop 360 views. The bridal suite is unmatched and the groom mancave was very enticing. This venue ticked all of our boxes - out...
door space, indoor area, dancefloor, groom and bridal suite... We ended up going with another venue due to our growing guest list. You will not regret going with The Otten because of the amazing amenities.
We booked the Otten in March of 2020. At the time they hadn’t had many weddings so we took a leap of faith. With the pandemic we had to reschedule our wedding and they were incredi...
bly flexible. The space itself is stunning and the rooftop is unmatched. During this time they had several changes in management, their current manager Christie, is incredible. She is so fun, organized, flexible, and punctual. We couldn’t have had a better experience at the Otten.
The biggest must have for our wedding venue was a rooftop. The Otten on Main delivered that along with historic charm. Its rooftop has 360 degree panoramic views with the city skyl...
ine on one side and Union Station and the Western Auto sign on the other. The main floor has brick walls, lots of ambient natural light, and even a statement yellow door that’s original to the building.
The venue manager, Kris, was helpful. She allowed us to tour the venue numerous times so we could show it to our friends, family, and vendors. Kris was at the venue during the rehearsal and wedding. She set up chairs for our ceremony and tables for the post-ceremony room flip.
My bridal party and I had a blast getting ready in the bridal suite. There’s a fridge for snacks, plenty of seating, and a large tv. The groom’s suite in the basement includes entertainment like an air hockey table. Our guests enjoyed cocktail hour on the rooftop and dancing on the main floor. If you’re getting married, pay extra to have your rehearsal at The Otten. It is worth it to unload and set up decor before the wedding. Also, finding the parking lot can be tricky so you want people to know exactly where to go the day of the wedding.
Overall, I’d recommend The Otten on Main for its reasonable price and stunning views!
The Otten was a fantastic venue, we were so happy with everything and for Kris and her help. It is a beautiful space and our guests loved the scenery - many pictures were taken on ...
the rooftop!
Be aware that you’re only allowed in the venue from 12-12 which meant we were running around and stressed trying to get everything ready, and constantly having to let people in because exterior doors are all locked. The elevator broke down right before wedding party pictures and with a handicapped wedding party guest, we had to miss out on pictures. Luckily it was fixed by cocktail hour. Final note is that we wish there was more signage out front and for parking to ease confusion of guests.
We lucked out with updates, additional ammenities and a new manager after signing our contract, which gave us better bang for our buck. The best thing the Otten did, however, was definitely hiring Kris.
The venue itself is beautiful and Kris is phenomenal to work with! If this review was based solely on these two elements I would give it five stars.
However, I can only give this...
rating 3 stars. Firstly, the cost of the venue and rooftop is expensive for what you are provided and that’s simply nothing except the views. It’s also my understanding that the cost has increased since we booked our wedding (ouch!). You can rent your tables/chairs from the venue for an additional cost, but we ran into a snag when the venue didn’t have enough same size round tables for our guests and no cocktail tables. So, we had to rent tables, chairs, linens, silverware, centerpieces, chargers, dishes, water goblets, etc which was a hefty expense in itself. Then, you have to think of all of the very small items needed such as cocktail straws, garnishes, cocktail napkins, coolers, joggers, wine bottle openers, beer bottle openers, votives, candles, etc, etc. All of those very little details add up quickly! Not to mention you must transport all of your items to the venue yourself resulting in another expense (we had to rent a budget truck) and the time spent to resell items that you used for the reception.
Lastly, per the contract you are only allowed in the space from 12pm-12am the day of your event. You can pay to have the space longer, but it’s a pretty hefty hourly charge. This doesn’t allow much time for set up/tear down (and you must account for the elevator time), etc.
I appreciate Kris’s flexibility with us as she was the third venue coordinator we had worked with since booking the space. She was a dream to work with!
So, overall if you’re okay with paying the rental fee plus providing all of your own items then this place is definitely a venue to check out! But, if you’re looking for something with a little less stress then I’m not sure this space is for you.
It would be so helpful if the venue had items in which could be included in the rental fee like most venues do! Just a thought for the future.
First, I would like to say that The Otten is a beautiful venue with amazing views of Kansas City. If you take a tour, you will love it. However, dealing with management (who is no ...
longer Emily) can cause massive headaches. Throughout the process it was clear that nothing was being saved or noted. I had countless email exchanges explaining the exact same details over and over, and a week before my wedding, management still had no idea if my ceremony was on the rooftop or not. I purposefully rented all furniture from other vendors so The Otten only had the bare minimum responsibilities. After encountering a few negative reviews, I decided to hire two extra people to help greet guests and make sure no one was locked out of the venue. I can't see this venue lasting long unless they either hire way more people or do a complete overhaul with management.
The space's aesthetics & service are both equally phenomenal! The history of the building is alive & beautiful and Emily was a true professional who was a delight to work with.
Emily Garcia is amazing to work with, she is helpful and professional. The views are amazing from the rooftop and so great to have indoor space to do both wedding and reception.
Contact
2018 Main, Kansas City, MO
The Otten on Main