Cleveland History Center at Western Reserve Historical

est they'd ever been to. The first time we toured, we couldn't quite believe all the amazing aspects that were packed into the same venue. We were able to take pictures and host our ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception in four distinct but equally amazing spaces. We took our pictures in the Hay McKinney Garden which is a beautiful garden that is set against the backdrop of a vintage Italian-inspired mansion. It is the closest you can get to an Italian countryside wedding in Cleveland. The ceremony was held in the Hanna garden which is a bigger garden and was absolutely breathtaking and dramatic. The cocktail hour was held in the Crawford Auto Museum (basement of the museum). This space is filled with vintage cars which guests can roam around while sipping their cocktails. The reception was held in the main rotunda and we rented the carousel to be running during the reception - which was a big guest-pleaser. During the planning process, we initially had communication issues with the original coordinator, but she was replaced with a new one a few months before our wedding. From there, we had a very positive experience and felt supported in our planning. Other than the main spaces, there were some other great upsides to this venue. It is conveniently located in University Circle. We were able to host other wedding weekend events in Little Italy and also have a block at the Intercontinental nearby. Guests were able to easily get to the area from the airport. Guests were also able to explore other Cleveland sights without having to go to far. The parking situation was very easy. If you are looking for an "all-in-one" venue that is beautiful, unique, and exciting, I highly recommend CHC.

date, which we were told was available. The coordinator told us she would send the contract our way. After waiting a week for the expected contract, we still didn’t receive anything. We emailed multiple times without a response. We also tried calling, to which the voicemail box was full. After not hearing back for over a month, we moved on. My fiancé and I were fortunate to find another location that we both love, but we were very disappointed in the lack of communication from the coordinator here. If the contract was sent to us, we would’ve arranged for our wedding to be here, but I am thankful we chose a venue that made us feel worth our time and money.

Cleveland, this one stands out the most, but the lack of communication is concerning. The coordinator’s voicemail is now full, so I can’t even leave a message, and it seems impossible to reach her. I believe her name is Brianna. It’s frustrating because the venue looks perfect for my wedding, yet I haven’t been able to get any information.

d plenty of parking. The guests loved the classic cars, and lots of guests commented on how unique and cool the venue was. For the most part, the staff members were friendly. The point person, Brianna, had a good understanding of the space. Our biggest challenge with this venue (and our biggest challenge planning our wedding reception overall) was working with the point of contact at CHC, Brianna. We had read reviews online prior to selecting this venue that mentioned that Brianna was difficult to communicate with. We took those comments into account and planned to be proactive in our communications, but we did not realize the extent of the challenges we would face. Brianna did not communicate in a timely or complete matter. There were several occasions where it would take multiple attempts over weeks for Brianna to respond. Some of our questions were complicated, so we understood some delay, but she would not even acknowledge receipt. She was not flexible in scheduling meetings with us and would often arrive late. The most egregious example of bad communication was when we (the bride, groom, and father of the groom) received an email at 9pm the night before the wedding saying that some of the alcohol we had selected was not actually available. We only saw the message by happenstance, so we scrambled and made it work, but that's a serious misstep that suggests that CHC was only verifying their alcohol roster less than a day ahead of a large event. We’re not sure what Brianna’s backup plan would have been if we didn’t answer that email. Was she planning to call us the morning of our wedding? This did not feel professional and was extremely frustrating. Two final negatives. During our reception, the Rotunda got uncomfortably hot, despite it being a nice day in April (maybe 70 degrees). The CHC staff at one point said the temperature could not be changed and was rude to the mother-of-the-bride about it. It was so hot that we (the bride and groom) had to leave the reception to go outside to cool down. A member of the staff did later come to us to apologize for the heat and the rude treatment of the bride’s mother. He explained that the HVAC had been damaged in the fire so it would take a long time for the building to cool down. In Brianna’s best move of the night, she brought the bride an excellent electric fan. After the sun went down and the air had been running for about an hour, things cooled down. One of the reasons we picked the venue was because of a scenic library we could use for pictures. The library burned down six months before the wedding, and no one told us until we asked about it during our walkthrough a month before the wedding. To be clear, the fire was a tragedy, and we still got great pictures, but it would have been nice to know that we had to pivot. Okay, let's wrap this up. CHC is a great location that seems to be suffering from mismanagement that introduces additional stress when planning a reception there. If you can handle that, it's an amazing venue, especially if you love the idea of a history museum. Keep in mind, it's expensive to hold your wedding reception here. The base cost of reserving the space is high, not including alcohol or the carousel fee. Be prepared to go the extra mile in handling logistics...because CHC won't.