Gem Theatre

ans you've been to a lot of weddings!) that gave a full experience to our guests. The location made it easy for guests who travelled to stay close, the parking garage made it accessible for our local guests, and also gave us a lot of options for post-event get togethers. This was the first venue we toured and we fell in love instantly. The vintage charm, the history, and the ambiance sold us. The staff was extremely easy to work with, even as they transitioned between sales managers. We loved that catering was included and that we got to have the entire building to ourselves- it made it truly feel personalized and easy. The bar included was one less stressor for planning and we loved that we could still have signature cocktails (and the espresso martini was a hit!). The duo plates for dinner were a game changer- not only for streamlining invites, but giving guests a unique dining experience. The food was great, and we loved that the vegetarian options were more unique than just pasta, and they were great with dealing with allergens. The venue was very communicative and the tasting was easy to schedule (and delicious). There were also so many ways to design our floor plan, which we were super appreciative of. We loved that we could drop off linens the day before and pick them up the day after- making it easy to customize our look. Having the whole building also allows so many options for weddings of all sizes. We had 165, which allowed us to have the ceremony in the theater, cocktail hour right outside of that, and dinner in the basement, and dancing back in the theater. It allowed us to flow and feel the transitions between events without having to actually leave the building and travel. It also allowed us to move many of our decorations between spaces. Having the bar area with seating was a game changer that we still get rave reviews about. It allowed our older guests (and anyone with heels!) a place to sit, and an option to talk and mingle outside of the dance floor. It was perfect. There are also so many photo options in this building- from the vintage dressing rooms, to the stage, to the fireplaces, to balcony theater seats. There's also so many places to include special details. The balcony also offered our guests a unique viewing experience and kept any late comers from interrupting the ceremony (and honestly gave us some of our favorite pictures!) Our only warning(s) are that rehearsals can be at weird times. You do only get the venue 4 hours before your event start. While that feels like a lot of time, we truly missed on being able to take our bridal portraits and other posed bridal party photos (like in the getting ready rooms) due to a time crunch and vendors needing the set up time. We found an alternative, and love all the photos we did get, and this would not keep us from booking. Despite a March wedding, there was an event booked the day before, so our rehearsal had to either be Thursday (impractical for our wedding party that came from out of town) or Friday morning. However despite this, the Gem was very open and flexible with scheduling to get as many of us there as possible. We loved every aspect of our wedding and would do it here all over again- I mean who can say no to getting married on a stage??