About this vendor
The Maxwell House is a Historic Landmark & Special Event Space located in the heart of Old Town Pasadena. Full of unique architectural details and historic charm, our venue is the perfect setting for unforgettable celebrations.
We offer two beautifully curated wedding packages designed to accommodate a variety of visions and guest counts. All event rentals include exclusive access to the entire first floor — featuring our elegant main ballroom, sweeping grand staircase, spacious foyer, large dining room, library, fully equipped kitchen, and a limited outdoor garden area perfect for ceremonies. Two private wedding suites are also included.
Our packages feature the use of our in-house equipment such as tables and chairs, artisan-crafted wooden wedding arch, dance floor, sound system, bar, complimentary parking, and more.
Traditional Weddings (Saturdays)
Up to 100 guests
Event end time: 10:00 PM
Includes ceremony & reception
Access to all in-house furniture and equipment
Boutique Weddings (Sundays)
Up to 65 guests
Event end time: 8:00 PM
Ideal for intimate celebrations
Includes ceremony & reception
Access to all in-house furniture and equipment
We host a limited number of Traditional and Boutique Weddings each calendar year to ensure personalized service and preserve the historic integrity of the property.
Please note: We do not offer wedding packages during major holiday weekends.
As we are operated by the nonprofit organization Western Justice Center, there is no tax on our venue rentals. Your event directly supports WJC’s mission to empower youth, educators, and community partners through conflict resolution education grounded in equity, justice, and opportunity.
By choosing The Maxwell House, you are helping deliver transformational programs that strengthen communities across Southern California and beyond.
Amenities + details
Ceremony Area
Dressing Room
Handicap Accessible
Indoor Event Space
Reception Area
Wireless Internet
Covered Outdoors Space
Liability Insurance
On-Site Accommodations
Outdoor Event Space
Business Attributes
- Asian-owned Business
- Black-owned Business
- Hispanic or Latinx-owned Business
- LGBTQ+-owned Business
- Pacific Islander-owned Business
- Woman-owned Business
Ceremony Types
- Civil Union
- Commitment Ceremony
- Elopement
- Interfaith Ceremony
- Non-Religious Ceremony
- Religious Ceremony
Settings
- Estate
- Historic Venue
Venue Service Offerings
- Rentals & Equipment
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Reviews
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4.8
out of 5.016 reviews
Just writing this out of disappointment from the unresponsiveness of the venue. This was my first choice venue, but they completely ghosted us. Last response was May 27th saying th...
ey would send us details in the coming weeks. It’s now about to be September and we ended up booking another venue as slots for next year are quickly filling up.
This venue was very easy to navigate booking, answer questions, has a great vendor network and a venue that doesn't need much decoration. They are inclusive, have a lot of in house...
materials available, and very easy to get to location with parking.
Situated right off a nearby freeway, the Maxwell House is extremely accessible and an absolutely gorgeous venue. When me and my wife were looking for venues for our wedding, we ult...
imately landed on this one due to price, location, and the beauty and potential the venue had for hosting our type of event. A big selling point was that a majority of the fees go towards the Western Justice Center, a non-profit that grows and teaches conflict resolution skills in youth and educators and whose offices are inside this historic venue. The building itself is just full of beautiful little locations, from the lovely patio out back, to the warm and inviting interiors and grand staircase. They have quite a number of "rental" furniture and that comes with the fee of your wedding package that really helps cut down costs of having to chase down and find tables and chairs. The way they set up events also allows you come in a day before to set up, decorate, and have rehearsal so that on the day of your event things are mostly done and prepared for you. But, we did have one issue that we encountered that is hard for us to ignore, which was that due to a scheduling system change, our original requested day was double-booked. Now, I'm sure it's a rare occurrence and we were just unlucky, but it did hurt in the moment. However, the crew at the Maxwell House did everything they could to correct things and that's why I've decided to rate them so highly despite that. We still had a wonderful wedding and a brilliant day and we're still happy that we've had it here. There's so many positive aspects to this venue, to the kind hearts working there, the excellent vendor list, and the location itself, that I recommend you check out one of their Open Houses to experience the possibilities for yourself!
We loved working with the Maxwell House! They are so professional, yet it doesn't feel like your wedding is assembly line at all. We got tons of compliments on the beautiful space ...
the day of our wedding. The price is very fair for all the items they include, and we love that the venue fee helps support a non-profit!
Thank you Rae and the Maxwell House team! We held an elopement wedding ceremony and it was perfect. Rae was extremely helpful and answered all of our questions. The venue was beaut...
iful and had everything we wanted for our day. Such a unique place and it was the perfect place for us!
My husband and I toured numerous wedding venues and landed on The Maxwell House for multiple reasons: (1) The historic charm - each room tells a story, (2) The mission - Maxwell Ho...
use houses Western Justice Center which offers impactful community programming, (3) Affordability (enough said), and (4) The ability to choose your own vendors.
My husband and I had to postpone our wedding due to COVID-19 and Maxwell House worked with us to re-book for the following year. Their support and flexibility was hugely appreciated and helped ease the stress of re-planning a wedding. Additionally, Maxwell House is the perfect event space for people of diverse backgrounds. When my husband and I were touring venues, every single one had limitations on the food you could serve, the DJ you could hire, etc. As an Iranian-American, I was really disappointed that I wouldn't be able to hire vendors that reflected my culture and identity. Thank you Maxwell House for being the inclusive and understanding venue that you are!
Maxwell House was perfect for our budget mindful DIY wedding. It allowed us the flexibility we needed to pull off our dream wedding. Reid Lee, the director of operations and events...
is the most fabulous and supportive venue contact you could want. They give you the freedom to bring in and choose whichever vendors you like - including being able to provide your own bar! Maxwell House offers outdoor and indoor space on one property. They also offer free parking in a lot across the street! Maxwell House provides tables and chairs for dinner seating and ceremony seating, too - they set it all up in time for your rehearsal. They also have a built in dance floor in their stunning foyer.
Overall, we LOVED Maxwell House - I highly, highly recommend it! Even though we were in this mansion we could never afford to live in, it felt like being home... celebrating with our most favorite people. It was classic, elegant but somehow cozy, too.
Thank you Maxwell House and Reid - we have so much love and gratitude for you!!
This was a dream of a venue. We had such a great experience and even our vendors commented on how easy it was to work at this venue. My guests are still talking about it months lat...
er! Reid was awesome and Melissa was too. I would recommend this place to anyone.
The Maxwell House was the only venue I toured after months of online research. Instantly, I knew I wanted to get married there. I loved having the ability to hire my own vendors be...
cause we were doing an interfaith/multicultural ceremony and had some specific requirements for food, etc. I was really worried about finding an event space that could accommodate all our logistical and personal wants and needs.
The space is stunning! We had our ceremony outside and it had a garden/backyard feel to it, as well as an elegant Los Angeles-in-the-30’s look. Inside, you really don’t need any additional décor besides some floral arrangements since the art is so stunning. My only concern was that it was a little dim and we were getting married in November. I met with their preferred lighting vendor, GoGo Sprockets, and we created a false ceiling in the foyer with lanterns strung from the balcony, which was so gorgeous. Also, our photographer, Michael Farmer, specializes in low lighting photography and our pictures turned out great.
On a personal note, I was really happy to have my wedding here because of it’s mission. My best friends/bridesmaids are queer women. My family is Korean and Irish Catholic and my husband’s family is Pakistani and Muslim. Getting married in a beautiful, welcome space was a must for us.
Lastly, Reid is the best! My husband took over wedding planning and definitely needed help. Reid's professionalism and guidance saved us a ton of stress, especially since we were struggling towards the end. We really can't thank him enough!
Wow, talk about a gorgeous wedding venue, with an amazingly helpful and kind staff to match. We love the Maxwell House and Reid is a champ at being responsive, thorough, and making...
sure your special day really ends up being the best day of your life!
My wife and I had been shopping around for wedding venues for about six months. We didn't really have a budget in mind so were open to anything. What we really loved about the Maxwell House is that it had the backyard wedding feel we wanted, but most of all you can choose whoever you want to be your wedding vendors (so long as they're properly licensed and such).
THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT! For you grooms out there, or anyone who doesn't really know how wedding spaces work, it's rare to find places that let you choose your own vendor. What a novel concept!
Anyways we visited a few open houses and were set on the Maxwell House. When we requested a quote for pricing, I couldn't believe how affordable it was. Now, I understand that this is relative to your wedding budget, but I'll tell you if your trying to have a 80-100 person wedding in a beautiful location, this place is such a deal. LA's hidden wedding venue gem.
Anyways, we picked a date and put in our deposit. They have a very easy payment portal so you don't have to send a check or anything inconvenient like that. Also, the staff is amazing! Especially Reid! I think I'd call him 3-4 times a month leading up to our wedding, making sure everything worked, floorpan questions, etc... Anyways he never made me feel like I was being a burden. Also the day before when we were setting up, Reid went above and beyond to make some arrangements that made our wedding so much more beautiful!
Highly recommend the Maxwell House and everything about it. Also Pasadena is gorgeous!
What an amazing venue! I actually had a guest tell me that one of the reasons my wedding was so much fun was because of the “rad venue.” First of all, the Maxwell House is stunning...
. We didn’t have to spend money on decorations simply because the venue didn’t need them! Reid was a dream to work with. He was very attentive and answered every question (I had many) in a timely manor. We had planned on having the wedding ceremony outside on the back patio, but since it was raining we ended up having it in the foyer and it was absolutely beautiful. I loved that they had pre-planned having the ceremony inside for us and we didn’t have to worry about it. When we arrived Friday for the rehearsal, Reid greeted us and let us know that they had set up chairs inside due to the weather forecast. He also let me know that someone would be at the venue on Saturday at noon just in case the rain didn’t com to help move the chairs outside. One of the other reasons (aside from it being beauful) that we chose this venue is because of the Western Justice Center. Having a venue that supports such a great cause was very important to me and my fiancé and made my heart smile when one of my bridal attendants made the realization before the ceremony. Supporting our LGBTQ friends and family was he icing on the cake for us. Thank you, Western Justice Center and Maxwell House for the work you do. I would recommend this venue for anyone looking g for a beautiful venue that supports an amazing cause.
My husband and I tied the knot at The Maxwell House on a Saturday evening this past June. The venue was the perfect setting for our wedding, especially because of the layout of the...
rooms and back patio. We were able to have our ceremony and reception all in the same place, which made it very convenient. Even better - they let you bring in your own alcohol and caterer, which helped keep our wedding costs low while still putting together the perfect wedding. Definitely recommended for a couple who is looking to through an elegant, classy wedding without the crazy price tag.
I loved the Maxwell House! They were wonderful and really accommodating. For the rental price, which is VERY affordable for the LA area, you get 3 hrs the day before the event (yo...
u can set up all of your decorations and leave them there. BIG plus) and 12 hours the day of the event. Everyone I dealt with was really nice and helpful, and I had a great experience overall. They only negative is that there isn't really a good place for the guys to get ready at the venue. My husband and his guys just stayed at the hotel instead, and took getting ready pictures there. Also, it can't accommodate a big wedding. The dining room can only hold 100 people, which was perfect for us, but if you need a bigger guest list, then this is not the venue for you. Otherwise, it is a great venue.
I love the Maxwell House. Camilla was so great. She answered all of our questions through out the 9 month process of booking the venue and then planning for it. She allowed mult...
iple members of my family to stop by throughout the 9 month planning process to view the venue and worked with our vendors when we ran into issues. The venue is absolutely gorgeous and required basically no decorating. The best part was the fact that venue cost only $2600 to rent the entire building and included chairs, tables, and a great kitchen. We received so many compliments for the venue and just could not have imagined ourselves getting married anywhere else. Perfect location, tons of options for taking photos, doesn't get any better.
Beautiful venue!
We found this little gem by accident and couldn't have been happier. It's a gorgeous old mansion with huge rooms and tons of charm. All we had to do was add the food and a few ligh...
ts and we had a stunning space for our wedding. They even have a patio out back where we had our ceremony. It's a perfect quiet location among the most beautiful houses in Pasadena. The venue was also super easy to work with, with very few strict rules. We had a fantastic time and it felt like a home wedding, only in a fantastic mansion!
Contact
55 South Grand Ave., Pasadena, CA
The Maxwell House