Venue: Baltimore Museum of Industry: A+
I knew I was going to get married here 5 years ago. My now-husband’s company had their holiday gala there and as soon as I walked in I was in love. We checked out some other venues after (finally) getting engaged but none of them lived up to the museum. I wanted something that could fit over 200 people, with separate spaces for the ceremony and reception, while being in the same general space, and an awesome view. The museum had all of that. We had the ceremony outside under the pavilion and the reception in the main gallery.
I also loved how the inside was basically already decorated and doesn’t require too much additional help. The woman in charge of events isn’t overly helpful, but she always responded to my questions timely, and all of the museum staff are very open and accommodating to people wanting to stop by to see the space for events. I know we made the right choice with the museum. I loved the way it looked and heard so many compliments from those who felt the same way.
Caterer: Atlantic Catering: A+
Atlantic was one of the BMI’s preferred caterers. When starting my search, I basically emailed all of the preferred caterers to get some initial information. I narrowed it down based on who actually responded, who actually gave me the information I was looking for via email (and without having to set up appts), and whose priciest were the best. Atlantic won by far! Kristin is great to work with – always quick to respond to emails and questions. They host free tastings each quarter with everything you could ever imagine! And if there’s something you didn’t get but wanted, they will arrange another tasting for you. And they will do this all without a signed contract or any type of down payment.
Kristin was also very accommodating for our requests for changes to some of the package choices. We ultimately went with stations – carving with pork and beef tenderloin, mashed potato bar, asparagus and roasted veggies, and a served summer salad with berries. Though I barely ate at the wedding, I had tasted everything before and knew it would be great. The mashed potato bar was a hit! All the guests loved it.
Also, something to remember when using the BMI - your caterer is basically your coordinator (the museum doesn’t really do anything). Kristin had experience with the BMI and dealt with the layout, the ceremony set up, arranging extra chairs, tables, etc., through another vendor, and anything else that needed done. A few days before the wedding we dropped off things like signature frame, table numbers, place cards, etc., and they set it all up. At the end of the night they boxed everything back up for us to take.
There were two minor snafus but nothing that really affected the day. Our sweetheart table was not quite where we agreed on, so we were further away from our parents and bridal party than we wanted. Also they couldn’t find our monogram topper for our brownie tower. It was lightweight and wrapped in bubble, so I’m guessing they just thought it was extra packing material. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Overall they were amazing and I highly recommend them.
Brownie Tower: Yia Yia’s Bakery: A
The catering package at Atlantic comes with a cake from either Yia Yia’s or SugarBakers. We wanted to do something a little different and Kristin recommended talking to Yia Yia’s. We ultimately decided on a brownie tower – giant brownies stacked up on a cupcake tower. It looked great and Yia Yia’s was very helpful. I didn’t want to have to deal with arranging payment for another vendor (plus they require you to bring back the cupcake stand) so we made all the additional arrangements through the caterer for them to take care of. The brownies tasted great and people commented all night about how cool and different it was.
DJ: MyDeejay: A+
Evan Reitmeyer was our DJ assigned to us, based on the fact that he had the most experience doing weddings at our venue. He was great, personality-wise, and I had read enough glowing reviews of his deejaying to know that he would be a great choice. Their online planning system is very cool and makes all of the music and timeline planning go very smoothly. We talked on the phone about a week before just to make sure he had every confirmed and to go over last minute details. On the day of the wedding he was great1 He brought an assistant with him and both of them were super helpful, offering to get us drinks during dinner, and making sure we were prepared for the special dances, announcements, etc., without being overly pushy and in our faces. Their flawless reputation is very well-deserved!