Grand Theater, Wausau: Our Wedding Venue

This August we were married and I haven't shared anything about how it went on my blog yet!  So I thought I would do a few posts on some of the highlights and tips that I have for other brides planning their weddings.  First was the venue...and choosing a wedding venue was SUPER duper tough.

Adam and I both grew up in the country but we love our lifestyle in the Twin Cities.  So, picking a wedding venue back in Central Wisconsin was really difficult.  We wanted a vibe that we'd be able to find in Minneapolis but didn't want it to be so cutting edge that we scared our families and friends back home.

So after looking at a lot of expensive and boring bowling alleys, hotels and hall rentals decorated with antlers and cedar logs we had one last place to check out.  While we never knew anyone that's had a wedding there, we toured the ARTsblock/Grand Theater's "Great Hall" in downtown Wausau...and fell in love.

These pictures were taken by me when we were scoping out the location

For the first time throughout the whole venue search I could see myself in a wedding dress and could envision the starlit ceiling, the bar lit up with old neon and our guests hanging out on the patio, and the whole thing finally started came together.  In addition to their gorgeous backdrops, there were a few other things that made the decision easy for us:

• The staff was extremely accommodating and willing to work with all of my non-standard ideas and requests.
• The area around the Grand Theater is gorgeous.  Cobblestone streets, a park, a water fountain and a bright red British telephone booth...what more could you ask for?
• The Grand Theater allowed us to choose our caterer.  While they had a list of preferred vendors, they worked with us and were extremely flexible.  At many other venues you are given a limited list of choices (all of which are typically overpriced).  In those situations, they know that you have to choose one of them and are most times unwilling to negotiate pricing or work with you on a custom menu.
• You can choose your dessert.  You want an ice cream bar, cookie bar or brownie bar?  Great.  Also, you can choose who you want to cater it.  No cake cutting fees or any of that shenannigans that couples can get wrapped up in.
• Reasonable alcohol prices.  There were other places that wanted to charge us nearly $4/glass when you take gratuity into consideration, with no options for half barrels.  Based on the fact that we went through six half barrels that evening, and we had warned them that it could that or more, we're confident we made the right choice.
• We had a rain backup, since we were able to rent out the theater if we needed to with a few days advanced notice

Grand Theater's bathrooms, among many other things, are gorgeous!

The outdoor patio is fenced in and gives your guest a LOT of room to go outside .

So it was decided, the Grand Theater it was!  Now, how in the world am I going to do this?  Since I've never been to a wedding there...I had no ideas to work from and literally started from scratch, and only knew one thing...  DON'T FIGHT THE VENUE.  What I mean by that is:

• If there is a prevalent color, don't try to pretend it's not there or that you can cover it up
• If it has a certain style, don't try to pick something drastically different 
• If it has a certain aspect or flair, don't try to fight it
• If you don't like what it has to offer, then don't choose it

While I had originally imagined a rustic chic style wedding, that quickly changed when I saw the art deco elegance of the Grand Theater, and I decided not to fight it.  But instead flatter it.  Thus started my "art deco", "theater", "gold" and "1920's" wedding search.  Since I love that time period and musical theater, I decided to 100% embraced the direction that the venue was naturally drawing me towards.

In terms of the themed details, here were a few of my favorites I plan to talk about in other posts:

• Wedding Playbill
• Favorite Things Menu
• Cookie Cart
• Popcorn Bar
• Photo Booth

Here's a few of the details in pictures:

Can't wait to share more details in the next few weeks!  Here's the venue information in case you're interested in learning more.  

The Grand Theater
401 4th Street
Wausau, WI
54403

Website: http://www.grandtheater.org/
Great Hall Details: http://www.grandtheater.org/facilityrental/greathall.aspx
Theater Rental: http://www.grandtheater.org/facilityrental/grandtheater.aspx

Wedding Photos Taken at the Grand Theater:
M Photography
Carissa Christine Photography
The McCartneys
The McCartneys
The McCartneys