[zazazoom]

I am getting married in Omaha next spring or summer. I am looking for unique venues to hold a reception and curious if anyone has attended an event at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts or the Jackson Street Art Gallery? If so could you please provide pictures of the event and a review of the space.

I am also considering having the reception at Joslyn Art Museum, however wanted to look at all the options before I made a decision.

In addition, I am looking for an old historical church to get married in. I am catholic, however my fiance would prefer to get married in a non-denominational church. Right now, we are looking at the First Unitarian Church but are open to other suggestions.

My fiance and I live in another state, so any input or ideas you have would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[Omaha Rocks]

Check out the Lauritzen Gardens. Really tough to book, because it's so popular, but might be worth a try. Lauritzen Gardens - Omaha Botanical Center

Also look into the Gerald Ford Birthplace. Gerald R. Ford Birthsite and Gardens - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There are also a LOT of beautiful parks in Omaha, but I don't know what their policies are. I did go to a wedding a couple years ago at Elmwood Park. Beautiful area with a nice pavilion. Elmwood Park (Omaha) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Regarding churches... I think you're going to find that the more generic non-denominational churches have "less beautiful" buildings than the old Catholic churches. I sense that their "rental policies" as well as prices vary widely.

[laserdisque]

The thing that makes the bemis so special is the art that is hung. The space is more of a blank canvas. The Gerald Ford Birthplace is an awesome place for a wedding. I have been to two there and it has always been very nice. I myself am getting married in my backyard.

[Omaha Rocks]

Originally Posted by laserdisque

The thing that makes the bemis so special is the art that is hung. The space is more of a blank canvas. The Gerald Ford Birthplace is an awesome place for a wedding. I have been to two there and it has always been very nice. I myself am getting married in my backyard.

Smart move! How many thousand dollars are you saving by doing that?

[pheaton]

As for my reception. We had it at the Doubletree downtown. I couldn't of asked for better service than what I got from the Doubletree coordinator. He was very professional. He had done hundreds of receptions and had everything down to a science. Everything was perfect and he was present at the reception to make sure it was. He took care of it all and did it far better than we could have without his help. The reception rooms they have are pretty nice, they spruce them up very well.

If you can swing for the grand ballroom, I would recommend it highly as a wow factor. The room we had originally reserved for the reception was going to be very crowded with a surge of last second guests. The grand ballroom happened to be available so our awesome coordinator moved it in there for no extra charge. Wow. It was nice!

I believe the coordinator we hired (James) moved up and out. Probably coordinating for some super expensive big city hotel now. I'm sure they have others that do a good job too, but you'd have to check into it.

I've been to a reception at DC Centre. DC Centre - Exquisite Banquet Services & Ballroom Instructions Omaha Nebraska it was ok, but the layout put many of the guests very far away from the wedding party.

I've been to a reception at Scoular Building Ballroom‎, this was very nice. Scoular Building Ballroom for Wedding Receptions- Lovegevity.com.

As for an old historical church, the top 3 that come to mind are:

St. Cecelia's Catheral


St. Peter's


St. John's at Creighton

[Calvinist]

Join a church and you have one?

[pheaton]

Originally Posted by Calvinist

Join a church and you have one?

Join a church and you have one. . . . . one what? What are you talking about?

[Calvinist]

Originally Posted by pheaton

Join a church and you have one. . . . . one what? What are you talking about?

A venue. I guess I'm just silly, but when I got married I wanted to be married by by my pastor, in my church. Not saying it's wrong to want a pretty place, but the pictures were secondary to the people involved and what the church stood for.

[pheaton]

Originally Posted by Calvinist

A venue. I guess I'm just silly, but when I got married I wanted to be married by by my pastor, in my church. Not saying it's wrong to want a pretty place, but the pictures were secondary to the people involved and what the church stood for.

Oh, no. I understand. We were happy getting married in our regular church by our pastor.

I would assume the OP doesn't like the way his church looks, or doesn't belong to a church and is just looking for a place to get married. A practicing Catholic typically wouldn't consider a wedding at a non-denominational church. But I could be wrong.

As for the reception. If you are trying to make it easy often times you can rent the "parish center" or "fellowship hall" at the church itself. If frugal is the word, you go for the backyard type setting. If you want to blow a bunch of money, heck yeah you go for a pretty place.

[laserdisque]

Originally Posted by Omaha Rocks

Smart move! How many thousand dollars are you saving by doing that?

Enough to have a stellar reception! It is going to be one awesome party. We decided to go with the Shriner place on 84th because they let you bring your own caterer and part of the money goes to help fund the hospital.