The New Children's Museum Reviews

We had the pleasure of DJing a wedding at the New Children's Museum a few weeks ago and can report having a wonderful experience. The museum is a fun and unique place for a wedding, and the layout works well for the entire event. We highly recommend it if you are looking for a venue for your upcoming wedding!

We had a very short timeline for flipping the space from museum to reception area, but NCM and their vendors had the process SO dialed-in and efficient. They made it happen!

We loved this venue, by far the funnest and most unique venue. Laura is amazing to work with and super responsive to all the questions. The exhibits and decor in the museum are so unique and colorful that minimal decor is really needed. Needless to say, our photos looked AMAZING. The adults had such a great time because majority of the time, the kids played in the sandbox, so it was really a win win all around. We had such an amazing wedding here and would recommend it to anyone looking for a fun and different venue.

Besides stating the obvious, the NCM provides a backdrop to the best wedding venue ever- you just have to use a little imagination! It's like a blank canvas giving couples a chance to showcase what they can create and brainstorm together! We started out not knowing what we wanted; however, once we stepped into the museum, we just knew this was it! To tell you the truth, out of all the venue inquiries that were sent out, the NCM was the one and only site that we visited!

Minus all the running kids and the artistic platforms, you have free reign as to what that should look like. You can even keep any of the installations in the main room out, but if it's not your cup of tea- they can easily be rolled and stored away. Also note that this is a museum- installations and art will change throughout the year! We booked and singed our contract a little over a year from our wedding date. From the time of signature, two rooms changed on the main floor but this did not affect the look of our wedding.

Laura assisted us in our wedding planning as the on-site coordinator for the NCM, but you will definitely need a wedding coordinator for all your hired vendors and any other facilitation. There is a preferred vendor list for rentals, beverage, and catering- but everything else can be selected yourself. We were able to use a couple vendors outside the list as some did not have things available or weren’t specified- floral, chalk artist, dj, photo+video, lounge, photobooth, games, and desserts+cake. Keep in mind that you need to be transparent with what you want so there is no hidden surprises- read contracts, ask questions, get proposals. We were able to get things that we wanted, but we all know there’s a price tag for everything!

We pretty much utilized a majority of the space, as well as some areas that most don’t think about. We had some DIY, such as marquee lighting, name cards, escort card wall, and all the signage! Our coordinator probably had about 10 containers full of decor.

We had about 130 guests in attendance and used the half main as out space. You can select other options such as the full main and/or include the second floor or bottom level for an additional cost. It is a little costly but just know that the money you paid will help promote the arts for young children! If you pay in full, there is a discounted rate too! Looking into other venues, the cost was as expected- even less than other venues we had in mind. The museum itself housed our cocktail hour and reception, and the covered park across the way held our ceremony (which needs a permit from the city).

With everything said and done, we were more than happy with The New Children's Museum!

Love. Love. Love this venue. The New Children's Museum was one of the best decisions we made for our 10/15/16 wedding. It was actually the only venue we toured. Upon entering it and meeting with Liz Zajd, the museum coordinator, my hubby and I knew this was the perfect venue for us. Liz was awesome to work with, responsive, helpful, accommodating, etc. The venue requires some work and vision as you have to bring in your vendors, but in the end it is so worth it!!

The minute we visited the New Children’s Museum, we knew we had to get married there. We worked with Liz, and she was so nice and helpful. I probably emailed her a million times and she was quick to respond each and every time, and let us visit so that I could work out my “vision”. The Museum is extremely accommodating to your needs. We were able to do a sparkler exit and bring in a hot dog cart as an late night snack. Also my sorority sister is an artist, and they let her do a mural of our relationship on the large chalk board. All of my guests were wowed by the museum, and many said they had never been to a wedding like it. Absolutely book your wedding here, it will be unforgettable and you will truly have a magical day thanks to Liz and her staff. Also you’ll have some stunning photos from your day as well!

Only 1/2 star off because air conditioning wasn't turned on. We were a little warm. But the venue was everything we could ever want! Liz Zajd that works at the museum is a dream.

I got married at The New Children's Museum and absolutely loved the venue. It's definitely a unique space that allows for a little more fun and creativity than other spaces. Laura was our contact person during the entire wedding planning process and she was a pleasure to work with. She was friendly and professional and was always prompt in replying to any questions or concerns I had.

One thing that I was surprised to learn is that for private events they are pet friendly! It was very important for us to have our dog be present for both ceremony & reception and the museum was willing to accommodate.

The museum stays open to the public until 4pm and they do have a required vendors list, but this is all information they tell you about up front. I had no issues in regards to vendors and was able to adjust my wedding timeline accordingly. The museum is a green building meaning no A/C so it did get a little warm at times during the reception, but I also had my wedding in the middle of summer.

During our wedding we had a really cool exhibit on the main floor that we thought would be open to guests, but unfortunately had to be closed off. The museum is ever changing in exhibits so I would suggest you get clarification on what will be open to your guests to use.

Overall I was very happy with our decision in choosing The New Children's Museum. It was a great day filled with lots of memories and in a venue that completely captured our hearts. I'd highly recommend NCM to anyone.

Laura and the team at The New Children's Museum are wonderful to work with! Laura is responsive, helpful, and facilitates coordination with ease. Wedding planning went more smoothly thanks to the team. Thanks again for an amazing experience!

We rented the outside patio on a Sunday afternoon. It was beautiful. The downside was that there were not good options for lunch. We did champagne and cake - and it all worked out. Very kind and professional staff.

Our wedding day was the most perfect day and we are so happy to have held it at The New Children's Museum. The entire team was super helpful in making sure everything went perfectly.

The only bummer we experienced that still really hurts us to today, is the fact that they offered a tour to an interested client just one hour before our ceremony. So while we were doing our first look photos in the museum, I had 4 random people looking around our reception and ceremony space. They even took photos of us, our flowers, our ceremony space and our personal items - including the seating chart, which had first and last names of our guests on it.

Other than that, we had an amazing night and given the above, we still would've gone with The New Children's Museum as our wedding venue. It will forever hold a special place in our hearts.

My now husband and I absolutely LOVED our wedding at The New Children's Museum. It was so much fun and such a cool, unique venue. Laura Simpson at the museum was incredibly professional and very attentive to all of our questions. My only complaints are;
1. You can't get into the museum until 04:30 PM (they are open to the public until 04:00 PM), so all of the wedding set up has to happen INCREDIBLY fast. Because of this, we had to have our wedding start (06:00 PM) much later than we originally wanted it too and it made the night go by way too fast.
2. The required vendors were very overpriced (especially the outdoor ceremony light package) compared to our wedding planner's typical vendors, so we had to increase the budget a considerable amount to cover the cost to use the required vendors.

The staff at the museum was amazing, and I truly loved how our wedding turned out. I just wish we could have had more time in the museum to enjoy what we paid for.

This place is worth every penny. The best birthday party I've ever had.

I had my wedding at the New Children's Museum in May 2018 and I had a mixed experience working with them. There is no question that no other location offers the photo opportunities that the museum does; however, there are some drawbacks to working with them. I booked the venue for my wedding about a 1.5 in advance and worked with different people at the museum and found a lack of consistency in the rules they enforce. I was told different rules and policies about parking, the exhibits, and event times even the day before the wedding. All because their contract is meant to cater to all different types of events that verbal accountability was required that they flip flopped back and forth with. However, the worst part of it was their required vendors. Two of the required vendors I worked with took advantage of the fact that there were no other options and I had some of the worst customer service I've ever received as a result. I loved my wedding, but I question my decision of having my wedding here because of the vendors. Overall, average customer service but the vendors were not the most accommodating.