St. James 1868 | Milwaukee Event & Wedding Venue — Attraction in Milwaukee

Where do we even begin! We could not be happier with our experience with the St. James 1868 team. Having volunteered may times at the Gathering, St. James is completely unrecognizable and the venue spaces that Kate and her staff have created are simply breathtaking. We could not recommend hosting your event at this venue enough! As we were St. James’s first wedding, there were some minor hiccups along the way, but when it counted St. James far exceeded our expectations!

As you can see from the attached photos (courtesy of our amazing photographer Anna Page Photography – check her out, you will not be disappointed), St. James is absolutely stunning. Every single corner of this space is beautifully restored and decorated. We held our wedding in the smaller of the two venues, the Hyde. This space is filled with gorgeous woodwork, vaulted ceilings, breathtaking lighting, and so many decorative touches. It is by far the most beautiful wedding venue we could have chosen in the Milwaukee area!

Even implementing COVID-19 distancing precautions, the space easily handled our 105 guests. In addition to the incredible indoor space, the Hyde (and Abbey) both have wonderful outdoor spaces. The Hyde’s outdoor space easily accommodated a bar, multiple cocktail tables and all of our guests. Not to mention the beautiful view of downtown! We utilized the outdoor space for our cocktail hour while the indoor space was flipped, of which the St. James team orchestrated seamlessly. We additionally utilized the same space for the dance floor later in the evening (keep in mind that City regulations limit noise levels at night – we had to move the party inside starting at 10:00pm, which we knew about ahead of time).

As for the wedding party suites, our experience is likely to be different than other Hyde renters. As we were the only wedding on site, Kate graciously offered to us the Abbey suites free of charge! Not only are both the bride and groom suites decorated to the nines and spacious, they also offer TV and audio hookups, ping pong tables, and bar space. The wedding party suites are the perfect spots to get ready before your big day!

On top of the beautiful spaces offered at St. James, the location couldn’t be better. The downtown location allowed our guests numerous choices for lodging all within walking distance of the venue. Our guests had no issue finding parking near the venue and our photographer had no difficulty finding the perfect spots for photos following our ceremony!

While this next section will become less relevant in the not too distant future (fingers crossed), St. James was on-top of COVID-19 and the ramifications the pandemic might have had on our wedding day. Kate and her team provided us with frequent communications detailing relevant updates to Milwaukee and State COVID-19 orders. Kate ensured that we felt comfortable with our wedding date, with all things COVID-19 considered, and was extremely flexible. She offered multiple backup dates, alternatives, and even the option of a full refund secondary to the COVID-19 pandemic. Day of the St. James team did a wonderful job keeping our guests safe and that is really all we could have asked for!

As we were St. James’s first wedding, we did run through some small stumbling blocks during the planning process. We are certain these will not be an issue in the future as they were related to a transition from an inhouse event staff/caterer to their new partners, Gracious. To be frank, it was quite frustrating. We had to repeatedly communicate to St. James and Gracious our wedding plans and point out contractual provisions and commitments from the previous event staff/caterer. With that being said, once we all got on the same page the process couldn’t have been smoother. Kate bent over backwards to make sure our wedding was special and was on site day of to make sure everything went off without a hitch!

We are truly grateful for everything St. James and Gracious did and hope that everyone who chooses St. James 1868 has as wonderful of an...

I’m looking at photos of my daughter’s St. James wedding as I write this review. Of course, I’ve been looking at the photos constantly over the last couple of weeks, because the wedding truly was a dream come true! St. James 1868 is an exquisite venue. The dramatic arched ceiling, rich woodwork, and stained glass just takes your breath away as you enter. The 72 foot aisle makes for a stunning entrance for the bride. No detail was overlooked as the St. James was restored…even the chairs provided by St. James are perfect, not only classy, but comfortable too. There are so many wonderful opportunities to embellish with florals, candles and rentals..though you wouldn’t HAVE to do a thing! The suites for getting ready are beyond perfect. We were so happy to be able to do our hair and make up, lunch and pre-wedding photos ALL at the St James 1868.

We chose to rent the Hyde as well as the Abby, which took away all the potential stress that might have occurred with rain on the wedding day. In case of rain, we would have had the cocktail hour in the Hyde. But given our good weather we opted to have our cocktail hour outside in the beautiful courtyard. We had about 180 people and the space was absolutely perfect. I was worried about having a two hour cocktail hour, but everyone was having such a good time, and was so comfortable that we had to encourage them to go in for dinner! We used Gracious Catering and the staff kept everyone happy with generous amounts of delicious appetizers and cocktails. They even presented a private plate of the apps to the bride and groom so they could be sure to taste everything even as they greeted guests and took photos.

While we were outside for cocktail hour, The Abby was “flipped” for the reception. I walked in before the other guests and was brought to tears (of joy!) with the beauty of it. The head table stretched down the aisle so everyone felt like they were close to the bridal party. We had 21 round tables of 8 in addition to the head table. The dance floor up front was generously sized with room for our big crowd to dance. We chose to set up a lounge with rented furniture up on the large alter area, and guests used it for photo ops, to relax, and to just enjoy looking out over the dance floor. The food served by Gracious was outstanding. Our guests are STILL talking about what a wonderful meal it was.

Kate was a dream to work with at St. James. She was responsive to questions, available for in person consultations, and happy to offer suggestions when asked.

I know I’ve written a lot already.. so I’ll let the photos do the rest of the talking! (Lindsey Taylor...

From top to bottom, St. James 1868, as both a venue and business, is the most accommodating, thorough, beautiful, and professional organization in the country. From the second you walk into the building you are not only greeted with the warmth and kindness from their lead coordinator (Jo) – but you are overwhelmed with the character and magnificence of the space itself. Jo’s energy, optimism, and detailed understanding of the facility bring to life the fairy tales that live within us all.

Leading up to our wedding – the coordination and correspondence was always prompt, encouraging, and professional. The event manager (Juli), coordinators (Joe, Jess, and Ceci), and even the owner herself (Kate) were so unbelievably helpful and supportive with their lessons learned, best practices, and sound advice – with every day of planning, we grew more and more confident we could make our dream wedding a reality. We could not have asked for a better team to guide us through the stresses and challenges of planning and coordination!

On our Wedding day, the team showed up in Aces. Again, from start to finish, they were available, flexible, and cooperative. For any wedding – the bride and groom are always pulled in a hundred different directions – and I can confidently say, without the team from St. James 1868 – our day would not have been as flawless and seamless as it turned out to be. Their full coverage of the day, positive presence, and elite level of care made us feel so loved, supported, and cherished that we are forever in debt to their thorough and selfless service.

Regardless of what you’re planning, celebrating, or commemorating – you will never go wrong with this team. So rarely in life do we have the opportunity to work with such a well prepared, well equipped, and professional organization – yet when we do, it is immediately recognized as both an honor and privilege. While St James 1868 will always say it is their honor to work for their customers – I promise it is the other way around. You could spend the rest of your life looking for a venue with the character, beauty, and exceptional elegance of St James 1868 – and after a lifetime of searching you might come close, but you will never find the love, selfless support, and relentless pursuit for excellence offered by the St James 1868 Staff from start to finish. They are simply a cut above – and they are worth every penny. Thank you Kate for everything you did for us, and thank you to the whole crew for making our dream a reality! Respectfully, Mr. and Mrs....