Weddings at the Venusian Gardens
Venusian Gardens (VG) is an exciting new venue to hold your wedding or reception, offering an extraordinary ambiance for weddings unlike anywhere else. Make your vows glow while surrounded by luminous sculpture with neon and blown glass jellyfish floating overhead. This historic church constructed in 1854 with a 34-foot peaked cypress ceiling and beautiful original red pine floors provides a visually luscious environment to celebrate your marriage.
Use of the Functional Spaces for Your Wedding
Venusian Gardens offers multiple functional spaces that can be included in your wedding ceremony and/or reception:
- Second Floor -There are two functional spaces on the second floor, The Main Gallery and the Rear Gallery. The Main Gallery is quite spacious,allowing for 175 seated guests and 250 standing guests. At the far end of the Main Gallery there is a smaller Rear Gallery section separated from the main gallery space by a wall with a wide center opening and two side openings on the left and right. The center opening provides a focal point for events while the side openings allow for guests to navigate to the Rear Gallery. In addition to these two exhibition spaces, the second floor has two bathrooms and a large catering kitchen.
- Third Floor – There are three functional spaces occupying the third floor which overlook the Main Gallery: the Piano Loft, the Choir Loft and the Observation Loft. The Piano Loft provides a highly visual stage that accommodates musicians and entertainers while providing excellent acoustics for live music. The Choir Loft offers an intimate space that can be used by the wedding couple or their family for a secluded, private gathering while also featuring a view of the Main Gallery. The Observation Loft bridges the Choir Loft with the Piano Loft and allows a full view of the Main Gallery.while providing sculptural tables and seating for up to 20 people.
- Outdoor Garden with Annex – Adjacent to VG is a large, 600 square foot outdoor garden area with lawn that can accommodate a large number of guests. The Garden can be accessed from VG as well as from a separate gated entrance to the street. Tents and tables can be set up on the lawn and there is also an adjacent cemented staging area that can accommodate caterers and musicians. At the far end of the Garden there is the Annex, a 200 sq ft enclosed exhibition space that opens to the Garden and provides an indoor option for guests, caterers and entertainers. There is also a bathroom in the Annex for guest use.
- GlassLight Studio – The artist’s sculpture studio occupies the ground floor. While the entirety of the studio is not available for events, its spacious foyer and large dressing area with a huge mirror and bathroom can be used by the wedding party to prepare and dress for their event. To enliven an event, neon demonstrations and studio tours are available when desired.
Venusian Gardens Rental Options
There are four options for renting Venusian Gardens for an event:
- Second Floor only (with limited access to ground floor studio space)Entertainment
- Second and Third Floor only (with limited access to ground floor studio space)
- Second and Third Floor with Outdoor Garden and Annex (with limited access to ground floor studio space)
- Outdoor Garden and Annex only
Planning Your Wedding
Venusian Gardens seamlessly integrates with your wedding plans while offering full planning services, professional vendor management of catering and bar services, music and decor. For a truly exciting experience VG offers local live musical talent as well as a wide range of entertainment options including second line jazz performances and more exotic options such as belly dancers and stilt walkers. We do not offer fixed “packages” but we are happy to offer simple weddings or receptions with minimal features to accommodate those on tight budgets. Please discuss your needs and budget considerations with our event manager and we will do our best to accommodate you.
Included in your wedding
Exclusivity of the Venue
Event Coordinator and/or Planner on site to coordinate all aspects of your event
Private area for Bride, Groom and family
Pre- and Post-Event cleaning
Use of the venue for Pre-Wedding Engagement or Bridal photo shoot
Set up time – 4 hours prior to event
Tear Down and Rental Return immediately following event
Fees
Venue fees start at $6000 for a 4 hour event plus $1000 per additional hour
Catering fees range from $35-80 per person
Full Service Open Liquor Bar fees range around $11 per person
Full Service Beer and Wine Bar fees range around $9 per person
venusian wedding specialties
Luminous Sculpture Registry
For those couples who wish to bring a piece of the Venusian World home with them, we offer a registry to make the purchase of a sculpture more affordable. The Venusian Jellyfish are the most popular works but another idea is to “plant” a Venusian Garden. By beginning with a base, the addition of Venusian Floral components provides the ability to grow the garden with contributions from friends and family as well as through annual anniversary additions. (See Venusian World Sculpture Collection).
Luminous Vows Ceremonies
The environment of luminous sculpture at VG definitely creates a unique wedding experience. But one option to make your wedding even more special – and fun – is to include a luminous art ritual into the ceremony. At Venusian Gardens you can incorporate the lighting of custom made neon artwork into a ceremonial act – artwork which the bride and groom can take home with them as a memento of their wedding ceremony that they can continue to enjoy for years. The concept of incorporating light and luminosity into such an important ritual as a wedding ceremony can be quite symbolic as light has always embodied the symbolism of spirit. Engaging light as part of the ritual joining of two spirits provides a beautiful visual metaphor for the act of marriage.
Wedding Party Gifts & Favors
Over the years wedding favors have become increasingly popular. Guests often look forward to receiving a keepsake favor to take home with them after the wedding party. Wedding favors can add to the decor and theme of a wedding, ranging from simple bookmarkers to elegant art pieces for the bridal party that can later be displayed in their home.
As a member of the local art community, we work with a variety of artists working in blown and cast glass, ceramics and other media. In addition to the sculpture exhibited in the art gallery at Venusian Gardens, we have smaller and less expensive artworks available – some “Venusian” in nature and others not. We work closely with the glass artists here at Venusian Gardens as well as other local artists. As such, we offer some beautiful, one-of -a-kind artworks in glass including goblets, paperweights and other blown glass pieces. Popular wedding favors here in New Orleans include personalized Mardi Gras beads and other inexpensive favors that your guests can keep as mementos of the occasion.
Horse and Carriage Rides
For a novel beginning and/or end to a wedding ceremony, transportation to and from Venusian Gardens by horse and carriage can be arranged. What more of a romantic beginning and finale can there be?