Venue Tour: The Ward Center for Contemporary Art

We took a trip down to Historic Petersburg to check out The Ward Center for Contemporary Art. This venue is such a versatile space for a large or small event. It is the perfect clean and modern backdrop. With it’s wide open spaces you can party and dance the night away. They also have rolling walls where you can create a lounge, or a more intimate space if you have a smaller event. There is a commercial kitchen that your caterer is sure to love, brand new suites for the wedding parties, and a balcony for cocktail hour or VIP. However, my favorite part as planner is that you get the venue for a whole day. Yup you have all day to set up and decorate to your hearts desire. Major cool points here.

The Ward Center is a working art gallery. The art on the walls will change every few months, and there are some resident artists in the hallways below. In addition to artists The Ward Center also has some vendors that maintain office space at the venue. Although The Ward Center doesn’t require that you use their in house vendors for your wedding, it does make it easier. We got together with some of the vendors that frequently work at The Ward Center and set up a mock reception. Something to consider when working in such a wide open space, is that you need to do a lot of set up. If you want to fill the space you will need to bring in draping, lounges, lighting, etc. It can be expensive but it can also be fabulous. Of course if the white wall industrial thing is your vibe then by all means you can leave it as is.

For more information about renting The Ward Center or any of the other vendors involved in this shoot please reference their information below.