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
VG offers multiple functional spaces that may be incorporated into your wedding ceremony and/or reception. The second floor Main Gallery of VG is quite spacious, allowing for 175 seated guests and 250 standing guests. Overlooking the Main Gallery, the Piano Loft accommodates your musicians while providing great acoustics for live music. The Observation Loft offers additional seating for up to 20 people allowing a full view of the main gallery. Also overlooking the Main Gallery, the Choir Loft offers an intimate space that can be used by the wedding couple or their family for private gathering.
GlassLight studio, which occupies the ground floor, can be engaged for wedding events. The studio’s spacious foyer and large bathroom with a huge mirror 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.
Adjacent to VG is a large outdoor garden area with lawn that can accommodate a large number of guests. Tents and tables can be set up and there is a staging area that can accommodate live music.
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 $5000 for a 4 hour event and $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 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 ritual 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. 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.
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).
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 also 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?