Beautiful venue for a wedding cocktail hour with a true Wisconsin vibe -- passed hors d'oeuvres…read moreincluded mini grilled cheese and tomato soup, plus one of the Brewers Racing Sausages even made a special appearance. The Pritzlaff itself is stunning with its cream city brick, gorgeous lighting, and a sound system that made it easy to hear every speech and enjoy the band. The layout worked really well too, with plenty of space for dessert tables, a memory table, and gifts. A fun, elegant, and uniquely Milwaukee wedding venue.

Beautiful space, but I went here for a tour here to consider it as a wedding venue and the woman…read moretreated us like we couldn't afford it. She made multiple comments about how it's expensive and seemed like we were wasting her time. This place isn't even the nicest one we were considering and was WELL within our budget. We'll go somewhere where the people running it aren't snobs.

I've been to the Ivy House at least a dozen times over the past few years for various events…read moreranging from Milwaukee Makers Markets to wedding receptions to private dinners, and my experience is always excellent! The staff is very helpful and friendly, and the venue is beautifully decorated and always very clean. I would recommend Ivy House as a great venue for any special event.

I've worked multiple weddings at The Ivy House, and it's incredible! As the owner of Beauty…read moreUnveiled by Tia, a premier on-location hair and makeup company, I love this stunning venue with its lush greenery, cascading ivy, cream city brick, abundant natural light, and chic industrial vibe that makes every bridal look pop. The ivy-covered patio is a dream for outdoor moments! Highly recommend!

This was hands down one the smoothest experiences I've had as an event planner working with a…read morevenue! I plan 5-7 conferences/symposium per year for the past 5 years. Now this is a smaller program that I put on so I'll compare it to just the same program and even with that smoothest experience! First off the space was perfect for our dinner program of 60 guests. This is a networking/educational event so we also have an exhibit hall with pharma partners the bar side of the space was perfect for our limited 6 exhibitors. It was a gorgeous evening so we had a few tables outside and had the big door open to the dinner space to have an inviting entrance during the cocktail/welcome hour with the registration table right inside that door (which we then converted into the dessert and coffee table). I had a wonderful time working with Janelle when we did a walkthrough she helped in selecting the linen to match our marketing materials for the event and we worked through nice weather layout plan versus hot weather! Her bar team did a wonderful job with our special drink request (again to match the theme for Menopause the topic of the talk). Janelle was also so helpful with set up I've never had assistance like that and I really appreciated it! She was also very hands on throughout the event like a full second the whole time even managing communication with the catering team so I could continue doing what I needed to for the event. The presentation set up was perfect with a super large screen the linen draped on the side was gorgeous. Highly recommend hosting your event at Story Hill Firehouse if you're looking for a smooth experience and stunning event.

The staff at Story Hill Firehouse are simply amazing. The event Manager Amy is truly down to…read moreearth and is willing to exceed your desires. The event venue in the historic firehouse is lovely for medium size gathers. The sound in the engine bay travels very well but is not echoing that one would think in a concert area. There are bridal areas for both the bride and the groom to get ready separately. Though parking is limited, the use of both area hotel shuttles and the story hill's trolley made guest transportation easy. Plus for those guests the should not drive after parting ensures they are back safely to their hotels. Every person the story hill' found or recommended to support our event was fantastic to include the decorations, DJ, wait staff, trolly driver, bar tenders and event manger. Thank you everyone for helping make our event memorable.

UPDATE: I went to Cuvee a couple of weeks ago with some co-workers, one of which who claimed to…read morelove champagne as much as I. It was a Thursday about 10pm. Doors Locked. Should I be sad?! Angry?! I was both. I finally called to ask if the hours had changed. It's not that the hours have changed, per say, but the business has changed. The New business model is event space only and no longer open to the public. Whilst this makes me incredibly sad as that was my hidden spot and the only champagne bar in Milwaukee it's bittersweet because of course a great success for the business in that they have enough event reservations to sustain it alone. Will someone else please open a champagne bar? (with bigger glasses -- now I know I'm asking too much!) Cuvee was one of my places... my hidden places to take people for the first time because I always knew 9 times out of 10 no one knew about it. The access to the building from the street was a complete mystery and an adventure on it's own as people would ask: "Where are you taking me". Silence I would remain... for I didn't want to take away from the journey. Oh and also, I quite simply love, love, love champagne. My only issue with champagne is the tiny, skinny little glass that it comes in. Makes me sad just thinking about the littleness of a champagne glass... *tears up*

I got engaged recently and emailed back and forth with the event coordinator finally settling on a…read moreday and time for a showing. When I arrived, 10 min early, the elevator was locked to reach that floor. I called twice and went to voicemail and also emailed to let them know I was waiting. After waiting 15-20 min after our scheduled time we asked another vendor in the building if they had any access to that floor or another phone number for us and we were informed that when a floor is locked that means no one is present in the space. It's been hours and I still haven't heard back... Extremely frustrated with the lack of service and shocked that I was willing to spend so much money on a place with such poor regard for their guests.

The Grain Exchange Room is a stunning event space in downtown Milwaukee located in the historical…read moreMackie Building. With ceiling stretching at least three stories high and tons of gorgeous architectural touches, this space would make a stunning backdrop to any event. The space is big enough for 500 guests at a cocktail style event or 350 seated. They're associated with the Bartolotta Restaurant group, who offer catering for events. A truly elegant space for large events.

This is an absolutely incredible space. It feels like Rome in the venue! Barlotta Catering prepared…read morehigh-quality food. The chicken was the best chicken I've had at a wedding. The root purée was silky and delicious. The steak was delicious as well. For appetizers, the mushroom risotto balls are out of this world! The staff is attentive and accommodating. This is an excellent venue for a wedding!

I went to the Easter buffet, 2 pm sitting. Hall was set up with tables very close together. Greeter…read morewas very indifferent , she could not keep track of where she sat your party so you had to just wander around looking for them. The food was mediocre at best. Food advertised was not on buffet line. The salad was lettuce with cucumbers and tomatoes, 2 dressing choices. Dinner rolls were on dessert table so we never saw them. Many items were near empty and dried out. The breakfast items were nearly nonexistent at this time which was a large part of buffet. There was prime rib, but server would not serve the medium rare section until he served all of the well done end section. The desserts were unappetizing, and not a good selection. The pineapple on the dessert table was good, but it was served with ok cantaloupe and a huge platter of unwashed, uncut grapes. Overall it was extremely disappointing and extremely overpriced lunch. Considering that you could go out for a steak dinner for the price of this buffet, I would never recommend or return to this.

My husband and I had our reception at Panos Banquet Center. Peter was wonderful to work with and…read morehad every detail ready for our day. The food was great and the service was even better. We could not have asked for a better reception at Panos!

So, this used to be the Greenfield Library. Now, it's a community center…read more I don't know much about it, other than this is where I come to vote, so you'll have to rely on the other reviews for more information. During elections, it's pretty empty in the main room, other than for a few registration tables and voting booths. I really can't believe that this was a library, unless there is a (huge) basement, and I've been here when it WAS the library! Emptied out, the space is very bright and I can see that it would make a decent spot to hold a party or celebration of some sort. I'll have to keep this place in mind if I ever need space for a shindig! 42/2015

I have been here for a baby and wedding shower and each time i was impressed. The facility is…read morealways clean, quiet, and is a reasonable size for a party of 75 or less. I asked about rates for renting - it is $30 down payment for 3 hours plus $100 for damage coverage. You get the $100 back after if you left it in shape. So really 3 hours for $30! Sweet! Will definitely organize any parties i may have here!

Events like this assure me that Milwaukee will, sadly, never be a world-class city. Events like…read morethis could lift this city out of it's "cheese n' beer" image. However . . . this didn't. Long lines, stingy portions. Cheap wine. A demonstration on the Chef Stage was . . . risotto. Really!? Something that simple does not scream "high end dining' to me. Oh well, Better luck next time, Milwaukee.

I attended this event Saturday after receiving a complimentary pass for attending the Inside Eats…read morepanel discussion earlier that day. I learned that Wine & Dine Wisconsin was in it's 5th year, but I could swear that I attended more than 5 years ago, maybe it was a similar event with a similar name at the same venue, or it was reinvented, or maybe I was there 5 years ago (likely). I can tell you that I never went back because the event had more wine than food and I wasn't wowed by any of it. Plus the layout of the event seemed to encourage bottle necks. What is it about a row of tables that makes a large crowd feel obligated to start at the first table and form a line moving table to table? So instead of multiple lines perpendicular to each table, allowing a person to choose which lines he/she wants to stand in, there is just one LONG, agonizingly slow moving line because the people who never get out have to stop and make friends with the people working the table and talk about how the item reminds them of their daughter's wedding or a vacation they went on. Nobody cares! Just keep moving. I spent most of my time in line and did not get my money's worth, which was $45 or $50 at the time, if I remember right. That was the event that I remember. This event was NOT that, at all. The floor plan for this event was brilliant, IMHO. There wasn't even a pattern for me to travel up and down aisles or starting at an outer perimeter and moving toward the center. It seemed random, which I loved! There were no more than two tables side by side at any point on the floor. Traffic flow moved well, except for two areas. The cheese islands had the continuous line of people moving station to station, but there were several cheese islands so that helped. I didn't go to any of them because of the aforementioned line of slow moving herds. The other area where traffic did not move well was the chili cook-off area. There were six participants and of course everyone started at the first table and the line formed behind them and got really long and hopeless. So I skipped to table 4, where there was NO LINE because the people at tables 1-3 were chit-chatting. I hit tables 4-6 with no wait, then went back and found a gap at table 2 between chatty chili eaters, then grabbed a sample from Table 3 and called it a day. Sorry Table 1, I couldn't get to you and I was not willing to wait for 30-35 people to pass through before I could. I voted for the chili from Table 6. Rant completed. I feel better now. So, there was beer, wine, spirits, and food. If that's not a party, than I don't know what is. I only visited a small number of beer, wine, and spirit vendors because I still had my nephew's 21st birthday party that night, and I'm a responsible adult (mostly). I specifically looked for beers I've never tried before, and was able to find a handful. There was a large section called "The Best of Belgium" or something to that effect. I got excited! I love Belgian beers. Then I noticed the Stella Artois signs everywhere and realized that was probably all they were serving. Stella Artois has a brilliant marketing department. I don't think that beer even slightly embodies a Belgian beer, but the light beer drinkers love it, so more power to them. I want nothing to do with it. Central Standard Distillery was serving samples of three of their craft cocktails. LOVE that idea. Getting away from sampling straight alcohol and instead offering up craft cocktail (the latest hot trend in the industry) samples is a nice change of pace. Great Lakes Distillery may have been doing the same, but I'm already familair with their products, so I skipped that booth. There were three stages with chef demos, drink demos, and other cooking related presentations. I stopped at the Chef's Stage to watch Chef Michael Feker. He's very passionate about what he does and has a fun personality, so he puts on a great show! This was no exception. He made a squash soup and we each received a delicious sample. My favorite part of the day was visiting the Critics Choice area. This area featured food samples from Carol Deptolla's Top 30 restaurants. Most were there, but not all. The food samples were great for the most part, and the area also offered beer and wine samples. Guests attending the main event needed to purchase a separate $30 ticket to this area. To be honest, I probably would have just paid the $30 to attend this area and called it a day. $65 for the main event and $30 for Critics Choice brings you up to $95! Was it worth it? The Critics Choice area for $30, I say yes. The main event for $65? I say probably, especially if you go there to try EVERYTHING. I wasn't there to try everything, nor did I want to attend every presentation. I can see that valuation, but it's hard to drop $95 on any event. Based on my experience this year, I will at least CONSIDER going & buying tickets next year. So mission accomplished, W&D WI!