A few years ago, when I was planning my wedding, one of the top priorities on my list was finding a venue that no one else had used. Of course, by no one else, I meant no one else in my social circle, or even in my extended social circle. I don’t know why that was so important to me, but I wanted my wedding day to be memorable, unique, a once in a lifetime experience for myself and our guests. We were lucky enough to find a gorgeous venue that fit the bill exactly, but that opportunity doesn’t always come up. Especially if you have a few more specifics, like space for more than 200 people for a sit down dinner or an urban inner city location.
Oh, brides and planners of Calgary, today is your luckiest of lucky days.
Art Evolution is a brand new space that has just opened up in the Cross Roads Market, just south east of downtown. Art Evolution is both gallery and ballroom, with a flexible and unique space that changes as art is bought and sold, but with standard features such as a hardwood floor ballroom with chandeliers dangling from the ceiling and fabulous reception/lounge space. Calgary Bride hosted the launch of the latest edition of the Calgary Bridal Guide there, and a who’s who of wedding professional packed the space to oooh and aaah at this incredible new venue option. We got a chance to chat with Irena Knorr, the event manager for Art Evolution and get all the details on this new space – INCLUDING the fact that it still has open dates for this Fall. Did we mention it can seat up to 225 people?
Art Evolution is a huge and versatile space with a few different room options – what’s the capacity and set up options?
Art Evolution has many different options for weddings. The Art Gallery is a beautiful space for an intimate dinner for 50 people, or it can be used in combination with the Lounge for a cocktail-style reception for up to 175 guests. The Ballroom is large enough to fit up to 225 guests for a sit-down dinner. My favourite way to use the space is to start by having a ceremony in the Gallery (we can accommodate up to 75 for a fully seated ceremony, or 120 for a combination of seating and standing guests) followed by a cocktail hour in the Lounge, and dinner & dance in the Ballroom.
What should brides know if they’re booking the space?
We are one of the only venues in town that allows couples to BYOB! For a small corkage fee, they are welcome to purchase their own liquor and license. Our only requirement is that the caterer handles the bartending. This is an amazing way to save money, as you get liquor at cost and can return any unopened bottles.
What’s unique about Art Evolution?
The best part about Art Evolution is that its filled with beautiful artwork, so there is plenty of decor built right into the venue! Having artwork for guests to view and enjoy is a great way to keep them entertained throughout the evening, and there are countless unique conversation pieces throughout our space. We are a commercial gallery, so everything on display is tasteful and appealing to a wide variety of audiences. We also have thousands of artworks available, so if there is a particular painting that the couple loves, we can hang it as the backdrop for their ceremony in the Gallery. We also do wedding registries, so that favourite piece could be the perfect wedding gift and keepsake of their special day.
What kind of availability is there for this year and next?
We still have a few amazing dates available this fall 2014 – Saturday Sept 20, Saturday Oct 25, and Saturday Dec 5. We are also taking new bookings for spring and summer 2015 and still have about 1-2 Saturdays left each month of the summer, as well as long weekend Sundays.
For more information on booking Art Evolution, contact Irena Knorr at [email protected] – she’d love to hear from you!
