Top Milwaukee Gala Venues

• Spaces for 48-55 Guests
• 1 Restaurant

Established in March of 1976, Saz’s State House is where it all began for Saz’s Hospitality Group. Over the past four decades, Steve Sazama’s original vision for a first-rate restaurant and sports bar has grown into a destination restaurant with a loyal following. As evidenced by a collection of awards resulting from community nominations, Saz’s State House continues to proudly serve the community both in and outside of the expanded restaurant walls. Featuring favorites like its signature BBQ Baby Back Ribs and BBQ Pork Sandwich, the State House also boasts a robust event schedule, seasonal specials, private event space, and complimentary shuttles to and from many Milwaukee sporting events. The State Room provides a special blend of casual elegance, privacy and amenities, making it an ideal setting for a variety of gatherings. Rich wood and architectural accents, etched glass windows, a private entrance and coat room, handicap accessibility and a custom-designed wooden bar reminiscent of the great pubs of Europe combine forces to foster ambiance, a feeling of exclusivity, and neighborly comfort with the affordability of a private space within an operational restaurant. Add to this an easily-accessible, central location and no food or beverage minimums Monday through Thursday and you have an ideal location for frequently recurring meetings or corporate gatherings! In 2002, the integrity of this wonderful historic building was carefully considered, preserved, and also enhanced with the 900 square foot addition that became The State Room. Construction crews even took painstaking measures to match the exterior brick to the existing structure, a fact largely representative of the approach Saz’s Hospitality Group takes to ensuring complete client satisfaction with no detail overlooked. Whether you are planning an office meeting for 20, an evening class for an undetermined group size, or a rehearsal dinner for 45, The State Room fits the bill. With private bar service, personalized menu planning, state-of-the-art audiovisual capabilities, a dedicated event staff, and award-winning cuisine, the only question is why you didn’t think of this earlier.

• Spaces for 250-500 Guests
• 1 Ballroom
• 2 Outdoor Spaces
• 3 Total Spaces

River Club of Mequon offers an elegant country club setting in Mequon for weddings, receptions, rehearsal dinners, corporate events, galas, and milestone celebrations. The property features a 9,200-square-foot Grand Ballroom with panoramic golf course views, programmable lighting, a spacious Sunset Deck, private foyer, and dedicated suites, with the ballroom accommodating gatherings of up to 500 guests. Couples also have access to outdoor ceremony settings, in-house catering, a dance floor, tables, linens, and day-of vendor coordination. Surrounded by 338 acres of rolling fairways and landscaped grounds, River Club of Mequon creates a polished backdrop for memorable Wisconsin events.

• Spaces for 425 Guests

The Florian Event Venue is the perfect place for business meetings, corporate events, conferences, holiday parties, remembrance events and banquets, with rooms to accommodate intimate gatherings of 30, up to groups of 400. Our stately building is newly renovated with the latest in high end furnishings and AV capabilities. Conveniently located off highway Hwy 41/45 just a few minutes North of Milwaukee. Out of town guests will enjoy the comfort and convenience of the adjacent Country Inn & Suites accommodations.

• Spaces for 135-165 Guests
• 1 Ballroom

Inspired by Racine’s river and lakefront setting, Hotel Verdant is an ode to our natural surroundings. Our bold embrace of environmentally minded principles starts with a sustainable design made from thoughtfully selected renewed materials. This continues in the hotel’s vibrant art collection, exemplifying further expression of community and place. Take in panoramic views from our rooftop bar and embrace the hygge vibe in your guest room. Our 80-room boutique hotel takes you on a journey that takes inspiration from the past, feels perfectly present, and always feels right at home. Host a sophisticated gathering in a premier space where weddings, meetings, and celebrations come together naturally. Invite loved ones to our iconic building at the heart of downtown Racine, and treat your guests to the kind of deliciously catered menus and warm, friendly service that will make them feel welcome and leave a lasting impression.

• Spaces for 275 Guests

A newly renovated barn venue half way between Milwaukee and Madison with all of today's modern amenities. A comfortable setting with heating & AC throughout the entire facility, the barn can accommodate up to 275 guests with ADA restrooms, an expansive loft overlooking the main hall, bridal quarters, stunning views of the countryside and full service bar. In-house wedding planning and photography services are also available making Rustic Manor 1848 your one stop wedding location!

• Spaces for 40 Guests
• 4 Hotels
• 4 Ballrooms
• 12 Total Spaces

Make your wedding exquisite at the gorgeous setting of Grand Geneva Resort & Spa, a wedding venue in Lake Geneva. With a wide selection of wedding venues, countryside views and impeccable service, we can ensure your big day is an experience you'll be talking about for the rest of your life. From the bachelor and bachelorette parties to rehearsal dinners and beautiful wedding ceremonies, you can have it all at our one location. We have an abundance of indoor and outdoor services and activities, including a full-service WELL Spa, offering hair, nails and make-up services for your bridal party on the big day, group golf outings for the guys (and gals!), s'mores around Ember's Terrace, and even an indoor waterpark just up the road! Grand Geneva will make your wedding as seamless as possible every step of the way. Lake Geneva, Wisconsin is also home to a charming downtown area known for its shopping locations, gorgeous beaches, and other tourist attractions all year round. With Grand Geneva close to major cities such as Milwaukee and Chicago, it makes for the ideal wedding destination without having to go too far from home. Allow our expert wedding planners and designers to assist you in making your big day the most flawless and unforgettable day of your life!

• Spaces for 150 Guests

Established in 2011, Red Lion Pub is a British-style pub in downtown Milwaukee. Its kitchen serves a full menu of British dishes alongside Wisconsin-inflected American fare, all made from scratch, and its bar pours a rotating selection of authentic beers, spirits, and cocktails. Multiple TVs throughout the space make it a popular gathering spot for soccer fans catching matches from home and abroad, and the pub describes itself as an extension of the neighborhood's living room, where customers and staff become friends. Red Lion Pub caters private events on-site and off-site, handling birthday parties, holiday parties, corporate events, and wedding festivities. Each event is tailored to the host's tastes and needs, with the pub taking care of the details to bring the occasion to life.

• Spaces for 75 Guests

• Spaces for 300 Guests

Sonesta Milwaukee West Wauwatosa is a full-service hotel set within Milwaukee County Research Park in Wauwatosa, minutes from the Milwaukee County Zoo, Mayfair Mall, and Wisconsin State Fair Park. The hotel offers eight meeting rooms totaling more than 6,800 square feet of flexible event space, anchored by its largest venue, the Grand Ballroom, which spans 5,023 square feet. Additional spaces include the Doyne, Knowles, Froedtert, Vogel, and Brooks rooms, giving planners a range of room sizes to combine for meetings, conferences, and social events. For weddings, the hotel's in-house catering team oversees the details, from the Grand Ballroom to its more intimate event spaces for couples planning smaller celebrations. Guests can unwind at The Lounge for drinks and lighter fare, take a dip in the indoor pool, or work out in the on-site fitness center. The hotel also maintains a 24-hour business center and accessibility features throughout, including wheelchair-accessible meeting and public spaces.

• Spaces for 24-250 Guests
• 1 Ballroom
• 2 Meeting Spaces

The Grace Center is an event venue in downtown Milwaukee operated by Grace Lutheran Church, offering three rentable spaces for weddings, celebrations, and business gatherings. The Great Hall, the Grace Center's largest space, is a vaulted, glass-walled room that accommodates up to 250 guests for a seated meal and is used for wedding receptions, galas, proms, fashion shows, and similar celebrations. Rental includes a dance floor, a sound system with wireless microphone, a catering kitchen, tables and chairs, and an on-site events representative to oversee the event. Wedding receptions are supported with high-quality bar service and a list of preferred local caterers. For smaller gatherings, Grace Place Coffee is a trendy space for 20 to 24 guests suited to presentations, workshops, or small group meetings, with access to an adjoining atrium for cocktail receptions. The Classroom is a modern, multi-purpose room for intimate gatherings of up to 30 guests, suited to a seated meal, lecture, or meeting, and includes a projector and screen. While the Grace Center hosts receptions and celebrations, wedding ceremonies take place in the adjoining Grace Lutheran Church rather than the Great Hall.

• Spaces for 12-175 Guests
• 3 Museums
• 3 Landmarks
• 3 Total Spaces

North Point Lighthouse and Museum is a restored 1855 maritime landmark set on a two-acre wooded site within Milwaukee's Lake Park, itself laid out in 1893 by famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. The 74-foot tower and Queen Anne-style Keeper's Quarters guided Great Lakes shipping traffic until the light was decommissioned in 1994; a volunteer group, North Point Lighthouse Friends, restored the property to its early 20th-century appearance, reopening it to the public in 2007. The lighthouse's Gallery Level and adjoining lawn and patio host weddings, receptions, rehearsal dinners, and life-celebration events, with a tent option extending capacity for larger outdoor gatherings. A smaller Board Room accommodates corporate meetings and nonprofit retreats. Rentals of the museum and grounds include onsite staff and a commercial photography permit, and events unfold amid the site's maritime exhibits, spiral tower staircase, and grounds overlooking Lake Michigan.

• Spaces for 25-700 Guests
• 1 Bar
• 2 Ballrooms
• 14 Total Spaces

Milwaukee County Zoo has grown from a small mammal and bird display in Washington Park in 1892 into a 190-acre zoological garden home to more than 2,400 animals across over 340 species. The zoo offers indoor and outdoor spaces for weddings, receptions, corporate parties, and picnics, giving planners the option of a traditional ballroom setting or a celebration set among the animal habitats. Indoors, the Peck Welcome Center provides a ballroom with large glass windows, terrazzo floors, and high ceilings, along with access to an outdoor patio, while the Zoofari Center offers a permanent stage and dance floor just outside the zoo's main entrance on Bluemound Road. Smaller gatherings can be hosted in spaces such as the Flamingo Multi-purpose Room or the Northwestern Mutual Learning Loft, which overlooks the Elephant Care Center through floor-to-ceiling windows. For events with more of an outdoor, safari feel, the zoo also rents out spaces within its animal habitat buildings, including the Aquatic & Reptile Center, Florence Mila Borchert Big Cat Country, and the Stearns Family Apes of Africa building, along with several picnic areas across the grounds that can accommodate groups from a few dozen up to several thousand guests when combined.

• Spaces for 80 Guests

Built in 1890, the Kneeland-Walker House is a Queen Anne-style home that serves as the headquarters of the Wauwatosa Historical Society. The property sits on 1.5 acres, the largest remaining residential lot in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, and is recognized as a landmark by both the City of Wauwatosa and Milwaukee County, as well as being listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Wauwatosa Historical Society acquired the house from Constance Walker's estate in 1987 to preserve it for the community. The house, its coach house, and its grounds host educational programs, speaking events, weddings, baby and bridal showers, and community gatherings, with both indoor and outdoor spaces available. The home's Victorian furnishings and decor lend a period atmosphere to events without the need for extensive additional decoration. Rentals include use of the Society's chairs and tables, a kitchen with a refrigerator, microwave, and sink for caterer use, and air conditioning throughout the house; wedding rentals also include a complimentary one-hour rehearsal. The house and its bathrooms are not handicap-accessible, and renters must hold membership with the Wauwatosa Historical Society to reserve the space.

• Spaces for 250 Guests

Housed in the former Second Ward Savings Bank on the corner of West Kilbourn Avenue and North Third Street, the Milwaukee County Historical Society occupies a neoclassical revival landmark building completed in 1913 for what was known locally as the "Brewers' Bank." The interior is finished throughout in black-and-white Paranozzo Italian marble, and six original bank vaults - including one with a 27 1/2-ton door - remain in place across the basement, main floor, and mezzanine. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated as both a City of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County landmark. Founded in 1935 to collect, preserve, and share the history of the Milwaukee community, the Historical Society operates as a museum with rotating exhibits, a research library, and archives, alongside additional historic sites including Trimborn Farm in Greendale. Its downtown home sits along the Milwaukee River next to Pere Marquette Park, within walking distance of the Theatre District, Water Street, and Fiserv Forum. Beyond its museum programming, the Historical Society opens its landmark building for private events, hosting weddings, parties, and special gatherings among its marble halls and historic vaults.

• Spaces for 25-5,000 Guests
• 2 Ballrooms
• 4 Outdoor Spaces
• 12 Total Spaces

The Milwaukee County Zoo has welcomed visitors to its 190-acre grounds since 1892, when a small mammal and bird display in Washington Park drew crowds; today it is home to more than 2,400 animals across 340 species. For private events, the Zoo offers a distinctive mix of indoor and outdoor spaces that put guests in the company of its animal collection, from a glass-walled ballroom to picnic groves tucked among the trees. The Peck Welcome Center anchors the Zoo's largest gatherings with an indoor ballroom seating up to 320 guests, while the Zoofari Center, just off Bluemound Road, brings a permanent stage and dance floor to weddings and galas for up to 300. Smaller meetings and receptions can be booked inside animal habitat buildings such as the Northwestern Mutual Learning Loft, which overlooks the elephant care center, or the Hippo Learning Center, set eye-level with the hippo habitat. Outdoors, picnic areas including Maple Cove, Oak Grove, and the Generac Zoo Terrace accommodate groups from a few dozen guests to several thousand. Every rental includes access to Zoo grounds, and the Zoo's own events team coordinates approved caterers, beverage service, and setup for corporate parties, birthdays, and wedding receptions alike.

• Spaces for 50-65 Guests
• 1 Event Space

Indulge is a private event venue in the heart of Downtown Milwaukee, located at 708 N Milwaukee St. The intimate space accommodates parties of up to 50 guests seated or 65 guests for cocktail-style gatherings, making it well suited to rehearsal dinners, holiday parties, birthdays, corporate cocktail hours, graduations, and similar celebrations. Rentals average $600 for a five-hour event and include granite tables, leather chairs, real china and silverware, black linen napkins, Riedel wine glasses, and a sound system for guests to plug in their own music. Food can be catered in-house by Indulge or brought in by an outside caterer of the host's choosing, while bar service is handled exclusively by Indulge's own staff, offering a full bar with professional bartenders. Indulge is part of the Bianchini family of Milwaukee restaurants and venues.

• Spaces for 85-450 Guests
• 1 Ballroom
• 2 Landmarks
• 2 Total Spaces

Tripoli Shrine Center is a Milwaukee landmark built in 1928 as an architectural replica of India's Taj Mahal, and it holds a place on the National Register of Historic Places. Home to Milwaukee's Shriners International, the building is also open to the public for private event rental, from weddings and quinceaneras to anniversary parties, meetings, and conferences. Inside, the venue features classic Middle Eastern architecture, Florentine-style mosaics, and a grand staircase beneath a majestic dome, details that make the Grand Dome & Foyer a favorite backdrop for wedding photography. Humphrey Hall Ballroom, the venue's largest space, holds up to 400 guests and includes a theater-style stage with an authentic curtain, a drop-down screen, and a dance floor for receptions and celebrations. The more intimate Melham Parlor seats up to 85 and is outfitted with audio and video capabilities for meetings and smaller gatherings. Tripoli Shrine Center offers in-house catering that can be customized to an event, with off-site catering also available.

• Spaces for 120-2,125 Guests
• 1 Ballroom
• 2 Outdoor Spaces
• 5 Total Spaces

The Marcus Performing Arts Center sits directly on Milwaukee's Riverwalk in the heart of downtown, pairing a landmark performance hall with a range of spaces built for weddings, galas, corporate gatherings, and commencements. Its signature reception space, the Bradley Pavilion, is a ballroom lined with floor-to-ceiling windows and a private balcony overlooking the river, with direct access out to the adjoining Fitch Memorial Garden for guests who want to step outside between courses. That garden, with its ivy-covered wall and fountain, doubles as a ceremony backdrop for outdoor weddings and receptions. For larger gatherings, Uihlein Hall — the center's largest venue — can host lectures, commencements, and annual meetings on the same stage used for opera, Broadway, and dance. The riverside Peck Pavilion offers an outdoor setting for concerts and seasonal events, while the Promenade provides a more intimate lounge-style space for a pre- or post-show dinner or reception. Marcus Center Food & Beverage serves as the venue's exclusive caterer, building chef-driven menus around seasonal, locally sourced ingredients, and a dedicated event management team guides hosts through planning from first tour to event day.

• Spaces for 30 Guests
• 1 Landmark
• 1 Event Space
• 1 Historic Space

The Little Red Store is a restored 1854 building in the Village of Wauwatosa, and the oldest remaining commercial building in the city. It survived the devastating 1895 fire that destroyed most of the buildings north of the river, was named a City of Wauwatosa landmark in 1978, and is owned and operated by the Wauwatosa Historical Society following a full exterior renovation completed in 2008. Inside, the store offers 600 square feet of open space with period wainscoting, hardwood floors, wooden tables and chairs, and large windows overlooking the village, a character-filled backdrop for small private gatherings such as birthday parties, baby or bridal showers, and neighborhood game nights, as well as public events like book signings, pop-up shops, and community forums. The space is air-conditioned, wi-fi equipped, and handicap accessible, with a limited kitchen (full-size refrigerator, microwave, and small sink) and ample adjacent parking.