The Harris Building is an all-inclusive wedding venue located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. With its historic character, flexible event space, and dedicated staff, the venue guarantees a wedding experience that you and your guests will treasure, and talk about for a lifetime.
We invite you to say "I do" in our breathtaking, 18-foot ceiling domed ballroom, dance the night away on our original hardwood floors, and create unforgettable memories with your loved ones in a breathtaking building.
Provide a stress-free experience for your guests with our complimentary valet service. Save time searching, and party all night with our professional and dynamic in-house DJ. Let our team of event professionals take care of the finer details, and allow yourself to enjoy every precious moment of your special day.
Let's Make Your Event Timeless.
-Facilities and Capacity-
The Harris Building is conveniently located just off US-131 in Downtown Grand Rapids. Built in 1892, on the site of the former Grand Rapids Union, the venue provides a historic backdrop for your special day. The building’s second floor includes an expansive domed ballroom with 18-foot ceilings. Brick walls and craftsman-style woodwork add additional charm to your celebration. Wedding ceremonies held here have a limit of 200 guest chairs, though the venue itself can accommodate up to 250.
-Services Offered-
Couples will receive professional event planning assistance from the venue’s helpful and professional team of specialists. When working with this event space for your big day, you will have access to the following wedding services and items included in your rental package:
-Complimentary Valet Parking
-Professional DJ, A/V, Lighting Services
-Black or White Floor-Length Linens
-Tables & Black Chivari Chairs
-Professional Venue Coordinator
-Bridal Loft Suite
-Chandeliers & Lounge-Style Furniture
-Built-in Bar & Catering Prep Kitchen
-Event Set-Up & Tear-Down Services
-Cuisine/Bar-
The venue works with a list of preferred professional caterers to ensure that your celebration is as stress-free as possible. Various dining services, such as buffets, cocktail receptions, family-style service, hors d’oeuvres, plated service, stations, and others, are all at your disposal. Couples can opt for either a limited or an open bar for their event and can also select from an array of bar services.
Amanda Carlson(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 07-11-2021 Wow. Struggling to find the words to express how beautiful The Harris Building is and how great the staff is. The building itself has a lot of character and charm to it and is just beautiful. The bridal suite is very spacious and perfect for getting ready. The ceremony and reception area is just beautiful with the brick walls, original wood floors, the dome above the dance floor and how the lighting makes everything romantic. All the candles on the stairs going up were a great accent and the fact that they have an elevator for accessibility. The cocktail area was also beautiful with the vintage stained glass that I believe was original to the building. The staff is just fantastic as well. Kelsi was so easy to work with and made planning a wedding from a thousand miles away during a pandemic easy. She did zoom tours with us and helped us choose our centerpieces/decorations that we were able to rent from the building. She answered all questions promptly and helped us navigate vendors etc. I cannot express how easy she made everything or how grateful I am for her putting our florist Aime Deem on our radar. The DJ Nino was great as well. Very easy to work with and he played great music and kept people on the dance floor throughout the night. The services that were including and the price can’t be beat. They were easy to work with the arcade game vender we used as well as come up with a good set up for all the games. We received so many compliments on the venue and I am so pleased with how the entire day went. Reviewed on 13-11-2021
Rachel Peifer(other)5 out of 5 Rating
The Harris Building was absolutely stunning for our wedding day! Emily did a wonderful job helping day of as well as running rehearsal with us. Our DJ, Connor, was so fun and we had an absolute blast. Highly recommend! Reviewed on 04-11-2023
Cristina Olivencia-Morlock(other)4 out of 5 Rating
The venue is absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. We first saw it via zoom call because we don’t live in MI, but once we saw it in person we were so happy with our choice. It was exactly what we wanted. The Harris Team was great, very professional, and quick to respond to any questions. They really went above and beyond to make sure everything went perfect on our day. I don’t give them 5 stars because there was an issue with the DJ. We were told it was one person, whom we had spoken with and given our notes and playlists, and they switched the person for the wedding with no previous notice so we couldn’t talk to him. This all would have been fine if they had stuck to the notes made by the other DJ but it seemed the communication was not great. Just make sure the DJ you speak with its the one at the wedding and if not make sure you speak to them prior to the day. Other than that, like said everything else was absolutely perfect and I am so grateful to the Harris Team for helping and making sure our day was perfect !! Reviewed on 22-08-2023
Weston Bryan(other)5 out of 5 Rating
The Harris Building is a beautiful venue and the staff was a huge help in making our wedding day great. I highly recommend having your ceremony and reception here! Reviewed on 21-07-2023
Megan Bauer(other)5 out of 5 Rating
We had the best time at The Harris Building for our May wedding! The entire staff was so easy to work with and well organized. The gorgeous space worked well to have our ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception all at the same location. Highly recommend using The Harris Building for your wedding or event needs! Reviewed on 11-07-2023
Katie Brooks(other)5 out of 5 Rating
We had an incredible experience at the Harris Building! Emily and Jen made sure everything ran smoothly in the days leading up to the wedding and the day itself. They coordinated well with our caterer and officiant. Anything we asked for, they made happen. My husband and I wanted a historic venue but found that many were way overpriced (especially after Covid inflation.) This venue is absolutely stunning and still affordable as far as weddings are concerned. Can’t recommend them enough! Reviewed on 27-06-2023
Lauren Mabie(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 19-06-2021 This venue was the perfect place for both our ceremony and reception! We got married June 19th, 2021. In the midst of COVID, our plans changed quite a bit, but Kelsi and the rest of the Harris Building staff were phenomenal with the big picture planning all the way down to the little details. I didn't even step outside until the reception was over because they have EVERYTHING, from beautiful backgrounds for group photos to a bridal suite to get ready. Wouldn't change anything about them! Reviewed on 21-03-2022
Shanel Burny(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 22-01-2022 10/10 experience. Everyone there is so wonderful and knowledgable and Kristen was so helpful with our entire wedding day to make sure everything ran smoothly.If you dream of your wedding running perfectly in a beautiful venue THIS IS THE PLACE FOR YOU! Reviewed on 28-01-2022
Hannah Downing(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 11-12-2021 Not only was the Harris Building a gorgeous place for our big day, the staff is nothing short of incredible. Kelsi was SO responsive with our tons of questions and put any concern we had to rest. The staff the day of could not have been more helpful. They made our vision of our perfect wedding day come to life. I seriously had the best time of my life and a lot of that was thanks to The Harris Building. I cannot recommend them enough. Reviewed on 05-01-2022
Emily Frew(guest)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 17-11-2021 I’ve collaborated and worked alongside this venue many times and I just want to say they are absolutely a dream to work with 🤍⭐️ Reviewed on 23-11-2021
Anastasia Goddard(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 10-10-2021 I recently got married at The Harris Building and can honestly say that booking this venue was the best decision my husband and I made! From the location, services included, and staff, this venue exceeded all of our expectations and we had the best day ever! Guests were constantly complimenting the beautiful space and friendliness of the staff. We worked with Kelsi for over a year and she was absolutely amazing! She answered all of our questions, made sure our day went smooth, and always had a positive attitude! The valet staff ran efficiently and guests were impressed at the complimentary valet parking. The DJ, Brandon, kept the dance floor rocking all night long! Highly recommend booking this venue for your wedding; you will not regret it! Reviewed on 29-10-2021
Anastacia Mariea(bride)4 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 03-10-2021 Got married here 10/3/21 and it was beautiful! Definitely a stunning event area. The bridal suite was extremely disappointing due to the styist chairs being old and stiff and overdue to be replaced. the bridal suite is upstairs UT you can see down to the reception area so all morning I had to hide so people didn't see me. so that was awful and annoying considering I made eye contact with multiple people before the ceremony. The valet was inside due to it raining so a lot of my guests didn't even know there was valet and were upset about that. The girls that were helping out during the day were absolutely fantastic and helped so much. however when I'd go find someone to cut the cake, take care of something, the main girl was no where to be found. So the venue is Beautiful and we got numerous compliments but make sure you have a Coordinator and someone who can make sure everythings getting done Reviewed on 28-10-2021
Katie Lucke(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 12-06-2021 The Harris Building is absolutely phenomenal. Amazing staff, amazing layout, incredibly high quality experience, and surprisingly very reasonably priced. The staff was great, the DJ was great, the valet team was great. But even without all of that I would still 100% get married there all over again because of KELSI GAUNT, their venue coordinator. This woman was an absolute Godsend. Planning a wedding during a pandemic was certainly a challenge, but at every single turn Kelsi was able to offer a helping hand. This girl saved our wedding not once, BUT TWICE. When our awful month-of coordinator quit unexpectedly THREE WEEKS before the wedding, Kelsi stepped in and agreed to coordinate both the rehearsal and the ceremony (which were not even at the Harris Building itself!). When my makeup artist fell through last minute Kelsi again saved the day by connecting us to a number of phenomenal artists, including the one that we ultimately chose. And then when the caterer and bar tried to pull out TWO WEEKS before the wedding, she personally called the owner and convinced them to make it work.We had a perfect wedding day and could not have asked for anything better. But gosh it could have been a disaster without Kelsi. Do yourself a favor and choose this gorgeous venue, if for nothing else, to have Kelsi there who will move mountains to make it perfect! Reviewed on 17-07-2021
Mackenzie Sykora(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 18-06-2021 The Harris Building took our breath away when we walked into the reception hall and essentially sealed the deal right then and there for us. The dome above the dance floor along with the wood accents against the natural brick AND THE LIGHTS! My goodness, it was all so gorgeous and was a perfect canvas for making our dream wedding come true. We received countless compliments on our choice in venue. We had 180 guests at our wedding and it felt very spacious and comfortable. If you are seeking to make the reception the focal point and allow for your guests to have a great time on the dance floor, then the Harris Building is for you. Nino, their in-house DJ, helped keep our dance floor FULL throughout the entire reception! Added benefits also include the bridal suite, which was absolutely the perfect space for me and my bridesmaids to hang out and get ready the morning of the wedding. Also the entire Harris Bldg event staff, especially Kelsi, who gave us so much peace of mind during our planning amidst the pandemic. She kept us informed the entire time and was fully transparent. The timing of our wedding was just a couple weeks after Michigan essentially opened back up to a near normal capacity. While we played around with frantically switching venues to an outdoor location, we decided to keep our faith in Kelsi and her staff (& the good Lord honestly), which was the best decision we could have ever made. Leading up to the day, Kelsi was available to answer small and big questions and the day of, her and her staff helped my family put up decorations and made sure everything looked like I had envisioned, not to mention they helped pack all of our stuff up after the reception was over. The wedding ceremony itself went so smooth, which had a lot to do with allowing us time and space to have our rehearsal the night before. Kelsi was extremely organized during this and helped us figure out the smaller details. If there was a downside at all to the Harris, it’s the lack of natural lighting in the actual reception hall. However, our photographer was still able to capture beautiful photos that we will cherish forever. Reviewed on 07-07-2021
stephanie herbst-lucke(other)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 12-06-2021 Kelsi is incredible! She does it all from helping with your wedding planning, making recommendations, setup, tear down. She saved my daughter's wedding SO MANY TIMES from the problems we faced with COVID. When our caterer refused to serve due to COVID, Kelsi stepped in and took care of everything herself. She even handled the wedding rehearsal and on the day of the wedding, she came to the church to help. If your getting married in Grand Rapids, I highly recommend you add Kelsi to your shortlist! You will be thankful you did! Reviewed on 26-06-2021
Kaitlin Feddema(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 07-08-2021 The Harris Building was hands down the BEST decision we made for our May 22, 2021 wedding. The building is absolutely breathtaking, the staff (shout out to Kelsi and team) are responsive, organized, and incredibly helpful, and given our last minute COVID changes, they were willing to work with us to make it the best day we could have ever imagined. I HIGHLY recommend this venue to anyone looking for an elegant, urban atmosphere for their wedding, and seeking peace of mind during the planning process. I can't say enough great things about this venue and will certainly recommend it for any future event. Reviewed on 19-06-2021
Matthew Koster(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 26-03-2021 The Harris Building was the perfect spot for our wedding day! The building is beautiful and the accommodations and additional services they provided where above expectations and provided for a great experience over all. Kelsi was awesome to work with and made everything flow easily despite all of the constant changes due to government rules and restrictions! She crushed it and will make sure you are in the loop and enjoy the process. Reviewed on 09-04-2021
Katie Goodsmith(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 13-03-2021 I had my intimate ceremony and dinner here this past weekend and it was just beautiful! From the moment we toured the venue, we knew that we had to book it for our wedding, and the entire process from start to finish was really amazing! The staff is so friendly and quick to respond to emails/phone calls! We worked closely with Kelsi for all of our event planning and cannot say enough positive things about her! For one, she is super sweet and very genuine! My husband and I felt very comfortable working with her and knew that our special day was in good hands. While we planned a wedding during a global pandemic, The Harris Building truly could not have handled it any better; they were always understanding, supportive, and provided so much help/advice! If you are looking for a venue that is breathtaking, look no further! We are so happy that we had our wedding at the Harris Building! Reviewed on 16-03-2021
Lauren Morey(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 06-03-2021 We honestly cannot say enough good things about our experience working with the Harris from the very beginning. We first saw the Harris in December 2019 before we had even gotten engaged, and we knew right away that we wanted to have our wedding there. We got engaged the week before COVID shut down the country. We wanted our parents to see the venue before we put down a deposit, so Kelsi immediately rescheduled a tour with us in anticipation of the shutdown for our original tour date. The day after we saw the Harris with our parents, the shutdown was announced. When someone else started thinking of rescheduling their wedding for our desired date, Kelsi reached out to us immediately with our options, and we chose a different date instead. As we began to plan our wedding during COVID, we never imagined that a year later our wedding would be a \"COVID wedding\ Reviewed on 14-03-2021
Abbi Doyle(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 06-09-2020 We first met Kelsi and Kristen as we were originally supposed to have our wedding at the Harris Building in downtown Grand Rapids. The wedding was already complex to begin with – we (the bride and groom) are based on the West Coast with family and friends from Michigan, all over the country and the world. Due to Covid, we had to move our dates out and to another location in South Haven. But they still worked with us to plan our wedding and by the end of the wedding, we were extremely glad and grateful Kelsi and Kristen were still leading the charge as our planners. There were many intricacies to our wedding – we required social distancing measures to ensure the attendees were safe and comfortable; we had multiple themes (Winter for the dinner and Indian for the cocktail hour) which required detailed attention to the decorations; we had tents set up for the ceremony and dinner as there was a potential for rain; we needed live streaming (both on Zoom and Youtube) for family and friends near and far who couldn’t travel. All weddings will have things go wrong – some small, some large. But Kelsi and Kristen were the right team to manage and drive the production in the background to coordinate all the vendors and activities and ensure everything ran smoothly, while troubleshooting the things that didn’t with urgency. They were truly on top of it and as the bride and groom for the wedding, they shielded us and the rest of the family from the general chaos to ensure we had an amazing time. By the end of the night, we developed a deep sense of respect and trust for these two.Three examples come to mind on how they stood out and went out of their way: (1) They managed special requests with a smile – the groom had arranged for a special cake and champagne to be delivered to the bride’s suite as a surprise and Kelsi/Kristen delivered to make it a special moment for the ladies; (2) They managed a troublesome vendor – we had an inconsiderate and rude cake vendor who almost didn’t show up to the wedding and when they did, they delivered poor quality cake, and we didn’t hear about it as Kelsi/Kristen managed it; (3) They managed a fluid situation that had a high probability of risk and errors – the live streaming went down during the speeches and we got a text from a guest and we quickly forwarded that to Kelsi who worked to get it up and running in just a few minutes. These were just a few of the many examples. Our wedding was as intricate and complicated as it got, especially with the pandemic, fickle weather and a troublesome cake vendor, but we can’t overstate how amazing this duo was. We keep hearing that this had been one of the best weddings people have ever been to and it turned out to be truly special for everyone. It certainly takes a village and there were many people involved in making this a memorable weekend, but Kelsi and Kristen were truly outstanding and the lynchpins to success. Reviewed on 10-09-2020
Hannah Gomez(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 27-04-2019 I am so glad I got married at The Harris Building!They truly make wedding planning easy with several built in services and preferred vendors. Their staff is very helpful and quick to respond to emails. We got several compliments from guests on how well run our wedding was and how friendly the staff was. The Harris Building is a beautiful venue and we couldn't have asked for a better wedding. Thank you! Reviewed on 04-06-2020
Krista Lobkovich(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 27-09-2019 I wish I could give more than 5 stars because The Harris Building and the entire staff deserve WAY more than 5 stars. The venue itself was more than we could've imagined. From the exposed brick to the wooden beams across the ceiling, it's a unique and gorgeous building. Truly one of a kind. The valet parking is a major plus especially with its location in downtown Grand Rapids. The staff is just as, if not more, exceptional than the building itself. They were so dedicated to making sure we had the most perfect wedding ceremony and reception. They made everything so effortless, seamless, and flawless. Karri and Ashley are beyond incredible. They kept our day on schedule and made sure everything ran smoothly. They made sure they had everything just the way we wanted it. The in-house florist, Aime, is phenomenal. She did all our floral pieces and they turned out absolutely incredible. She is so passionate about her work and it really shows. The in-house DJs, Bradley and Josh, were total rockstars. They kept the dance floor full all night long. They also made sure we had drinks for dinner and even ran up and grabbed my phone for me. There were other staff members that provided light while we were trying to bustle my dress. The entire staff is super easy and great to work with. They are super responsive with emails and text messages. There wasn’t a moment I was stressed or wondering what was next. They really took all the worries from us and put us at ease. They handled everything for us and made sure we could enjoy our night. We got and continue to get many compliments on how beautiful our wedding was. Our wedding was absolutely perfect thanks to The Harris Building and its entire staff. To us, they weren’t just venue staff, they were wedding guests and friends. They really made our day memorable and I’m beyond happy that they were able to share in the day with us. Thank you, Karri, Ashley, DJ Bradley, DJ Josh, Aime, and the entire Harris Building staff! You guys mean so much to us! We love and miss you guys! Reviewed on 05-10-2019
Rachel Vredevoogd(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 20-09-2019 We had our wedding here last week and cannot say enough nice things about the venue, decor, floral, DJ and staff. They work with you to create your dream wedding and Karri is the most helpful and sweetest person to work with. You won’t regret choosing this venue for your wedding and your guests will love it as well (ours did)! Reviewed on 26-09-2019
Abby Wildman(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 14-09-2019 We had our wedding at the Harris Building and have nothing but great things to say about the staff and the venue! The venue is absolutely beautiful and we received many positive comments about it as well as how smooth the evening went. The staff is amazing and make everything so easy and are very attentive to emails/questions/calls etc. We would absolutely recommend the Harris Building and can't thank them enough for a great wedding! Reviewed on 23-09-2019
madeline kroll(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 07-06-2019 I will continue to recommend and talk about the Harris Building all day long! Let me preface this review by saying that while I was in no way a crazy bridezilla, (all and all pretty relaxed actually!) but I am a little bit picky when it comes to this stuff. Not only have I worked in the banquet/events/wedding industry, but my husband and I both work in the design world in New York City so we care a lot about the aesthetics of the day and we really wanted a fun but traditional formal event, so I hope that lets you know how much this review means to me! The entire process of planning our wedding was completely seamless, Karri and team made it so easy for me and we truly so accommodating and a joy to work with! We met at KCAD in downtown Grand Rapids so it was really important for us to have a Grand Rapids wedding, that being said, planning the wedding from so far away, I didn't have any time to really come back and forth throughout the process. This was one of the reasons that we were attracted to the idea of all the accommodations in one that the Harris Building could offer us. They went above and beyond video chatting with me and sending me lots and lots of photos and emails making me feel comfortable about how everything thing would look and what we would be able to do. They even helped me source unique centerpiece for our tables that I really couldn't have found elsewhere and DIY would have been a significant investment on our parts and they turned out amazing!Amie handled all of our flowers beautifully, we were truly blown away at the job she did and her super sweet personality made planning with her so much fun, you can see every bit of her passion for what she does and it showed with how amazing every detail turned out. Bradley the DJ was cute as a button and so sweet to work with, he kept everything going so well, played great music, really took our list and ran with it so it felt very our style. Also I'm forever grateful for the cocktails he snuck down to us while we were waiting to be announced, it saved all of our guests from a very nervous and awkward first dance! The day of went wonderfully smooth with all of their help, they took over with everything and I was never wondering about the timeline and I could truly relax and enjoy our reception. ---Not to mention the building itself is absolutely breathtaking and we received the most wonderful compliments! Reviewed on 19-06-2019
Kylee Fernandez(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 04-05-2019 We had our wedding at the harris building this past weekend and everything was perfect! The staff was all very helpful, especially during the room switch from ceremony to reception. We were off taking pictures between & everything was set to go for intros right when we got back! The DJ Bradley was awesome & played all of the songs we requested! He was also very helpful keeping our timeline on track. From the very beginning of planning to the end of the night, everyone was so helpful & made this much less stressful. 12/10 would recommend the harris building! We cannot thank them enough!!! Reviewed on 08-05-2019
Tammy Brann(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 04-08-2018 Our wedding day at the Harris Building exceeded expectations beyond belief! The Harris Building gave us the most gorgeous wedding ceremony and reception all at one place. Providing us with an exceptional Event Coordinator made planning our wedding the most enjoyable experience with literally no stress! They covered everything from Valet, Tables, Chairs, Linens, DJ, Photography and Floral! Eight months later and our friends and family still rave about our wedding. We just cannot express enough how wonderful every single detail was. It truly was the best day of our lives!Jeff Smoker & Tammy Brann United as one to Mr. Jeff & Tammy Smoker August 4, 2018 Reviewed on 03-05-2019