The Maxwell House is an Historic Landmark & Special Event Space located in the heart of Old-Town Pasadena. Full of unique, historic charm, it is a venue built for making memories!
We offer a variety of wedding and special event packages, perfect for any of life’s celebrations! Event rentals include access to the entire first floor, including the main ballroom, grand staircase, sweeping foyer, large dining room, library, full kitchen, and outdoor garden, in addition to the upstairs mezzanines and wedding suite.
Included in our packages is the use of our in-house equipment such as tables and chairs, artisan crafted wooden wedding arch, dance floor, sound system, bar, outdoor string lighting, complimentary parking, and more!
We currently offer 2 wedding options for our couples:
- Boutique Weddings: 6hrs (including client set-up/break-down), up to 40 guests plus couple and vendors, ceremony and reception, limited furniture. Limited Sunday's available at the rate of $4,500.
- Traditional Weddings: 12 hrs day of event (including client set-up/break-down plus 4hrs of prep/rehearsal on Friday before event), up to 120 guests (100 is suggested), ceremony and reception, all in-house furniture, Limited Saturday's available at the rate of $8,500.
There is no tax on our rentals, as we are operated via the nonprofit organization, The Western Justice Center. By booking the Maxwell House, you are assisting valuable programs that empower people to strengthen their communities by growing the conflict resolution skills and capacity of youth, educators, schools, and community partners. Your support will allow WJC to deliver transformational conflict resolution education rooted in equity, justice, and opportunity to students and educators across Southern California and beyond.
MATTHEW GILL(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 18-03-2023 This venue was very easy to navigate booking, answer questions, has a great vendor network and a venue that doesn't need much decoration. They are inclusive, have a lot of in house materials available, and very easy to get to location with parking. Reviewed on 25-03-2023
Robert Mariazeta(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 19-06-2022 Situated right off a nearby freeway, the Maxwell House is extremely accessible and an absolutely gorgeous venue. When me and my wife were looking for venues for our wedding, we ultimately landed on this one due to price, location, and the beauty and potential the venue had for hosting our type of event. A big selling point was that a majority of the fees go towards the Western Justice Center, a non-profit that grows and teaches conflict resolution skills in youth and educators and whose offices are inside this historic venue. The building itself is just full of beautiful little locations, from the lovely patio out back, to the warm and inviting interiors and grand staircase. They have quite a number of \"rental\" furniture and that comes with the fee of your wedding package that really helps cut down costs of having to chase down and find tables and chairs. The way they set up events also allows you come in a day before to set up, decorate, and have rehearsal so that on the day of your event things are mostly done and prepared for you. But, we did have one issue that we encountered that is hard for us to ignore, which was that due to a scheduling system change, our original requested day was double-booked. Now, I'm sure it's a rare occurrence and we were just unlucky, but it did hurt in the moment. However, the crew at the Maxwell House did everything they could to correct things and that's why I've decided to rate them so highly despite that. We still had a wonderful wedding and a brilliant day and we're still happy that we've had it here. There's so many positive aspects to this venue, to the kind hearts working there, the excellent vendor list, and the location itself, that I recommend you check out one of their Open Houses to experience the possibilities for yourself! Reviewed on 05-07-2022
Toby Brooks(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 14-05-2022 We loved working with the Maxwell House! They are so professional, yet it doesn't feel like your wedding is assembly line at all. We got tons of compliments on the beautiful space the day of our wedding. The price is very fair for all the items they include, and we love that the venue fee helps support a non-profit! Reviewed on 26-05-2022
Kay Townsend(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 05-05-2022 Thank you Rae and the Maxwell House team! We held an elopement wedding ceremony and it was perfect. Rae was extremely helpful and answered all of our questions. The venue was beautiful and had everything we wanted for our day. Such a unique place and it was the perfect place for us! Reviewed on 24-05-2022
Neilou Heidari(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 06-11-2021 My husband and I toured numerous wedding venues and landed on The Maxwell House for multiple reasons: (1) The historic charm - each room tells a story, (2) The mission - Maxwell House houses Western Justice Center which offers impactful community programming, (3) Affordability (enough said), and (4) The ability to choose your own vendors.My husband and I had to postpone our wedding due to COVID-19 and Maxwell House worked with us to re-book for the following year. Their support and flexibility was hugely appreciated and helped ease the stress of re-planning a wedding. Additionally, Maxwell House is the perfect event space for people of diverse backgrounds. When my husband and I were touring venues, every single one had limitations on the food you could serve, the DJ you could hire, etc. As an Iranian-American, I was really disappointed that I wouldn't be able to hire vendors that reflected my culture and identity. Thank you Maxwell House for being the inclusive and understanding venue that you are! Reviewed on 12-11-2021
Vanessa Vaughn(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 09-11-2019 Maxwell House was perfect for our budget mindful DIY wedding. It allowed us the flexibility we needed to pull off our dream wedding. Reid Lee, the director of operations and events is the most fabulous and supportive venue contact you could want. They give you the freedom to bring in and choose whichever vendors you like - including being able to provide your own bar! Maxwell House offers outdoor and indoor space on one property. They also offer free parking in a lot across the street! Maxwell House provides tables and chairs for dinner seating and ceremony seating, too - they set it all up in time for your rehearsal. They also have a built in dance floor in their stunning foyer. Overall, we LOVED Maxwell House - I highly, highly recommend it! Even though we were in this mansion we could never afford to live in, it felt like being home... celebrating with our most favorite people. It was classic, elegant but somehow cozy, too.Thank you Maxwell House and Reid - we have so much love and gratitude for you!! Reviewed on 25-07-2020
Mireya Rodriguez(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 07-09-2019 This was a dream of a venue. We had such a great experience and even our vendors commented on how easy it was to work at this venue. My guests are still talking about it months later! Reid was awesome and Melissa was too. I would recommend this place to anyone. Reviewed on 20-11-2019
Asad Shah(groom)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 03-11-2018 Wow, talk about a gorgeous wedding venue, with an amazingly helpful and kind staff to match. We love the Maxwell House and Reid is a champ at being responsive, thorough, and making sure your special day really ends up being the best day of your life!My wife and I had been shopping around for wedding venues for about six months. We didn't really have a budget in mind so were open to anything. What we really loved about the Maxwell House is that it had the backyard wedding feel we wanted, but most of all you can choose whoever you want to be your wedding vendors (so long as they're properly licensed and such).THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT! For you grooms out there, or anyone who doesn't really know how wedding spaces work, it's rare to find places that let you choose your own vendor. What a novel concept!Anyways we visited a few open houses and were set on the Maxwell House. When we requested a quote for pricing, I couldn't believe how affordable it was. Now, I understand that this is relative to your wedding budget, but I'll tell you if your trying to have a 80-100 person wedding in a beautiful location, this place is such a deal. LA's hidden wedding venue gem.Anyways, we picked a date and put in our deposit. They have a very easy payment portal so you don't have to send a check or anything inconvenient like that. Also, the staff is amazing! Especially Reid! I think I'd call him 3-4 times a month leading up to our wedding, making sure everything worked, floorpan questions, etc... Anyways he never made me feel like I was being a burden. Also the day before when we were setting up, Reid went above and beyond to make some arrangements that made our wedding so much more beautiful!Highly recommend the Maxwell House and everything about it. Also Pasadena is gorgeous! Reviewed on 31-03-2019
Monique Villa(bride)4 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 27-06-2015 My husband and I tied the knot at The Maxwell House on a Saturday evening this past June. The venue was the perfect setting for our wedding, especially because of the layout of the rooms and back patio. We were able to have our ceremony and reception all in the same place, which made it very convenient. Even better - they let you bring in your own alcohol and caterer, which helped keep our wedding costs low while still putting together the perfect wedding. Definitely recommended for a couple who is looking to through an elegant, classy wedding without the crazy price tag. Reviewed on 25-07-2015
Kelly Pruner(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 23-08-2014 I loved the Maxwell House! They were wonderful and really accommodating. For the rental price, which is VERY affordable for the LA area, you get 3 hrs the day before the event (you can set up all of your decorations and leave them there. BIG plus) and 12 hours the day of the event. Everyone I dealt with was really nice and helpful, and I had a great experience overall. They only negative is that there isn't really a good place for the guys to get ready at the venue. My husband and his guys just stayed at the hotel instead, and took getting ready pictures there. Also, it can't accommodate a big wedding. The dining room can only hold 100 people, which was perfect for us, but if you need a bigger guest list, then this is not the venue for you. Otherwise, it is a great venue. Reviewed on 19-09-2014
Sierra Lawe(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 29-12-2013 I love the Maxwell House. Camilla was so great. She answered all of our questions through out the 9 month process of booking the venue and then planning for it. She allowed multiple members of my family to stop by throughout the 9 month planning process to view the venue and worked with our vendors when we ran into issues. The venue is absolutely gorgeous and required basically no decorating. The best part was the fact that venue cost only $2600 to rent the entire building and included chairs, tables, and a great kitchen. We received so many compliments for the venue and just could not have imagined ourselves getting married anywhere else. Perfect location, tons of options for taking photos, doesn't get any better. Reviewed on 03-12-2013
Robin Hart(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 12-10-2013 Beautiful venue! Reviewed on 28-10-2013
Mari Zang(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 27-04-2013 We found this little gem by accident and couldn't have been happier. It's a gorgeous old mansion with huge rooms and tons of charm. All we had to do was add the food and a few lights and we had a stunning space for our wedding. They even have a patio out back where we had our ceremony. It's a perfect quiet location among the most beautiful houses in Pasadena. The venue was also super easy to work with, with very few strict rules. We had a fantastic time and it felt like a home wedding, only in a fantastic mansion! Reviewed on 23-05-2013
Cindy is our Events and Sales Manager. She not only brings her expertise in weddings to the table but she also loves the venue and all it has to offer.