Incredible Outdoor Weddings and Amazing Receptions
Located in heart of Omaha, The Thompson Center is a timeless venue for couples who want to share their wedding day. Our award-winning Best of Omaha venue is truly like no other wedding space in the region. Discover our incomparable staff that will craft your wedding ceremony and reception into your dream come true.
Facilities and Capacity
If you want to use nature as your church, the pristinely landscaped grounds can be set with our white padded chairs for up to 300 guests for an outdoor ceremony with indoor backup space included. Our brick patio is typically used for cocktail receptions and is available to your guests all event long. Take the party inside to either of two ballrooms. Each ballroom welcomes up to 230 guests and your wedding is always the only event scheduled on the property.
Services Offered
Your wedding day is the most important of days and we provide a stress-free environment. The catering coordinator is there to answer your questions and calm your concerns, and the waitstaff will execute a perfect meal and assist with your needs on the day of the event. Everyone pulls together to give you the most relaxed day possible. Here are just a few of the services offered complimentary to couples who book The Thompson Center:
• Indoor Rental Includes:
o Tables (60-inch rounds, 10 seat max)
o Chairs
o Complete setup/teardown of tables and chairs
o Catering Creations event planner for all reception needs
o 2 nicely appointed wedding party dressing rooms
o Digital welcome signage
o Comprehensive audiovisual package including ceiling-mounted Laser Projector, 15-foot screen, laptop, integrated room sound, and microphone.
o Access and use of Young Chang Baby Grand Piano
o A permanent dance floor in each ballroom
o Use of 40 seat brick patio
o Locked Gift Room
o Granite top bar and 1 portable bar
o Abundant parking
o Free rehearsal dinner space (must use Catering Creations)
o Free rehearsal session
• Outdoor Rentals include:
o White padded chairs (up to 250)
o Ceremony Table
o Sign-in/card table
o Digital Welcome signage
o An outdoor sound system including a microphone, speakers for all musical needs. The audio package includes a mixer, capable of supporting live music.
o 7-foot white ceremonial arbor
o Complete setup and teardown
o 2 nicely appointed wedding party dressing rooms
o Indoor ceremony space option in case of inclement weather
o Thompson Center event manager for your entire event
o Free rehearsal dinner space (must use Catering Creations)
o Free rehearsal session
Cuisine
The Thompson Center is proud to only use Catering Creations for our catering needs. Catering Creations offer our couples award-winning selections in organized packages, including dinner packages, hors d’oeuvres packages, and full beverage packages. Your outside vendor for wedding cake and cupcakes is always welcome. Even the pickiest of your guests will be impressed with your wedding meal banquet and you’ll be receiving compliments for years afterward.
Bar & Drinks, Food & Catering, Planning, Rentals & Equipment, Service Staff
Settings
Backyard, Ballroom, Garden, Historic Venue, Trees
Business Attributes
Pricing for Thompson Center at UNO
Option
Value
Starting Cost
Affordable
Cost Starting
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Couples Usually Spend
Peak Season Months
Peak Season Cost
Peak Season Reception Cost
Peak Season Ceremony Cost
Peak Season Bar Service Cost
OffSeason Months
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OffSeason BarService Cost
Thompson Center at UNO Reviews
Emily Scarcello(other)5 out of 5 Rating
I had my wedding reception for about 150 guests here in June 2023 and have nothing but good things to say about the venue. The cost to rent it is very reasonable for all that you get. The building is clean, beautiful, and in a great location with plenty of parking. Your rental gets you access to the courtyard and two banquet rooms. I was able to set up outdoor games, use the in-house technology for a photo show, borrow a few easels, and use one room as the \"escape from the music\" room. Most wedding rentals I looked at only include one room. My guests loved being able to spread out. One other perk of all these rooms is that you can easily host both a ceremony and a reception and have contingency rooms in the event of any bad weather (the courtyard space is typically the best spot for ceremonies).The facility manager, Steven, was a pleasure to work with. He was very responsive, flexible, and understanding with all my questions and requests. It is evident that he has helped plan for a lot of weddings at the facility--his knowledge and advice was extremely helpful. The facility staff who were present throughout our set up and event were great as well. If you book at Thompson, you will have to use their catering partner, Catering Creations, but they were good to work with as well. Reviewed on 16-06-2023
Sarah Schroeder(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 21-10-2022 We had our wedding at the Thompson Center Fall ‘22. It was a wonderful, clean and beautiful venue. And very affordable for Omaha. We had rooms available for the bride and groom parties to get ready and a well-kept green space to enjoy as well. Steve was beyond great to work with. He was professional, quick to answer questions and pleasant to work with. Reviewed on 05-01-2023
Curtis Gillespie(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 15-10-2022 Great space to handle our reception. A huge shout out to Steven, who let us store some items ahead of time in his personal office. Reviewed on 24-10-2022
Jess C(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 14-08-2021 The venue was very accommodating when changes to our plans had to be made due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They also gave us flexibility to choose how we wanted to use the space and offered suggestions based on what other couples had done. The food was reasonable priced and tasty. Reviewed on 25-10-2021
Carol Lynne(other)5 out of 5 Rating
We have had the honor of officiating weddings at the Thompson Center for many years now. Their team is very attentive and responsive! The reception venue is beautiful and the outdoor ceremony space is beautiful and shady. Not to mention a cocktail hour on the patio is amazing! Book Thompson first then contact I Tie The Knots to reserve your professional officiant! Reviewed on 28-08-2021
Emily Wick(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 19-06-2021 My husband and I got married at the alumni center this summer and they were amazing! Steven communicated promptly and clearly. He went above and beyond to help make our day run smoothly and made setting up the event so easy! The event space was beautiful. We used the outdoor area for cocktail hour and set up lawn games in the green space - the guests loved it! The room with the head table and guests was beautiful. Steven allowed us to change the lighting to match our wedding colors. I would recommend The Thompson Center to any couple looking for a beautiful place to have a reception! Reviewed on 18-07-2021
Lauren Barratt(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 01-05-2021 The Thompson Center was beyond perfect for our spring wedding! The inside reminds me of a country club as well as the outdoor patio. The staff, Steven & Joni, were so great to work with, they answered all my emails and calls for quickly and were so great to work with! I could even make an appointment to check out the venue, several times. Would recommend to all engaged couples! Reviewed on 12-05-2021
Andrew Phillips(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 19-09-2021 Absolutely wonderful working with Steven and the staff at the Thompson Alumni Center. Haven't had the wedding yet, but so far, they have gone out of their way to make this the perfect venue for us. We're looking at having 150ish people and have no concerns about space for people (plenty of space for guests to eat, dance, socialize inside or outside).The venue is beautiful, well maintained and updated with a large room upstairs for the bridal party to use when getting ready. Downstairs, there is another large room for the groom and his party to use. Reviewed on 26-04-2021
Christina Bogers(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 10-10-2020 What an amazing venue! The staff went above and beyond to help us with our day. Steven who works for The Thompson center made sure every little detail was perfect for us, and me and my husband living in Georgia and having to plan the wedding from a distance, this helped out tremendously. If you can, make sure you ask for Whitney with Catering Creations, the caterer exclusively at the Thompson Center, my wedding would not have been the way it was without her! She is amazing, and very detail oriented. Also the Thompson center is so beautiful, a perfect backdrop for any event. Reviewed on 07-12-2020
Tanner Woslager(groom)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 07-09-2019 Everything about the TAC was absolutely perfect for our big day. Steven was exceptional to work with and was very quick to answer our calls and emails. He made sure we were completely comfortable with it all every step of the way. The outdoor venue for the ceremony was extremely beautiful, and all the shade from the trees made for great pictures. They had the chairs set up perfectly, and the audio equipment was very easy to use as we played everything from Spotify. We had our rehearsal dinner there as well, and everything was set up exactly how we wanted it.The girls were given a big room upstairs to get ready in, and the guys had a big room downstairs which was nice to keep us on separate floors. Parking was super convenient with their own lot and the huge lot across the street. It started to rain 15 minutes before our ceremony, and the staff was on the ball the entire time. They were constantly in contact talking about where the storm was and where it was heading and wiped down all the chairs after the rain had passed. All of our guests waited inside while we sorted it all out and made for a fun experience.We are so incredibly happy with our experience with the TAC, and we would definitely recommend it to our family and friends. Reviewed on 20-09-2019
Megan McNeil(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 27-10-2018 We held our wedding ceremony outside in October 2018 and it was beautiful. We were so impressed with all the staff's organization, planning, and attention to detail. We felt as if everything was perfect and all vendors were on the same page with the help of the Thompson Center coordinator, Steven. The venue is beautiful and the on-site caterer is our favorite in Omaha! This was also one of the more affordable venues in Omaha and was the best choice we made when planning our wedding. Thanks again! Reviewed on 22-02-2019
Brittany McClure(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 22-09-2018 We held our wedding ceremony outside at the Thompson Center. It turned out to be the best weather and the outdoor venue was just what we wanted. The staff was quick to answer and respond to any questions. They were very flexible with our requests and the getting ready suites for fantastic for pictures. Reviewed on 01-11-2018
Anonymous (bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 12-05-2018 The Thompson Center at UNO served as the perfect ceremony site for us! The lawn provided a picture perfect space for our ceremony and included all of the chairs, a professional sound system, use of two large indoor dressing rooms, and a backup indoor space in case of inclement weather. Fortunately for us the weather cooperated and we were able to see our dream of an outdoor wedding transpire! The Thompson Center staff was extremely professional and had an answer for everything which allowed us to not have to worry about a single detail on our wedding day. They ensured the lawn was immaculate by tending to the flowers and picking up sticks right up until guests arrived. Once guests did arrive the Thompson Center has a fantastic outdoor patio for guests to mingle and in our case- take selfies we would use later on and have some snacks! Thank you Thompson Center for helping to make our wedding day what it was! Reviewed on 05-07-2018
Pamela Bouterse(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 01-07-2017 They were fantastic from start to finish. We got the whole building for our wedding including an outdoor area for the ceremony and pictures. They are affordable and did all the setup/tear down. Reviewed on 26-07-2017
Brittney Collett(bride)4 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 13-08-2018 We only had our wedding ceremony at the Thompson Center. Everything from start to finish was very easy and Steven was very prompt with answering any questions we had. The ceremony was outside but if there was bad weather, there was space inside to move it. That was a huge stressful reliever. They are very accommodating with any specifics for setting up/chair placement. We were very pleased and would recommend this venue to others. Reviewed on 13-06-2017
Keely Montgomery(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 08-04-2017 The Thompson Center gave us everything we wanted for our wedding and more! The director, Steven, is so wonderful to work with - we were unsure or indecisive on many things and he really helped by walking us through our options, what to expect, the wedding day timeline, and gave suggestions on what worked well in the past for other couples. We were allowed access to the building for our rehearsal the evening before our wedding, and we used the bridal suite and grooms suite to get ready the next day. Since the Thompson Center partners with Catering Creations our wedding ceremony > cocktail hour > dinner flowed so well and it was great for our guests. The venue itself is beautifully renovated so we didn't have to do much for decor and everything looked elegant and wonderful. I highly, highly recommend this venue, especially for couples who want to have all wedding festivities in the same place. Reviewed on 03-05-2017
Anonymous (groom)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 31-10-2017 Amazing venue and phenomenal staff. We just got married at the Thompson Center and it was perfect! The outdoor wedding was beautiful, the patio served for a wonderful cocktail hour and the indoor reception was awesome in the newly renovated space. Steven, the Director of the center, and the rest of his staff were so great to work with from start to finish! I was honestly amazed at the high level of service provided by the venue's staff throughout. Steven helped us out immensely throughout the entire process and alleviated so much of our stress. I loved every minute of our wedding at the Thompson Center and would highly recommend the venue to anyone due to the gorgeous newly renovated facility, wonderful location and amazing staff. Reviewed on 31-08-2016
Stefanie Hoffman(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 21-05-2016 We had our wedding on May 21, 2016 at the Thompson Alumni Center. We looked at many different places to have our wedding and this was the most elegant and our dream wedding venue. They definitely exceeded our expectations. We booked well over a year in advance and they catered to our every need all the way up to the big day. Steve was absolutely amazing to work with and went above and beyond. He was very professional and sat down with us on multiple occasions to make sure our special day was absolutely perfect. I cannot rave enough about this venue and the staff that made our day so special. I recommend this venue to anyone looking to have an absolutely gorgeous wedding. Thank you Steve and the Thompson Alumni Center for making our wedding day perfect! :) Reviewed on 30-06-2016
Megan Puckett(bride)5 out of 5 Rating Wedding Date 14-05-2016 We had our wedding ceremony at the Thompson Alumni Center and it went very smoothly. We had an outdoor ceremony and it was a beautiful, intimate atmosphere with a very convenient location right off Dodge Street. Steven Summers is the director for the events held there and was a pleasure to work with. He was very experienced at coordinating the logistics of the wedding and made the process painless for us. They recently renovated it so everything is fresh and updated. They have a nice, roomy bridal suite for the party to get ready in. Reviewed on 16-05-2016
Steve joined the Thompson Center in May 2013 as the Director. His primary responsibility is managing the Thompson Center, one of Omaha's most popular event facilities. \"I take great pride that over 350 wedding ceremonies and wedding receptions have been hosted by the Thompson Center in the past nine years.\" He previously was an adjunct instructor at Metropolitan Community College's Institute for the Culinary Arts. He has 20 years of leadership experience in the hospitality industry.