Mad Art Gallery

This review is tough for me, as I should really review the venue separately from the catering services. While our venue was everything we wanted, we were incredibly disappointed in Mad Art's catering services.We had our October wedding in the coutyard and the reception in the gallery. The venue itself was great. Samantha (the coordinator we worked with there) was very responsive and they were very accomodating. There were a couple of minor hicups (the gate to the ceremony was opened very late, the fireplace was not tended to, there weren't enough tables set) but overall, we were very happy and our guests complimented our venue.However, the catering services were a huge disappointment. Even though I had read mixed reviews, we were thrilled at the taste and menu options Mad Art had so we booked their in house caterer. We ordered appetizers for cocktail hour, and dinner was supposed to be served at 7:30 (according to our coordinator). Appetizers were never served and dinner did not come out until 8:15. On top of that, most everything was cold when my husband and I ate...and we ate first. Around 20 of my guests left without eating because they couldn't wait anymore and my diabetic uncle had to ask for some fruit because of his blood sugar. They also failed to serve our leftover cake in cake boxes as we requested until about 15 minutes before the end of the reception (after most guests left), leaving tons and tons of abandoned cake. (My mom literally went into the kitchen to find out what was taking so long).We would definitely recommend the venue, but I am still pretty bitter about the catering services. Mad Art did refund the money for the forgotten appetizers, but I never spoke to Samantha about the other concerns (she was not present the day of my wedding due to a personal conflict). We played phone tag a little and then for my own sanity I dropped the issue for awhile. I feel like 45 minutes of my reception was wasted sitting waiting for food.

Our wedding was September 24, 2011! Everything about the day was perfect, thanks to this venue! We had our wedding ceremony in the courtyard, which was beautiful and charming. Our reception took place later in the day at Mad Art. Samantha P. is the absolute best wedding coordinator! She helped with all the wedding decorations and the flow of the ceremony and reception! The reception was so unique on its own that minimal decoration is needed! We used the in house catering, and the food exceeded our highest expectations! I have had so many people tell me the food was the best they've ever had at a wedding! If you are looking for a unique and exciting place for a wedding, then this is the place!

We did our reception only at Mad Art -- a fun, funky, cool-vibe, laid-back art gallery with a good use of space. It used to be an old St. Louis police precinct and still has the original sergeant's desk (used as a bar) and a jail cell (super fun photos!). Our initial contact with Mad Art was anything but stellar, BUT, they've since brought in a new manager who is very helpful and very on the ball. She had a load of headaches to fix from the previous manager and handled it with grace and ease. I was unsatisfied that we had to pay extra for bringing in an off-site caterer that wasn't on their "approved" list because the previous manager had told me that it wasn't a problem. There were a few similar instances through the process; otherwise, the score would be higher. That said, moving forward, I would have no qualms about recommending Mad Art to anyone. I think the owner has put the problems behind him by bringing in a new manager, who again, should be commended! Also noteworthy, our caterer pretty much handled everything -- set up, tear down, centerpiece placements and the like. The gallery does the bar -- BUT, your glassware is not included in the price. Your caterer brings it in and washes it too. Overall, we loved our day and all went well!

Mad Art Gallery in the Soulard neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri was an absolutetly outstanding place for our wedding reception. I initially chose the venue because it is a unique and stylish venue with reasonable pricing. But, I was very surprised and delighted by the services, food, and overall experience.We loved the Mad Art Gallery because it is an art gallery with with a hip, artsy vibe. With the decorations we chose it was a very chic urban affair. Several of our guests remarked at how stylish the event was. We also liked Mad Art because it has an courtyard that is decorated by romantic white lighting, all of which is viewable from the gallery/dining floor, by a wall of windows. Additionally, it is really fun. As a former police precint, there are some fun relics from it's former life.Finally, I cannot say enough about Samantha, the gallery manager. She was very professional, thorough, easy-going, and a delight to work with. The entire staff on the day of the event also did fantastic work. I highly recommend Mad Art Gallery for your wedding reception or other event.

I will highly recojmmand your venue. Samantha did an outstanding job! Our only issue is the leftover wedding cake. Our family was disappointed there was no left overs to take home, eapecailly the groom's cake which came from Time's small town in southern Ill. I don't know it all the cake was cut or not. I suspect that all the cake was cut. My suggestion would be to cut the cake as needed per tier and the bottom tier half, if guest needed more then cut it. My other suggestions is at closing , closing seems to be a bit choatic. Our other daughter's wedding they had a flatbed on wheels(like the type at Home depot) and have everything ready. Or give a pick up date to collect table decoration/flowers etc. Overall it was outstanding!We had some many compliments from our guest about the food, the unquiness of the venue and what a great time they had. Thank you so much for making timn's and Anna's day so wonderful!! with much appreciation, Peggy Bippen

We feel very lucky that we chose to have our wedding reception at the Mad Art Gallery in June, 2011. Everything was absolutely wonderful. We used their catering service and the food was fantastic. We knew we had made the right choice after the tasting prior to the event. The food served at the reception was actually better than the tasting! Samantha, the event coordinator, made us feel like we had hired a wedding planner. She responded to all calls and emails promptly and was very professional when we met with her. She helped come up with ideas and was very receptive to our ideas. The place looked beautiful once they set everything up! The night of the reception, she went above and beyond by taking photos for us when our photographer left a little earlier than we had anticipated. This venue is very unique and the service went so far beyond our expectations. It felt like the entire staff was enjoying the event. They were genuine and kind in every way and definitely not just going through the motions to make money. I recommend this location wholeheartedly!

To start out positive, Mad Art is a very cool location! It is an art gallery housed inside of a former police station, so the bar is located at the sergeant's desk and there is a jail cell for gifts/pictures/kids room/whatever you want! Unfortunately, we had a severe problem with a member of the bar staff. There is a strict no outside alcohol policy. The coordinator allowed us to store a case of beer left over from the party bus in her office, and when the bar closed, someone in the wedding party must have grabbed the beer and handed one to the father of the groom (who assumed it came from the bar). If the member of the bar staff had said something along the lines of, "There is no outside alcohol, please remove it from the premises," everything would have been okay. Instead, the member of the bar staff was incredibly rude to the parents of the groom, and wouldn't even tell them what they were doing wrong. And then he pushed them outside, and locked the door. When a guest let them back in, the mother of the groom asked him for his name, and he said, "I do not have to give you that information." And when she asked for his supervisor, he just ran off. We received no apologies from the manager. I am in shock at the amount of disrespect given to my family, and despite Mad Art being a neat location for a wedding reception, I could never recommend it to anyone. I would hate for someone else to be treated in this way.

The venue itself was perfect for us. But I dont have much positive to say other than that. I wouldn't recommend anyone book here unless you have a coordinator who is willing to stay on top of all the details. We had CONSTANT issues with communication. Heather assured us she would be there during the whole event. But she left immediately after the ceremony. She told us she was going to set up the centerpieces, the caterer did it. At least one other review I had read had similar issues but on the day of Mad Art came through. I did not have that experience at all. That day was as haphazard as the year of planning with them had been. If you want to book here because you love the location then do it, if you want a location you can work with effortlessly, look elsewhere

We had our reception at the Mad Art May of 2010. We were so pleased with the gallery and received many compliments. We did heavy hors d'Ĺ“uvres for our meal and it turned our wonderful. I am 34 and my husband is 40 so we did not want the traditional buffet or sit-down dinner. We went for more of a causal reception and it turned out amazing!! I would definitely recommend the Mad Art......just make sure if you change things last minute that they get changed.

My wedding was perfect! Heather did an amazing job.

We had our reception at Mad Art, and Heather was the main person who we worked with. It was such a great experience working with her, she was always responsive to questions, got back with me quickly, and really made me feel comfortable with everything. I did not have a wedding planner and we did all of the reception decorations ourselves; Heather and staff set up all of the decorations for us and did everything perfectly, it looked so beautiful. We had so many compliments on how unique the space was and how it was so refreshing to be somewhere other than a hotel conference room for a reception. We did our own music (using our computer) as they have a built in sound system...it worked perfectly and they provided all the necessities to set it up which was so helpful. The bartenders were also great, they were very friendly and quick at getting everyone their drinks, there was never a long line. It really is a great space and worked out perfectly for us.

This reception venue was exactly what we were looking for! We are still young so we wanted someplace hip and fun and the Art Gallery was just that. We were able to cut costs on decorating because the gallery was decoration in its own. Heather was wonderful to work with and was extremly accomodating to all our needs. She even helped avoid some major future mother in law disasters! We couldn't not be any happier than we were with the Mad Art Gallery