Rent a Unique Wedding Venue

Let us help you host a party worth writing about!

Weddings are a way to tell the story of your love, and what better place to do that than the American Writers Museum!  Rent a colorful, interactive small wedding venue unlike any other for your guests. Located on the the famed Michigan Avenue, we offer event spaces tailored to groups ranging from 20 to 250 people.

Request a Quote

Or email events@americanwritersmuseum.org to collaborate on a customized event experience designed for your budget.

A table set for a private dinner at the American Writers Museum in Chicago
Carasco Photography
A smiling man in a burgundy suit at a dinner event at the American Writers Museum
Colin Lyons Photography
A white and gray colored table setting at a private event at the American Writers Museum in Chicago
Photo by Carasco Photography
A woman wearing a teal hat playing the violin at the American Writers Museum
fotio

Featured Event Packages

Provide your guests with an atmosphere unlike any other for rehearsal dinners, engagement parties, wedding showers, and intimate wedding celebrations at the American Writers Museum! Private events held in the museum have exclusive access to all exhibits and guests can enjoy food and drink while exploring the museum. When you rent this unique small wedding venue, your big day will truly be worth writing about.

All packages include: menu, beverage, staff, equipment, linen, delivery, podium, chairs, tables, coat rack. Packages are $190-260 per person*.

A pink and purple table setting with wine glasses and flowers for a private rental event at the American Writers Museum in Chicago

“Your Marriage Story” Dinner

Deliver a spectacular experience leading up to your big day with a customized three course seated dinner and bar service.

Engage guests with a typewriter experience where they are given the opportunity to type messages to the couple. 

Enjoy a 30% venue discount on this package!

A dessert station set up near the front desk of the American Writers Museum for a private event rental

The Bookworm’s celebration

Host a memorable and unique celebration for all ages with creative buffet stations and beverages.

American Writers Museum staff will assist in leading a literature-related game which concludes with a special gift for the guest of honor.

*Pricing based on 30-60 guests and a two – three hour long event. Final price based on event logistics and current menu costs.

Space Details to Keep in Mind For Your Museum Wedding Venue

Capacity

  • Cocktail reception in the entire museum: 250
  • Theatre style: 100
  • Seated dinner in Readers Hall: 60
  • Seated dinner in A Nation of Writers: 60
  • Seated dinner in Meijer Changing Gallery: 20

Rates

  • Early mornings: $1500/hr.

Evenings

Events can be scheduled in blocks of 2, 3, or 4 hours.

  • Event up to 3 hours ……………………….. $3,500
  • Event up to 4 hours ……………………….. $4,500

Non-profit and special circumstances pricing
is available upon request.

Pros

  • Accessibility – the Museum is easy to reach driving or by public transportation, and have fully accessible and welcoming facilities
  • Location – Located in the heart of downtown Chicago on famed Michigan Avenue, this cultural gem is just steps away from Millennium Park and other cultural attractions, and a number of Chicago’s major hotels
  • Affordable & Unique – this unique small wedding venue provides the perfect place to start the next chapter of your love story with high end amenities at a moderate price

Cons

  • No valet parking – There are many parking options close to the Museum, but no valet available on Michigan Avenue
  • No dance floor – Our more intimate venue does mean there is not room for a large dance floor, though there are plenty of opportunities for entertainment all evening, such as typewriters branded to the couple
  • No outdoor option – The Museum is fully indoors, so would be well suited to a winter or spring wedding

Equipment

When you rent our unique small museum venue, we include the use of:

  • Ten (10) sleek black highboy tables (linens not included)
  • Up to one hundred (100) theatre-style chairs
  • Three (3) coat racks with metal hangers
  • Podium with a wireless PA system
  • Handheld and Lavalier microphones
  • Six (6) black stanchions
  • Use of nine (9) television monitors
  • Six (6) 66″ round tables (linens not included)
  • Four (4) 6-ft folding tables (linens not included)
  • Four (4) high-top chairs with backs, ideal for programming discussions

AV equipment for additional charge: 3 PTC-140ND Cameras, an RMC-300A camera controller, and a PC running VMix video production and streaming software. Inquire for more information and costs.

Chicago Event Space Add-Ons

Looking for more fun activities for your guests? We can help you host a wide variety of events with specialized tours and experiences to make your group’s celebration even more memorable.

Group tours are for 10 or more and start at $75 for groups up to 25. AWM members receive 15% off tours. Please fill out our inquiry form and AWM Events will get back to you shortly.

  • General Museum/Highlights Tour: Perfect for first time visitors!
  • Poe Tour: The man behind the myth, from talking ravens to thumping tell-tale hearts. You’ll dive into Poe’s work and see how his legacy continues to impact the world today.
  • Trailblazing Women Writers Tour: Discover the women of American literature with this tour highlighting the accomplishments and contributions of literary foremothers.
  • Frederick Douglass Tour: You learn not only about the writer and statesman but who influenced him in life and the famous American writers and activists he worked with.
  • My America Tour: Highlighted immigrant and native writers in each area of the Museum.
  • Hispanic Heritage Tour: The voices of Hispanic writers have always been a part of the American literary landscape: from 1528 Spanish expeditions, to the first Puerto Rican librarian in New York City, to contemporary Chicago poets.
  • Museum Tour with AWM President Carey Cranston (higher rate than other tours)
  • Poems While You Wait
    • A collective of poets & their manual typewriters who provide a magical, unexpected, unpretentious, & decontextualized encounter with poetry. No requested topic is too big or too small, too funny or too sad, too silly or too serious.
  • Adult Spelling Bees by Danielle Sepulveres
    • The Twilight Zone: There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge…of spelling. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call The Adult Spelling Bee.
    • Fictional Characters We Wish Hadn’t Died: Can you spell Anna Karenina? How about Ned Stark? What better way to eulogize the fictional characters whose deaths have saddened us than correctly spelling their names!
    • RomComs Forever: Tonight the words will be acted out in the form of a romantic comedy quote! If you spell it correctly AND guess which RomCom it’s from, you will get double points! Time to rewatch HARRY MET SALLY for the hundredth time!
    • Request a themed bee to be curated for your group
  • Food For Thought’s A Night at the Museum Dinner Packages – 5 Stage Story Plated Dinners
    • A Night at the Museum: Mediterranean Tour
    • A Night at the Museum: A Far East Adventure
  • StoryStudio Chicago
    • Single-session creative writing workshops
  • Scavenger Hunt
    • A Women Writers scavenger hunt will take your group through our permanent exhibits to find iconic American women who shaped the history of this country with their words and voices.
  • The Big Quiz Show
    • Literary-themed Trivia: Multimedia, “figureoutable” trivia, but focusing on famous authors, lit classics, publishing phenomena, and more.
  • Children’s storytime, author talks, and more.
Visitors with cocktails at an event

Food & Beverage

When you rent a small wedding venue at The American Writers Museum, you can also work with our exclusive caterer Food for Thought to plan a menu that will keep your friends and family energized.

Food for Thought