500 Pearl

This venue is gorgeous but what really drew us to it initially was that it was a "one stop shop" meaning that we could get ready, have both the ceremony & reception, and then stay overnight without ever having to leave the building. We received so many compliments on the food and the bar service. Dinner was timely and the bartenders kept the bar moving all night. The venue set all my decor up so beautifully - they completely captured my vision! They also packed everything up so we could keep the party going when the reception ended and it was super easy on us to pick it all up the next morning. Many guests took advantage of a hotel in the building and all had great things to say about Aloft hotel as well! I would absolutely recommend 500 Pearl for a wedding venue!

We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect wedding experience than what we had in the Grand Aeries Ballroom at 500 Pearl. From the moment we stepped inside, we were captivated by the venue’s timeless elegance and charm. The seamless coordination of events, from the rehearsal and ceremony to the rehearsal dinner and after-party at Patrick’s Rooftop, made our special day feel effortlessly magical. Having everything under one roof not only simplified our planning but also ensured that every moment flowed beautifully, allowing us to fully immerse ourselves in the celebration without any stress or hassle.



The exceptional service and attention to detail provided by the 500 Pearl staff were nothing short of remarkable. Each member of the team went above and beyond to make sure every aspect of our wedding was flawless. The food was a culinary delight, impressing our guests with its exquisite flavors and presentation. The combination of a stunning venue, top-notch service, and outstanding cuisine created an unforgettable experience that we and our guests will cherish forever. If you’re looking for a venue that delivers unparalleled elegance and impeccable hospitality, the Grand Aeries Ballroom at 500 Pearl is an extraordinary choice.

I attended a wedding at 500 Pearl recently.
I cannot say more about the experience.
The food was amazing, and the staff was attentive.
I would recommend anyone looking for a venue to go to 500 Pearl!!!

Our original venue canceled due to flooding and we had to find a new venue, four months out! We were lucky to find 500 Pearl had our date available. It’s absolutely beautiful and came with a coordinator! They were thorough and everything they were supposed to do, was done. We were thrilled with this venue. Thank you, Brianna!

We couldn’t have picked a more perfect venue for our wedding reception. Our Venue Coordinator, Bri, made sure our entire planning process and day-of preparations went flawlessly. The on-site staff during the event were personable and professional. The food was fantastic. We used Forbes Theatre which had a lot of unique spaces for photo booths, kids activities, outdoor space, and plenty of space to dance. The original architecture in the room is gorgeous for a wedding backdrop.

Experience with 500 Pearl was nothing short of amazing!!! The service was amazing, the food incredible and MJ made the whole process easy and enjoyable. Would highly recommend 500 Pearl to a future bride for a wedding venue!

The moment I walked into 500 Pearl I knew it was the venue for us! It checked all of our boxes: in house catering, hotel attached, downtown Buffalo location and we LOVED the 1920s art deco style. Our coordinator Bri was absolutely wonderful to work with, she was able to answer every question we had and provided great insight and advice and was very reassuring during the whole process. We couldn't be more thrilled with how our wedding turned out, we had multiple people tell us it was the best they've attended!

Just overall amazing! They were so accommodating as we were married during the November ‘22 blizzard with so many out of town guests. They truly went above and beyond as a venue and made so many changes and extra accommodations for our guests and ourselves to make sure all are safe and have what was needed.

My wife and I (husband) were early adopters to the team at 500 Pearl. So early, in fact, that we committed to their venue before it had finished being built in 2018. You see, we had already all but committed in our minds to booking a different wedding venue in the city when an article about the restoration and hotel development at 500 Pearl caught our eye. In a moment of serendipitous timing between venue consultations combined with our newly piqued interest we decided to schedule a somewhat spontaneous walk-through of the facility. Donned with hardhats and safety vests we took a tour through
the complex during the demolition phase of the original building and infancy of the new hotel construction. We walked in without expecting much beyond grand visions of renderings and blueprints that were surely to change, but walked out knowing that we had found our perfect wedding venue.

After touring every major wedding venue in WNY, the biggest difference that stood out to us at 500 Pearl were the people. We immediately clicked and grew to become professional colleagues, then personal friends with a few members of the original staff. They showed us the most courtesy and
sincerity throughout our meetings than anybody else had. They were creative, imaginative, and open to any ideas or questions we could come up with regarding our big day. Yet they were never sales people. In fact, they would be open and even brutally honest with any hard hitting questions we may have about their construction, development, or fact that they had yet to host an actual event.

However, as everybody knows, no wedding can go on without issue. We were not naïve enough to think there would not be growing pains with a new (at the time) venue, but 2020 surprised us all. What followed would be a string of changes involving dates, personnel, menus, packages, and rates.
Throughout all of the volatility we were always met with comfort, care, and understanding. The venue would honor and work with every previous agreement and help satisfy us with any necessary changes throughout the entire process. No better example of this occurred just 2 weeks prior to a wedding that’s been contracted for 4 years at this point. At this critical juncture in the home stretch of our big day, which should be the “calm before the storm”, everything was turned on its head as our wedding coordinator announced she would be moving on from the company. But this is when our trust and faith in 500 Pearl really paid off.

With about 10 days until our wedding, and a 4-year-old contract that has more cross outs and whiteout than a 6th grade research paper on feudalism, the director of sales stepped in to save the day. AnnMarie Taft took the time to learn and understand every minute detail of our uniquely amended contract to instantly fill us with confidence. She even took things a step further by adding personalized details to our wedding to really show how much she cares for clients. Through all the turmoil thrust upon her at the last minute with us and other clients, she made herself available to us at all times. That strong professional service trickled down throughout all of the venue staff as well. From servers to bartenders to front desk staff, everybody showed the epitome of service, class, care, and personal attention from start to finish.

To reiterate my point that it’s the people of the 500 Pearl venue that won us over is an understatement. When something inevitably goes wrong with any wedding this staff has proved to us time and time again that they would be willing to step up and make any situation right by us. To plan, prepare, and execute a wedding has proven itself to be an anxiety inducing hell we’d never want to go through again, but if we had to, we know we’d never change a thing. The 500 Pearl venue and Aloft hotel will remain our recommendation to all friends and family moving forward.

We booked this venue 2 years out due to the pandemic. While there was a lot of staff turnover during this time we ended up working with AnnMarie by the time our date came. Ann Marie and her team were unbelievable. They worked so seamlessly with our wedding planner and us. We had many odd requests and received little to no pushback on execution. We got married in the Forbes Theatre at 500 Pearl. We did the ceremony in the balcony and the reception beneath. I would recommend this venue and working with Ann Marie over and over again. There was no one single error on the venue side.