We rented the second floor of the Mexican Cultural Institute for a March 2015 wedding and reception. It is a fabulous venue, and we recommend it without reservation.

MCI is in a beautiful mansion at 16th and Harvard; it is grand, historic, interesting and fun. It has a sweeping three-story staircase with spectacular colorful murals, and the second floor has four rooms with a variety of styles, including one with Mexican tile and one inspired by Versailles. On the ground floor, it has an art gallery, which was fun for guests who arrived early. On the third floor is an old-fashioned library, which I (the bride) used to get ready.

The space is flexible and multi-purposed, so you can easily stage both ceremony and reception there, and you also can create very different atmospheres from room to room – so it was easy to have a big dance floor on one side of the venue and a quieter room for guests to talk on the other side. We had just under 150 guests, which is probably the maximum number that you can comfortably fit for a seated dinner.

The staff was always pleasant and very helpful. MCI is open to the public on Saturdays, so we were able to easily make as many visits as needed in order to do planning / walk-throughs with vendors.

A few things to know (as least as of the time we used it): if you are going with MCI, review the contract early rather than later so that you (and your caterer) understand MCI’s requirements. The rooms are furnished with some very expensive-looking tables, chairs, sofas, lamps, vases/urns, and a credenza. MCI is very accommodating about rearranging furniture and moving furniture off the second floor but there are some exceptions.

Finally, the cost of renting MCI was an extraordinarily good value for a venue in downtown D.C. – the only place we found that was comparable was the Josephine Butler Center. We felt hugely lucky to have found it, and recommend it very highly.