This venue is to die for. We had our ceremony at the north hall location, and our reception down the road at the porter hall location. Though you had to bring in all outside rentals- this stunning backdrop made our budget wedding look like a million dollar wedding. Beautiful balcony for your photographer to get overhead shots, the ability to bring your own alcohol and catering. It was unreal. Chris was our contact and he was absolutely amazing to work for- so accommodating during covid, and you have the ability to set up the location days before and break it down later too. A beautiful backdrop for any wedding.

We are so lucky to have found Karpeles Manuscript Museum for our wedding ceremony. We had never heard of Karpeles but decided to check it out. Chris was so amazing from the moment we met him, right through the day of our wedding. He checked in with us regularly (especially as our plans changed over time due to Covid) and went above and beyond to help us have the perfect day. Aside from the incredible people we worked with, the building itself is out of this world. We had our ceremony at the North Hall and all of our guests raved about how beautiful it was. Karpeles was perfect for our wedding and we can’t recommend it highly enough!

COVID completely destroyed our wedding plans, but Chris and his team were so so helpful in letting us come up with a Plan B! We couldn't have asked for a better location; it was the wedding of our dreams :)

Picking a venue is often the most stressful part of planning, especially for a type A bride like myself. When hunting I was looking for a beautiful, historic piece of Buffalo but also a place that would let me put my own spin on things and take creative control of hiring my own vendors. Karpeles (and Chris the director of Karpeles) absolutely blew us away and was exactly what we were looking for. We had our reception at Porter Hall and it is such a Buffalo Gem. It is stunning, and the fact that its mostly white made it a beautiful canvas you could build off of. The white arches, warm wood accents, side room with the fireplace, and central organ gave the space so much warmth and class. I also loved that the main room was big enough for tables and a dancefloor without having to move anything around, we had about 160 people. The side rooms were perfect to set up our buffet, and then we put our bar in the fireplace side room, I loved that the building made it so people could wander and explore a bit, we had an ice cream truck come and there is a beautiful garden out front where people at their ice cream and relaxed too. Karpeles saved and beautifully restored this building and it is a wonderful museum that displays priceless documents, one of my favorite moments at our wedding was when I quietly stepped away and looked at one of the cases and noticed it held an original copy of Puccini's Madame Butterfly, I thought how cool that such a masterpiece is present for a special day in my little life. Anyways, anecdote aside, I really wanted my wedding to have a classy and vintage (but not pretentious) atmosphere and this was the perfect place. It was also very cool that friends and family who grew up in Buff got to see a building they've never visited before (instead of going to the same banquet halls they've been to a bunch). This venue is more for a bride who is okay with taking on a little extra stress of finding a caterer, and bringing in things like tables, chairs, decor, DJ, etc. You are renting the building and Chris and staff of the building are amazing and will help you with anything or any questions and go above in beyond with recommendations and assistance but ultimately it is up to you to hire your vendors and coordinate everything (I liked this because than my fiancee and I could pick all the people we worked with and could make every detail really feel like us, but this much creative control could definitely be overwhelming if you are more the type of person who wants a package where everything is provided for you). I also have to say Chris really became a good friend through this process. He is extremely professional but with a warmth and passion that you don't often see in the wedding Biz. He wants you to have the day of your dreams and will try to help in every way, he also answers emails extremely quick and always answers in full detail, but also always asks how you are doing and remembers to human aspect of what Brides are going through, just an awesome guy. I was hoping to have things like a sparkler exit and candlesticks at the tables, two things that are big no no's in a lot of spaces or banquet halls but Chris said as long as we properly plan for it and take a couple precautions we could do almost anything we'd like. I pride myself on being blunt and honest and I can honestly say brides are lucky to have a place like Karpeles exist in Buffalo, do not hesitate to pick them if you are looking to have a unique and beautiful day worth remembering!!

We got married at the Porter Hall location - amazing, beautiful venue. The staff was incredibly accommodating. It was a perfect ceremony location.

We used the Porter Ave venue for our ceremony and it was absolutely beautiful. Chris was fantastic to work with, I am so happy we found them online!

The Karpeles libraries were the only venue we saw, because as soon as we walked in we both fell in love. Our guests had nothing but amazing things to say about the architecture and historical beauty of the buildings, and they required minimal decoration because they’re already so beautiful on their own. The staff was also incredibly helpful and accommodating, Chris Kelly was so great to work with and easy for vendors to connect with. I am so happy we chose this beautiful venue.

My wedding was at the beautiful North Hall location on a Sunday morning. Chris and his team were extremely responsive and flexible while planning my wedding from out of state. The venue was clean and all of my requests were met without any hesitations.

Chris and his staff at Karpeles are absolutely wonderful. Chris reached out several times just to see how everything was going. He is very experienced in the wedding world and was extremely helpful with offering little hints and tricks to make my day smoother, as well as recommendations for vendors and other wedding needs. Karpeles is just an absolutely breath taking place to get married and the ceremony was just absolutely perfect. I would HIGHLY recommend.

We chose Karpeles for our ceremony. It was amazing. The venue was beautiful. Chris was great to work with and so accommodating. He constantly offered to help with anything and everything. I would totally recommend this location.