The Maxwell House is a historic mansion and wedding venue located in the heart of downtown Pasadena, California. This unique, Mediterranean Italianette-style mansion was built in the 1920s by Marston and Maybury as a private residence for the Maxwell family. It features tile roofing, stucco walls, a strong Palladian entrance, and elaborate detailing. The Maxwell House offers couples multiple indoor and outdoor settings for both their ceremony and reception.
Cost $7000 Flat Fee. There is no tax added because we are a non-profit entity.
Facilities and Capacity Couples can host up to 120 guests at this spacious wedding venue. You can say your “I do’s” outside on their beautiful garden patio. This intimate space features lush landscaping, string lights, and a gorgeous, artisan-crafted wedding arch for weddings in 2020 and beyond. In case of inclement weather, you can easily add a pop-up tent to this private oasis. After your ceremony, you and your loved ones can move into the historic mansion for cocktails, dinner, and dancing. You’ll have full use of the house, so you can utilize their dining room, library, foyer, mezzanine, and kitchen as you see fit. Their main ballroom boasts windows facing a rose garden and a grand staircase and entryway, perfect for making a lavish entrance. The 1,083-square-foot foyer features a 12' x 12' dance floor, allowing you and your guests to dance the night away. You are welcome to have your ceremony inside and reception outside as well. You may use the spaces as you desire, so long as no damage is done to the property.
Services Offered This full-service venue operates the non-profit The Western Justice Center, so your rental fee will go towards supporting programs that promote conflict resolution and social justice. Couples will have private use of the venue for 4 hours on the Friday before the wedding for their rehearsal and 12 hours on the day of the wedding, allowing you plenty of time to set up and relax before your festivities commence. There’s a dressing room located upstairs that you and your wedding party can use to get ready in, as well as plenty of complimentary parking in a nearby lot for your guests. Tables and chairs are included in the rental fee at this venue, along with setup and teardown of the Maxwell House owned furniture. Clients must clean up after themselves, and return the space in the manner which it was given.
Additional services include:
Cake or food serving cart
Indoor AC and heating
Lighting and sound
Microphone and stand
Outside vendors
Portable indoor projector and screen
WiFi
120 Wooden Folding Chairs
120 Gold Chiavari Ballroom Chairs
12 60" Round Event Tables
8 6' rectangular Tables
2 8' rectangular Tables
Sweetheart Table
Hand Crafted Artisan Wedding Arch
String Lighting
Event Tenting for inclement weather only
Other Services In addition to hosting grand affairs, The Maxwell House is also happy to host intimate elopements. Additional events they will hold include:
Maxwell House was perfect for our budget mindful DIY wedding. It allowed us the flexibility we needed to pull off our dream wedding. Reid Lee, the director of operations and events is the most fabulous and supportive venue contact you could want. We met with plenty of not so nice venue managers before him, so Reid was a breath of fresh air, and we were so grateful to work with him.
Maxwell House only does one event per weekend so you have the option to do a 4 hour set-up and rehearsal the Friday before. They give you the freedom to bring in and choose whichever vendors you like, a big plus! We also had the option to do our own bar, our own planning, and we had a family member run sound instead of using a DJ or band. This saved us 1000’s.
Aside from the freedom, flexibility and affordability of Maxwell House, the venue is GORGEOUS! When we first walked in the foyer, the floor to ceiling west windows and dramatic staircase took my breath away. Its stand alone beauty will save you a lot of money, energy and time as the space simply doesn't need a lot added. It’s a vintage stunner.
Another amazing thing is that Maxwell House offers outdoor and indoor space on one property. They also offer free parking in a lot across the street!
If you want to have all your guests seated for dinner in one room, I would recommend having 75 people or fewer. We were told that Maxwell House could accommodate seating for 120 guests so we over invited. Fortunately only 93 came because I honestly don’t know where the others would have fit - it was tight, but very happy! Ooh, also, Maxwell House provides tables and chairs for dinner seating and ceremony seating, too. They set it up in time for your rehearsal!
There’s a noise curfew for amplified sound outside, and they have a built in dance floor inside, so it's definitely in your favor to do a DJ/band/sound indoors, if that is something you want.
If you have vendors and rentals that cannot be picked up the day/night of the ceremony, they will have the option to pick up their items as late as the Monday following the event. However, if you do your own decor, props, etc, you have to have it out by 11PM the night of your event. Yes, that means after you are married and eat and drink and dance and you’re exhausted, you and whoever is willing to help will have to round up every single thing you brought in and load it out by 11PM. This was the only downside of our wedding. I wish we could have afforded to pay for someone to load out for us.
Overall, we LOVED Maxwell House - I highly, highly recommend it! Even though we were in this mansion we could never afford to live in, it felt like being home, celebrating with our most favorite people. It was classic, elegant but somehow cozy, too. It will forever be one of my most favorite days with so many favorite memories largely due to Maxwell House and the array of possibilities it gave us.
Thank you Maxwell House and Reid - we have so much love for you!!
Sent on 07/22/2020
Sarah
· Married on 07/27/2019
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Amazing Experience
Every aspect of the Maxwell House was amazing. Reid and Melissa made our wedding perfect! They were so helpful throughout the entire process. The Maxwell House is such an elegant venue that comes with so much for the cost. My favorite part is that the money goes to teaching tolerance education programs instead of the wedding industry. The venue is beautiful and unique. We loved everything about the Maxwell House and we hope others seriously consider this location for their perfect wedding.
Sent on 08/12/2019
The Maxwell House's reply:
Thank you so much Sarah! We were so happy to host your wedding and wish you all the best as newlyweds!
Daron
· Married on 04/13/2019
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Beautiful location at an amazing value!
The Maxwell House was the perfect location for our wedding. Incredibly affordable for all the that they supply, and in an amazingly beautiful area in Pasadena. The event coordinator, Reid, was always so quick to respond to any email I sent and helped us in any way possible. The space inside and outside the venue is so unique for a wedding, which gave our guests the ability to go from one room to another and mingle and socialize. All rooms are filled with beautiful antique furniture, and the venue provides all the folding tables and chairs you would need. The history of the building is also interesting, and the fact that the proceeds went to a non-profit made us feel good as well. All our guests were amazed by the space and surprised by how inexpensive it all was. I would recommend The Maxwell House for any event in a heartbeat!
Sent on 07/09/2019
The Maxwell House's reply:
Thank you so much Daron! You gentlemen were a dream to work with, and we were thrilled to be a part of your special day!
What items and services are included in the starting site fee at The Maxwell House?
The Maxwell House includes the following items and services for wedding events in its starting site fee:
Bridal Suite
Chairs
Lighting/Sound
Parking
Set Up
Tables
What are the most important characteristics of The Maxwell House in terms of venue type, style and location?
The space offered by The Maxwell House for wedding events is known for:
Banquet Hall
Historic Building
Mansion
What kind of indoor/outdoor options are available at The Maxwell House for wedding events?
The Maxwell House offers the following indoor/outdoor options for weddings:
Indoor
Uncovered Outdoor
What kind of wedding events does The Maxwell House offer?
The Maxwell House offers the following types of wedding events:
Ceremony
Reception
Bridal Shower
Engagement Party
Elopements
Rehearsal Dinner
What services does The Maxwell House offer for wedding events?
The Maxwell House offers the following services for wedding events:
All Inclusive Packages
Get Ready Rooms
Lighting / Sound
Outside Vendors
Set Up
Wifi
What percentage of users recommend The Maxwell House and which are the most valued aspects of their wedding services?
The Maxwell House is recommended by 73% of couples who have used their services. Their overall rating is 4.8 out of 5 with the following breakdown: 4.8 in quality of service, 4.8 in average response time, 4.8 in professionalism, 4.7 in flexibility and 4.7 in value.
