MOCA - Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art Reviews
Reviews
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![Erik]()
Erik Sent on 01/07/2025A magical wedding venue
My husband and I were over the moon at how beautiful our wedding at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art was. From our first tour to our actual ceremony and reception, we couldn’t have been happier with our partnership with Tess who was always there to offer ideas and answer any questions we might have. It truly felt as though both us as a couple and our ideas were truly cared for whenever we had any interaction with Tess. MOCA was not only within our budget, but also featured many amenities other places we toured did not. We were so pleased that our guests were even able to have access to the gallery and see the wonderful local art. From our ceremony in the Rodriguez Pavilion with the beautiful Chihuly sculpture, to our reception in the Atrium with the gorgeous uplighting, lit trees, and reflective floor, our wedding was everything we dreamed it would be, and we are so grateful to have had an opportunity to have it at MOCA and to work with Tess. -
![Danielle]()
Danielle Sent on 10/18/2023A truly unique wedding experience
When my husband and I were looking for a wedding venue, we wanted something unique. The VA MOCA met all the expectations for a one of a kind wedding venue that we could have wished for. The marvelous ficus lighted trees, the awe inspiring Dale Chihuly chandelier, and the rotating art exhibition make for a wedding venue that stands out from the rest. Kay Barbini was the most warm, welcoming and accommodating event manager that we met with (and we looked a LOT of venues). Even when met with rain challenges late the day of, Kay and the MOCA seamlessly adapted to our new plans for the wedding and delivered a beautiful space that marveled our guests from beginning to end. The MOCA has everything we needed in a wedding venue and we cannot recommend it more! -
![Jamia]()
Jamia Sent on 06/24/2023The perfect wedding venue
Don't think twice about booking MOCA as your wedding venue! This was by far the perfect place to share this special day with our family and friends. Our guest are still talking about how beautiful the facility and grounds are weeks after our wedding. Kay Barbini was the absolute best to work with. I love how she took the time to get to know us and understand what we were looking for in a venue! The ABSOLUTE best place ever! ❤️ -
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![Brooke]()
Brooke Sent on 11/22/2019Magical Day!
The MOCA was such a beautiful venue for our wedding and exceeded any and all expectations! Kay was great to work with and made everything stress free for my husband and I! -
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Maggie Sent on 05/15/2019
The most beautiful venue
The MOCA was my dream venue. I didn’t even look anywhere else. It was beautiful and the staff were very accommodating to top it off. Worth the money! -
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Mary Sent on 04/01/2019
A Dream Venue!
I am so glad we had our reception at MOCA! When I was looking at venues, we were not sure whether we would be able to get married in church or not, due to our tight timeline before my husband deployed. This was the only venue we looked at that I could see myself getting married at (and we looked at probably 15 venues!) We ended up getting married in church and having our reception here, but it's a beautiful venue for a ceremony as well! Kay was so helpful and flexible with us - we probably bugged her with every possible wedding question and she was gracious, personable and helpful throughout the entire process. I have had so many guests comment on how beautiful the venue was. We did our cocktail hour in the Rodriguez Room (it was so pretty with all of the windows!) and then dinner and reception in the main room (with the lighted trees). I really loved how every room had natural light and as the sun set and it got dark, it perfectly set the tone as the party started! There is a lot of flexibility with how you want to set everything up since there are technically 3 rooms available to you (Rodriguez Room, the theater/stage room and the main room). They have tables and chairs that are included with the venue, you can bring in your own alcohol and choose your own caterer, there is a TV that you can use for a slideshow and there is built in uplighting in the main room. We didn't need to decorate at all besides the linens and centerpieces. There are also 2 private rooms for the bridal party with bathrooms and mirrors/counters/coat racks, plus the backstage space if you need to stay in hiding before the reception. It never felt cramped, even with almost 200 people in the building. In short, the venue was absolutely beautiful and Kay is very easy to work with! -
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![Liz]()
Liz Sent on 06/18/2018MOCA offers a great place to have all of your wedding events - and you can truly transform the space into anything you want! We got to have our dogs walk down the aisle with us - which was a definite requirement - and we couldn't have been happier with how our entire event worked out. Kay is very kind and was genuinely excited for us. The staff at MOCA clearly knows what they're doing when it comes to weddings! The one thing I will say is that there are a lot of rules on random things like candles and petals and confetti and sparklers, so if any of those are "must haves" for your wedding day - definitely check in with Kay before you book. You can definitely work around it though! -
![Ashley]()
Ashley Sent on 07/16/2017When my husband proposed, the first thing he said was "We are getting married at the MOCA!". He went to a wedding there before years ago and still thought about it till that day. When we first visited the MOCA, Ms. Kay was so kind and helpful explaining to us what the MOCA can provide for us for our wedding day. The trees in the Atrium was definitely a winner which adds so much romance and does not need much added decor. We booked over a year in advance and Ms. Kay was always a call/email away whenever we had any questions. We had the ceremony and reception in the Atrium (had a room flip) & cocktail hour in the Rodriguez. We even used the theater to show a funny little movie my husband and I made to entertain our guests. Everyone loved the MOCA! Thank you so much Kay for everything! I highly recommend the MOCA! -
![Kaleigh]()
Kaleigh Sent on 12/07/2016The Virginia MOCA to the rescue!!! I had a wonderful year of planning of my wedding on a beautiful estate on the Eastern Shore of VA...all outside. Yet, when October came along...so did Hurricane Matthew. My year of planning went down the tubes and I had to re-plan my ENTIRE wedding in 4 days. New city, new venue, new caterer, everything! My mom and I immediately called the MOCA (this was my first choice among Virginia Beach venues) and they miraculously had an opening! Kay at the MOCA was so understanding and was willing to do anything she could do to help. I was there everyday for the following four days trying to piece my dream wedding back together. It was fabulous and I am still getting compliments on how gorgeous it all was! -
![Amanda]()
Amanda Sent on 11/01/2013Irene and the MOCA were great to work with! We had absolutely no problems with them and LOVED their beautiful space. They helped make my wedding dreams come true! Highly recommended to anyone, only issue is having to find all your own vendors to use in their facility, but they give you a HUGE list of vendors to help you choose. -
![Maya]()
Maya Sent on 11/13/2011Irene at the Contemporary Art Center was easy to reach and worked with us from beginning to end. They really let our vendors have free reign to transform the space into the wedding of our dreams. This is an excellent location for both a ceremony and reception. This was the only place that we wanted and we weren't disappointed. -
![Lauren]()
Lauren Sent on 09/22/2011If you are looking for a unique venue for your wedding, the CAC is the place. We had our wedding ceremony and reception there recently. Irene was wonderful to work with as well as the rest of their staff, specifically Clinton who went out of his way to help in any way that he could. We had our wedding ceremony in the theater area and it was absolutely beautiful with the cocktail hour and reception in the atrium. The fact that your guests can go into the art galleries while you are busy taking pictures is a perk. The lit trees are so gorgeous that you need very little decoration in the atrium. All of the guests remarked how beautiful it was. It is a photographer's dream as well. -
![Kristy]()
Kristy Sent on 01/19/2020STUNNING wedding venue for any season!!
OH MY GOSH. We were completely floored when we found this venue. This place is absolutely gorgeous by providing the beauty of indoors (AC, heat, no rain) with outdoors (trees with string lights). It honestly felt like we were in a movie. We used the gorgeous Rodriguez Pavilion (full length windows that outlook to the trees) for cocktail hour and the Atrium (trees spaced throughout with lights on the trees as well as light up pillars) for our reception. Our guests seamlessly transitioned from cocktail hour through the magnificent theater to our reception area. We even had a small room that went into the reception area where we perfectly could stage the photobooth. Kay Barbini who is in charge of the facilities was extremely informative and even offered us some advice. The facility is a little pricey compared to what we looked at, but the venue was so breath-taking, we had to book it. Especially to avoid any scares with the heat of August and the rain. -
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![Heather]()
Heather Sent on 10/18/2011The Contemporary Art Center might was a fantastic venue for my wedding and reception. We were married in the atrium and had a break for guest to view the gallery and then the reception was in the atrium as well. I loved the feel of the trees and white lights. It turned out amazingly. My guests really enjoyed having something to do for the brief time between the ceremony and reception while we were taking pictures. Irene is the coordinator for events and she is such a sweetheart. She was always very quick to respond and clarified any questions we had. She also had suggestions for a caterer which helped us so much. Irene was awesome.
The only thing that kept this from being a perfect venue was the security guard that was at my wedding. He wouldn't open the art galleries per our contract so my dad had to give him some cash. He tried to get us to leave early as well. Lucky for me, my mother brought our contract with her to the wedding just in case there was any confusion. I'm so glad she did. -
![Shannon]()
Shannon Sent on 08/11/2009Beautiful, Beautiful venue! I absolutely loved my ceremony and reception site. The rental fee is kinda expensive if you rent both roooms, but definetely worth every penny! :)
Recieved so many compliments on the venue! -
![Brittany]()
Brittany Sent on 04/18/2022Beautiful venue
The MOCA has everything you need in one venue. We loved the lighted trees in the atrium! It truly decorated itself! -
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![LaToya]()
Latoya Sent on 06/13/2016We recently had our wedding at Virginia MOCA. In this area it is very hard to find places where you can conduct your ceremony with your own vendors. Since I am part of a wedding planning team with affiliations to vendors, I looked exactly for this type of space as oppose to a hotel or venue that required you to use their vendors only. Virginia MOCA is a beautiful facility. It is pricey, but it comes with tables, chairs, lighting, kitchen, etc., so be prepared for that. We rented the Atrium space for 5 hours for a little over 4K. Don't be so sold on renting both Atrium and Rodriguez. It sounds like a good deal, but essentially you are nearly 2K more to rent another space for 30mins tops on the actual wedding ceremony. Having it all in one room worked out perfect and our guests enjoyed the gallery as we took pictures. My only issue which was a big issue was when my vendors were scrutinized and asked questions which had nothing to do with the contract. We chose a small business caterer at first and had to switch to a restaurant that caters for events. We had all contracted paperwork on hand include my event planners having food handling licenses to set up food. We were then asked numerous questions about who would be serving food and list the names (we were having buffet style so we had no servers outside of water, tea, bartender on drinks, and staff who picked up empty plates (hired by the event planners), the caterer of the food must drop it off in their catering truck (this was not in their contract and was absurd), etc. Not to mention this happened up to 2 days before the wedding, which can be stressful when the bride gets that call. None the less, thanks to my event planners, the day went beautiful. The manager from Virginia MOCA did call my event planner the day after the wedding and apologized for all of the issues. The liason for events also called my event planner to apologize for any misunderstanding. -
![Lisa]()
Lisa Sent on 06/29/2014The Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art is a beautiful venue to give your wedding an unique backdrop. Surrounded by windows onlooking a beautiful courtyard and indoor ficus trees, this venue brings the outdoors into your indoor wedding. For a bride that wants simple, intimate, and elegant this venue requires very little wedding decor because of its beautiful character. This venue is a little costly so for a budgeting couple that want to stay under budget, they will need to save plenty of coins to afford this location. For the cost, more amenities should be included and more flexibility considered seeing that insurance is required to rent this venue.
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