AACTMAD -Ann Arbor Community of Traditional Music and Dance

We rented AACTMAD’s Concourse Hall for our wedding reception this summer. We chose this hall mainly because they seemed very flexible. They have no restrictions on vendors (you can hire whatever caterer/​DJ/​etc. you like) or alcohol and give you access to the hall for the entire day & night. I believe the time included was something like 9 am one day to 9 am the following day.
Other Positives: They are fairly accommodating and allow you to arrange visits to the hall when you can try out floorplans, etc.– you can set up the hall however you like. You can also buy your own liquor & hire your own bartenders so that you save money on alcohol expenses. Tables, chairs, dinner ware, and silverware are included in the rental fee and you can rent linens for an additional cost. There is plenty of parking (about 80 spaces) and it is pretty close to many A2 hotels. Gretchen was usually pretty quick to respond and easy to communicate with (Hillary was also helpful).
The floor is great for dancing! There’s a pretty cool loft area you can hang out in upstairs. Although we did not use it, the built-​in sound system seemed to work well and offers a great option for those that might want to self-​DJ. There is a piano that (I believe) you can use. They offer recycling & they have a huge fan which helps reduce heating/​cooling costs. They were also reasonable when a server broke something at the hall and were helpful in quickly resolving the issue.
Neutrals: (Although this was actually more of a positive to us when we were choosing a venue.) You will have to arrange for all your own event staff & planning. More specifically, you will have to hire your own servers/​DJ/​planner/​caterer/​bartenders/​etc. and arrange for your own set-​up, break-​down, and clean-​up. So renting this hall will result in more work than going with your standard banquet hall.
Negatives: Service seemed to be taken care of mostly by volunteers for AACTMAD, which is not ideal IMO. For example, AACTMAD requires that you do a half-​hour orientation, but were a bit disorganized in arranging the time, which was limited by the volunteer’s schedule. The volunteer also did not know the answer to various questions regarding the hall and did not seem at all familiar with the equipment at the hall (e.g., sound system and lights). Considering that the cost of renting the hall is not inexpensive ($ 1150), I think that they could afford to hire staff who manages care of the hall issues and is more knowledgable about the equipment.
Another negative was some décor of the hall. When we decided to rent the hall, we were told that the quilts hanging on the walls were permanent– we were not thrilled but ok with that. There was (only) string lights hanging from the ceiling fixtures, which looked great. There was no mention other permanent décor to be added to the hall. However, a little bit before our event date, we visited the hall and saw that they added sparkly butterflies and paper lanterns in multiple colors hanging from the ceiling.
We were really not happy about the butterflies, and requested they be removed them prior to our event. They said no (we were not allowed to remove them & put them back either) and explained that the butterflies were a seasonal décor that was not optional. When we looked at our contract, there was no mention of this décor (only of the quilts & lights), but we did find that they had recently added a section to the agreement posted on their website, which was not in our original agreement. When we pointed this out, the volunteer said they would still not budge on the issue.
Bottom Line: Concourse Hall is a great option for those that appreciate the ability to customize events and for those that want to dance! If you want to do a little less work/​planning, it might help to hire a planner. Otherwise, you will need to arrange for set-​up, clean-​up, and break-​down of the hall. Keep in mind that the décor on the ceiling changes and ask questions about that before booking. I know that we were a bit more flexible about the look of our reception than many couples, so that may be a deal-​breaker for some but it ultimately did not dampen our day.

I am so incredibly happy that my fiancé (now husband) found this place for our wedding. Concourse Hall was perfect! We had to plan our event from Africa (where we live) in just 2 months. We wanted the freedom to have a fun, casual wedding, but all the venues we were finding had crazy rules and required packages (caterers, decorations, even music, etc). AACTMAD was just what we were looking for. They were affordable, have a lovely space that was already decorated with some string lights, and basically just gave us the code to the door and told us to put the room back as we had found it and have fun. We were able to do our own decorations, food, and alcohol at a much reduced price and as we wanted. The hall is just beautiful, and was a perfect space for our ceremony/​reception combined event. More importantly, Gretchen and Hillary were friendly, responsive, and easy to work with. I highly recommend this venue for folks looking for a nice space for a DIY event. Thanks, AACTMAD!