Very cool venue for special events. We had an event here one evening - and the old school nature of the building is very interesting! Old exposed brick, stone, mortarwork! The upstairs rooms that overlook the main room are kind of cool and interesting! We did not use that area, but it's kind of hilarious! Hope to visit Aria again! read more

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Aria is an amazing venue! Gorgeous, first of all! We got married here this past August. All of our guests commented on the space and still do! After we booked they added more and more chandeliers, which became the centerpiece for our wedding ceremony! The people at Aria were all about trying new things and creating interesting spaces. I never met any opposition to my ideas. Just support! We ended up doing our ceremony in the round in the lobby under the gorgeous chandeliers and it was perfect! Jessica was our primary contact throughout and we loved working with her! She was very accommodating, relaxed and friendly. We live out of state and she even stayed late to let us show our family the venue during the holiday season. In fact, she was always open to let us come by and look around when we were in town. She was very flexible and helpful in making our vision happen. Plus she genuinely was excited about our ideas! I loved her laidback attitude. Even though she must be incredibly busy, she came across as relaxed which let us know she had everything under control! It was incredibly easy to talk to her! The other staff we met were fantastic too! Michelle, who we booked with was very nice, Eyob the facility manager who was so kind and friendly and Kelly, the bar manager, was very helpful meeting with us to figure out the drinks. The day of the wedding was fantastic! We loved it. Our families loved it. And our guests loved it. We couldn't have picked a better space for us! Thank you Aria, we are so happy to have our memories here! Great space, great people, great day!!! read more

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I came to this venue for my boyfriend's work event and it was absolutely gorgeous! It has a very charming look and the staff was very good! We enjoyed the acrobats hanging from the ceiling and pouring our champagne upside down. I heard this venue costs the company a lot of money but based on the price it's very high class. Great amount of space and has a very unique charm to it! read more

We just attended a wedding last night. Don't book your event here. The minimum for a wedding at this venue starts at 23k for 125 people which has $80 per plate charge (information is on their website). The wedding we attended had about 220 people so you do the math. This wedding was over 31k. Oh here is the review. It started with our daughter not able to be served because she left he ID at the hotel. Totally understand. But then the entire staff began to stalk her the entire night, to the point of being uncomfortable, including following her to the bathroom. Way uncomfortable!!! We tested this theory by putting her sprite in a drinking glass added lime and straw. Her and I toasted and immediately the staff were pointing and letting Kelly (I assume the supervisor) and she got on her radio, most likely to get security. I then got up and went to her and told her before she embarrassed herself, I let her know that here drink was sprite, and they were out of line for following her around. We then went to the bar to get a refill in her glass and they wouldn't do it they said nonalcoholic drinks going to tall glass. So they gave her sprite in a new tall glass of for her. Then the rest of the table went up to get another drink, including one for my wife and guess what, her alcoholic drink came in a tall glass. As you have read the staff continued to make the night a very unfriendly and uncomfortable situation for my daughter and us in general, but we didn't want to make a scene because it was our friend's wedding. So not to bore you with some details, but want to give you a better understanding of who the staff are at this place. Don't let the beautiful building and venue fool you . The staff were cold, unfriendly and unprofessional! The food was catered in by Decco, remember what I explained earlier $80 a plate. First, one of the meals was not the correct meal to be served, it was supposed to be short ribs, but it came out as sliced overdone beef. Worst of all, all the meals came out cold. For us, the only positive part of the night is that the ceremony was beautiful and two people who are in love we're happily married. So for all of you who may be thinking of this place for your event, For the dollar amount, I think you have so many other beautiful options to choose from other than this place. read more

Attended the New Years Eve event last night, Dec 31, 2013. I was hoping for a fun venue, good music and decent service-it is New Years so trying to be realistic as it relates to service. I did buy VIP upgrade to hopefully increase likelihood of service. So it is a fun venue with a cool kind of warehouse vibe. The music was fine. Service awful. One bar for regular zone and one for VIP means 40 minutes plus to stand in line if you'd like a drink. And that line will seem reasonable compared to the one for the restroom. I strongly do not recommend this venue until they correct these issues. A smaller wedding or company function might be awesome here. Pass if any kind of crowd is expected. read more

We had our small, 100 guest, wedding ceremony and reception at Aria and it was wonderful! All our guests were blown away by the amazing space. I was thankful for the experienced planning staff that helped me with decision making and asking the questions I hadn't yet thought to ask. My husband is a fan of craft beers and we had no problem personalizing the beer selection for the bar with local Minnesotan options. It was a big hit with our out of town guests. The staff that worked the day our wedding were experienced and professional. The neighborhood, the North Loop, is hip, trendy, and safe. There is lots of parking available through several parking garages and lots within a few blocks read more

This location is pretty awesome inside. Industrial but aged, laid back and quite stunning. Huge ceilings, great atmosphere. This event was chosen for the annual JNUC party. If you don't know what that is google it. Basically it's a bunch of Apple IT community members getting together and enjoying some drinks while they nerd it up to 11. I'm not knocking them after all I am one of them. It was pretty amusing watching some members of this community be in such a social environment. You could really tell who was a windows admin or a true Mac admin :) That bring said the staff was great. The music was decent for the most part and the food was varied and very good. I would come back for an event here again without thinking about it. Paid parking out front made it easy to get to and from just get to your event early to get a spot. One of the most interesting places I had been in a while. I would say one of the only down sides to it was the bathrooms are quite small and can become pretty nasty depending on the crowd that is currently there. read more

I first found out about The Aria while I was flipping through the MN Bride magazine. What got my attention was a snapshot of the glamorous and rustic reception room. The room was filled with elegant lights, beautiful decors, and the space itself looked spectacular. Of course, like any girl would, I erased all of those decors and implemented my own imagination to the space. The Aria used to be a theater that had shutdown and reopened for events. I was curious to find out more about it, but never thought that one day I would actually get to work at the venue. A few weeks later, my brother told me that we would get to work at The Aria for a client's wedding. I was thrilled and thought it was a miracle! My expectations had not been let down. As a matter of fact, I was more impressed with the venue after leaving that night. The staff at The Aria were so nice to work with. They were all so helpful and kind. We could have been thrown in the shuffle among other vendors, but I truly felt like they treated us like a team. The space was just as I expected; huge space, tall ceilings, rustic walls, fun and elegant lights, and the best of them all... the stage. The stage provided the unique characteristic of the venue. The ceremony was held there which I thought was really neat and fun. As a DJ vendor, we stress the ability of going in and out quickly and safely with our equipment. My brother and I were very surprised and impressed how easy it was to bring our equipment in. Out of all the venues that I have attended, The Aria made it to the top of the list. read more

Attended a wedding here last night, and was very impressed with the overall 'vibe' of the venue space itself. It was a very cool warehouse-meets-modern feel. Exposed walls with cracks/holes in the concrete, but chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. There was a nice, long narrow cocktail-hour kind of entryway. The actual meals/dance took place in a huge open room, with massive stage. I don't know how much of this was other services, so I'm hesitant to comment too much on the food (delicious), lighting/staging (breathtaking) and music (good.) Re: parking- there is a large parking lot across from the venue that was free (at least for this event. Maybe comped by the couple?) There were also meters surrounding the venue. Even at 4-5 on a Saturday night, they were all empty. I have only one complaint- the ceremony ended around 3:30, and the reception was scheduled to start at 5. There were a few guests (30-40?) who arrived around 4:30 to Aria, hoping to hang out there. No one was expecting food or drinks yet, but the manager, very curtly, informed us that they would not allow anyone inside prior to 5. Fine. Except it was 90* outside and there were a few people with little kids, etc. So we all stood around on the sidewalk until they let us inside. read more

We came here for a wedding reception for our friend. What an amazing space. We all fit comfortably in for the front area where we were greeted with cocktails. After enjoying some pre dinner drinks they opened the main space to us. It was incredible. Spacious, elegantly decorated, and organized well so that it was easy to navigate. There was a great dance area, upper wings to go and relax on, and plenty of room to move around. A very modern and clean feeling that really elevated the reception without making it feel overdone. read more

As a wedding photographer, Aria is one of my absolute favorite venues! There's always a huge variety of gorgeous spots to shoot in and it is in such a prime location in Minneapolis! It is so versatile with how you can decorate it, but it has such a unique look to it. Love love love this venue! read more

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We attended a wedding here, catered by Create, and it was one of the more memorable weddings we have ever been to. The flow between ceremony and reception was excellent. The venue itself seemed to require very little additional decor to make it beautiful (high ceilings, exposed brick wall all were stunning). The staff was present, approachable, kind, helpful, but were also discrete throughout the night. The food was EXCELLENT, the wedding was several months ago and to this day we all still talk about the food. All in all, this venue is beautiful on its own, made only more beautiful by decorations, and the customization allowed with caterer, design, etc made it the most perfect night! I would definitely recommend this venue to anyone looking. read more

Had 2 straight events at Aria on a Friday for Babies & Bad asses fund-raiser for Child Immortality and a wedding the next day Saturday. Great place and had fun at both well attended events. Drinks were well poured and staff were courteous (some more than others). The wedding was a great all inclusive option for the bride and groom and it was one of the best weddings i've been too. Valet was convenient and location is too! Tangiers is just around the corner!! Great venue period!! Cheers! read more

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This is a rental venue, so like the previous reviewer, my experience may be skewed by the success of the event (the renter brings the staff/catering/hosts). Trying to overlook that, however, and without knowing the rental costs, I found this to be a very nice place and can imagine it would be a great place for a wedding reception, or large party.. The location is on the edge of downtown, where there is still cheap meters (that end early), and it's not too far to walk to the lite rail. The 1st street door opens into a long, wide hall with a dozen beautiful chandeliers and an artistic "Let's get lost" neon on one wall. They had a few pieces of elegant furniture around. The ball room was very large and has a decorated balconyoverlooking it. There's a large low stage with "The whole World is yours" (nice Scarface quote)above it, which I also liked. In all, it's just a really cool, very LARGE, rental space. Worth a look, if you have a big event you want to host in a central location. read more

We came here for a charity dinner and had a great time. The venue is really cool with a very industrial look. The main room is very large and accommodates a large group. There are some upper balcony rooms that weren't used for the event I attended that looked pretty cool. The only complaint I have is that the entry/staging area is pretty cramped. It was hard to walk around and they had the bar tucked back in an especially narrow part of the room that forced the line to extend pretty far. Otherwise everything was great. read more

My husband and I recently held our wedding at Aria, and words cannot express how wonderful of an experience with had with the Aria staff and space. Kastina, our Aria manager we had the pleasure of working with, is magic. She bent over backwards to make sure we had everything we needed at all times, and was just a gem to work with-- so attentive to detail, so welcoming to our guests, even met folks on the way out that night with an umbrella to guard guests from the rain, and was so cool and calm throughout the entire process. Thanks for making our wedding truly a night we'll never forget. So much love, Tessa + Bruce read more

I was at the Aria for a party while in town for a conference. The space is in an industrial area and is very unassuming from the outside. Inside you are greeted with a huge space that has large chandeliers, whimsical artwork and interesting furniture. Even with the decorations you sort of feel like you are at a secret party in an abandoned building with the partially demoed walls and rough brick. It is a very unique and interesting space and I enjoyed the time I spent there. If I lived in the area I would certainly consider this location for an event. read more

I usually do not write reviews but this place really rubbed me the wrong way. I inquired about information for a wedding reception and got no response for a few days, I e-mailed them again and finally heard back. I asked a few more questions and nothing once again I e-mailed then a second time and got a response but not all the questions i asked were answered. For example: I asked what Fridays we could get together for a meeting on both e-mails and got no response either time its been about 2 weeks and I am still waiting.... This place looks very nice from the photos but Gina you ruined it for us as we do not want to deal with a venue who has no interest in even answering questions or giving us a time to meet. I do not want to deal with problems at a venue as there will be enough to deal with on our big day. Hope others have better luck! read more

Gorgeous event space! It's open, airy, modern, great VIP area with comfy couches overlooking the space. There are beautiful chandeliers and art on the walls. Aria has so much character and can set the stage for a fun event. The concrete can be a tad hard to stand on for a long time but it's no biggie. The restrooms are clean and plentiful. The only reason to knock it down a star is that parking is a headache for large events. read more

My view of this place may be a little biased because the only experience I had with Aria was the "Play the Building" interactive art display by David Byrne which is fantastic and if you haven't checked it out you should! Aria is a little bitter-sweet for me because I "hearted" the Theatre de la Jeune Lune and thought it was a magnificent treasure in this city and hated to see it go. That being said, what stayed was the fabulous space that could lend itself to a myriad of uses (including a dynamic art installation such as "Play the Building"). I am excited to see this place in a few months when I attend a good friend's wedding reception. It is such a perfect space. read more

Beautiful venue! I was here for a wedding, we had a wonderful time but the food was really just terrible. It was cold (was supposed to be hot) not thoroughly cooked (raw) and just not good. I probably wouldn't have commented except I found out how much money they paid to serve a sad sad sad buffet. Frankly Aria should ashamed. read more

Seriously, just the best. I have been to many MANY events at Aria, the staff is top notch, the space is GORGEOUS and very versatile. From fashion shows to weddings to shooting commercials to art installations to non profit fund raisers, this space works for everything. Super convenient downtown location and really great caterers on their vendor lists. The staff really cares about the experience their clients have at the venue, and I've always been impressed. read more

Aria gets five stars in terms of ambiance. After working with Aria at the last event, I'm honestly not pleased with the customer service and their inflexibility. Unfortunately, I should have spoken up and said something earlier. Brides: if you're paired with someone abrasive or rude, please don't hesitate to speak up to the GM, this is your special event. Aria also falls short in what you get for the cost: keep in mind that this venue does not have a sound system, if you're hiring a band, you will need to pay extra for this service. Another hidden costs from our event included hooding meters because our vendors couldn't fit in the venue's load-in area. If you're new to event planning, be sure to factor in these costs to your budget: venue rental fee, 10% of your catering to be paid to Aria, sound/light technician, security and coat check - which will fluctuate based on how many guests you have, parking/valet and load-in. read more

The Aria staff was exceptional and most helpful this past weekend. As a twin cities wedding florist, that is not always what we experience with venues. There was never a time they were not available to offer help both during the set up and the take down. It is a beautiful and romantic setting. Raves from the wedding party and guests during the wedding and reception. read more

As a wedding planner I work at many different venues in Minneapolis/St.Paul. I will say that Aria is one of the best venues to work at. With the amount of team members they have on staff they can handle just about anything that get's thrown their way on a wedding day. Anytime I have questions I have no problem going to Kastina or Katey for help, and they are alway's happy to do so. In addition my couples whom have chosen Aria as their venue are ALWAYS happy!! Aria is a GREAT choice for a Minneapolis venue! read more

We had our wedding ceremony and reception at Aria and worked with Jessica and Kastina. Everything was wonderful!!! The space itself is so amazing but the staff was exceptional. They were very cool, calm and collected the day of our wedding, ready to take on whatever needed to get done. They went above and beyond the whole day and night! Our guests raved for days about the venue. read more

We had our wedding ceremony and reception at Aria. The venue was the main talk of our guests and definitely a major part of what made our celebration so fun and unique. It's a great space for the full day - from getting ready in the large, beautiful dressing rooms and fun quirky bathrooms, to a seemingly infinite number of unique photo ops, to an open, beautiful ceremony space, to a chandelier-covered lobby for cocktail hour, and finally a spacious area for dinner and dancing - this is a wonderful venue if you're looking for something that's not run-of-the-mill. The coordinators will work with you to create your vision - from simple to elaborate. Our guests had an awesome time taking photos on the couches upstairs in the VIP area. Having our wedding in this space was one of the best wedding planning decisions we made! read more

We were recently married at Aria and had an excellent experience. First, it is a BEAUTIFUL and unique space in a great location. We used uplights, strings of lights, and small floral centerpieces--very simple decor--and it was stunning. We went to a wedding a year earlier at Aria that was very heavy on the floral arrangements and it was stunning. Short story--the venue will work with whatever level of decorating your heart or budget can handle. Second, Aria's staff is top notch. Stephanie showed us the place and handled many of our early questions with patience and kindness. Then we worked with Kastina on all of the wedding details. She was sweet, responsive, enthusiastic, and really knows the venue and how to execute an event. Her approach gave us a lot of confidence that everything would go the way we wanted it to at the venue. And it did! She also accommodated a few of our requests to try things out, bring things in early/late that really helped us feel at-ease on the big day. Finally, we worked with The Deco to cater our wedding and they are fantastic. They are on Aria's list of vendors, so I give Aria full credit for choosing such a winner. The service and food were outstanding. I highly recommend Aria! read more

We just had our wedding at Aria and are so happy we did. Not only is the space incredible, the staff there are wonderful....Kastina and co. were always available, and always full of ideas on how to make the large (kind of intimidatingly cool) space work for what we were going for. I wound up feeling completely calm on the day of because I knew she and the rest of her team had my back for everything, and everything looked incredible. read more

Lovely venue for a wedding I attended last night. Great old warehouse style, lots of character and the staff all very very competent. The cocktail hour was a bit loud as it was in the all cement lobby. The dining and dancing area was just lovely again as we reentered and it was changed from the ceremony venue to the eating and dancing venue. I would recommend this for any event that could use some character. Easy valet parking also. Great staff. read more

I cannot say enough about how amazing it was to have our wedding at Aria. I knew from the minute we walked in that this was going to be the space where we got married. It simply had to be as it was perfect for us and just felt right from the moment we walked in the doors. I was extremely particular about what I wanted and how I wanted everything to look and working with them was so easy. Katey was a dream to work with and completely understood every one of my requests, down to the tiniest details. Everyone was so accommodating and so happy to help and it felt as though they were genuinely excited for us and to see our dream day come to fruition. We also had some particular requests about wine and were pleasantly surprised at how well each request was received and met. The space is simply beautiful and the ability to make it your own through the different rental items was exactly what we were looking for for our wedding. We have heard nothing but a stream of steady compliments about the venue and how gorgeous it was and how perfect it was for a wedding. It was simply romantic and unique and intimate despite its size, which was nice to not have to have the guest list control where we could get married. We had both our ceremony and reception here and I wouldn't have had it any other way. It was everything that I had dreamed of and more and I highly recommend it. read more

We had our ceremony and reception at Aria. The staff, the venue, everything, was out of this world. Katey was our onsite coordinator. She is so organized, quick to respond to emails and calls, and knew every answer I ever asked. I wouldn't change a single thing about Aria. We absolutely loved it! read more

If you're having an event at ARIA at a time of the year when guests will wear outerwear, I would highly recommend that you pay the extra cost to have the coat check staffed. In March of 2014, my husband & I were wedding guests at ARIA and someone took my husband's newly purchased $500 wool topcoat with brand new leather gloves (& his stocking hat) in the pocket. ARIA said that they were not responsible for the stolen coat & gloves. read more

Where do I even start?!? The Aria staff was an absolute pleasure to work with. We worked with Katey to plan our wedding ceremony and reception and the only way to describe her is as an easygoing mastermind. We planned our whole wedding from out of state and the process was a breeze. Emails and questions were responded to quickly and in a detailed manner. Any unknowns were quickly turned to answers and visions of a beautiful set-up. I can honestly say Katey kept us at ease the entire process and we never felt at a distance. In terms of the venue itself and the actual wedding day, it was perfect. The beautiful industrial interior makes it an easy canvas to create a unique and beautiful setting, but you need great staff as well. That is exactly what we got. The staff were timely, professional and extremely helpful. I can't begin to tell you how many compliments we received from guests. Individuals from all over the US were in attendance and we heard nothing but positive feedback. A few individuals from out of town, who had never been to Minnesota, even went as far as saying they would have had their wedding at Aria if they would have known about it. Sending a HUGE thank you to Aria and the awesome staff, we couldn't be more pleased with how our wedding day turned out. This venue will forever be a very special place for my wife and I, we truly fell in love with it! read more