The Factory on Barclay

Venue was absolutely gorgeous!! We had a total of 140 guests which is on the lower end of what the venue can hold which made it very relaxing, guests were able to spread out and not feel jammed in one room. The entire staff was super accommodating and helpful with anything that was asked. The Event Coordinator Sarah did an amazing job making the entire process very easy. She definitely knows what she’s doing and knew the answers to all of our questions. Our guests even raved about the venue and the staff! Such a great place to book a wedding!

The Factory on Barclay is a stunning wedding venue! Having the outdoor space and two wedding suites was awesome, as we didn’t have to worry about separate getting ready spaces. We decided to do everything at the Factory on Barclay including our first look and photos. There are tons of beautiful photography settings in and around the building, including a trail filled with greens behind the venue. The day of the event went exactly as planned and all the staff was wonderful to work with. Setup and turnover of the ceremony space was quick which made our cocktail hour flow smoothly. The bartenders were great and there was never too much of a line at the bar. Something that could be better is communication via emails in the few months leading up to your wedding day. There were some important details (seating layouts, etc) that we had to nail down with the venue before moving forward with other vendors, and some of our emails went unanswered for a week or more which was a little stressful with the wedding coming up. A few months before our wedding we got a marketing email about an open house which also stated that June weddings should have already had their details meeting occur or scheduled, and no one had yet reached out to schedule our meeting so we had to do so ourselves. Definitely don’t hesitate to text the event staff as they respond quickly that way, but I’d still prefer that more was done over email. The venue itself is amazing and you’ll be stunned on the day of!

My husband and I had our wedding reception here on March 18, 2023. We were Factory on Barclay's first wedding of the year! The off-season pricing was terrific, and the venue itself was beautiful—just the right balance between tasteful, rustic, simple and elegant. We had a large party of about 200 people, and this was pretty much the only venue that was within our price range while being plenty big for our guest list. (The separate dance floor was a huge bonus!) Our family and friends literally ooh'd and aah'd when they walked inside. The spaces were perfect—the entryway was warm and trendy and welcoming; the dining room was spacious and classy; the getting-ready suites were super cute and bright and stylish; the bathrooms were clean; the bars were VERY stylish and spacious and cool... And our caterer, Mission BBQ, was able to set up very easily. The venue itself was a dream, and absolutely perfect for our purposes. ...What wasn't all that great, however, was the lack of communication along the way. We had a relatively short engagement (6 months), and the venue was undergoing some pretty major renovations during that time—so, sure, they might have been busy here and there. Still, considering how quickly the wedding came up, and considering how much money we were paying them, it was very frustrating to consistently be the one checking in and gently hounding the event folks for answers when it should have been the other way around—especially considering all the other things on our plates, as my husband and I planned the wedding on our own. In addition to the lack of communication, at many points they were sure to point out problems but not offer any solutions. For example: three days before our wedding, they pointed out that it would be problematic for us to use their *brand new* sound system to play our laptop music + use our microphone (we opted for this to save money instead of hiring a DJ)… when I had specifically asked about this at a planning meeting two months prior. I had explained our expectations/hopes, asked if we needed any special cords or equipment, asked if there were any special considerations to take… And the answer was no, nothing is needed, they have it all and everything will work just fine. Fast forward two months and I'm scrambling to figure out how we'll have ANY music at our wedding, as I've essentially just been told we won't be able to use their sound system. (Not something a bride wants to deal with three days before her wedding!) I don't mean to rag on Factory on Barclay. I understand that everyone has a real life and obligations outside of event planning, after all. But, just want to mention the communication factor so that future couples know to be very, VERY specific and persistent in their question-asking. That being said—in person, the event staff are very helpful and cheerful. They were very kind in letting us set up early (since there were no other events before us), as well as letting us leave some of our reception items there for a few days. This was so helpful! I’ll also mention: my husband managed to leave his wedding band in the lower suite bathroom that night (lol, seriously) and, after getting in touch with FoB the next morning, the owner personally drove to our family brunch to bring it to us, safe and sound. TLDR: you won't regret having your wedding here, but do not assume FoB is tracking with all of your needs. Ask lots of questions, prioritize communication... and maybe hire a DJ.

This is a beautiful venue, there is no doubt about that. If you are looking to have your wedding here, ensure you understand their communication is extremely poor. The entire planning period Sarah was horrible at responding - she blamed understanding she is busy. However, before we went in for our initial layout sit down, she didn’t even write our appointment down and we traveled 1.5 hours to and from Milwaukee to only be told we need to schedule it for a different day! She remembered talking to me on the phone, but did not document the date. She didn’t even look us in the eyes and apologize. Sarah waited until 2 days before the wedding to FINALLY finalize layout design and the bar menu. Mind you, my husband found out who the alcohol representative for Wisconsin is that the Factory uses and he got back to us right away on drink availability. Whenever I touched base with my other venders they told me she has not reached out to any of them and they reached out to our day of coordinator/venue manager. There were periods of time she didn’t respond to us for WEEKS and she only did because we sent her many messages (this happened in at least 6 different documented instances). We signed a contract for her to be our wedding coordinator and she did the BARE MINIMUM. There honestly was no description of what her responsibilities were so we had no clue. The day of the wedding the hair and makeup ladies were 20 min late and she didn’t even think to call them until I went down to her office to ask if she could. For being the day of coordinator she received the flowers and did not let our wedding party know they needed the box back with the rentals, so the flower place charged us for this box. Sarah said she ‘didn’t know where our sparklers were’ even though all of our friends and family who helped clean up said they did not have them and we had accounted for everything else. Honestly, with all the stress and anxiety she created for us, we would have went to Filament or somewhere else where we could trust the coordination. To top this off, there was a couple having their WEDDING REHEARSAL WHEN WE WERE GETTING READY THERE! Absolutely no notification to us. The groomsmen had to stay away from our ceremony space!!!!!

If you’re in search of an industrial/casual-yet formal/historical Milwaukee venue, look no further than the Factory on Barclay! Our vintage/industrial wedding vision came to life here and we want to relive it all over again! Sarah was great to work with and ensured that all of our vendors were able to display their beautiful work at the venue, and she organized the on-site bartending staff/bar package for the day. She was very receptive to our vision and helped to execute it to perfection. This venue has the best blank canvas to work with to allow your wedding dreams to come to life (it’s gorgeous even when it is empty)! The bridal party suite is the perfect place to get ready with your closest family and friends, the mezzanine has a great view of the dance floor from above, the chandeliers in the dining space are to die for, and the outdoor patio is lit up perfectly with string lightbulbs and beautiful wicker furniture for your guests to socialize when they want to take a break from the dance floor. You will not regret booking with them! But, make sure you reach out sooner rather than later because this one is becoming highly sought after!

We got married here in June 2022 and our guests are still raving about our venue choice. The space is big where you don't feel cramped and have a lot of options to set it up in a way that you want, but still felt warm and inviting. Sarah was fantastic to work with and helped make our day run smoothly. It was so nice to be able to drop things off a few days before the wedding and pick them up the week after; something not many venues we toured would do.

We fell in love with this venue the minute we toured it, and the day of it exceeded our expectations. The space is beautiful and spacious, and the team is so organized and helpful, that you won’t worry about a thing on your big day.

We got so many compliments on our venue choice in The Factory! Guests were blown away. Sarah was great to work with, responsive, and accomodating. Having the large bridal suite all day was amazing, and our makeup artist and hair stylists loved it.

Incredible venue with the best staff we could have asked for. Sarah was so helpful from start to finish and went above and beyond to make our day special. The space speaks for itself and our guests loved it. Having the dance floor open and flow into the bar area with ample seating made it easy for us to visit with our guests throughout the entire night without being too far from the dance floor!

AMAZING VENUE!!!! This day was practically perfect thanks to the Factory on Barclay and Sarah. She is so sweet and very willing to help in every way imaginable. The only bummer is Sarah had her nephew's wedding and was unable to present the day of our wedding. This caused a lot of chaos and I wish I hired a day-of coordinator to help out but it was too late by the time I found out Sarah was not going to be there. Not the end of the world, of course! The venue is stunning and most of our guests said that this was the best wedding they have ever been to. Love the industrial antique vibe, separate rooms, and the big bar. The fact that there is a private bridal party room upstairs was very convenient too. Thank you so much to Sarah for helping with the mapping and vendor communication, she really is 10/10 very good at what she does! Our wedding was definitely a dream come true, thanks again Sarah and The Factory!

The venue was gorgeous and Sarah was amazing to work with!!