Overture Center Weddings in Madison, WI

Overture Center Weddings: What’s it like to get married at the Overture?

The Overture Center in Madison is truly a one-of-a-kind wedding venue. There is nothing else like it in this part of the state.

To say the Overture Hall lobby is light and airy would be an understatement (we’re talking 75-foot glass windows!). Two grand staircases take you from the beautiful promenade lobby to the main lobby. It’s the perfect set up for a grand grand march.

From the Promenade Lobby, the glass windows give you beautiful views of the iconic State Capitol building. Gabriella and Mark chose to host their cocktail hour on the promenade lobby, which overlooks the Overture Hall Lobby and features elegant suspended catwalks (this space also gives you a ton of options for unique wedding portraits!).

Gabriella and Mark then moved down to the main lobby for dinner and dancing. Their grand entrance on the staircase (with the public library in the background) was a highlight of the evening!

Overture Center weddings also have access to lighting and sound capabilities “worthy of a Broadway show,” according to the Overture’s website.

Here are a few other key features of Overture Center weddings (according to the Overture’s website):

Catering is provided by Catering a Fresco.
Can host up to 350 people
Experienced staff to assist with weddings, rehearsal dinners, showers and gift openings
Downtown Madison hotels and restaurants are all within walking distance
Parking garage nearby
Custom fabric draping
State-of-the-art sound equipment
Uplighting and custom lighting design in the colors of your choice

Overture Center Weddings: The Photos

The Overture Center is the perfect place for wedding photos year round. It’s hard to find a venue in Wisconsin that has great spots for bright and airy, natural-light photos inside. So whether you plan a winter wedding, or it happens to rain on your wedding day, there’s no stress about finding gorgeous photo locations!

You can take a variety of beautiful wedding photos inside and right outside of the Overture Center. But with its downtown location, you are also a few steps (or a short drive) away from some other iconic Madison photo spots, including the state capitol building.

Gabriella and Mark got married at St. Paul’s Catholic Church on UW Madison’s campus, so we were able to hit several photo spots throughout the day. We took some photos at UW Library Mall, the capitol building, and of course the Overture Center! Scroll down to see all of our favorite photos from their wedding day.

A Madison love story: How Gabriella and Mark’s Overture Center wedding was the perfect celebration of their love story

Gabriella and Mark chose the Overture Center for their wedding venue because it’s one of their favorite spaces in Madison. The walls of windows overlook the city (and are a photographer’s dream I might add!). They also overlook the Madison Public Library, where Mark proposed (see their adorable love story below).

They’ve always loved going to Broadway shows at the Overture, and now they can add one very memorable event to that list.

It was a beautiful day, and we had so much fun capturing it as their wedding photographers!

Gabriella and Mark’s Story

It writes like a movie. She was a sports reporter and he was a college basketball coach, playing in the national championship game. They actually locked eyes across the basketball court at a practice.

I promise I didn’t make this up!

They met briefly. And, as the cool kids say, Mark “slid into her DMs” on her birthday.

After Mark messaged Gabriella on Twitter, the two met out for trivia (taking 3rd place by the way!). Needless to say, it went well.

Farther into their relationship, Gabriella accepted a new job in Madison as a weekend morning anchor. Mark was still in Iowa, and the pair spent nearly two years driving more than 2 hours to see each other on their days off. He was finally able to make the move to Madison in 2020.

Mark popped the question at the Madison Public Library downtown. Gabriella was headed to what she thought was her monthly book club with her friends. She told me she was quite literally speechless when Mark was there to meet her, and dropped down to one knee.

Gabriella and Mark started a new chapter (get it?) at the library, and it was so fitting that it was in the background of many of their Overture Center wedding photos.

A wedding invitation with rings placed on top

A bride and groom reading letters from each other on their wedding morning

A bride and groom outside of the circle window at the Overture Center in Madison, WI

A bride and groom seeing their finished reception space for the first time at the Overture Center in Madison

A bride and groom celebrating their wedding at the Overture Center, with a view of the capitol building in Madison, Wisconsin

We’re Morgan and Ryan, a wedding photography and videography duo based in Madison, Wisconsin. It’s never too early to start planning your day with us – even if you don’t have a date set yet, please feel free to reach out to us. Our weekends fill up fast! Contact us here to inquire about your wedding photography experience at the Overture Center, or any other Wisconsin wedding venue!