The Houston Museum of Natural Science

They were great to work with and for the price you can't beat this location. The Cullen Hall of Gems was beautiful. We used the space for a reception only.

We had our wedding ceremony in the Butterfly lobby. It was a beautiful location and Nancy at the museum made the whole experience so easy and wonderful. The ceremony was 2 hours after the museum closed which was a perfect amount of time to set up the chairs and decorations. The added bonus is that you do not need many decorations since the space is so beautiful. I highly recommend doing your event here.

The venue is gorgeous and Nancy is very helpful and responsive. The only improvement I could recommend is a dressing room, or at the very least, full length mirrors in the classrooms so the bridal party can get ready properly. Everything else was fantastic!

We had our ceremony in the Cockrell Butterfly Center at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. This place is heart-stoppingly beautiful - nothing short of a real rain forest can compare! For $500, you get 1.5 hours in the Butterfly Center and a lifetime of beautiful memories! The photographs in this place are beautiful! The Special Events Manager, Leslie, and the Special Events Coordinator, Nancy, were professional and prompt in responding to emails. They really work with you to make your ceremony great. During your event, Special Events staff will be on hand in case anything goe awry. At our wedding, the lights went out 5 minutes before our ceremony was to start. They scrambled to fix the problem, the lights came on, and Leslie let us know that we would not have to worry about leaving in exactly 1.5 hours. (No one really watched the clock, so I suspect if you run over, they probably don't mind.) I will say, during the summer months this place is pretty warm and humid, and the earliets your event can begin is 6:00 p.m. (but believe me! The closer to night you are, the better.) Our wedding was at 6:30 p.m. on Halloween, and the temperature was perfect. Not cold, not hot - not even warm. If you're worried about it, schedule your wedding rehearsal (yes! They let you have one inside free of charge!) to fall at the same hour your wedding will be. Also, note that they let you in to see the space for free -- for instance, if you wanted to walk through with your photogrpaher, etc.

Two caveats:

1. There is an iguana that lives within. If you're not a fan of reptiles, you can ask them to make sure he is in his cage. (We didn't, and he never bothered us! He spent the whole time hanging out on the 3rd floor stairs...)

2. Butterflies live here, so if you have a guest who is not a fan of insects, you might want to reconsider. They're less active at night, but they DO fly around. (During our 6:30 ceremony, butterflies kept flitting behind my head unbeknownst to me, making for some really awesome wedding shots.)

If iguanas and butterflies don't bother you, then book this place! You will not regret it. It is BEAUTIFUL, and the staff are fantastic!

Leslie was fantastic! We did have some communication issues due to us being 1500 miles away but after that was taken care of, I can't say I can think of one negative thing. The space was affordable, beautiful and unique and there was no need to spend money on decor that would be tossed away.

I never dreamed that we could afford such a fun and amazing venue! For the price, you are allowed use of some very unique areas within the museum. The staff was such a joy to work with. They were very professional and caring.