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Weddings

Gem Theatre Reviews

Gem Theatre View more information

Reviews

4.3 out of 5 rating
22 Reviews
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81% Recommended by couples

Awards

22
  • K
    Kelly B. Sent on 03/21/2023
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    Easy, organized, gorgeous

    The gem theatre was the perfect place for our ceremony and reception. They were so easy to work with through the entire process and accommodating to all our needs.
    You won’t regret going with the Gem.
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    Jennifer G. Sent on 01/27/2020
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    A Beautiful Venue + A Great Experience!

    The Gem Theatre is such a unique event space! From the moment you set foot in the front courtyard to seeing the historic theatre, you just know that your guests will enjoy seeing something beautiful around every corner. The best perk with a beautiful venue is that you don't need a ton of decor...the architecture does it for you!

    The sales team was so helpful throughout the planning process making sure that our questions were answered and that we were taken care of every step of the way. It really relieved a lot of stress knowing that we had such a great vendor team there to help!

    Gem Theatre's reply:

    Thank you Jennifer for the kind words! We look forward to the opportunity to host another event with you again the future!
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  • Colleen
    Colleen Sent on 01/21/2019
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    The night of our life at The Gem

    I'm not sure where to even begin. The Gem Theatre and its staff were an absolute dream to work with. My husband and I wanted a venue that was unique but would still offer some hand-holding during the planning. The Gem was all of this and more. Samantha fielded a couple dozen emails from us and was always so incredibly helpful and responsive. Clara was our day-of coordinator and I can't thank her enough for all of her guidance on our big day. We received so many compliments from our guests saying what a beautiful venue it was and how delicious (and hot! can you believe it?) the food tasted. I absolutely loved our wedding and that's due in very large part to all of the incredible people at The Gem.
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    Meghan Sent on 08/19/2016
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    Amazing experience. Both Lauren and Molly did a great job coordinating and setting up our venue. They were extremely helpful. It was exactly what I pictured for our 1920s Art Deco theme!
  • Amanda
    Amanda Sent on 05/22/2016
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    The advice that I would give to a couple looking at The Gem Theatre would be definitely do it. They did everything. It was very stress free. They check on every detail and make sure that you are their main priority. Initially, I thought the minimum was far too expensive but it was all worth it. Had we gone through separate vendors, there would have been way more stress and more expensive. The food was absolutely amazing and the drink selection was immaculate.
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    Lauren Sent on 02/01/2016
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    The Gem was the first and only venue that my husband and I went to look at in person. We knew we wanted to get married downtown and we knew as soon as we walked in that The Gem was the perfect place to have our wedding. From the beginning the responsiveness of the team at The Gem showed us that they knew what they were doing and that they were happy to be a part of our special day. It was very obvious that this is what they do and they do it best.

    The venue itself is stunning and since we were married in December there were some decorations up that complimented our own perfectly. We got married in the upper “Century Theatre” level and then moved our guests to the main floor “Century Grill” for a cocktail hour before going all the way downstairs for dinner. Afterwards we had an 8-piece band that perfectly filled The Gem Theatre space and our guests could move freely about the building at their leisure.

    The food was delicious, our guests still talk about it when we see them, and the staff was impeccable. I have to say that Melissa, our event manager for the day, was an absolute dream to work with. She was on top of everything and I cannot even begin to thank her for everything she did to make our day so special. I do not have one complaint or thing I would have changed about our wedding, it was truly perfect and most of that has to do with our choice to have our Wedding at The Gem theatre. I highly recommend this venue!
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    Chelsea Sent on 10/06/2014
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    I have nothing bad to say about our venue. When my husband and I firsts started looking for places to hold our ceremony and reception we knew we wanted something different. The Gem was exactly the place we were looking for. The building is absolutely stunning! Working with the even staff was a breeze. If I emailed them or called with questions, they answered me right away and were extremely helpful. Their wedding packages were just that...a package, and it made everything so easy. They weren't trying to nickle and dime you for every add on or change like some other venues we were originally looking at.

    We held our ceremony in the upstairs theater which is very romantic and cozy, the cocktail hour was outside on the beautifully landscaped patio, and we had our reception in the main theater with the head table on the stage. I received so many compliments on how different and cool our wedding venue was. The food was amazing and with huge portions I couldn't eat all of it (get the prime rib, it was our favorite). The servers, bartenders, door host, and the event manager were so great to work with. I was extremely impressed with how smoothly everything went at our wedding and I was actually able to relax and enjoy our night. If I could do our wedding over again, I wouldn't change a thing, especially our venue choice. I recommend the Gem Theatre to soon-to-be married couples. They were so wonderful to work with.
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    Caitlyn Sent on 01/20/2014
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    We selected the Gem Theatre for our New Year's Eve Wedding. We were looking for a unique venue where we could host both our ceremony and reception. We were extremely pleased with the Gem on our wedding day and throughout the entire planning process. As the bride, I emailed our event coordinator about 100 times, and she was always helpful and quick to respond.

    We tried to set up our decorations the day before the wedding, but we were not able to finish everything. Our event manager (Judy) helped our wedding planner set everything up the day of the wedding, and it was all gorgeous. She went above and beyond to make sure everything was as we imagined it.

    After our wedding, we got continuous feedback from our guests on how beautiful the wedding was and how delicious the food was. Overall, I could not have been more pleased with the venue we selected for our wedding.
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    Kendra Sent on 05/31/2013
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    Thanks to everyone at the Gem who helped make our wedding night spectacular! The staff is so accomodating and helpful.Our guests, as well as we, had an amazing night. The food was delicious. I'm still receiving compliments on it. Everything went smoothly and I cannot thank everyone enough.My husband and I appreciate all the work that went into making our night a memorable one.
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    Myra Sent on 01/25/2012
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    We absolutely loved having our wedding reception at this venue. It's now 3 months after our wedding date and we're STILL getting compliments on the food and the atmosphere....Did I mention the FOOD was amazing? The price was competitive for the area but we feel that along with that price, the Gem offered an outstanding value. The historic building, the GORGEOUS patio for cocktail hour, complimentary attached parking in a covered garage, and the Hilton Garden Inn is just steps away. How CAN you go wrong?? We also liked that they offered multiple packages --you can rent the whole theatre or just the downstairs banquet room, depending on your budget.
  • Renee
    Renee Sent on 02/25/2019
    4.8 out of 5 rating
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    Great Wedding with the Gem!

    Working with the Gem Theatre was truly an amazing experience. If you are looking for an all-inclusive venue that delivers on service and experience, this is your place. Sales Manager Samantha Sant was extremely responsive to every question throughout the process and ensured we stayed on track for our wedding. Clara Kay, who helped to coordinate everything the day of, made sure things went smooth so that we didn't have to worry about a thing. Our guests raved about the venue itself (unique decor/theme, location, etc...) as well as the food and service. Would definitely do it all over again if we could. Thank you again to everyone at the Gem!
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    Anna Sent on 09/18/2017
    4.8 out of 5 rating
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    We were blown away with the service at The Gem Theatre and the experience. The staff was accommodating and set everything up perfectly. The entire evening they had staff members checking with us as the bride and groom and our VIP guests to make sure we were taken care of. The food and drinks were excellent and were complimented by all. I would recommend The Gem to any couple looking for a unique Detroit experience!
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    Timothy Sent on 11/03/2015
    4.7 out of 5 rating
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    We were thrilled with every aspect of our work with the Gem for our reception. They did a fantastic job of both the planning and the execution of the wedding. We were out of town, so most of our planning was done via email and phone, and they handled that quite well. They went beyond even what was in their contract and set up a lot of things for us the morning of the wedding, were able to make us feel very much at ease, and every staff member was really enjoyable to work with. All of our guests were impressed both with the space and with the execution of the event itself and that was, in large part, due to the work of the Gem staff.
  • Haley
    Haley B. Sent on 12/22/2021
    4.6 out of 5 rating
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    The Best Night of Our Lives

    We had our wedding and reception at the Gem this past Saturday and it was so wonderful. We were a little worried when we had to re-schedule our February 2021 wedding to December 2021 due to COVID-19 but we managed to make the night everything we could have dreamed of with the help of the Gem staff. Nathalie was so accommodating and professional, she worked with all of our vendors to ensure the night went off without a hitch. Everyone kept commenting on how cool and collected we were as a couple and that's a testament to all the help and support we had. The dressing rooms were the perfect space for everyone to get ready and were great for pictures. When some guests arrived a little early and caught us doing our pre-ceremony photos, Nathalie was able to sneak us around the back so that no one saw us. The food was beyond amazing (we had the filet and salmon). We couldn't be happier with the entire night, thank you so much to the Gem for making our wedding day special.

    Gem Theatre's reply:

    Congratulations Haley!!! Thank you for the kind words! We look forward to the opportunity to host another event with you again the future!
  • User1289159 Sent on 08/16/2013
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    Stunning backdrop for any special occasion. Accommodating staff. DELICIOUS food!
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    Tina Sent on 12/28/2010
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    This venue offers a unique setting for a wedding ceremony & reception. When we began our search for a wedding venue, we had very specific criteria in mind, however, the most important element was that it couldn't be your run-of-the-mill "Wedding Hall". We wanted something unique, romantic and intimate. The Gem offered all that and more. They were very accommodating in helping us make our wedding the unique experience that we envisioned. Any time that I needed to visit the Gem to try out different linen colors, test run centerpieces, or to simply show my family the venue = they made it happen. It was very much an open door policy.

    My only concern was with the service at the reception - I don't feel that they have a high quality service staff - we had a few tables that didn't get served dinner was almost over - a huge oversight on their part and wasn't fixed until our guests brought it to MY attention - and I had to get the servers attention to fix it. That was unacceptable in my opinion. My mother was one of those people who didn't get served until last and her meal was horrible. Cold, undercooked and basically thrown together at the last minute.

    I have worked in the food service industry for many years, through college and beyond, and I know how things can go wrong behind the scenes - but a good kitchen and service staff can make it right without the guests ever knowing it. The Gem management team desperately needs to work with their staff to improve on that aspect of service.

    Other than that, the overall experience was great - all of our guests really enjoyed the outdoor patio for both the cocktail hour and the reception. The value was good - you get a premium bar with your wedding package price and their dinner menu selections are very broad. We received huge compliments from our family and friends on our wedding at the Gem and we would recommend it to anyone who was considering it for their own wedding - especially if they are looking to do the ceremony and reception all together in one place.

    Kudos to the GEM Management team - you all helped make our wedding a huge success!!
  • K
    Kari Sent on 08/29/2009
    3.4 out of 5 rating
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    I have mixed feelings about working with the Gem Theatre because my experience at the event was very different than my experience working with them beforehand. The event itself turned out absolutely beautiful, couldn't have asked for anything more. The service was truly excellent. It is a gorgeous, unique, fun venue. Most of my family came in from out of town and I got the impression that they weren't initially very excited about coming to downtown Detroit, but were impressed with the theatre and ended up having a great time. The service beforehand left much to be desired. Reps were difficult to get a hold of and were not very friendly. After having discussed how we wanted something (ie location of head table, order of events etc.), they would change it to the way they wanted it because they thought it would be better that way. We were persistent and on the night of the event, all but one thing (they brought out our late night food much earlier than requested) was prepared the way we had asked. Overall I think dealing with the difficulty of the sales staff was worth it because I truly loved the event itself. If I were rating just the event it'd probably be all 5 stars. But the communication beforehand is reflected in the above review. It is a little pricey, but I think worth it.
  • Ashley
    Ashley Sent on 11/04/2019
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    Difficult and Frustrating

    I went through a couple of sales managers due to the turnover at the Gem. No notes were kept from the previous sales manager so I had to start over with the details. I felt that the automated emails contained a lot of missing information as well as they were very repetitive. I dont know that I would book another event here.

    My on site contact, Niki, was amazing and really understood what we were looking for. I couldn't thank her enough for her attentiveness and hospitality
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    Mp Sent on 09/04/2018
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    We were guests at a wedding at the Gem Theater. There was 1 bartender for 150 people. We had to wait in line no less than 5 minutes to get a single drink. Many of us even questioned whether there was even alcohol in our mixed drinks because 1. we could not taste anything and 2. could not feel anything when normally after 1 drink I can get a decent buzz. There was a second bar outside which only had wine. It was nearly 90 degrees and it was quite noticeable in our wine temperature. As for the food, our prime rib was WELL WELL DONE. There was absolutely no pink to it. We heard from others who ordered the chicken, eggplant, and the veggie stir fry, all who were disappointed with their meals.

    I remember being extremely picky when selecting the venue for our wedding. Guests remember one thing, and it's the food, which is the reason I am leaving this review, since most venues do not let you do the food tasting until you've left your down payment.
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    Marie W. Sent on 01/27/2020
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    Mother of the bride

    We had so many issues - the worst was the sewers backed up in the men’s and women’s restrooms - sewage was coming up from the floor drains and spewing all over the floors. Several of our elderly guests almost fell in it. Then the person in control closed them down for the night - leaving only 3 toilets for our guests on a New Year’s Eve Wedding - 150 guests. The bridal suites/rooms were opened up for the use of the toilets one in the men’s room and one in women’s room. Those rooms were off limits to everyone but the bridal party. The bridal party had all their personal belongings in them - purses, wallets etc.. not that we didn’t trust our guests but you never know.

    Then temporary staff was telling everyone that they were not allowed in the balcony! Not true and they obviously were not trained and had no knowledge of the Gems policies.

    Then we had a cake that was supposed to serve over 200 people. We told them to plate and serve it for dessert. Several family members noted at how much cake was left after they served it. The pieces were cut very small. We were told that there was no cake let after it was served. This was a 1,200.00 cake - so either the employees took it or it was thrown out.

    We had centerpieces and candles which were to be packed up. We ask Nikki - the person in charge, to wait to blow the candles out till they solidified. Obviously, this did not happen. They messed them up by blowing wax from the candles all over the sides of the lanterns. It looked like a scene from a scary movie because the wax was burgundy. It took days to clean the lanterns out. Then we are still missing 6 pillar candles and 2 lanterns. They are just missing - no one who works at the Gem knows what happened to them.

    We were offered a whole $500.00 refund for our inconvenience - even though we thought it should be more. So many of our guests left early because of the restroom situation. We had asked to speak to the owner and was told that they would relay our message. The management did not take ownership for what happened - they just made excuses for their employees. BEWARE IF YOU HAVE YOUR VENUE THERE BECAUSE THIER SEWER PROBLEMS ARE LIKE A VOLCANO WAITING TO ERUPT!!
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    Christine Sent on 05/02/2017
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    Was really excited about using this venue for a Friday lady's sangeet. Although we couldn't do outside catering the assured us that they have done indian weddings before and could do indian food in house. She even went as far to say we could use our own recipes (which seemed odd). After inquiring for pricing information her manager replied with "If authentic Indian cuisine is important to you and your group, our venue may not be the best fit." I wasted multiple days comparing venues, estimate pricing, and pros and cons only to be told I was lied to the entire time. I would have saved tons of time and looked for other options if they would have been upfront and honest.
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