Wedding Band at The Pennsylvanian
A railroad station from 1900 with a 70-foot vaulted ceiling over the dance floor. We have performed at The Pennsylvanian and plan for a room this tall.
Inquire About Your DateAbout The Pennsylvanian
The Pennsylvanian was built in 1900 as Pittsburgh's Union Station, and the venue counts it among the most architecturally significant buildings in the city. Its events page goes further and places the old station among the great Beaux-Arts buildings in America. Today the building is home to apartments, and its two historic rooms, the Grand Hall and the Rotunda, are booked for private events.
Together those rooms cover about 11,000 square feet. Picture arched openings, marble floors and ornamented walls, with a vaulted ceiling that rises 70 feet to a skylight. The Rotunda adds terra cotta arches over a brick floor laid by hand, and the venue offers it for a ceremony or a cocktail hour of up to 300 guests.
The Grand Hall is where the reception happens, and it is big. The venue lists 500 guests for a reception, 600 for a ceremony on its own and 800 for a cocktail party with partial seating. When the ceremony and the reception both take place in the Grand Hall, its recommended maximum is 300.
- Address
- 1100 Liberty Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15222
- Venue website
- thepennsylvanian.com
The spaces at The Pennsylvanian
The Grand Hall
The main room under the 70-foot vault, listed for 500 at a reception, or 300 when the ceremony and reception share it.
The Rotunda
Terra cotta arches and hand-laid brick, set aside for ceremonies and cocktail hours of up to 300.
Planning your night at The Pennsylvanian
Sound under a 70-foot vault
Marble, brick and a ceiling that high keep sound in the air longer than a hotel ballroom does. Our engineer is on site two hours early to tune the PA to the hall, and we aim the system at the dance floor instead of the vault. Dinner sets stay at a level where your tables can still talk.
Rotunda first, Grand Hall after
When the vows happen in the Rotunda, we place the ceremony music there and keep the band's stage in the Grand Hall, so nothing moves while your guests have a drink. The complimentary ceremony and cocktail-hour musician in every package covers that first stretch, or you can bring in Eddie & Gabby, the duo.
One room for both halves
If you keep the ceremony and reception in the Grand Hall, we ask the venue team how they stage the change between the two, then build our setup and the cocktail-hour music around their answer. It is worth settling early, because it decides where the band stands all night.
Arriving at a residential building
The Pennsylvanian is also home to its residents, so the timing of our gear matters. We confirm the loading entrance and our arrival window with the venue's events contact ahead of the date, and our certificate of insurance, written to the venue's requirements, goes over well before the day.
The band at The Pennsylvanian
Scaled to the room, from the duo to a full eleven-piece band.
Your Playlist
The full live band, seven to eleven pieces: lead female and male vocals, keys, guitar, bass, drums and saxophone, with horns, electric violin or a second vocalist to add.
Eddie & Gabby
The two founders, with every decade from the fifties to now. Made for cocktail hours, ceremonies and smaller rooms.
DJ Hybrid
A DJ anchors the night while live musicians move through the crowd on saxophone, electric violin, guitar or vocals.
"This band was AMAZING. Hands down the highlight of our reception, with everyone on the dance floor all night. They delivered everything we asked for and more. They read the room perfectly, kept the party going, and created an atmosphere our guests are still raving about. Professional, dynamic, and incredibly talented."
Jennifer B. · Pittsburgh
Questions about The Pennsylvanian
Have you performed at The Pennsylvanian?
Yes. We have played The Pennsylvanian, and we plan every wedding there around the size of the Grand Hall and the height of its ceiling.
Can we marry in the Rotunda and celebrate in the Grand Hall?
The venue offers the Rotunda for ceremonies and cocktail hours of up to 300, so that split is straightforward. We can play the ceremony with a soloist up to a quartet, then have the full band ready in the Grand Hall when the doors open.
How big a band suits the Grand Hall?
With receptions of up to 500, this is a room where the larger lineups make sense. Our core seven-piece can grow to eleven pieces with trumpet, trombone, tenor saxophone, electric violin or a second vocalist. The bigger the band, the bigger the sound.
Who runs the microphone during the reception?
Gabby or Eddie. We go over the timeline on a planning call about a month out, and on the day one of us sits with your planner before the reception to confirm every announcement.
Let's fill the floor at The Pennsylvanian
Tell us your date and we will take it from there.
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