Tacoma Union Station

Attended a wedding here last weekend and it was simply gorgeous!!! The venue itself truly does not need any more décor with the glass and the building itself. It was by far one of the classiest weddings I have been too in my awesome 28 years on this earth. The only downside was the acoustics (as others have mentioned). If I had my wedding here I would probably be a little bummed about that, but hey the woman who married me mis pronounced our names during our ceremony… Nothing’s ever going to be perfect :). If you are wanting to get married during a season where it might rain in Tacoma (so basically any day of the year), this is a beautiful indoor venue!

The wedding was terrific but the acoustics (as the other review posted here indicates) was horrible. The reason, we should add — is that we had expected to have the BOSE L1 in place (and it would have been wonderful). But the Wedding Party was sorely let down by the various individuals in the Tacoma DJ industry. Would NOT recommend a one. Bride and groom had even arranged with the local «Leu Jam» only to be told that his sub-​contractor claimed to have showed up at rehearsal and nobody was around despite 50 people in attendance. Fortunately, kudos to Kennelly Keys Music (both the Northgate and Tukwila locations) for trying to save the day. The event is now over, so let Karma take care of the future.

The Tacoma Union Station was the site of a wedding I recently attended. Its visual aesthetic is well-​executed and beautifully maintained, with its exhibition of large Chihuly pieces and picturesque views out of the upper floor windows. There’s a sense of greatness there, and I’m sure it has an interesting history that would make worthwhile fodder for anyone enterprising enough to offer tours of the downtown Tacoma area. However, if one were to throw an event there that in any way relied upon audio, certain precautions must be taken.
This place is, bar none, the best echo chamber I have ever experienced. There were speakers about 30 feet from where I was sitting in direct line-​of-​sight (and sound, I suppose), and I was unable to make out more than about 10% of what was being said. Perhaps if there had been small individual speakers at each table in the main hall, or if everyone had been issued a wireless receiver/​earpiece that was connected to a transmitter, or maybe even if there had been closed captioning, the problem might have been properly mitigated. Unfortunately, a single dropped fork or the rolling of the service carts 50 feet away at the periphery of the hall was able to completely drown out anyone at the microphone — not that I could understand what was being said anyway. And the amplification of each person’s voice only made it worse, with the lower-​pitched men’s voices even less intelligible than the women’s. As a result, the entire ceremony felt disconnected and somewhat oppressive, as though I were being rude if I talked to my neighbors instead of straining to catch a few words here and there from the speakers. That said, for intimate conversations in the midst of a crowd, the place is a winner. Get more than a few people talking, and most conversations will be unintelligible from more than 3 feet away.
The location itself is pretty accessible, with multiple museums and restaurants a short walk away. If visiting on a summer weekend from out of town, make sure to book a room well in advance. They sell out quickly.