Exchange Conference Center

We could not have asked for a more perfect venue for our wedding on 8÷22÷15. From the moment we toured the venue, we knew it was the right one for us. The location is perfect – easy for our guests to get to and from the airport (we had a wedding block at the Seaport Hotel, a 5 min walk from the venue), offered a beautiful view of downtown Boston and the Harbor from the space out back (where we had our cocktail hour and guests could go for some fresh air during the reception), and it was perfectly sized to hold our guest count of 138 and still provide plenty of space for the extremely important and highly used dance floor! The staff were friendly, professional and very accommodating. Casey, our event coordinator was incredible. She helped to make the whole process painless and stress-​free. She had great suggestions for ways to decorate the front space where place cards, guest book, etc were located. Once we dropped off all of our things the night of the rehearsal, I didn’t have to worry about a single thing the day of. Casey and her staff had everything under control! Our guests continue to tell us how much they loved the venue (ceremony was in the hall, cocktail hour was out back along the water and then the reception was in the hall (they flipped the room during the cocktail hour)). Also great, they have rooms upstairs designated for the bridal party and then one for the guys… we didn’t have to worry about getting from one place to the other. Once we arrived at the venue at 1130 to get ready, we didn’t leave until the end of the night! It was awesome. Check out the day of slideshow that our photographers put together and showed AT OUR RECEPTION! You can see the venue, area nearby which is good for pictures, etc. Thanks, ECC, East Meets West Catering (so delicious!!) and Casey! Couldn’t have asked for a better day.

We had such an amazing experience having our wedding at the ECC on 6÷27÷15. The entire process seemed so easy because Casey was so pleasant to work with and the entire staff on our wedding day were so attentive and accommodating. It was such a lovely location and venue with the view of the water and the space itself was exactly what we had wanted. We received many compliments from our guests on both the venue and the East Meets West Catering. Thank you again to ECC for making our day so special, we would highly recommend this venue for a wedding!

We’re always looking for a «Boston» experience for our client conference dinner, and a colleague pointed me to the Exchange Conference Center (ECC). Our meeting was at the Seaport Hotel, and we needed a space that could potentially accommodate 70+ for a sit down dinner. Catering is a bit pricier per person than a restaurant will be – but you have a lot more flexibility with count and menus.
We worked with Rebecca from East Meets West Catering, their in house cater, to plan the Summer In New England dinner.
We used the foyer, main dining room and outside patio. Decorated with hydrangeas and navy blue table cloths, the ECC space had such a personal feel — so much more intimate than entering a restaurant dining area. We were greeted by a server offering sparkling water or champagne punch and then headed out to the harbor-​side patio to enjoy the view and fresh air. The food was delicious and nicely presented. The buffet worked out perfectly, and our guests were comfortable going up for extra helpings of lobster, steak tips (I swear you can only get these in New England!), corn on the cob, roasted potatoes, etc. Our team raved about the strawberry shortcake for dessert!
And the wait staff treated us like old friends.

We had our wedding at the Exchange Conference Center in October 2014, and it exceeded our expectations in every way. We initially chose the ECC because we loved the harborside location, the history of Fish Pier, and the ease of working with an on-​site coordinator who also managed the catering. We were lucky enough to tour the venue on a day when the market lights in the main hall were up, and it isn’t exaggerating to say that for a wedding, those lights transform the room, especially when we saw them at night. Once all the tables, flowers, market lights, and candles are up — the ECC changes from a brightly lit conference center to a romantic, charming event space.
We worked with Casey and she left no detail unchecked, resulting in a flawless wedding day. From the tasting, to selecting the linens and chairs, to coordinating the day-​of vendors — she was helpful and informative.
The day of, everyone at the ECC clearly worked very hard to pull it all together and when we arrived — everything was perfect. Due to the weather, we couldn’t do our cocktail hour out on the patio as we wanted, but the entire staff mobilized the back up plan without us having to do a thing. The catering staff executed everything — including making sure we had drinks, appetizers, and food all night as well as keeping everyone on schedule so we didn’t miss a minute of the celebration!
This is a unique and special place that I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a wedding venue in Boston!

This review is for both the Exchange Conference Center (ECC) and East Meets West (EMW), the in-​house catering service for the ECC.
Overall, the ECC was a fantastic venue for our August ’14 wedding, and the EMW food was outstanding!
The Venue
We were originally drawn to the ECC for its clean lines and décor, soaring windows, great natural light, and uniquely Boston feel. It also met our needs because we were able to have our ceremony and reception in the same place.
Our ceremony took place in front of large windows facing the waterfront. Our guests were able to watch sailboats and motorboats laze by during our vows. Beautiful.
The event staff ran our wedding perfectly. Guests were ushered into their seats in the main room for the ceremony, then to the back deck where the cocktail hour was set up. Everyone commented on how fabulous the service was. The main room was converted into our reception space very quickly, while our guests were enjoying cocktail hour, and we were stunned by the remarkable transformation.
After dinner, guests were able to mingle in the outside space (where the cocktail hour had been), watching the city lights, airplanes, and boats.
Located in Boston’s Seaport/​Waterfront district, the ECC is very close to several hotels. This was great because it meant that we did not need to arrange for transportation between the hotels and the venue. The fact that the ECC had plenty of parking available for our guests was also a big perk.
Our guests complimented us several times on our choice of venue and its great scenery.
The Food
Just fabulous. We have been to many weddings where the food is barely better than a school cafeteria. With East Meets West (EMW), there is no question that the food will be fabulous. In fact, one guest commented that, at most wedding, he only takes three bites of the inedible wedding beef before spitting it into his napkin. With EMW, he raved about the quality of the beef for days!
From the cocktail hour to our four-​course meal, everything was perfectly cooked to my our liking. We also had an extensive tasting prior to the event where we were able to give our comments to the chef. I also appreciated that a server assigned to the wedding party during our event brought us food and drink and made sure we never missed out on any aspect of the party that we spent so much time planning.
The Service
From a planning perspective, both Rebecca Thomas and Michele Stump went above and beyond– they worked with us to plan our wedding from start to finish. They are both personable and highly skilled professionals who love their jobs, and it shows! They were energetic and full of great ideas from the start. They were also very receptive to our ideas and helped to turn them into reality. (We considered many other venues before choosing the ECC– it was rare to find someone who would be willing to accommodate requests that were even a little bit outside of the norm.)
The staff was excellent. They hit the right balance– they were never in the way, but they were there when you needed them, often anticipating our needs so that we never even had to ask.
Conclusion
Many of our guests emphatically declared ours was the «best wedding» they had ever attended. What more can you ask for?

Awesome event space!!! Transformed with the right budget to be a magical night on the water. Bathrooms are clean and easy. Parking nearby. Perfect venue!

I had my wedding on August 24, 2013 at the Exchange Conference Center. Michele Stump worked with me to customize the menu and venue. Michele is an expert wedding planner. She was able to offer excellent suggestions. We ended up doing beautiful string lights that made the room romantic. The food from East Meets West Catering was unbelievable. I highly recommend this intimate venue for weddings that have anywhere from 80 – 150 guests. We had close to 140 guests, and we thought the room would be tight, but it wasn’t at all. There are many options for layouts that can work with a whole range of guests.
We had the cocktail hour outside on the patio. I have to say that Michele steered us in the right direction with all of our alcohol pricing and menu pricing. She made sure we were getting the best options for the money.
I highly recommend this as a venue choice. It’s right on the water, there is free parking for guests, you can have an outdoor cocktail option (inside option if rain), and it is the most beautiful setting in Boston.

We chose to get married at the Exchange last month and we could not have been happier that we did! Events are run through East Meets West Catering, and we worked with Rebecca as our site manager. From the day we met her she could not have been more happy to assist us in any way we needed. She coordinated the food, extra tent outside and worked very well with our planner and other vendors. We were worried that the space would feel like a conference center-​but we added market lights which totally changed the mood and worked perfectly with the views and the feel we were going for. In the end, all the little extras that the Exchange coordinated, totally took the «conference center» out of the venue.
Working with Rebecca felt like cheating because we felt like we didn’t have to work half as hard as our friends did with planning their own weddings.
The comment that we hear over and over is how FABULOUS the food was. And this is coming from pretty big foodies. (Ourselves included!) We were blown away at our tasting, but had some reservations that they would be able to accomplish the same quality for 160 people. But everything was great-​if not better than the tasting.
Our only con about the Exchange was that we felt like they were pushing us within a half hour of when we were supposed to vacate. We understand the need to have guests out, but when a guest orders a fresh drink and puts it down to dance only to come back and find the drink has been cleared moments later is a bit frustrating. But in the grand scheme of weddings this is such a small issue that it didn’t change our overall opinion of the Exchange.
The Exchange is a great venue that is in the middle of everything and extremely easy for out of town guests to access. They can walk to sites in downtown, or stay in the Seaport District and walk to and from the venue-​which is always a plus after partying a bit too hard at a great wedding.

I was a guess at Roger and Lynne Berkowitz’s Tall Ships Party yesterday and it was a great party. All the food was excellent including all the non seafood items. They had many stations with all types of items. Prepared very well and extremely fresh.
The room had a outdoor terrace area connecting right on the fish pier and a great view of the Tall Ships.
Service was very attentive and good drinks and nice selection of wines. I agree that the décor is very office like but the location is great if you want to be at the Fish Pier.

I’m a wedding planner and I chose this venue to get married in. It’s a hidden gem, tucked away at the end of a pier in a quiet non-​neighborhood (the Seaport District). The views are stellar, the interior contemporary and parking, free. The price is affordable and you get a lot of bang for your buck.
Catering is by Legal Seafoods and I should say that we haven’t yet had our wedding tasting or our wedding itself but I’m confident we’ll get a great product.
Working with the event coordinator there, Sara, has been an easy process. She’s efficient and very responsive, things I demand as both a planner and a bride!

The EEC is the heart of the Legal Sea Foods Empire. The building is located at the very tip of the Fish Pier; parking options are either to pray that you get a spot right next to the building or park WAY at the end of pier and walk. I’ve been told that they do a shuttle for weddings, but I’ll believe it when I see it.
I agree with Tarah’s view that the immediate entrance is very office-​y looking. If you were to go up the elevator, you’d be trapped in a maze of conference rooms and cubicles. (There is, however, a nice balcony overlook into the main room on the second floor). If you find Roger up there somewhere, give him a kiss on his shiny forehead. He loves that!
Once you shuffle past the lobby, the main function room is gorgeous. It opens up right onto a back deck next to the water. I went to one wedding here and had a great time. The food was Legal’s standard, but it was still good. I’ve also been to a few LSF conferences here and the food’s been deece. The good thing is that you can order pretty much whatever you want Legal-​wise and you’ll get it… for a hefty price. Events at the EEC are NOT cheap.
A few years ago, the function room manager was Gordon. I hope he’s still there. He is awesome. The whole staff is awesome too.
The $ 64,000 question: is the ECC worth the money? I’d have to say no. But I’ll admit to being somewhat personally biased against Legal’s a. management and b. food quality. The actual space is pretty good, so if you’re a fan of LSF and can afford the clams to pay for the room, have yerself a Legal’s wedding!

I’ve been to a number of corporate events hosted at this location. Really, it’s fabulous.
Multiple floors are available inside. This works wonderfully if there are different booths or vendors to visit. I’d also imagine it would afford lots of little nooks and more intimate areas for more purely social functions. Even in the upper reaches of the building (okay, okay, the 3^rd floor) you can feel connected to the going-​ons on the first floor with windows that allow you to look down on the revelry below.
The first floor space opens up in the middle, with an atrium reaching the height of the building. Wings off the center area let you leave the middle for dancing, if you so choose, by providing a place for food to be spread and the rhythmically challenged to hide.
And what’s this? A patio out back with breath-​taking views. If it’s too cold out or the New England weather is doing what it will, as it does from time to time, there are plenty of windows over-​looking the harbor.
I believe you can only have Legal cater, but really, that’s okay. The food and service have never been anything short of fantastic.
The space might seem a little cold for a wedding, but I think it could work… especially with the right decorations. And hell, you still have the view.

Another wedding venue review:
I photographed a wedding here this past summer. I’m going to start with the negative (because it’s chronological and it gets better from here)– it’s really hard to find. Like really. I got so lost getting there, my gps couldn’t find it, and I asked three taxi drivers who didn’t know where it was. You actually don’t even begin to expect you’re in the right place until you’re practically on top of it.
That said, the space is adaptable, classy, and gorgeous. The main room (which was used for both ceremony and reception at this wedding) has gleaming wood floors, big windows, a view of the harbor, great lighting, and enormously high ceilings. It’s downtown Boston and there’s plenty of free parking on the pier– which is rare and great.
The only other minor drawback is that other than the main room, everything is is really officey looking. So you sort of have to shuffle guests in and out, but the staff is efficient and practiced at it. Also the outdoor patio is concrete and asphalt, cracked and a little oil-​stained. If you rent a tent, think about also getting a dancefloor.