Welcome to the agora
Grand Event Center
a stunning castle-style manie wedding venue
Congratulations on your engagement! Now it’s finally time to start planning, and to lock in a date for your New England wedding venue in Maine.
Your wedding day vision is clear – a day surrounded by friends and family, where their creativity and yours get to come to life. As you look for a venue, you’re finding that many venues are inflexible to accommodate your unique desires, or the expense to rent a venue that gives you enough time to decorate is astronomical. Its frustrating.
The Agora Grand Event Center is the exceptional space you have been dreaming about, but couldn’t find until now.
The historie space has found a new life as an event venue in downtown Lewiston, Maine, a quick 45-minute drive from Portland, Maine and only two and a half hours away from Logan Airport in Boston, MA.
You’re bound to love:
- Our castle-style ceremony and reception under one roof with exclusive use of the venue.
- Our full weekend rentals give you up to 16 hours to decorate on the day BEFORE your wedding and cleanup doesn’t need to be completed until the day AFTER the wedding.
- Our 20-foot gilded canopy is a one-of-a-kind focal point. We designed and built a decorating system that enables you to utilize this feature in ways that pull your entire theme together – without ever standing on a ladder.
- The Inn accommodations right next door that are perfect for the wedding party and guests.
- We are open to all and work hard to ensure that everyone is comfortable in our venue by recognizing and celebrating our differences as humans. Because we are a small business, we get to make the rules instead of a faceless corporation that has rigid rules employees must follow.
Learn more about us to see if our venue is right for your wedding and end your search today.
Your Wedding at the Agora Grand
Celebrate your special day at the Agora Grand Event Center, a majestic Maine wedding venue where you can become one with your partner in a vintage romantic setting. Created from a castle-like church rising twenty stories high, the Agora Grand is one of the most unique wedding venues in New England. Your weekend wedding venue rental comes complete with luxury amenities including an elegant chapel, a magnificent reception hall for small and large weddings alike, an exquisite balcony lounge to pamper you and your wedding party, and New England’s most unique honeymoon suite to share with your loved one. Your weekend also includes exclusive guest use of our Inn located feet away.
Created from one of Maine’s most beautiful and historic landmarks, the Agora Grand Event Center is a luxurious event and wedding venue. Built in 1890 in Neogothic architecture and fully renovated in 2016, this magnificent venue boasts soaring ceilings, ornate columns, custom lighting, a state-of-the-art sound system, and a lounge overlooking the beautiful vistas inside. We take pride in the heritage of this building and in providing the highest level of service to our clients. To find out more about our amenities, pricing, and availability, or to schedule a tour, please feel free to reach out.
The Agora Grand is the perfect blank slate for you to craft the wedding of your dreams. Within an elegant and picturesque backdrop, the Grand Reception Hall and the on-site Traditional Chapel are ready canvases for your wedding vision.
Our Amenities >
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Free Ebook Download
Dedicated to Beauty and Excellence, Now and Always, chronicles in full color the tremendous history and outstanding workmanship behind two Maine landmarks.
A paperback is available for purchase or download the eBook for free!
The People and History Behind the Agora Grand
One of Maine’s most beautiful buildings was revived in 2016. Your hosts have worked tirelessly to infuse modern luxury into the elegance of the past while respecting the building’s history.
Reviews of the Agora Grand Wedding Castle
We could not have asked for a more perfect venue. The space is naturally beautiful, classic Gothic architecture that draws the eyes up; with the accent lighting in the windows, bar, and ceiling, decorating beyond some nice centerpieces was unnecessary. Our DJ was able to hook in to the built-in sound system quickly without any trouble, and the dance music easily filled the space. Overall, if we had to do it all over again, we would hands-down use the Agora Grand as our reception venue.
Vanessa O., August 13, 2016 Wedding
This is a spectacular venue... beautiful old church that has been converted to an event center. It also has a beautiful chapel attached and a kitchen. The venue itself has soaring high ceilings and resembles a cathedral in the UK or Europe... There is a dance floor and state of the art technology with a screen to show videos or pictures... The owner and staff are very nice and were wonderful to deal with.
Tamson R., June 4, 2016 Wedding
The Agora Grand for our Wedding venue was perfect for our special day. From beginning to end we knew this was exactly what we were looking for. The high ceilings, columns, balcony lounge above with an amazing stained glass window takes your breath away. The lighted bar, windows, and ceilings add that special modern touch. The Inn has historical charm, quaint rooms, with lounging areas on the first floor. All in All if you are looking for the perfect fairy tale wedding this is the place for you. Words cannot describe all the details of the Agora. This venue exceeded our expectations.
Donna S., September 24, 2016 Wedding
This place is amazing beyond any words that could explain, nor do any pictures due it any justice! It's a must-see when choosing a venue for any event! The owner is great to deal with and very accommodating. I highly recommend Agora for anyone looking for a venue to host any event. I could go on and on about how great this place is or you can see it for yourself!
Robbie J., June 25, 2016 Wedding
The Agora Grand stands up to its name – it’s a gorgeous, elegant and spacious celebration venue. The owner of the Agora Grand went above and beyond... From the special lighting to the super chic bar and lounge to the huge catering kitchen, even karaoke, it was a perfect venue for us and we look forward to holding many more events at the Agora in the coming years.
Jennifer S., April 30, 2016 Event
The venue was gorgeous, cozy chapel, and the Inn had wonderful accommodations for the bride and her entourage... reception hall very beautiful. We have received many comments about how gorgeous it all was. We couldn't be happier... We highly recommend The Agora Grand for any event.
Debra D., June 26, 2016 Wedding
The Agora Grand is a stunning venue with a great staff that went above and beyond to make our wedding day unforgettable. Thanks Andrew and Jan! Our wedding photos look amazing.
Ion B., July 17, 2016 Wedding
In July, my husband and I had our wedding at St. Patrick’s Chapel at the Agora Grand Event Center. It’s quite an understatement when I say that the chapel is classy, elegant and, most importantly, very spiritual. It was the ultimate perfect intimate setting for our wedding on a beautiful, sunny day … and 25 years from now, we hope to renew our wedding vows at the same St. Patrick’s Chapel at The Agora Grand Event Center.
Cecelia C., July 30, 2016 Wedding
My son's wedding was out of a storybook, from the the "not out of a barn like reception center" to the starry walk as they left.
Elizabeth E., August 6, 2016 Wedding
Thank you for providing us with a beautiful wedding venue ... we couldn't be happier!
Sarah S., June 11, 2016 Wedding
We hosted a Chamber of Commerce event with about 240 guests at the Agora Grand. The ambiance is incredible. It was created from a former Catholic church, so it has beautiful architecture, high ceilings, and stunning stained glass. The venue really took our breath away. It has been updated with modern sound system and lighting, and there is also a luxury suite built in the former choir balcony that has great views. We can't say enough about the Agora Grand and we highly recommend it for business events as well as beautiful, upscale weddings.
Matt L., June 9, 2016 Event
Oh my gosh where to even begin?! The Agora Grand event center was a FANTASTIC place for our wedding! Not only is this venue super cool in itself, Billy Jayne (the owner) was AMAZING! The honeymoon suite is out of a fairytale and was truly a once in a lifetime experience! How many people can say they’ve slept in a church?! She was super helpful and willing to work with us during COVID and kept us up to date with all of the ever changing guidelines leading up to the big day. We had the whole day before to decorate and set up plus have our rehearsal dinner! Billie worked with us from the very first time we stepped foot in the door, guiding us through the process of using her venue for our wedding. Saying she was accommodating during this time is an understatement. I will recommend the Agora Grand to anyone I know having any event involving a crowd ( even if it’s just 50 people!) to everyone I know! Thank you so much again Billie!!!
Kimberly L., October 3, 2020 Wedding
We had the most incredible weekend and Billie made setting up for my sons wedding so much less stressful. Thank you!!!
Michelle T., April 27, 2019 Wedding
Billie was great to work with, we were her first wedding at the venue since she bought it. We were in quit the rush because my daughter and her fiancee were due to move to Washington State in 5 weeks for the military. With Billies help of letting us come early mornings to review the venue, chapel and set up, it was achieved. I will say that a night wedding at this venue is much more beautiful because of the lights in the venue, a day wedding is also beautiful but if we had to do it all over again it would have been a night wedding for sure. Plenty of kitchen space for the caterers to get ready and do a proper job, plus a great spot in the venue to set up buffet tables. The Agora had tables and chairs for us to use at no extra charge, round and rectangular plus chairs, so that was helpful. There is also a en suite for the bride to get ready and the couple to stay afterwards, the couple didn't take advantage of the rooms but they sure are beautiful.
Mary N., April 13, 2019 Wedding
I would like to say that the whole experience was wonderful, the bar was well stocked, area for the cake beautiful and plenty room for dancing. When all said and done the wedding was beautiful, Billie was extremely helpful and my daughter and son in law loved every minute of their special day.