Private Rentals at Gild Hall
To rent Gild Hall, please explore these pages:
- General Information (see below)
- Rates and Room Capacities
- Rules
- How Do I Rent Gild Hall?
- Upper Gild Hall calendar
- Upper Gild Hall photos
- Lower Gild Hall calendar
- Lower Gild Hall videos
- Moonlight Theater photos
- Wheelchair Accessibility
- Map
Send an email to our Scheduling Team at gildhallrental@gmail.com.
Please email us with any questions not answered by the links above.
General Information
The Arden Gild Hall in the historic Village of Arden is the perfect setting for a wedding reception or private party. If you are looking for a warm, friendly, casual, and fun place to hold your event, the Arden Gild Hall might be just the right fit! The 160-year-old building has an ambiance that is loved by many thousands of people including most of the performers who have ever played on our stage.
The Gild Hall is a charming and convenient locale for wedding receptions and all kinds of parties — birthdays, anniversaries and graduations, bridal and baby showers.
Your Choice of Rooms
The main hall, known as Upper Gild Hall, has rustic ambiance with soaring ceiling height, wood floors, a huge stone fireplace, and professional stage. Renters have transformed the Upper Hall with twinkling lights and beautiful table settings, creating a unique experience for themselves and their guests. Click here to see photos.
Lower Gild Hall and Bratten Hall, downstairs but above ground level, are ideal for meetings and smaller events. The Backstage Gallery, on the left side of Gild Hall, is suited for small gatherings or classes and has its own entrance. All of these rooms are available for rent. Click here to see videos.
Our Approach
You may select your own caterer (as long as they are licensed and insured) or you can bring the food and beverages including liquor yourself. Many other venues require you to use their catering service and to buy alcohol by the drink at their prices. We don't!
This is a “do it yourself” rental. You must supply your own tableware, tablecloths, dishware, silverware, decorations, entertainment, food and beverage. You may serve alcohol to guests 21 and older, but it cannot be sold either directly or indirectly.
Our tables and chairs are included in the rental fee. The banquet tables measure 8 feet by 2.5 feet and can seat between 8 and 12 people. The chairs are stackable chairs. You may also bring in your own tables and chairs from an outside rental service if you wish to.
Kitchen
There is a kitchen at Gild Hall and it may be rented (but only as an addition to a Gild Hall rental) for a separate fee. The kitchen has limited availability and is not available on Saturday nights from October through May. However, caterers manage quite well without the use of the kitchen. When the kitchen is rented, it may only be used for re-heating food and assembling food for presentation; no cooking per se is allowed. Kitchen equipment, cookware, dishware, silverware, tableware and pantry products are not included in the rental and are not to be used.
Our Stage
For Upper Gild Hall rentals, the stage may be used for a live band or disc jockey. All music equipment must be supplied by the renter. Stage lights may not be used unless an additional fee is paid for their use and for a qualified operator. Stage equipment, stage curtains, and the back stage area are off-limits.
Outdoor Amphitheater
The Moonlight Theater is on the right side of Gild Hall and may be rented (again, only in addition to a Gild Hall rental) for a separate fee. This outdoor amphitheater has a brick-floored stage and grassy, tiered seating. People rent the theater for the cocktail hour before a reception or sometimes for the wedding ceremony itself. Click here to see photos.
Air Conditioning
There is no air conditioning in the Upper Gild Hall, although many events and parties are held during the summer. The only room that is air conditioned is the Bratten Hall.
Parking
There is parking for 30 cars in the paved parking lot adjacent to Gild Hall and parking for an additional 60 cars in the field across from Gild Hall.
Public Events
Public events, fundraisers, theater performances, concerts, exhibitions, etc., are subject to Arden Club approval and different rental fees and requirements, such as security and parking personnel, may apply. Only groups with the tax status of 501(c)3 may sell alcohol and must obtain a one-day liquor license for the event from the Delaware Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission.
Weekly/Monthly Rentals
For renters desiring space for weekly or monthly events, such as meetings or classes, a volume rental discount will be developed.
Contact Our Scheduling Team
After reading this General Information, and reading the Rental Rates and Capacity Information and the Rules for Renting Gild Hall, please click here if you want to rent Gild Hall.
Location of the Arden Gild Hall
2126 The Highway, Arden, DE 19810-4059
Click here for a map and directions.
Buzz Ware Village Center
Rental of meeting rooms across the street at Arden's Buzz Ware Village Center is not handled by the Arden Club. Click here for rental info for The Buzz.
The Field Theater
Rental of the Field Theater, next to the Arden Green, is handled by the Secretary of the Village of Arden. In case of rain, the Gild Hall is frequently rented as an alternative location for events booked at the outdoor Field Theater. Click here for rental info for the Field Theater.
Isn't "Gild" Misspelled?
About the time Arden was founded as a community, one of the utopian ideas embraced by many of the founders was the idea that words should be spelled the way they sound. So "through" is spelled "thru" and "guild" is spelled "gild". This improvement to spelling was prevalent across America and was promoted by President Theodore Roosevelt, the Simplified Spelling Board, and others.