Rehearsal Dinner Venue?

ChrisandBri

I need some help figuring out a good place for our rehearsal dinner. 

We would prefer it to be close to our ceremony venue (Nazareth Chapel at Northwestern College) which is in the Roseville area--but there isn't much for rehearsal dinner spaces around that has an extra room to accommodate everyone.

I live downtown, so we played with the idea of doing the rehearsal dinner around here, but that idea got shot down because all of our OOT guests are country people--so the city parking and traffic would be a frustration.

We have Buca (in Maple Grove) booked in case we can't find anywhere else--they quoted us 22.95 per person. We are hoping for something a little cheaper than that because we are expecting somewhere between 60-70 people (I know...I know... not my decision). It is also about 25 minutes away from the rehearsal venue.

We really like the idea of italian food, there needs to be ample (free) parking, and hopefully somewhere close and cheap. Am I missing any obvious options that I could check out to give my MIL some more options?

Thanks, everyone!

LolaBelle515

I've heard of brides who have their RH in the back room at Axel's on Grand:)  I don't know the max in terms of number of people in that room...

Does Ole Mexico in Roseville have a back room? It's huge, but I haven't been there in a long time...

Good luck!

2ndtimebetterbethecharm

How about Green Mill? Lexington and 694, minutes from Northwestern, right off a main highway and plenty of parking.

Used to be a Knottie now a very part time Nestie...... 

blondie424

We are having ours at Broadway Pizza.  I know they have quite a few around the metro and some of them can accommodate large groups.  The Blaine location has a large banquet room in the basement, so it's very private and we will have our own bar and bartender, along with a private buffet.  The cost including tax and gratuity is a little under $12/person which includes pizza, salad and soda/coffee.

schmood

I attended a rehearsal dinner at Joseph's in St. Paul (across the river from DT St. Paul) and it was really good.  They did a pasta bar, where you pick what stuff you want in your pasta and the saute it up for you on the spot.  They do have other oprions as well though.   We're thinking of doing ours there but haven't decided.   It's not super close to Roseville, but definately reasonable (I think about $15/person)   And, it does have a huge, free parking lot on site.

http://www.josephsgrill.com/banquets.php

dc*prep

We're having ours at Axel's Bonfire on Grand. We're using the front room, which is private but not completely set off from the rest of the restaurant.

We briefly considered doing Buca's, but then I realized that most people would probably reek of garlic the next day, especially when they're sweating. I do NOT want to smell like garlic on my wedding day!

Jen7989

I am having mine at biaggi's in maple grove. you'd have to check if they can have that many people though..

Steph0871

This isn't italian, but we're thinking Brasa... mmmm... I'm not sure if they let you rent out the space, but I know they do catering.  They're located on Grand in St Paul near Lexington.