Need: Wedding reception HELP!

hjw002

Hello, I am trying to plan a budget-minded wedding, and I can't see to find a reception venue that fits my plan!  Does anyone have any good ideas for ~120-150 guests, near Minneapolis/St. Paul, spring-time....  Thanks! 

Steph0871

There are a TON of options in the Twin Cities; just about every restuarant will let you rent out a private room, most golf courses/clubs have reception venues, etc.

What kind of "plan" do you have? Indoor/Outdoor?  Casual/black tie?

Most importantly- how much are you looking to spend per person?

If you give us all a little more info, I'm sure we can help you find a few suggestions!  The girls on here are great with recommendations

Oh, and welcome!

Liberty27

I am using afton alps in Hastings, MN.  They really don't have a minimum and a meals start at $13 pp.  What kind of "budget" are you looking for? 

hkiesling

We used Summit Manor in St. Paul (in 2009).  Plates were around $20 per person.  They included lots of extras like linens, dishes, and vases of flowers on all the tables that made it very budget-friendly for us.

I agree with pp that knowing what your budget is will help us suggest places in your range.

maybe984

Yeah, I think knowing your approximate budget would help.

My ceremony and reception are at the Historic Courthouse in Stillwater. For a Sunday wedding like ours, the rental is only $1,000 for the entire day. And you can use any licensed caterer, so you're not roping yourself in to a certain price point like you are with some venues that have in-house or approved-list-only catering.

Keep in mind, though, some cheaper veunes (like mine) don't have a lot of extras... so you might end up spending more on decorations and dinnerware than you anticipate when it's not all handled in-house. It's all a matter of finding the right combo of vendors that fits with your budget.

LolaBelle515

We used Eagan Community Center, which was very reasonable and certainly the nicest "community center" we'd ever seen. Our guests loved it because there is a pond to walk around, you can bring games for the outdoor patio and take drinks out there (we brought bean bag toss and ladder ball, both very popular), and the whole wall of the ballroom is a window looking out over nature.

We found in our search that the most expensive part of the reception hall was the food--we used Classic CAtering which was really inexpensive and tasted great:)

Good luck!

hjw002

I am not sure if this is getting to the same people that offered to help above--but here is what I've been thinking so far....

We are restricted to the wedding weekend.  May 7th (Sat), was when I had booked the church in downtown MN.  Our families are both coming from Iowa and most of our friends are also out-of-state, since we have only lived here for one year. 

We were hoping to spend somewhere between 10,000-15,000.  I have considered a number of things, family only, close friends and family, etc...  We would like a fun, fairly informal affair.  Probably indoors, since I still think May is unpredictable.  I have recently started to think about a brunch reception on Sat or Sun, since it seems like several sites are already booked.  However, I still think Sat is my first choice.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Steph0871

If you're talking 10-15k just for the reception, that will get you a long way.  Even if that's your entire wedding budget, you should be fine; especially if you want to do a brunch reception

There are a list of (some) of the venues in the MSP Bio:

http://mspbio.weebly.com/venues-reception.html

and

http://mspbio.weebly.com/venues-ceremony-and-reception.html

Are you looking for something downtown near the church at all?  You could try any hotel downtown.  Otherwise, a lot of the restaurants downtown will allow you to rent out the place on Sundays (when they're typically closed.)  A few that come to mind right away are Solera and Axel's.  One of the girls on this board is having her reception at Spill the Wine, which looks adorable too!

I Want Cake

This is a fairly similar budget to what I'm working with, and there are a ton of options in the cities.  Landmark Center in downtown St. Paul isn't ridiculously expensive, and there's a decent choice in caterers.  If you don't mind getting out of MSP proper, you should check out the local golf courses.  They seem to be mostly pretty limited with their catering/bar, but they'll put together a nice package deal for you.  One place offered to waive the rental entirely and lower the food minimum for us, but we went elsewhere anyway.

ClintonBean

Remember to check out The Knot local venues!  You can sort by various categories and there are SO many options to choose from!

http://www.theknot.com/Vendors/Minnesota-Reception-and-Ceremony-Sites/Profiles/CAR/004