Minneapolis Churches

montsgirl

I am looking for churches in the downtown Minneapolis area that allow non members to hold their wedding ceremony.  My Fiance is from the Minneapolis area but his 'home' church is a little far from downtown and we're hoping to have a downtown reception.  Any information you could pass along would be appreciated!!

MN_Jen

I don't know about any downtown, but our church was in South Minneapolis, kinda near Matts Bar.  It deff isn't everyone's style, but it is really close to downtown (less than 10 minutes) and they are fine with you using your own minister. 

Feel free to check out my bio for pictures and info!

NicoleR77

Before we decided on an outdoor ceremony, I looked into a couple churches in downtown Minneapolis that all allowed non-memebers to have ceremonies there...the only one that was actually downtown was Central Lutheran Church (right by the convention center).  The other two were more south Minneapolis--Mount Olivet Lutheran Church (south of Lake Harriet) and Diamond Lake Lutheran Church (just a couple miles west of Mount Olivet.)  You should be able to google them all for info.

beka0404

Does denomination matter?

Central Lutheran does allow non-member marriages - one of the CLC ministers must preside or co-preside at the wedding. I'm a member of Central and all of the ministers are awesome.

http://www.centralmpls.org/worship/weddings.php

TriSaratops10

Lake of the Isles Lutheran Church allows for outside ministers and non-members (also no difference in price).

Just FYI - Central books VERY fast and is $2500 - when I checked in January it was already all booked for 2010 :-(

montsgirl

Denomination doesn't matter.  My fiance is Catholic, but religion doesn't play a HUGE role in either of our lives.  

thanks so much for the help!!  I appreciate it!  If you think of anything else please let me know.  It's been really difficult to get started since I'm not from the Minnesota and we're tying to plan this wedding from Texas!!

TriSaratops10

Have you figured out your reception site yet? That might help me figure out more churches (I'm in the same boat as you, planning from Maryland) so I have researched a TON of places :-)

Good luck!

archie08

We are having ours at Mount Olivet! Its a beautiful traditional looking church. They do accept non members. Its 5 min from downtown in south minneapolis.

beka0404

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_minnesota-minneapolis-st-paul_minneapolis-churches?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:81Discussion:c4edb30f-f686-44da-be12-295b63653ed7Post:f435c6a5-58c5-4787-bc70-78e053450248">Re: Minneapolis Churches</a>:
[QUOTE]Lake of the Isles Lutheran Church allows for outside ministers and non-members (also no difference in price). Just FYI - Central books VERY fast and is $2500 - when I checked in January it was already all booked for 2010 :-(
Posted by TriSaratops10[/QUOTE]

<div>Hmmm. That's odd. The non-member fee is actually $1600, not $2500. I think someone gave you bad information! (As for booking early - yes, to an extent. But we had no issue at all and had a number of dates to choose from...)</div>

montsgirl

We haven't picked a reception venue yet.  My fiance is military so right now he's not real able to help with the planning.  When I was young my family and I belonged and went to a church regularly but stopped going after members of our church kicked out our pastor.  This kind of destroyed my faith somewhat and now I have not really been in a church setting for such a LONG time, churches make me somewhat uncomfortable.  My fiance wants a church wedding so we agreed that if I could find ANY church that I felt comfortable in and working with, it would be the church of choice.  So I figured I should start there and then pick a reception venue near the Church. 
We're hoping to have a December 2011 wedding, so I know I have some time still.  We're also trying to go with kind of a 1930/40's old kind of feel to our wedding.  Not 100% like all the music being from that time (not so much as a 'theme' to our wedding just a feel or inspiration) so if you know of any reception venues that might fit that type of feel I would appreciate hearing those as well.

TriSaratops10

Ahh!! Military!! Fort Snelling would be a good choice (it was where I wanted to get married, but it was booked the day our reception hall was open)!!! It is $500 for military, gorgeous, intimate and you can bring any minister of your choosing!!

TriSaratops10

beka - yea, I guess someone did give me false information!!! I loved Central, I should have looked more carefully!

NicoleR77

I just went to a wedding at Fort Snelling Memorial Chapel a couple weeks ago and it was absolutely beautiful! 

beka0404

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_minnesota-minneapolis-st-paul_minneapolis-churches?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:81Discussion:c4edb30f-f686-44da-be12-295b63653ed7Post:dc8541b2-3589-4ae3-bb42-fc59056ddb4f">Re: Minneapolis Churches</a>:
[QUOTE]We're hoping to have a December 2011 wedding, so I know I have some time still.  We're also trying to go with kind of a 1930/40's old kind of feel to our wedding.  Not 100% like all the music being from that time (not so much as a 'theme' to our wedding just a feel or inspiration) so if you know of any reception venues that might fit that type of feel I would appreciate hearing those as well.
Posted by montsgirl[/QUOTE]

<div>1. Cross Central off the list. They generally don't do December weddings (during Advent). But, check out both St. Mark's and Gethsemane Episcopal churches (good denomination for those who are uncomfortable with heavy-handed Christianity. Also, Bethlehem Lutheran on Lyndale in S.Mpls is a cool congregation.</div><div>
</div><div>2. LOVE the 30s/40s inspiration. Check out all of the mansions - Semple, Gale, Blaisdell, Van Dusen, etc - for possibilities, as well as the Minneapolis Club and the Woman's Club of Minneapolis. If you're down for a reception in St. Paul, there also a ton of historic options there - James J. Hill Library, St. Paul College Club, The University Club on Summit Ave, etc.</div>

leggwilliams

Nazareth Chapel on Northwestern Campus! It's gorgeous!

MilitaryBride2Be

I'm a military bride too! I'll be an Air Force wife We're holding our ceremony at Hennepin Ave Methodist Church, there aren't pictures online but the church is gorgeous. If you want to see some pictures let me know and I'll send some!