Venue Block! Need to narrow down from top 4 - Help!

hk wedding · July 2011

Hi there. I am planning on getting married next summer and my fiance and I have narrowed down our venue search to 4 places: Semple Mansion, Minneapolis Woman's Club, Calhoun Beach Club and Nicollet Island Pavilion ...

... and now we are stuck!

Anyone have any advise on any of these places?

We are planning for a 3:30/4pm ceremony then into cocktails and dinner - all at the same place. We love the Semple Mansion but it has no outdoor space. Anyone have any advice on how much ppl actually notice this on the day? Concerns we have with Calhoun and Nicollet are how the venues will be effected with rain. Anyone with experience at these venues?

Any help will be great! (seriously at this point anything will truly help!)

khornbach · July 2011

I'll just put out that Calhoun Beach Club was my dream venue but was booked up when we were looking! So jealous!

MrsBassPlaya · July 2011

I know the Nicollet pavilion has a tent for the ceremony, so I wouldn't be too concerned about rain there. This is the only venue of those listed that I'm familiar with. It's really nice, but I didn't consider it because the venue is so huge. I just didn't have a wedding big enough to fill a decent amount of space inside. I've been to an event there in which they partitioned off the unused part of the room, and it wasn't particularly appealing, in my opinion.

Why are you concerned that the Semple Mansion doesn't have outdoor space? Were you planning an outdoor ceremony/indoor reception? Or is there just simply no space for a ceremony at all? If there's room for the ceremony and reception indoors, I certainly wouldn't find it odd at all. However if "no outdoor space" means none at all, then you should be concerned about accommodations for guests who need to step outside for a smoke break.

maybe984 · July 2011

Sigh. If budget hadn't been an issue for me, Semple and Nicollet Island would have been my top two choices. I envy you.

Honestly, unless you had your heart set on an outdoor ceremony or something, I don't see any problem with Semple not having an 'outdoor space'. There's plenty of room for people to wander and gather... and I'm sure people who need a smoke can find somewhere to go outside.

We did consider Nicollet, and they really do seem to have their bases covered for rain. The ceremony tent isn't the prettiest thing in the world, admittedly... but it's definitely something.

jenn920 · July 2011

I have been to weddings at Semple and Nicollet - they are very different venues so it really depends on the overall feel of your wedding. The Nicollet wedding had rain that day, and we were under the tent. It was no problem whatsoever. That being said, if you are planning on doing photos at your venue, and it rains there, there really isn't anywhere else to take photos except in the reception hall, where everyone will be. Semple has a lot more spots for pictures in case you aren't able to get them outside. I really liked the Semple wedding as well, but it was pretty snug having the ceremony inside with only about 120 people. Nicollet is huge... how many guests are you planning for?

If I had to choose between those two, I would've gone with Nicollet, for the space and the outdoor scenery. The inside of the hall is really unique as well. But, like PPs, the $12,000 food minimum was a major deal breaker for me

mbatzlaff · July 2011

I went to a wedding at the Semple Mansion last summer and here are my comments.

It was a really beautiful space. The ceremony was right inside the doors and the bride came down the steps. It was a little strange that they got married in front of a window overlooking the street. Then when the ceremony was over they did a cocktail hour in the same space. It was very cramped because there was only a small table in the back set up for everyone to get drinks. Also the chairs were grabbed out from underneath us as soon as the ceremony was over so that they could be brought upstairs for the reception and to make space for people to stand during the cocktail hour. The photos were really beautiful and they were able to take some on the balcony in the front. The food was good too.

This wedding took place at 5:00pm on a Friday, which is not a good time to be driving around downtown. We barely made it on time and a number of people were late and entered during the ceremony.

Overall it was a really beautiful venue but too crowded.

schmood · July 2011

My sister had her reception at Calhoun a number of years ago (10+), in the front room that overlooks the lake with the big stone patio. It was a beautiful day in October so we were able to hang out on the patio.... but the reception itself (food & all the tables) were inside. Would you be looking to do the ceremony outside and reception inside? I believe there was a ceremony going on in one of the other rooms - a room with a big staircase in it? Would they ever let you have that room as a back-up maybe?

tpender13 · July 2011

We would've gone with Nicollet Island Pavillion, but it was just way too big for our group. The catering manager there, Erica (at least I think she's still there) is super great to work with -- I'd worked with her on some events when she was working at another venue.

hk wedding · July 2011

Thanks everyone!

To answer some of teh questions... we are looking at about 160 people so my newest concern is that semple will be slightly too cramped but nicollet will be way too big. It kind of a funny number!! I agree I dont want people wandering around nicollet when i want them out on the dance floor ... maybe i can pray for a sunny day until after dinner then the rain keeps everyone on the dance floor!! haha

we are happy to have our ceremony indoors or outdoors but we just love the outside so really only keen on having outdoor space for at least the cocktail hour.

thanks again.

Venue Block! Need to narrow down from top 4 - Help!

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