Just got engaged... Have some questions

kmfullerton · August 2009

Hello!My fiance and I just recently got engaged last Thursday but have already been looking at ceremony and reception sites. We are looking at the Crowne Plaza North Star in Minneapolis, Stonebrooke Golf Course in Shakopee and Cafe Lurcat/Loring Park in Minneapolis. Has anyone worked with any of these venues before?Thanks!

LittleSweetie · August 2009

Congratulations on your engagement, and welcome! We love Knotties who jump right in to the boards

Glad you're here! The Minneapolis Bio might have reviews of the venues you're looking at and might give you even more ideas. HTH!

msminneapolis · August 2009

Congratulations on your engagement! I don't have input on the vendors you listed, but I was just engaged a week ago...so I am in the early planning process too!Just wanted to say hello and welcome

veijes · August 2009

Welcome and Congrats!! My fiance and I looked at Stonebrooke and decided not to go with them. It is a beautiful place and VERY affordable but we didn't like how there was a restaurant area open to the public that was only seperated by a bar and glass french doors. We aren't having alcohol at our reception so we didn't like the fact that there was a bar right there and the guests would have thought we were just cheap and didn't want to pay for their drinks, when that's not the reason at all. I also think if you were having an open bar for your guests, that people from the public could come up and have a free drink off your tab and I wouldn't like that. If those things don't concern you then I would definitely check Stonebrooke out. The coordinator is very sweet and willing to set up anything that needs to be done. There are some cool spots outside by the rocks and course that would make really fun pics. Sorry I don't know anything about the other two places. We are having ours at The Rotunda @ Carlson Towers, it's gorgeous, I'd check that out too!

heatherwu1998 · August 2009

I also checked out Stonebrook and didn't like it for the same reasons Veijes stated. The course is gorgeous, but the reception area isn't completely separate from the restaurant and bar, so it's pretty noisy. The coordinator wasn't available to give us a tour, but someone else did, and he said that on Friday and Saturday nights, the restaurant and bar are packed. I imagine that giving toasts and such would be very difficult. Plus, everyone in the restaurant could watch the proceedings! So, I didn't like the lack of privacy, and I was concerned about the noise level. HTH!

kmfullerton · August 2009

Thanks for the input on Stonebrooke and thanks for all the warm welcomes! I appreciate it! I am living in San Diego and planning our wedding in Minnesota for September 2010. I'll be up there looking at locations next week. Hopefully, I'll be able to post that we found what we are looking for!Thanks again!

*fire*cracker · August 2009

Congrats! I was at Stonebrooke recently for a golf tourney and saw a couple who were there touring for a wedding. They didn't like the set up either. If you like golf courses and are open to the Hudson, WI area, FI and I played a round of golf at St. Croix National on Sunday and fell in love with it. It's a BEAUTIFUL course and they have a totally separate event area. Sorry, I don't have a link or any idea what their prices are like. GL!

MesmrEwe · August 2009

Before looking at venues (and knowing how exciting that first few weeks after getting engaged is)... Sit down and write out your FULL guest list and your budget!!! That's going to take your choices down for you. Your expected to show is going to be 60-80% of your invite list depending on your families. There's nothing worse than booking a site only to find out that it's either WAY over your budget after all catering and vendor expenses are figured out or it's nowhere NEAR large enough to accomodate your FI's 200 first cousins/spouses. Also, book your ceremony site first before your reception because if you're going with a church, it's entirely possible another wedding is booked for that same date/time that you're wanting to go with or has requirements for getting married that you have to meet before you can even set the date (such as the Cathedral and Basillica).. I don't mean to be a "Debbie Downer", it's just make sure you're booking something you can afford and will accomodate your guest list. Horror story: DH's cousin did this, booked the reception hall that holds 200 without doing a budget or guest count. DH's cousin's family ALONE is 200 people (aunts/uncles/first cousins), and that's not including his FI's guest list. They randomly just cut people after sending all of us "Save the date" cards and then as they got some "no" RSVP cards back they couldn't remember who got cut so the MOG was sent into a tissy trying to find out so the random cuts could be invited again. There also are horror stories out there of brides that book reception sites only to find out the catering bill and all the add-on service fees/taxes are WAY over their total budget. Do your homework before looking at sites too, some places charge more or less depending on the time of the year, day of the week, etc. Enjoy your time engaged, it goes by SUPER quick!!!

Just got engaged... Have some questions

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