Minnesota-Minneapolis and St. Paul

Ceremony & Receptions Suggestions- budget

Hello all! I am planning a December 2010 wedding and need some ideas on a site that will allow for having the ceremony and reception in the same place (in the MSP area).  I am planning this on a budget, so any suggestions that aren't too expensive would be much appreciated! Also, I will be having a lot of out-of-town guests, so something close to a hotel would be great as well!

Thanks!!!!!

Re: Ceremony & Receptions Suggestions- budget

  • edited December 2011
    I am haveing my reception at the Profile Event Center.  You can have your ceremony there also.  For a December wedding it 5,000 for the food min for a Saturday but less expensive for a Fridays or Sundays wedding.   Everything is included in that.  Check out their website www.profileeventcenter.com. It's in MPLS by the UOM and there are three  hotels by there.  Two really close.  The one I booked rooms at is the Sheraton Midtown hotel.  That one is not as close but they have a shuttle that will go to the PEC.  Also you can bring in your own liqor. HTH
    Anniversary
  • edited December 2011
    I am unsure what you classify as within budget, but I had a winter wedding at the Landmark Center in St. Paul ( i know its not MSP but close). When I booked at the 2007 rates (unsure what they are now) the Ceremony, change over, and reception rental was 2750.  The Landmark center lets you bring in any licensed caterer. I was able to find a caterer that was around $3000 inlcuding EVERYTHING for 150 peeps. so 5750 for food, rental, dining ware, tables, simple linens, tax, fees, and so forth.

    The wonderful thing about the Landmark Center is that you can go over the top and it will look amazing (not to overdone) and keep it simple and it will still look amazing. The building is gorgeous! The only down fall is the cost of alcohol. We had a ton of out of town guest from the south and out east where it is customary to have an open bar so we worked $2000 for alcohol into our budget. However, you can work around that by having a cash bar if you are comfortable with that (more commen in the midwest)

    I have my reviews and vendors in my married bio along with pics if you would like to see more :)
  • drdifabiodrdifabio member
    Seventh Anniversary 2500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I also second the Profile Event Center. We are having our wedding there this Oct and so far they have been my favorite vendor- the coordinator they have on site there, Heather, is awesome - I have loved working with her. We booked at the Radisson that is walking distance from the reception. We will also provide a shuttle to get guests back there at the end of the night because really who wants to walk in heals at the end of a night of dancing :)
  • MesmrEweMesmrEwe member
    Knottie Warrior 2500 Comments 500 Love Its 5 Answers
    edited December 2011
    How many guests are you expecting to show?  Also, every bride has a budget, whether your budget is $1,000,000 or $1,000.  Depending on your perspective both can be an incredibly tight budget. 

    Check some of the Community Centers, KC, and VFW halls in the area as they tend to be the best values overall for doing things on a tight budget and remember that it's all in what YOU bring to the wedding/reception that makes the day go off with a hitch. 

    The further out into the burbs you go the better the pricing is going to be.  Check out the Hudson House Inn in Hudson, WI...  They're all-inclusive and the site is incredibly reasonable.  If you want in the cities, many hotels have conference centers that you can use for a reasonable budget depending on where you want to go. 

    Depending on how many guests you have, places like Afton House Inn, or University Club are even affordable options. 

    If you can give us some more info on which part of MSP specifically you're wanting to get married, it'll make a huge difference in the recommendations people give you. 
  • hkieslinghkiesling member
    1000 Comments
    edited December 2011
    We used Summit Manor for our reception, but they do ceremonies there as well.  They were reasonably priced (charged by the hour) and food was around $19 - $25 a plate.  David, the owner, was great to work with and made sure everything went off perfectly.  They also include a lot of typical extras like dishes, cake cutting, linen, cake stand, flowers on all the tables, etc.  Oh, and you can bring in your own liquor, which was  a huge cost savings.  We were around $6000 for 120 people, including rental, food, drinks, clean up, set up, linens, 2 meat options (buffet), table decorations, and a popcorn snack.
  • munkychipmunkychip member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    YES! I agree, Profileis a great and reasonably priced venue! Drdifabio, we are having our wedding there in November! We should swap ideas! :) One question, when are you booking the shuttles for? That is something I am still trying to decide. PM me :)
  • edited December 2011

    WOW! Thank you all for the suggestions! I am expecting about 150-200 guests and I would like to keep it all under $5k, but that may be a bit unrealistic.

    I checked out the Profile Event Center and it looks perfect! Seems very straightforward!

    Has anyone had both their ceremony and reception there? I wonder what the transition would be like...


    I am going to check out the Landmark Center and Summit Manor as well- both look like great options! 

    Thanks everyone!

  • munkychipmunkychip member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    We are doing both our ceremony and reception there. I'm actually communicating with Heather at PEC about how the transition will go right now :) We are having a smaller (25 ppl) ceremony and big reception. We still want to do a grand entrance though so I'm thinking maybe we could take off with the bridal party for a drink somewhere or something before the guests arrive. That way it will create a way forus to do the big entrance I want.

    I'm still brainstorming about it...

    PEC is very straightforward. Makes things a lot easier when everything is broken down for ya. Also, the food is SO good. Huge servings too! They put together an amazing impromptu tasting for us and we were blown away.

    :)
  • edited December 2011
    Munkychip- thanks for the advice!! I am going to visit the site sometime in Feb. but would love to talk with you about your plans- sounds like you have some great ideas! I love the idea of a grand entrance into the reception! Being able to bring your own alcohol is HUGE! Where are you going to do your pictures? You could always run away to take some pics inbetween too :)...

    Let me know what you hear and I'll do the same :)
  • munkychipmunkychip member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Email me! I have a few tips about the venue for ya!

    nels1907@umn.edu

    Our wedding is in Nov so I am crossing my fingers that there isn't a blizzard or something that  day. We are going to try and take pic on the University of Minnesota campus, at the Guthrie, Mill City, St Anthony Falls area.  Very common wedding photo places.

    Hope to hear from ya!
  • edited December 2011
    I'll 3rd PEC!  We're getting married in November as well (Sunday, the 7th) because all Saturdays were booked.  Our minimum is only $2,750.... we wanted an afternoon wedding anyway, so this will work out great!
  • KittE7KittE7 member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Hi everyone - thanks for starting this thread (megan) & all the ideas here - I am also looking for "budget" ideas in MSP...

    One question about PEC, however...I also found the PEC recently (on a PhoTog blog) & promptly put it on my list... but my FI promptly removed it from consideration because - and I hope he's wrong here - it was the site of a shooting last fall??
    I was disappointed b/c this was the first place that didn't charge a space rental fee, and therefore, fit within my target budget for dinner/space!  Sorry to bring up something like this... I'm just being honest! Otherwise, what I've seen of the place seems nice!
    eight twenty-seven ten
    reviews to come, i promise
  • munkychipmunkychip member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I hadn't heard that someone was shot there- however I did look it up just now out of curiosity. It was a 16+ event held last year- sounds like two groups of teens were arguing across from the venue and someone started shooting. I think that neighborhood is relatively safe and I am a loyal Gopher. I can't say it bothers me too much since things like this are happening everywhere we turn. In my opinion it sounds like the incident was very unexpected and unusual behavior for the venue. Hmm... who knows.
  • edited December 2011
    You can totally do it for 5K!! My friend just had her wedding and she did it on a budget of 10k for 550 poeple! And it was the best wedding I had ever been too. The best tip is o have your wedding on a Friday or a Sunday. I am having my wedding at the Saint Anthony Main Event Centre which is downtown. They have a food and drink minimum of $7500 on Saturdays but NONE on any other day. What I love about them is everything is included in your cost. Also they itemize everything so you don't have to pay for something you dont want! 
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