Newly Engaged - Basic Ideas

jennyw624 · May 2010

Hello!

My name is Jenny and I just got engaged to my now fiance Jake. We are both so excited! I feel like I don't really know where to start on the planning part. But, one of my friends Danielle is an old pro on this board and recommended that I start here

I really haven't had a chance to do any serious looking yet but wanted see if you gals had any ideas for me. Right now, we're thinking about a 200 person guest list. We won't be having the ceremony in a church so I'm looking for any great ceremony sites around the Cities. We haven't really set a budget yet either, so I'm basically just trying to gather ideas.

So...does anyone have any good indoor or outdoor ceremony sites? What about reception venues? My initial thought is at a hotel downtown Minneapolis. But again, I'm open to any and all ideas. Also, what are good questions to ask when touring venues?

Thanks so much for everyone's help!

Jenny

emilykathleen511 · May 2010

Mississippi Dunes is nothing like a hotel in MInneapolis--but it's probably a lot more affordable, and simpler because you could have the ceremony and reception at the same place...worth a look anyway.

www.mississippidunes.com

NicoleR77 · May 2010

Welcome to the board! My ceremony and reception are at Mississippi Dunes too!Bayview Event Center on Lake Minnetonka also has an outdoor ceremony area on-site. As far as downtown...depending on what your budget is, Windows on Minneapolis in the IDS Center is beautiful, and I've seen some cool pictures from the Graves Hotel too.

leggwilliams · May 2010

I don't have any ceremony site suggestions since I'm getting married in a chapel, but just wanted to say welcome and congrats!

wittyschaffy · May 2010

Here's my one "starting out" piece of advice, get a rough idea of your guest count before you start looking at venues. With an estimated 200 guests, you can go quite a few places, but if you get into 250+, you have fewer options to pick from that are comfortably large enough to hold that many folks.

If you get married in the "off season" which seems to be late fall, winter, and early early spring, you can get better pricing on quite a few things. Same tends to go for Friday or Sunday weddings but you'll see better deals on those in the off times as well. Thats a nice thing to remember if you're on the cusp of breaking your budget, you may be able to get the same thing you want at a different time of year and it will be in line with what you can pay.

Happy looking! This is some of the most fun you'll have while you plan your wedding.

Izzygrim · May 2010

Welcome! And Danielle is absolutely right, these boards are incredibly helpful... I can't imagine trying to plan my wedding without this board.
I recommend Trellis Events in Stillwater!!!
www.trellisevents.com
I'm having my wedding there in August and I absolutely cannot wait. It is GORGEOUS there and the women (a mother and daughter) that run the place have been absolutely fantasitc to work with. Trellis is without a doubt my favorite part of our wedding so far

(besides my FI of course!)

TriSaratops10 · May 2010

Welcome and congratulations! This board is fantastic!

I am getting married at a church, but my reception site does ceremonies too (The Semple Mansion) - but I've been told that much more than 200 and the space starts to get crowded. Therefore, like wittyschaffy said, getting a rough idea of the guest list (and budget) really helps with the process.

Best of luck, it is a lot of fun!

drdifabio · May 2010

Yea! Glad to see you made it on here!
The girls have some awesome ideas and I will have to talk a look for you too to see what I can find! Welcome to the boards!

kclepire · May 2010

I'd say to first understand your budget. Are you spending $30k or $5k? That will then help drive your guest list. Then that will help drive your venue. The below link to the vendorfetch helped me greatly. We are having an outdoor ceremony and indoor reception at Carlson Towers Rotunda in Minnetonka. Happy Planning.

http://www.bellagala.com/vendorfetch/

shudak1 · May 2010

There are lots of beautiful parks in Minneapolis around the lakes/river. That's our ceremony location is (father hennepin bluffs park), and the fee to reserve was only $500. We'll have our reception at the St. Anthony Main event center right down the block. I know the rose gardes near lake harriet are another super popular ceremony spot for outdoor weddings. another awesome spot... the crown plaza in DT mpls. I had a friend get married on the rooftop there a couple of years ago, it's an awesome view and right in the middle of downtown. Then the party moved into a ballroom later on. Good luck and welcome!!

graysquirrel · May 2010

I was to a wedding at the Earle Brown Heritage Center a few weeks ago. They had a lovely outdoor setting but you might be able to have it indoors, too.