Newbie looking for small venue ideas

2chumps · July 2011

Hi, I'm recently engaged and finding it frustrating and very time consuming looking for a small venue. Everything is too large for our small wedding or not what we are looking for

A little about us:

I've been married before, he hasn't
We are in our mid 30's
Small wedding - 50 guests next year Sept/Oct 2012
I would prefer to elope in Vegas with Elvis - he would prefer a ceremony.reception here in MN
We would like a small, unique venue that we can hold a ceremony and reception - nothing to 'stuffy' as he puts it (he thinks a B&B is stuffy) Somewhere we can have dinner and possibly a small dance area
We are middle class, paying for our own wedding. So, nothing too expensive but we aren't cheap either
I'm from the suburbs, he's from Mpls - I'm out of my realm when looking at venues in the city - I don't even drive there!
We would prefer an indoor location as I don't want to worry about a 'backup' if it rains.
Not interested in a hotel reception as he is a GM at a hotel and we want something different from his everyday life.

We considered a paddleboat wedding, but I'm worried about our guests being on a boat for 4 hours and not able to leave early if they want to. We also have Pracna and Spill the Wine on our lists to visit - has anyone attended/hosted a wedding there before?

Any other suggestions? I appreciate any and all responses!

p.s Sorry this is long - trying to give as much info as possible to help sort my options. Also, being new to The Knot, I can't figure out how to search these forums or I would have tried that! It took me an hour to figure out how to put my photo up!

emilykathleen511 · July 2011

I don't know what suburb you're from, but central park in Woodbury might work for you...it's an indoor park, and they also have an amphitheater and banquet rooms.

http://www.ci.woodbury.mn.us/facilities/central-park/weddings

emilykathleen511 · July 2011

It might be big for you, but Metro State in St. Paul might work for you as well. They let you bring in your own caterer from a list of approved vendors, and they have a beautiful view of downtown St. Paul.

http://www.metrostate.edu/msweb/resources/depts_services/bldg_services/events_schedule.html

tpender13 · July 2011

A paddleboat might not really be a bad idea, since they have to end kind of early anyway -- I used to DJ weddings and did a few on the boats, and the music always had to be shut down at 10, I think, to comply with city ordinances and whatnot. If people really aren't gong to want to be on a boat for that long, then they just wouldn't go. I wouldn't really think that's much of an issue, though. My sister's wedding ceremony was on one of the boats on the St. Croix, and it was beautiful.

What about the James J Hill library? I have NO idea what the prices are, and you'd have to use their caterer, but I think it's a cool place for a smaller group.
http://www.mintahoe.com/go/venues/james-j-hill-library

wittyschaffy · July 2011

I've been on a paddleboat for a wedding! We weren't off dock for long actually. They took us for a cocktail hour dinner cruise more or less. We were docked the rest of the time so you could come and go as you pleased.

khornbach · July 2011

Happy gnome in Saint Paul would be a good place to look at. Very not weddingy.

kidlets2 · July 2011

I keep hearing good things about this place:

http://www.breckenridgeikes.org/rentals.html

Spill the Wine might be tricky parking wise...

I was just in Stillwater last weekend and there was a reception on a boat. It was docked the majority of the time.

schmood · July 2011

What about some of the mansions on Summit - like the St. Paul College Club, Summit Manor or 490 Summit?

The St. Paul Boat Club on Raspberry Island in St. Paul is beautiful. Their catering is by Mintahoe.

Otherwise, my sister had her ceremony & reception at the Binz Refectory on the Univ of St. Thomas campus - might be bigger than what you'd want though.

EDIT: I drove by it today and realized that it is called the MN Boat Club... not the St. Paul Boat Club. Whoops!

kellyfranks · July 2011

We are having our reception at Pracna. Victoria (the event person) and Bree Ann (the chef) have been fantastic to work with! The prices are great and our tasting was amazing!
If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask! Hope this helps!

2chumps · July 2011

Thank you ladies! I started looking through a few of these and really appreciate the help! I really like Central Park in Woodbury, it might be a bit further away, but that's what hotels are for right?

dream2011 · July 2011

Welcome! I am also a small wedding party bride, mine is much smaller than you-only 30- and it has been hard for me to find smaller venues.
We havnt actually booked our venue but pretty sure that it will be the St. Croix Vineyard, we are planning to do everything outside, but since we have a small group, going inside either the tasting room of the vineyard or Aamodts apple farm wouldnt be an issue.
There are a lot of resturants around the cities that offer private rooms. But here is a small list of some ideas for you:
http://www.heartlandrestaurant.com/index2.php#/home/
http://www.the110northlooploft.com/#!
http://www.warehousewinery.com/venue.html
http://www.norskedalen.org/index.asp?CompID=56&btnSubmit=ByFileCategoryID&cboFileCategoryID=41&cboFileSubCategoryID=74&cboFileCategoryIDMain=7
http://www.damico-kitchen.com/

Good Luck!

Newbie looking for small venue ideas

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