**The Venues**
Ceremony-Gethsemane Lutheran Church, Hopkins
When looking for a ceremony venue, I had 2 ideas in mind. 1)We really liked the idea of having an out door ceremony IF we could find the right location. Both Minneapolis and St. Paul have beautiful parks that would have been amazing to be married in. 2)My grandparent's church. While neither Jake or I grew up going to church and don't consider ourselves to be religious, I have had strong ties to this church and it was the ONLY church I would ever consider getting married in. I had attended it as a child when my grandparents brought me and it had a long family history. My grandma is not only the oldest member (at almost 93), but has also been a member of the church the longest-over 60 years!!! My parents, aunts, and uncle have all been confirmed and married in this church.
Unfortunately in Mpls, most of the areas wouldn't hold enough people and combined with the cost of getting a city permit, chair rental, and having a back up plan, we decided it just wasn't worth the stress/money. When I looked into having the ceremony at my grandma's church, the cost was astronomical (b/c I'm NOT a member it was going to cost over $1500!!) and I was for a short time, trying to find alternatives. But when it came down to it, Jake asked me about not having it in her church, and I broke down crying-making me realize just how much it meant to me to be able to get married there. The church ended up being our splurge, and I'm so glad that I can be apart of that tradition.
Unfortunately in Mpls, most of the areas wouldn't hold enough people and combined with the cost of getting a city permit, chair rental, and having a back up plan, we decided it just wasn't worth the stress/money. When I looked into having the ceremony at my grandma's church, the cost was astronomical (b/c I'm NOT a member it was going to cost over $1500!!) and I was for a short time, trying to find alternatives. But when it came down to it, Jake asked me about not having it in her church, and I broke down crying-making me realize just how much it meant to me to be able to get married there. The church ended up being our splurge, and I'm so glad that I can be apart of that tradition.
Reception-Radisson University Hotel
One thing I was adamant about when choosing a reception venue-was to have in a place that showed off the city I love so much-Minneapolis, since the majority of our friends are from Des Moines and had never been up.
I originally had my heart set on the Profile Event Center, before we were even engaged. It was a beautiful, unique space and bonus-it allowed for outside liquor which would be perfect since my brother would have been able to supply all of our wine and beer for us (he owns his own brewery in St. Paul). To my sadness, their catering minimum was just WAY too high for our measly 100 guests (165 invited). Even with throwing in chair covers/sashes and the cake into the price, we were still $3000 under their minimums and I just couldn't justify wasting $4000 just for the perfect venue. Jake also vetoed a Friday wedding due to how many wedding party members were having to take off work and travel to come to our wedding-a Friday wedding would mean they'd have to take off 2 days instead of 1, so the search continued.
My second choice was the MN Boat Club, a beautiful location along the river on Raspberry Island in St. Paul, but even at 15 months out, it was already booked on our date (the only date booked of course), and unfortunately, we weren't able to be flexible with our date.
I somehow stumbled upon the Radisson-University Hotel located in Stadium Village on the U of M campus. While it wasn't exactly my first choice, the location (middle of the city), and price ($3500 catering min) fit the bill perfectly. While the interior isn't exactly beautiful while empty-between the catering department and my AMAZING florist, that room was turned into a fairy tale dream and I couldn't have asked for anything more beautiful!
Update: The Radisson-University hotel has since been renamed The University Hotel
I originally had my heart set on the Profile Event Center, before we were even engaged. It was a beautiful, unique space and bonus-it allowed for outside liquor which would be perfect since my brother would have been able to supply all of our wine and beer for us (he owns his own brewery in St. Paul). To my sadness, their catering minimum was just WAY too high for our measly 100 guests (165 invited). Even with throwing in chair covers/sashes and the cake into the price, we were still $3000 under their minimums and I just couldn't justify wasting $4000 just for the perfect venue. Jake also vetoed a Friday wedding due to how many wedding party members were having to take off work and travel to come to our wedding-a Friday wedding would mean they'd have to take off 2 days instead of 1, so the search continued.
My second choice was the MN Boat Club, a beautiful location along the river on Raspberry Island in St. Paul, but even at 15 months out, it was already booked on our date (the only date booked of course), and unfortunately, we weren't able to be flexible with our date.
I somehow stumbled upon the Radisson-University Hotel located in Stadium Village on the U of M campus. While it wasn't exactly my first choice, the location (middle of the city), and price ($3500 catering min) fit the bill perfectly. While the interior isn't exactly beautiful while empty-between the catering department and my AMAZING florist, that room was turned into a fairy tale dream and I couldn't have asked for anything more beautiful!
Update: The Radisson-University hotel has since been renamed The University Hotel