Venue Reviews - Minnesota Parks for Wedding Ceremonies

My recommendations for wedding sites in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area:

Chapels Parks Gardens Mansions Museums Hotels Farms
Historic Sites Libraries Amphitheatres Restaurants Comparison Matrix

Minnesota wedding The following are my favorite parks for wedding ceremonies in Minnesota. (Also see the section on gardens, which includes many public parks.) While there are other wonderful outdoor sites in the Minneapolis and St. Paul metro area, I have found that these are the ones that couples choose over and over again, for their facilities, beauty, and location.

New: While most parks do not allow chairs for wedding ceremonies, Minneapolis Parks now allows this practice. Irvine Park in St. Paul also allows chairs because it has a large bricked area.

Parks reviewed for use as outdoor wedding ceremony sites:

Minnehaha Park in Minneapolis
Irvine Park in St. Paul

Note: See my page on Gardens for the Lake Harriet Rose Garden and the Lyndale Peace Garden

Outdoor wedding overlooking the Minnesota River Valley While the the parks reviewed here are especially recommended for outdoor wedding ceremonies, any park in the Twin Cities area can be used. The main criteria for outdoor wedding sites are location and beauty. While most couples initially look for a park that is near their wedding reception site, sometimes they fall in love with a particular location, even if it's farther away.

Note: If you want to research parks other than the ones listed on this page (perhaps because of their proximity to your wedding reception site), here are good resources:

Links to the city parks of Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Bloomington, plus the county parks of Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin (Three Rivers Park District), Ramsey, Scott, and Washington.
Also, here's a map of all the regional parks in the Twin Cities metro area. The map is quite large so it takes a while to load (and it blinks while it's loading), but once it's all loaded up, it's very complete.

Minnehaha Park - Minneapolis

I've never held a wedding ceremony from this location, but it's the most famous view

The most famous view of Minnehaha Falls - from the stone wall on the north side.

This area is set off from the rest of the park

The pergola on the south side of Minnehaha Falls is sometimes used for outdoor wedding ceremonies because of its classic design. (This is the view from the side.)

Minnehaha Falls from one of the landings on the south side, which is a perfect spot for an outdoor wedding with 2 to 10 guests. You'll probably want to explore the park to find the exact place that's perfect for you, but many small outdoor weddings are held on this particular landing. A few more guests can stand on the landing above and look down on the ceremony.

The view from the top of the falls is spectacular, and wedding guests (especially children) love the view. However, wedding photographs are not usually taken on this narrow bridge because it's too difficult to get a good view of the falls from here. It's better to go to the north or south side of the falls for photos. To see the falls from the bottom of the canyon, view this 360-degree view of the falls.

There are many hidden areas of Minnehaha Park in Minneapolis that are wonderful for outdoor wedding ceremonies. This spot is before the falls, on the north side, by the statue of the Indian maiden Hiawatha. Click here for a 360-degree view of the statue and the surrounding area.

This is the view from one of the landings, perfect for a 8-10 person wedding ceremony

Like everywhere in Minnesota, Minnehaha Park is especially gorgeous in autumn - outdoor weddings in the fall work very well amid the lush, beautiful foliage in this location.

The park is always crowded in the summer, but people are very respectful

Minnehaha Park is quite large, and some couples choose to have a picnic wedding reception here after their wedding ceremony.

You can't actually get this close to the falls, it's just a close-up

Minnesota weddings are rarely held outdoors in the winter, but the few times they are, Minnehaha Park becomes a popular choice because of the gorgeous frozen waterfall. Note that the park does not allow visitors to walk on the frozen river (although people sometimes do - occasionally even going behind the frozen falls). The stairs to the bottom of the falls are usually closed off during the winter because of ice and snow.

The view from the top of the Minnehaha Falls is spectacular, and wedding guests (especially children) love the view, but wedding photographs are not usually taken on this narrow bridge because it's too difficult to get a good view of the falls from here. It's better to go to the north or south side of the falls for photos. To see the falls from the bottom of the canyon, view this 360-degree view.

It's hard to tell from here, but after the rapids is a 100 foot drop

Minnehaha Falls Park is a perfect spot for a small outdoor Minnesota wedding. For a wedding with 2 to 5 guests you may have your ceremony on one of the viewing platforms overlooking the falls, usually on the south side of the falls. The landing is an extension of the stairs that go down to the falls, but the spot is pretty private. If a person is going down the stairs to the falls, they have to take a turn and go up 30 stairs before arriving at Few wedding ceremonies are held here; it's usually just used as a backup rain location

Few wedding ceremonies are held here; it's usually just used as a backup rain location

the viewing platform. Another site at the park for a small wedding (2 to 10 guests) is at the pergola (gazebo), which is pictured on the top right above. The pergola is about 50 yards south of the falls, across the street from the antique railroad station called the Princess Station or Minnehaha Depot. For more on using Minnehaha Park for wedding ceremonies, check out this blog article (opens in a new window). Minnehaha Park has a pavilion/bandstand (pictured to the right) available for use as a backup rain location for a fee of $800.

Wedding permits are handed out in 3-hour time blocks. In a conversation with the Minneaoplis Parks Deparment, they politely informed me that brides do not exclusively rent the park, per se, but rather, obtain a wedding permit. The permit ensures that no one else will be having a wedding at the same time in the same location, but other people are still allowed to use the park. Note: In my experience with over a hundred weddings in Minnesota parks, Minnesotans are very nice and never, ever interfere with a wedding. (It's this kind of consideration that makes me fall in love with Minnesota all over again.) The price for a wedding permit is $500. To obtain a permit, call the Minneapolis Park Board at 612-230-6400.

Capacity: 2 to 10 guests (more for a reception)
Location: 4801 Minnehaha Ave., between Minneapolis and St. Paul
Permit Fee: $500
Phone Number: 612-230-6400 (Minneapolis Park Board)

Irvine Park - St. Paul

The fountain at Irvine Park in St. Paul often books up a year ahead of time and holds the title of the most popular park in the Twin Cities for outdoor weddings.

The restaurant is only one of the gorgeous mansions ringing the partk

Up the hill from Irvine Park (about 50 yards away) is Forepaugh's Restaurant. Couples love to use it for a fancy rehearsal dinner. The restaurant also works well for a small wedding reception and can serve as a backup rain location for the ceremony.

This fountain at Irvine Park in St. Paul is a 1970s reproduction of the 1881 original, which was scrapped in 1927. In the background are the stairs that are sometimes used in the wedding processional.

The pergola may also be used as a rain location - the bride and groom can stand in here

Intimate wedding ceremonies sometimes use this (very) small pergola at Irvine Park. It makes a good backup rain location. The guests have to stand outside with umbrellas, but at least the bride, groom, and wedding party can be covered.

Irvine Park is located within sight of dowtown St. Paul's Science Museum of Minnesota and just below the bluffs of downtown St. Paul. I have a soft spot in my heart for Irvine Park and its beautiful fountain. Victorian mansions form an old-world town square around the park, as illustrated here. You can walk about a half-block from the park down a dead-end street to find a gorgeous cliff-side view of the Mississippi River. Many couples choose the French restaurant/Victorian mansion next door, Forepaugh's Restaurant, for their reception site or rehearsal dinner. The park can hold between 2 and 60 guests, and it books up incredibly quickly.

For an outdoor wedding permit, contact the St. Paul Parks Department at 651-632-5111. The wedding permit fee is a mere $150 - if you can get it. The park often books up the first day it's available for booking (13 months before the wedding for St Paul residents, 12 months before the wedding for non-residents).

Capacity: 2 to 60 guests
Location: 281 Walnut St., St. Paul
Permit Fee: $150
Phone Number: 651-632-5111 (St. Paul Parks Department)

My recommendations for wedding sites in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area:

Chapels Parks Gardens Mansions Museums Hotels Farms
Historic Sites Libraries Amphitheatres Restaurants Comparison Matrix



© 1998-2011 by Rev. Tomkin Coleman Voted 2007's "Best MN Wedding Planner" by CitySearch Voted 2010's "Best MN Wedding Officiant" by Minnesota Bride Magazine