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Venue Reviews - Weddings at Minnesota Farms
 In the
heart of
Minneapolis lie three special farms, each with its own style, available
for wedding ceremonies and receptions.
Minneapolis has become a sophisticated and
glamorous destination, but
its down-home roots are still found in
special pockets, such as these three complete farms within the
city. Brides-in- the-know are snapping up available Saturdays
at these rustic spots - sites that come with all the
full-service
amenities one
would expect from the fanciest of wedding sites but are in the midst of a
natural setting. Whether you are looking for the down-home
charm
of a pioneer farm, the
elegance of a famous dairy farmer's Victorian mansion, or the
sprawling spread of a Belgian horse farm, Minneapolis has the wedding
setting for you.
Historic farm sites that are reviewed here are:
- Earle Browne Heritage Center
in northwest
Minneapolis
- Gibbs Farm in north St. Paul
- Reidel Farm Estate in northwest
Minneapolis
 Near the northwest area of
Minneapolis
lies a complete horse ranch, which
has been converted into a unique reception hall, the Earle Brown
Heritage Center. Where Belgian horses
used to be
raised, now
elegant tuxedoed groomsmen play catch with a football while the bride
and her attendants are being photographed. The Center is composed of
several historic buildings, which are now connected by modern
construction so that wedding guests are always protected from the
elements, in case of rain or cold weather. The buildings
enclose a courtyard with a fountain, where wedding ceremonies are
usually held, and from this position there is no way to tell that one
is actually in the middle of a big city.
 Receptions at the Earle Brown
Heritage Center are held in the
historic horse barn, now converted with chandeliers, carpeting, and air
conditioning, but still showing the antique oaken beams. Ceremonies are
sometimes held in this barn in cold weather, with the
reception in
an adjoining room. If a wedding coordinator is doing the decorating for
an indoor ceremony here, they will often choose to bring potted trees
into the site, decorating the space with a fall or winter motif,
draping the trees in either autumn colors or bright white.
The Earle Brown Heritage
Center, located near the northwest side of Minneapolis in
the
first-ring suburb of Brooklyn Center, MN, has a hotel attached to the
complex, which is especially handy for out-of-town guests. Once they
get to their hotel, they can spend the whole weekend with their friends
and relatives, and walk to both the wedding ceremony and
reception.
To rent the Earle Brown
Heritage Center,
call Judith Bergelund at 763-569-6300 - she's very friendly and easy to
talk to.
The center does not have a rental fee, just their food and
beverage minimums, which start at $3,500 (depending on the size of the
room). The Earle Brown
Heritage Center can host weddings with 100 to 600
guests.
 From the porch of Gibbs Farm, visitors
can see the skyscrapers of both
downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul. Nestled in St. Paul’s
little-known University of Minnesota campus, this 19th-century pioneer
farmhouse
delights visitors as a museum on most days, but hosts wedding
ceremonies and receptions on select summer weekends.
Children can run around and play in the grass while
the adults drink champagne in the tents. Picture a
band playing
in the old-fashioned traditional red barn, guests dancing,
and a spirit of old-fashioned fun and down-home
values. Some couples choose to extend the pioneer-farm theme
by hiring a bluegrass band, while others like
the contrast of hip dance
tunes coming out of a DJ’s sound system while their guests are
surrounded by farm architecture that hasn’t changed in over a hundred
years.
At Gibbs Farm,
the main porch is a favorite choice
for many couples' wedding ceremonies, with the bride, groom,
and
minister up on the porch and their attendants fanning out on the steps
below them. The wedding guests are then arrayed in rows
facing the beautiful hand-built two-story house, a background
that radiates country family values and reinforces the
familial
nature of the bride and groom’s commitment. Other couples
prefer setting up their wedding ceremony under the front yard’s ancient
oak trees. In that case, seated guests are shaded from the sun by the
canopy of
leaves. The wedding ceremony then has a sense of nature,
where the soft rustling of foliage in the breeze complements the words
of the couple’s vows.
To rent Gibbs
Farm for your Minnesota wedding  ceremony
and
reception, call 612-646-8629. Seating capacity for the barn is
only
about 80 guests, so most couples rent a tent to bring the total
capacity up to 200. Note, however, that the parking lot only holds 60
cars. As with the Reidel Farm (below), you'll have to rent
your
own chairs and tent. I recommend Apres
Rental,
because they are really good about setting everything up for you. The
rental fee for a wedding ceremony and reception at Gibbs Farm is
$1,250,
and you can use
the licenced caterer of your choice.
 On
the more elegant end of the spectrum,
the Reidel Farm Estate
on the
north edge of Minneapolis boasts a grand and stylish mansion, and its
large size makes it perfect for cold-weather weddings as well as
summer celebrations. This 1880s manor evokes the
sophistication of Victorian times, while being set within a 140-acre park. Down the hill
from the estate, the Mississippi River meanders past, and guests can
spend free time during the wedding weekend hiking and picnicking. While
the
mansion was originally very expensive, it's now run by the Park Board,
so it doesn't have the super-high-end feel of Summit
Avenue or Park Avenue mansions. Rather, it has more of a
party-like, picnic-style feel.
Wedding ceremonies at the stylish Reidel
Farm Estate are often held in the
gazebo, which is about 50 yards away from the main building,  with a formal sit-down dinner held
inside
for the reception. Because the estate is surrounded by an
immense park, hawks are often seen  flying
overhead, and guests can
easily forget that they’re actually inside the city. The farmland
itself has been allowed to revert back to a natural state and has
become a beautiful wilderness of maple and elm trees, all the way down
to the
beaches on the river. Photographic opportunities
abound, especially in autumn, with scenic paths cutting through
colorful
fall foliage.
To rent the Reidel Farm
Estate for a Minnesota wedding ceremony and reception,
call 763-757-3920. The seating capacity inside the farmhouse is
50 to 100
guests. The rental fee for the Riedel
Farm is $60-$70/hour, and you can use
the licenced caterer of your choice.
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