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Venue Reviews - Weddings at Minnesota Hotels
Hotels
reviewed on this page:
Minneapolis,
MN (4-star hotels)
- The Depot
- The Marriot City Center
- The Radisson Plaza
- The Marquette Hotel
- The Crowne Plaza Northstar Hotel
- The Grand Hotel
- The Hilton
- The Hyatt Regency
St
Paul, MN (3-star hotels)
- The Best Western Kelly Inn
- Embassy Suites
- The Saint Paul Hotel (4-star, review to
come)
For most weddings at hotels, the couple selects the ballroom or an
outdoor garden for their ceremony, but the image to the right is at an
unusual location - check out the waterslide in the background!
|
 |
Any Minneapolis or St. Paul hotel
that has a
ballroom can work very well for a wedding ceremony and
reception. I have performed wedding
ceremonies at all
of these downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul hotels and highly recommend
each
one. Included in each review are pictures and capacities.
Information about
hotel wedding fees is included here, along with a list of
the advantages and limitations of using a hotel for your Minnesota
wedding reception and ceremony.
Pricing Information for Hotels
Prices can definitely be negotiated. One standard is that if
the bride
and groom
get their guests to book a minimum number of rooms, their
room is upgraded to a suite with a jacuzzi or their stay is
free. Some
couples even negotiate for a free breakfast, as well.
Some
couples choose to have a gift-opening the morning after their
wedding.
In this case, they either schedule a breakfast, or else everyone
gathers in their suite, and the bride and groom order rolls and coffee
for their guests.
Calculating hotel fees and costs for
weddings
Usually quoted in terms of "Minimum
food and beverage cost."
-
Usual minimum food and beverage
cost: $8,000 to $12,000
-
Dinner
costs: Usually start at $20/plate, but that doesn't cover a lot of the
extra charges, such as tip, taxes, security, cake-cutting, linens,
etc. (The average dinner cost is $50-$60/plate.)
- An
open bar: Usually
costs about $30/guest.
-
With a cash bar, the guests pay
for the alcohol.
So for 200 guests, at $50/plate with an open bar (let's say $30/guest),
that's $16,000 - so it's very easy to make the minimum food and
beverage
charge.
Advantages of Using a Minneapolis
or St. Paul Hotel for Your Wedding
Some of the advantages of choosing a hotel for your wedding ceremony
and reception:
- Guests can be encouraged to stay at
the hotel.
- Socializing is increased because all
the wedding
guests can visit with each other all weekend.
- There are usually fun places for
guests to visit (museums, shopping areas, etc.) within walking
distance.
- Children are occupied since they have
a swimming
pool in which to release their energy all weekend.
- Both
the wedding ceremony and reception can be held in the same place, so
there is no need to rent separate sites for each, potentially saving
you hundreds or thousands of dollars.
- Once
your guests find the ceremony site, they don't have to then search for
the reception site - they're already there, and the cocktail hour can
start
immediately. Traffic in the Minneapolis and St. Paul area is usually
pretty minimal on weekends, but it's still something to consider.
- There is no need to rent a limo or
arrange a car
for transport from the wedding site to the reception site.
- Drunk
driving is reduced because your guests don't have to drive home after
drinking at the
reception.
Since the Minneapolis or St.
Paul hotel you choose gets business from the guests staying for the
weekend, their fees are negotiable. You usually don't even
have to
ask, or worry about haggling, for the following - the site manager and
catering staff most likely have set guidelines for rate reductions such
as:
- The bridal couple often gets a free
room (or
suite!) if their guests book a certain number of rooms (usually a block
of ten).
- The
site rental is often waived if a set goal is met for alcohol sales
(usually $2,000 to $3,000) or the food/beverage minimum is met ($6,000
to $12,000).
Bartender fees are often waived, as well.
- There is usually no need for extra
security fees.
- In-house
catering is always more economical than when a caterer has to go
off-site, such as for a park or private home. Note that the
average
Minnesota caterer charges approximately $50/plate, with the low end
being about $20/plate.
Limitations When Using a Hotel
for Your Wedding
If you decide to use a hotel for your
wedding and reception,
note that the hotel will require you to use their catering services,
which usually
includes the wedding cake. If the hotel is upscale, however, their
catering services and their wedding cakes will usually be
excellent. You can ensure that the hotel's food and baking is
up to your standards
by arranging a tasting (which is actually a fun thing to do).
Space Calculator (Courtesy of the
Hilton) This tool which can be handy when trying to figure out what
size
room you'll need for your wedding reception.
Reviews of My
Favorite Minneapolis Hotels
for Weddings and Receptions
A. The Depot
Built in the old train depot; has lots of marble and columns.
B. The Marriott
City Center
Across from Block E, in the heart of Minneapolis.
C.
The Radisson Plaza
Has an amazing lobby.
D. The Marquette Hotel
In the IDS Tower - large weddings can be held on the 50th floor.
E. The Crowne
Plaza Northstar Hotel
With a rooftop terrace.
F.
The Grand Hotel
Old-school and upscale.
G. The Hilton
Has a plush, contemporary feel.
H. The
Hyatt Regency
Home of Manny's Steakhouse, one of the top 5 steakhouses in the U.S.
Note
that it's too far for wedding guests to walk to the University of
Minnesota, the Metrodome, Loring Park, or the Walker Art Center from
any of these
downtown hotels, but all of these sites are five minutes away by
taxi. Most of the shops and restaurants are on Nicollet Mall,
and most of the
nightlife is on 1st Ave. N.

The
Twin Cities used to have two main train depots, this one in Minneapolis
(the Milwaukee Road Depot) and the one in St. Paul (the Union
Depot). Both locations have been converted into wedding
reception sites because
of their gorgeous architecture. This review is of
the hotel and
wedding reception hall in downtown Minneapolis, formerly known as the
Courtyard Hotel.
The Minneapolis Depot has
several sections, which can be pretty confusing until you walk around
the place a bit. They are:
If
the above pictures are
confusing, click here
for an interior map of the hotel. The Depot's main hall,
used for
wedding ceremonies and wedding receptions, is filled with marble and
columns and has a grand, old-fashioned feel to it.
Out-of-town
guests don't necessarily have to rent a car because the
light
rail stops just a few blocks from the Depot. The
light
rail goes
straight to the airport and also goes to the Mall of
America. The
hotel is not hooked up to the skyway system, but you can walk about a
block to get to it.
Capacity: Up to 450
Guests in the Great Hall. While I've performed wedding ceremonies in
the Great Hall, I have not
personally seen the historic train shed set up for weddings - however,
I'm
told that the train shed area can hold 2,000 people.
Rental Fee: See information about fees at the top of this page.
Location: 225 3rd Ave. S., Minneapolis
Phone Number: 612-375-1700

The
Marriott
City Center hotel is on Hennepin Avenue (the Theatre
District), one block from 1st Ave., which is filled with
nightlife. |

Smaller
weddings are held in the Marriott
City Center hotel's smaller ballrooms. |

The
Marriott
City Center hotel is built around this diamond-shaped
atrium. |
The Marriott City Center is
right in the heart of downtown Minneapolis and is
the most convenient hotel in terms of being close to restaurants and
things
to do. It takes up a whole city block, between Hennepin
Avenue (the
main street of Minneapolis) and Nicollet Mall (which has very wide
sidewalks, and only buses can drive down the street). The
hotel is also a block away from the
light
rail, which can take guests to the airport or the Mall of
America. And since it is hooked up to the skyway system, your guests
can stay warm and dry as they step out to explore. The
entrance to
the Marriott City Center
hotel is a little odd - it's on the first
floor, but then you go up to the fifth floor to get to the
lobby. If your
wedding
ceremony is fairly small, you can have it in one of the
smaller ballrooms, with the reception right there in the same
room.
A nearby restaurant that would be great for a rehearsal
dinner is Murray's Steakhouse
(the home of the Silver Butter-Knife Steak), which is possibly the most
famous restaurant in town. It's across the street on 6th
Avenue. They
don't have private dining rooms, but they can accommodate parties of up
to
30 people in their main room.
Capacity: Up to 1,300 guests.
Rental Fee: See information about fees at the top of this page.
Location: 30 S. 7th St., Minneapolis
Phone Number: 612-349-4000

The
Radisson
Plaza hotel is right in between Hennepin Avenue and
Nicollet
Mall on 7th Street, in the heart of downtown Minneapolis. The skyway
connects right to Macy’s on one side and the City Center shopping mall
on the other
side.
Sarah
Pikul from the
Radisson
Plaza hotel in downtown Minneapolis is
incredibly kind, and she gave me a private tour around the Radisson’s
downtown Minneapolis flagship hotel. |
There
are
several ways to enter the Radisson
Plaza hotel. If you come in from the street, you
are either walking in (perhaps you took the light rail
here from the
airport), or driving in. In either case, you’ll see
this valet parking section and then enter the main lobby. Be sure to
look up (see the right-hand picture below) - the lobby
extends upward to the top floor - almost 20 stories
high!
However,
most wedding guests drive to the Radisson, which
means they will
enter into the heated basement parking lot (unique among downtown
Minneapolis hotels). Wedding guests then go directly up to the third
floor, where the ballroom is located. When they exit the elevator,
they’ll be greeted by the gorgeous balconies ringing the lobby. Every
floor has these balconies overlooking the lobby, producing a beautiful
and cohesive effect. |
Note that this hotel is
different from the other Minneapolis Radisson (the
one by the University of Minnesota). This hotel, the Radisson Plaza, is
the flagship property, the one right in the heart of
downtown Minneapolis, by the theater district, Nicollet Mall, and the
light
rail, which travels to the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport.
The
ballroom of the Radisson
Plaza is beautiful, with lots of mirrors and glass
chandeliers. The ballroom is actually much larger than this picture
shows. (This picture is reprinted
with permission of Sarah from the Radisson
Plaza.) Wedding ceremonies
are often held on one side of the ballroom with a divider across the
room. The divider is drawn back after the ceremony, revealing
the tables all set up for the wedding reception.
Not only does the Radisson
Plaza in downtown Minneapolis give
you a free suite for the night when you have your wedding and reception
at the hotel, they will give the parents of the bride and groom a
drastically reduced room
rate, something I have not seen at other Minneapolis/St. Paul hotels.
If
your wedding ceremony and reception are at the Radisson Plaza, you
might want
to have your rehearsal dinner at the Firelake Steakhouse, which is
right off the hotel’s lobby.
Mpls.St.
Paul.Magazine named the
chef one of the Best Restauranteurs in the city.
As with most
hotels in the Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN, area, the Radisson Plaza in
downtown Minneapolis does not charge a room rental fee for
weddings, just a food and beverage minimum.
Figuring out prices for
weddings is one of my pet peeves - it can be
very tricky at other places, and what seems to be a $20 entree is
usually more like $60 once the other charges are tacked on: linens,
silverware, security, tips, taxes, cake-cutting fees…the list goes on
and on. The Radisson
Plaza has a wonderfully refreshing policy: $61/person
(or more, depending on your food and beverage selections) includes
everything. Wow! Their up-front policy is really easy to
work with. My theory is that they get so much business from conventions
that they are used to being totally clear about everything. I wish all
hotels could be like this - what a great policy!
If you’re interested in
using the Radisson Plaza
for your wedding ceremony and reception, call 612-339-4900
and ask for the Catering Manager on duty to check if your date
and time is available. If it is, they will send you a full
packet
of materials, which is very well put together and extremely helpful.
Capacity: 300 guests
Location: 35 S. 7th St., Minneapolis

The
Marquette
Hotel is connected to the IDS building. |

The
large 50th-floor wedding reception room. |

The
fourth floor's smaller wedding reception room. |
The Marquette Hotel is
attached to the IDS
tower,
the most famous building in downtown Minneapolis (the big blue building
with the black band on top). If you have a large wedding (200
to 500
guests), you can rent out part of the 50th floor, which is called
Windows of Minnesota. Click here for a 360 degree tour. I've
always done wedding ceremonies on the Marquette's fourth
floor, which is
used for smaller wedding ceremonies and accommodates up to 150 guests.
The
Marquette
Hotel is right on Nicollet Avenue, which is great
for shopping, and hooked up to the skyway system. While the Marquette Hotel has
its own lobby, there is
also a huge public lobby in the adjacent IDS building. The IDS
lobby
is
called the atrium, and it has trees and a four-story freestanding
waterfall.
An ideal spot for a rehearsal dinner would be at Basil's restaurant
in the IDS building, which has private rooms that can accommodate 40
guests. Basil's is featured in the opening credits of The Mary
Tyler Moore Show (and a statue of Mary Tyler Moore is
across the
street on Nicollet).
Capacity: 150 guests (4th floor); 500 guests (50th floor)
Rental Fee: See information about fees at the top of this page.
Location: 710 Marquette Ave., Minneapolis
Phone Number: 612-333-4545
Front entrance of the Crowne
Plaza Hotel. |

One of the gorgeous lounges at the Crowne
Plaza Hotel. |

The rooftop terrace - amazing for wedding ceremonies. |
The Crowne Plaza Northstar
Hotel
is connected
to the skyway system and adjacent to the Northstar Building, which has
more than 30 shops. The highlight of the Crowne Plaza is the
rooftop
terrace, called the Skygarden, where wedding ceremonies
and receptions can be held. (Another rooftop garden in Minneapolis is
at Brit's Pub,
which has a comparable feel, if you are wondering what it's
like.) The
terrace is only eight stories up (the hotel section in back is much
taller
and goes up many more stories) and you can't really see the street, so
no one feels vertigo - plus it is
surrounded by buildings on three sides. The shrubbery and
walls keep
guests from going all the way to the edge. The Skygarden is
an amazing
spot that few people know about because it's not a public
park. There
are maple trees, wood chips, flowers, and shrubbery everywhere, and the
view of the surrounding buildings is incredible. The
terrace
feels magical, almost like you're floating, instead of feeling like
you're on top of a building (which you're not, as the rest of the
building goes up many more floors).
The
Crowne Plaza
Northstar Hotel doesn't have valet parking, nor does it
have a
parking garage, but there are many parking garages nearby.
Capacity: 175 guests
Rental Fee: See information about fees at the top of this page.
Location: 618 2nd Ave S., Minneapolis
Phone Number: 612-338-2288.

The Grand Hotel in
Minneapolis is a classic location, much like the Saint Paul Hotel
in St. Paul. |


Here's a whole slideshow
of images, with the wedding at Wesley Church
(review here)
and the reception at the Grand
Hotel in Minneapolis. |
Most hotels in downtown Minneapolis are quite new, but the Grand Hotel has the
advantage of being a hundred years old, so it's
absolutely gorgeous in a way that newer hotels can only hope to
imitate. Like the Depot hotel in Minneapolis, which used to
be
a train depot, the Grand
Hotel is a conversion - it used to be the
Minneapolis Athletic Club. Thus, everything about it is
old-school and beautiful...the lobby is gorgeous, the hallways - even
the elevators!
Katie Grace from the Grand
Hotel invited me to tour the site, and I was
very impressed. (Click here for their wedding
brochure.) My favorite features:
- A full-service
spa in the hotel. No other Minneapolis hotel has this feature
-
the bride and her attendants can get ready for the wedding right there
in the hotel.
- The
reception can end at 1:00am, instead of the usual midnight cut-off.
As far as I know, no other hotel in town offers this option.
- The beds have down comforters, down pillows,
and high-thread-count
sheets. I had no idea these items would be so comfortable, but I got to
stay in the Grand Hotel for
a night, and because of their amazing qualities,
I have now bought all three items for my bed at home - they are
unbelievably cozy! Again, as far as I know, no other
Minneapolis hotel
offers these amenities.
- While
the Grand Hotel has food
and beverage minimums, which is the standard
way of
hosting wedding receptions at hotels, they have a wonderfully
clear pricing packaging, starting at $54/person, which is very
reasonable (especially considering that the hotel is top-of-the-line).
The Grand Hotel
has its own restaurant, Zahtar,
which is perfect for a rehearsal dinner - the food is described as
modern American cuisine with a Mediterranean flair. Local food critic
Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl said that Zahtar "easily ranks beside the Atlas
Grill as one
of the best in Minneapolis."
Two other items I loved: The
Grand Hotel
only hosts one wedding per day. And then the day after your
wedding, the hotel give you a free space for a gift-opening
brunch. Nice!
The Grand Hotel
offers valet parking, but it's
very expenseive ($20). I recommend the $5 parking at the Brumer lot,
located at 225
S. 6th St. (entrance on 7th St.).
Capacity: 250 guests for dinner (more for a cocktail reception)
Rental Fee: Like all hotels, the Grand
Hotel does not charge a
rental fee for wedding receptions but, rather, a food/beverage
minimum, which varies depending on your date. Packages start
at
$54/guest.
Location: 615 2nd Ave. S., Minneapolis
Phone Number: 612-373-0411 (Talk to Katie Grace to check availablity
for your date.)

Unlike other hotels in downtown Minneapolis, the Hilton has a large
porte-corchere (covered drive-up area), which makes loading
and
unloading guests unhurried and easy.
|

The lobby of the Hilton
Minneapolis is all glass and
cherry wood. |

The Hilton's
Symphony Ballroom |
Pictures
can make any place look amazing, so it's hard to tell how a hotel looks
just from photos. In my opinion, though, the Hilton Hotel in
Minneapolis has gorgeous ballrooms. The feel
of the lobby and the ballrooms is contemporary and modern, and the
hotel is famous for hosting visiting
filmmakers. The
Hilton's
pool is on the second floor, which is unique to the city, and provides
a nice view of the surrounding area. You might want to
encourage
guests to
park across the street for $11, as the parking in the Hilton's underground
garage is really expensive - $24/night, even for guests. The
Hilton
is
across the street from Orchestra Hall and a block from Nicollet Mall,
but guests would probably need to take a cab to the 1st Avenue/Block
E/Target
Center area. The Hilton
is hooked up to the skyway system (though not
always at
night).
The Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant
is a block away on Nicollet Mall and has a private room that can seat
up to 35 guests, which works well for a rehearsal dinner.
Capacity: 60 to 700 guests, depending on the ballroom
Rental Fee: See information about fees at the top of this page.
Location: 1001 Marquette Ave. S., Minneapolis
Phone Number: 612-376-1000.

The Hyatt Regency
is between Nicollet Mall and Loring Park. |

The Hyatt
is home to Manny's Steakhouse, which was voted one of the
Top Five Steakhouses in the Nation by the Zagat Guide. |
The lobby of the Hyatt
Regency Hotel.
|
Across
the street is the Ichiban
Steakhouse (also great for a rehearsal dinner). |
One of the best parts about the Hyatt Regency Hotel
is that it's home to Manny's Steakhouse, which was voted "Best
Steakhouse" by City Pages and "Best Restaurant" by Mpls.St.Paul.Magazine.
The hotel also has the Oceanside Seafood Room, with
fresh seafood flown in daily; Taxxi, which serves casual
American food; a sports bar; and a coffee shop.
While
the Hyatt Regency
has the obligatory pool, the hotel also has a full basketball
court. Note that there is a separate fee for using the
athletic
facilities.
While
the Hyatt
is theoretically on Nicollet Mall, a street that only permits
pedestrians and bus traffic, the hotel is actually on a section of
Nicollet that permits cars. It's a good idea to give out maps
to
guests since the streets in that area are one-way, and the hotel is
near
Loring Park, I-94, and other obstacles. The Hyatt Regency is at
the
end of
Nicollet Mall, across the street from the Ichiban Japanese Steakhouse,
and about a block from Wesley
Church and the Convention Center. Since Manny's
Steakhouse is actually in the hotel and the restaurant has
private rooms, Manny's works very well for a rehearsal dinner.
Capacity: 150 to 1,200 guests, depending on the ballroom
Rental Fee: See information about fees at the top of this page.
Location: 1300
Nicollet Ave., Minneapolis
Phone Number: 612-370-1234.

This side of the Kelly
Inn looks out directly at the St. Paul Cathedral.

The full ballroom of the Kelly
Inn can be expanded to three or four
times this size.
Since
the Best Western Kelly Inn
in St. Paul is right next to the Minnesota State Capital, many
people know this hotel for hosting government functions, but
they also host wedding ceremonies and receptions. The Kelly Inn
has a
small lobby, but there's a large ballroom on the main floor which can
be divided, if necessary, for smaller wedding ceremonies and
receptions. This hotel has a bar/restaurant which is also on
the main
floor, so if wedding guests want to grab a quick drink they can pop
over to the bar next door. For a 360-degree tour of the
hotel, click here.
Strictly
speaking, the Kelly Inn
is not actually in downtown St. Paul, but just a
few blocks away, on the north side of I-94. It's right by the
Marion/Kellogg exit (Marion is the street that runs to the north, and
Kellogg is the street that runs to the south), and the Kelly Inn is also
just off 35E. Unlike most downtown hotels, parking is
incredibly
easy since the Kelly Inn
has a huge free parking lot that surrounds the
hotel. Many of the guest rooms either have a view of the State
Capitol or the
St. Paul Cathedral.
The
Kelly Inn
is almost unique in that it actually lists its meal prices on
the website; they start at $19/plate (compared to most other hotels,
which start at $27/plate). There is a room rental fee of
$800, but the
fee is often waived when you meet the food and
beverage minimum
(which varies, depending on how many wedding guests you have and how
many of them reserve hotel rooms). For more on hotel
rental fees, see the information about fees at the top of this page.
Capacity: 15 to 250 guests
Location: 161 St. Anthony Ave., St. Paul
Phone Number: 651-227-8711

The porte-corchere of the Embassy
Suites makes loading and unloading
wedding guests
quick and easy. |

The nighttime view of the Embassy
Suites is spectacular,
especially in the winter when the trees are lit up. |

The businesslike feel of the Embassy Suites'
ballroom can
be transformed by using chair covers - see this
example and this
one. I highly
recommend Heartstrings
Chair Covers
($2/guest). |

Wedding ceremonies can be held in the unique Spanish-decor
lobby/atrium/courtyard of the Embassy
Suites. All rooms face
the
indoor atrium. |
The
St.
Paul Embassy Suites is usually known as a business hotel, but
like the Kelly Inn, they can accommodate wedding ceremonies and
receptions
in their ballroom. The highlight of
the hotel
is its gorgeous atrium, in which huge live trees and plants
intermingle with a meandering pond full of cute ducks, a
fountain, tables and chairs, and a gazebo.
Tip: The Embassy
Suites is very near I-94, so
you may want to request a room on the side opposite the
highway.
For guests of the hotel, a full breakfast, with eggs or
pancakes cooked to order, is part of the
deal.
Capacity: 240 guests
Rental Fee: See information about fees at the top of this page.
Location: 175 East 10th St., St. Paul
Phone Number: 651-224-5400
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