Venue Reviews - Minnesota Weddings in Libraries
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
There are several libraries in the Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, area that can host both wedding ceremonies and wedding receptions. They are all large, well-run, and have very friendly staffs.
St
Paul, MN:
- James J. Hill Library
Historic library on the Rice Park town square, right in the heart of downtown Saint Paul
- Minneapolis Central Library
Modern, award-winning design in the heart of downtown Minneapolis
James J. Hill Library
80 4th St W, St Paul, MN 55102 - (651) 265-5447.
The archway at the top of the steps (great for photos!) is the entrance to the reference section at the James J. Hill Library in St. Paul, MN, where wedding ceremonies and receptions are held. The entrance to the public library is further down. This building is in the Beaux Arts style.
Guests at the James J. Hill Library are usually seated in rows for wedding ceremonies and then, afterward, round tables and a rectangular head table are set up for the wedding reception.
You can see here how high the James J. Hill Library's ceiling is. From this vantage point, the main windows are behind you.
The James J. Hill Library faces Rice Park (site of the St. Paul Winter Carnival ice sculptures), which is lush and green in the summer.
The James J. Hill Library, in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota, is a breathtaking spot for weddings. The libary has a huge hall, several stories high, with a marble floor - the pictures simply can't do it justice. The James J. Hill Library is a unique wedding location, with hundreds of thousands of beautiful old books serving as a backdrop. This is a reading library, not a lending library, which means visitors can only read their books right there in the library, not take them home. You can have both the wedding ceremony and the reception here and use any licensed caterer you wish.
After the wedding, the main floor is set up for the reception. The James J. Hill Library is located on Rice Park in downtown St. Paul, MN, within a block of the Minnesota Science Museum, the Xcel Energy Center, the Ordway, the St. Paul Hotel, and the Landmark Center. Take a 360-degree virtual tour of the library (requires newest Quicktime player).
Great site for a rehearsal dinner: Across the street is the Saint Paul Hotel with its famous Saint Paul Grill. Or Pazzaluna is just one block further.
Closest hotel: The 5-star Helmsley Saint Paul Hotel is across the street.
The James J. Hill Library always has ceremonies with receptions, so they really don't have a ceremony charge. Their fee is $3,700, which includes the ceremony rental fee ($300) and the reception fee of $3,400. The site is worth every penny.
They allow outside licensed catering, and most caterers have a $3,000 food and beverage minimum.
Capacity: up to 175 guests.
Call 651-265-5447 and talk to Beth O'Connor. Beth is friendly and easy to work with - and she really knows the library.
Minneapolis Central Library
300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, MN 55401 - (612) 253-0255
The exterior of the Minneapolis Central Library faces the Nicollet Mall, a pedestrian and bus-only street running through downtown Minneapolis. The Mary Tyler Moore statue is just down this street!
Wedding ceremonies at the Minneapolis Library are held in the spacious lobby, with its 5-story ceiling.
At a Minneapolis Central Library wedding, during the cocktail hour, guests come up to the second-floor balcony (called the "bridge"), while the main floor is being re-set for the wedding reception.
Pictured to the right is the view from the balcony, and you can see how the aisles of ceremony chairs have been swithced over to reception table and chair seating.
You can see the escalator off to the left, and if your dress is short enough, it can make a grand processional entrance! Otherwise, the processional lines up by the elevators, and then comes in and down the wedding aisle.
Looking for something gorgeous, contemporary, and green? The Minneapolis Central Library in downtown Minneapolis is a gorgeous modern building, designed by award-winning Cesar Pelli, one of the most famous architects in the world. This "modern cathedral" has a green roof, covered with grass, that helps keep the building cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
The Hiawatha light rail line is just steps away, which can bring guests straight from the MSP Airport (or bring them to the Mall of America). One block away, the Ing Insurance Building and the "old" Federal Reserve Bank both have small parks in front of them and can be quite nice for pictures, or the Stone Arch Bridge and Saint Anthony Falls are about nine blocks away.
Closest hotel? The Graves 601 Hotel Wyndham or the Radisson Plaza are both close, although since the library is downtown, there are many others nearby, too.
Closest rehearsal dinner site with a private dining room? The Firelake Steakhouse, located in ground floor of the Radisson Plaza Hotel.
The rental fee for a wedding reception on a Saturday at the Minneapolis Central Library is $1800, plus a $250 ceremony fee.
The food and beverage minimum for a Saturday is $6,000.
Call (612) 253-0255 and ask for Lisa Brenna.
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