There are several
museums 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.
The Minnesota museum wedding sites reviewed are as follows:
Minneapolis
Museums:
- McNamara
Alumni Center
On the West Bank of the University of
Minnesota
(Not actually a museum, but it's so unusual
that I've placed it here.)
- Walker Art
Center
Between downtown and uptown Minneapolis
- Mill City Museum
In downtown Minneapolis
- Weisman Art Museum
In Minneapolis, on the West Bank of the
University of Minnesota (closed October 2010
until October 2011)
St. Paul Museum:
- Minnesota
History Center
In
downtown
St.
Paul, close to the Cathedral
|
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200 Oak St SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, 612-238-4012. Not a
museum, but so unusual that it's tough to know what category
to put it in!
The exterior of the
McNamara
Center, showing the reflecting pool on the
side. Three options are available for wedding
ceremonies and receptions, with combinations of
different rooms, depending on how large your wedding
is.
The main room at the
McNamara
Center is the
Memorial
Hall. Sometimes wedding ceremonies are held
here with reception to follow, otherwise, the
ceremony can be in the
Johnson
Great
Room, with the reception here.
If your wedding ceremony is held in
McNamara
Center's medium-sized
Johnson
Great
Room (pictured), the cocktail hour and
reception would then be in the adjoining
Memorial
Hall.
The newly opened
University
Hall at the
McNamara
Center is actually three rooms, one for the
wedding ceremony, one for the cocktail hour, and
this third room for dinner and dancing. Outside
these windows is an outdoor patio with a reflecting
pool, as well.

This overhead view, shot from the new Gopher Stadium across
the street, shows the
McNamara
Alumni Center in its entirety. You can see the
caramel-colored angular structure on the left (the main
auditorium), the chocolate-brown 6-story building in the
middle, and the nougat/chocolate-chips of the attached
parking garage on the far right.
I have performed many wedding ceremonies at the
McNamara
Alumni Center at the University of Minnesota in
Minneapolis, and it's a great site for wedding receptions,
too. (It's often misspelled as the MacNamara Center.) You
don't have to be an alumnus of the U of M to rent this
distinctive site for weddings. It is one of the
most unusual, non-traditional wedding sites in Minnesota,
but it really works well since it's specially built for
events.
The
McNamara Center has
been declared a masterpiece of modern
architecture. It's beautiful inside, with wood and bronze
everywhere and four-story-high ceilings. Inspired by the
Minnesota landscape, this architecturally-stunning event
facility on the University of Minnesota campus has been the
backdrop for national advertisements and an MTV music video,
as well as numerous galas and wedding receptions.
Memorial
Hall auditorium soars 85 feet tall and is lined with 6
miles of wood, 75,000 square feet of copper and a 150 foot
long water feature. The adjacent
Johnson
Great
Room and nearby
University
Hall have funky, dramatic interiors as well that make
this venue an architectural gem.
Not only is there plenty of space, but they have dressing
rooms and a dance floor, and it's in a prime location -
right in the heart of the University area, within walking
distance of the Dinkytown neighborhood. Here is a customized
map to find
this gorgeous and unusual wedding reception site in
Minnesota.
You can check the
McNamara
Center's
booking
calendar online for availability, which is very handy.
Only one other wedding ceremony site in Minnesota allows you
to see the booking schedule online (
Lake
Harriet Spiritual Community church in
Minneapolis). The McNamara Center also has a
360-degree
view of their interior on their
website.
Little-known fact: There is a tunnel between the nearby
Radisson
University Hotel and the
McNamara
Center. This set-up is perfect for wedding guests
who don't live in Minneapolis or St. Paul, or who simply
don't want to drive home after the wedding
reception. Having one main hotel right by the wedding site
can be great because then all the guests get to visit each
other all weekend, instead of being isolated at different
hotels. Plus, you can get special rates if you promise to
book a certain number of rooms. You can also get a special
parking rate for your guests to park at the
McNamara
Center, even if they don't stay at the hotel.
Johnson
Great
Room plus
Memorial
Hall capacity and fee: 350 guests, $3,500 rental fee
Memorial
Hall auditorium capacity and fee: 250 guests, $2,200
rental fee
University
Hall capacity and fee: 120 guests, $2,000 rental fee
Food and beverage minimum for a Saturday: $7,500
Phone Number: 612-624-9831. They have several
wedding
coordinators, and you'll be assigned one depending on
which date you choose.
1750 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55403, (612) 375-7553.


Wedding
ceremonies can be held on the multi-level rooftop
terraces of the world- famous
Walker
Art Center, halfway between uptown and
downtown Minneapolis. Tenting can be set up (as seen
on the pictures to the left), and the ceremony can
be among all the rooftop art, like Sol Lewitt's
3x4x3 (top right) or Claes Oldenberg's
Geometric
Mouse (to the right).

Wedding ceremonies at the
Walker
Art
Center can also be held in the Skyline
Room, pictured above left, where the amazing view,
the snowflake-like "crunchiness," and the star-like
lights of the ceiling are the art. Here it's set up
for a wedding reception, but ceremonies (with
multi-media options) are often held here with box
hedges, red or white entrance carpeting, and goboed
(templated) lights. The jagged shapes of the
windows, designed by Herzon & de Meuron
(designers of the Tate Modern in London), are
reminiscent of the spaces inside a snowflake.
Gallery 8 at the
Walker
Art Center is filled with Sol LeWitt
murals and can be used as a backup rain location or
for wedding receptions. In this picture, Gallery 8
is set up with red goboed lights. A dance floor is
available - yes, a dance floor at a museum!
Corrinne Sherbert, the pastry chef at Wolfgang
Puck's 20.21 restaurant at the Walker, created their
signature dessert, the amazing, famous, and delicous
Spoon, Cube, and
Cherry. It's odd to think that one might
remember a dessert for the rest of one's life, but
I'll remember this creation when I'm 90.
Outstanding!
If you really love museums and want to make your wedding a
piece of art, the
Walker
Art Center will work with you to make every element
of your special day artistic and memorable. The ceremony
will be held around (or in!) works of art, the food will be
artistic...and your photographer will love you for the
amazing photo opportunities. Note that you can take pictures
in the adjacent Minneapolis Sculpture Garden (reviewed
here),
although if you want to rent it that's completely separate
(done through the
Minneapolis
Parks
Department).
Eighty percent of weddings at the
Walker
Art Center are progressive events, starting with
the ceremony at one spot (such as the rooftop
terrace, Gallery 8, or the Skyline Room), flowing to the
social hour, and then on to the reception. During
transitions, guests can be led on private tours of the
gallery by the
Walker's
highly
educated docents (optional).
All of the wedding ceremony spaces in the Walker Art Museum
can hold between 20 and 200 guests, and the museum charges
$2,200 to rent the site. That fee includes ceremony chairs
in white, wood, or black; a sound system and microphone; the
rehearsal; and the bride's changing room. There is a food
and beverage minimum that varies (anywhere from $1,000 to
$15,000 - Saturdays are on the high end, of course). You
must use their caterer, which is the amazing
Wolfgang
Puck's
20.21 Restaurant. A special feature: Dinners are
served
a la minute ("to the minute"), which means that for a table of eight
guests, all eight are served with a flourish at the same
time by four uniformed butlers (dressed in all black), so
the food has been cooked right at the time of serving. It's
an incredible way of ensuring that the food is fresh
and served in an artistic way - brilliant! Note that all the
catering chefs are the actual Wolfgang Puck 20.21 chefs -
wow!
Rehearsal dinner: Can be held in one of the
Walker's
private
rooms, catered by the 20.21 chefs. Any kind of food is
available (they can do anything).
Closest hotel: The
Minneapolis
Hyatt is just across Loring Park (a 15-minute walk or
a 5-minute cab ride).
Capacity: 20 to 200 guests
Site Rental Fee: $2,200
Food and beverage minimum is $10,000
Phone Number: 612-375-7553
704 South 2nd St., Minneapolis, MN 55401, (612) 238-4012.

The exterior of the
Mill
City Museum, seen from Second Street. The
Guthrie Theater is just to the right of this
building.

There are several options for weddings at the
Mill
City Museum. Here's the main indoor lobby,
used for large indoor weddings.
This courtyard of the
Mill City Museum can be used for outdoor
wedding receptions and holds up to 220 wedding
guests.
Outdoor wedding ceremonies can be held in the
courtyard at the
Mill
City
Museum.
The lower level, just behind the lobby, is often
used for the receiving line after the wedding
ceremony.
From the
Mill City
Museum, you get an amazing view, which
includes the Stone Arch Bridge pedestrian walk
bridge, the Mississippi River, Riverplace, and St.
Anthony Main.
The Mill City Museum in downtown Minneapolis is definitely an unconventional
wedding site, but for some couples that's perfect. The
museum, a former flour mill, is located right next to the
new Guthrie Theater and just a few blocks from the
Metrodome. In the winter, the
Mill
City Museum hosts weddings in their big main
entrance hall, which has gorgeous columns and high
ceilings. Most weddings, though, are held outside in their
Charles H. Bell Ruin Courtyard (pictured above, on the
middle right), which holds 220 guests for a wedding
reception.
D'Amico
Catering handles all the booking for weddings and
caters the events at the
Mill
City Museum.
Closest hotels:The Marriott
Depot and the Residence
Inn, (the two hotels are right next to each other),
and the Aloft
Hotel (very hip!) are all within a block or two of
the museum.
Capacity: 220 guests
Site Rental Fee: $1,750 for Saturdays in the summer, plus
$350 if the courtyard is used
Food and beverage minimum: $4,500-$7,000
Phone Number: 612-238-4012. Ask for Patrick Fitzgerald.
His email is pfitzgerald@damico.com
- Patrick is a great guy, very friendly, knowledgeable,
and easy to work with.
333
East
River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455, (612) 626-5241.
Note: Closed for
renovations October 2010 - October 2011.
The
Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum on the East Bank of the University of Minnesota
campus may be rented for weddings. The building was
designed by the famous architect Frank Gehry.
From the
Weisman Art Museum, you
can see both the Mississippi River and the downtown
Minneapolis skyline.
The interior of the
Weisman Art Museum is surprisingly conventional, with attractive white
walls topped with geometric details of partially
revealed trusses, ceilings punctuated by curvilinear
slices, and revealing skylights that permit natural
light to bathe the interior. Weddings are often
held in one of the smaller white rooms, with the
reception in a large white gallery filled with
windows that overlooks the Mississippi River.
Note: Closed for
renovations October 2010 - October 2011.
The
Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, located on
the University of Minnesota campus, has become famous for
its unique and irregular stainless steel exterior. The
inside space is much more traditional than the outside, with
white walls, blonde wood flooring, and lots of natural
light. The interior spaces were declared by Herbert Muschamp
of
The New York Times to be "five of the most gorgeous galleries on earth."
Most weddings at the
Weisman
Art
Museum are held in one of the smaller rooms with
the permanent art collection, and then the wedding reception
is held in the big room, called the Dolly Fiterman Riverview
Gallery. This large Riverview Gallery has gorgeous
river-views and breathtaking lighting from its skylights.
One nice thing about the Weisman is that it is good for
small weddings (10 to 12 guests) as well as larger ones.
Weddings and receptions are held on the third floor of this
four-story building, where all the art galleries are
located. The dressing rooms are on other floors, accessible
by elevator. A dance floor or stage for the DJ or band may
be set up in one of the smaller galleries.
Some couples show a video montage right before the wedding
begins, using the available video-projection system. The
video montage might be photos of the bride and groom during
different stages of their lives, from childhood until their
wedding day. Here's an article about a couple who had their
wedding
and reception at the Weisman, which talks about their
unique choices. You may choose to have a traditional wedding
even though it is held in such a non-traditional space.
You can select any of the
Weisman
Art
Museum's approved caterers, and you may have
alcohol at the wedding reception, with some restrictions
(since it is a working art gallery): red wine and kegs of
beer are not permitted, and the bar must be an open bar, not
a cash bar. Some couples choose just to have their wedding
ceremony at the
Weisman
Art Museum, with the wedding reception at another
location.
Closest hotel: The
U
of M Radisson, about 3 blocks away.
Capacity: 10 to 180 guests
Site Rental Fee: About $3,300. Of that, $1,000 is for the
Patron-level membership; $1,750 for the rental fee for the
museum rooms; $135 for insurance when alcohol is served
(insurance is available through the University); and $400
for the manager, guard, and janitor.
Note: Closed for
renovations October 2010 - October 2011. If you are
interested in a wedding before October 2010, or afer October
2011, their phone number is 612-626-5241. (Ask for Chris
Cunnington, the events coordinator.)
345
West Kellogg Boulevard., Saint Paul, MN 55102, (651)
259-3030.
A
Minnesota History Center wedding
is usually up on the third floor, with the reception
down on the second floor. There is plenty of green
space for kids (only about 1/3 of the lawn is shown
here).
The Capitol Concourse at the
Minnesota
History
Center is usually where wedding ceremonies
are held. The light coming through all the windows
makes for amazing photos.
The Great Hall of the
Minnesota
History
Center is available for the wedding
reception. It seats 375, but you can seat 100 more
by combining the second and third levels.
This is the lobby of the
Minnesota
History
Center, which is the first sight guests
will see when they enter. The lobby is below the
Great Hall (pictured to the left). You can see how
the balcony above is the same one as the balcony in
the bottom of the left-hand picture.

The
Minnesota
History Center is a unique site for weddings because it's both grand and
fun. Most wedding ceremonies are held in the third-floor
hall (shown in the top-right picture above). The State
Capitol is framed by the huge windows and makes for an
amazing view. Receptions are held downstairs in the huge,
striking reception area, pictured on the bottom right. The
staircase between the ceremony site and the reception
location is gorgeous. The
Minnesota
History Center has been called the finest building
constructed in Minnesota since the State Capitol was
completed in 1905. Parking is available in the adjoining
parking lot.
The
St.
Paul Cathedral is about a block away, which many
couples love as an amazing wedding photo location.
Great site for a rehearsal dinner: The elegant and historic
W.A.
Frost, which is about six blocks away.
Closest hotel: The 3-star
Holiday
Inn, which is two blocks away.
Capacity: 450 guests
Site Rental Fee: Here's a
menu,
although it doesn't list prices. The rental fee is
$2,200 plus a food/beverage minimum, but they have switched
to simply a food/beverage minimum, (which is $5,000 for a
Friday/Sunday and $8,000 on a Saturday; standard for a
top-tier venue like this).
Phone Number: 651-259-3030 (the special events office).
Email:
specialevents@mnhs.org