Notes on outdoor wedding sites in Minnesota

Both Minneapolis and St Paul have websites for their city that lists suggested outdoor wedding sites. St Paul lists 8 outoor wedding sites and Minneapolis lists 11. And yet in my experience, the vast majority of outdoor weddings in Minnesota are at just 3-4 sites. The others are listed and are available for rent, but are not chosen as often. Why are these few so much more popular than the rest?

Two reasons:

The #1 Criteria for outdoor wedding sites in Minnesota seems to be Location. The most popular parks are close to popular Minnesota wedding reception sites.

• One very conveniently situated outdoor wedding site in St Paul is Irvine Park, which very private, secluded, and beautiful - yet it is 3 blocks away from a large number of St Paul wedding reception locations (notably ,the St Paul Hotel, the Landmark Center, the 317 Center, James J Hill Library, and the Science Museum). Plus, Forepaugh’s Restaurant is across the street, which is appropriate for small wedding receptions. This proximity makes the site extremely popular for couples seeking an outdoor wedding site near downtown St Paul.
  
  

  

• Rice Park is even closer to most of those sites mentioned above, and the four sides of the park are bordered by the St Paul Hotel, the James J Hill Library, the 317 Center, and the Landmark Center (plus, it’s a block away from the Minnesota Science Museum. Rice Park is also beautiful, although not secluded.
  
  
  

• The most convenient outdoor wedding site in Minneapolis is the Walker Sculpture Garden, which is right next to downtown.

The other criteria for outdoor wedding sites in Minnesota seems to be Beauty (which can trump Location.) If a site is really gorgeous, couples are willing to travel a farther distance to their wedding reception site, be it in Minneapolis or St Paul.

Outdoor wedding sites in Minneapolis that are just gorgeous:

• The most popular outdoor wedding sites in Minneapolis are the Lake Harriet Rose Garden (and the Peace Garden, which is right next to it). The Minneapolis Park System calls the two gardens the “Lyndale Park Rose Garden” and the “Lyndale Park Peace (Rock) Garden”. The Peace Garden can only hold a few guests (up to about 20), but the Rose Garden can accomodate up to 80 or so. These two sites are absolutely gorgeous. Both sites are fairly convenient just because they are in the city, but they’re not as close to reception sites as the other parks mentioned above. The sites also seem to be popular because they are next to Lake Harriet, the most heavily-used park system in the Twin Cities area. Many couples have spent so many days and evenings at the lake that they have a special fondness for the lake and it’s rose garden.
  
  
  

• Another gorgeous outdoor wedding site in Minneapolis that is utilized frequently is Minnehaha Falls. Again, it’s not particularly close to any wedding reception site in Minneapolis and St Paul, but its natural beauty trumps convenience (although Minnehaha Falls Park is in Minneapolis, so it’s just a few miles from any Minneapolis wedding reception site…it’s just not within walking distance). There’s just no other outdoor wedding site in Minneapolis or St Paul quite like it, so many people immediately think of it when they want a wedding site that is picturesque.

The other outdoor wedding sites in Minnesota that are listed in the Minneapolis and St Paul Parks’ websites are Kellogg Park, Mears Park, Phalen Park, Rasberry Island (under construction), Harriet Island, and Upper Landing Park in St Paul, and Theodore Wirth Park, Thomas Lowry Park, Longfellow Gardens, Boom Island, and the Father Hennepin Bandstand in Minneapolis. Those sites wind up not being utilized as much, probably because they are either not close to a wedding reception site, or aren’t famous for their beauty. They may still be worth checking out, and they would definitely have the advantage of being easier to reserve.

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