05.08.08
Posted in Wedding Sites in Minnesota at 6:52 pm by Rev. Tomkin Coleman
The very friendly Colleen Burrs from Waterfallview Events wedding recepton hall called to introduce me to their new wedding reception and ceremony site in Anoka, Minnesota. I don’t usually review wedding reception sites where I haven’t officiated, but Waterfallview Events is new, and they are unique in several different ways.
Waterfall View Events gets its name because it has an amazing city park with a waterfall right in the back of their reception hall. The only way to get to the waterfall is through their reception site, so it’s very private, and it’s just gorgeous. The view of the wedding cer
emony site at night is like nothing I’ve ever heard of, with lights underneath the waterfall!
Unique advantage # 1:
- Outdoor ceremony, indoor reception. If you rent the Waterfallview Events wedding reception hall in Anoka, Minnesota is that you can have an outdoor wedding - yet have your wedding reception right there, and your guests don’t have to travel to a second spot. Their rental fee is $1500 for a Saturday in the summer, and there is no minimum food or beverage tab because you can bring in your own catering.
Unique advantage # 2:
- You can bring your own catering and alcohol
Yes, that’s right - Waterfallview Events is one of those rare Minnesota wedding reception halls that allows you to bring in your own food and beverages. Most wedding reception sites in MN require you to either use their own catering, or at the very least, insist you use a licensed caterer. I’ve only heard of one other wedding reception hall in the Minneapolis area that will allow you to bring in your own food and alcohol (Celebration Hall in Minneapolis), but that site is not nearly as large, and does not have an outdoor wedding ceremony option.Note: This option to bring in your own food and beverages is not only attractive to couples who want to save money on their open bar, but it’s also helpful for the East African community in Minnesota, who need to prepare their own food.
Unique advantage #3:
- This Minnesota wedding reception site is open until 1:00 am. I’ve never heard of a wedding reception hall staying open so late - usually midnight is the mandatory end time.
Final unique advantage:
- The Waterfallview wedding reception hall is new, so there are still Saturdays available in 2008. Amazing! Every other reception site in the Twin Cities metro area is booked up for Saturdays in the summer and fall of this year - and now that it’s open, Waterfallview will book up fast!
The event manager, Colleen Burrs, is very friendly and accomodating, and can be reached at 763-477-1919.
Warmly,
Rev. Tomkin Coleman
Home page - Wedding Ceremonies with Rev. Coleman
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Posted in Wedding Vendors in Minnesota at 6:25 pm by Rev. Tomkin Coleman
When my now-wife, Julie, and I were planning our Minnesota wedding, she initially decided that she wouldn’t get wedding bouquets for herself or her maid of honor. They seemed unnecessary. Then we went to the Semple Mansion wedding fair in Minneapolis, MN. Julie spoke with a couple of the florists there and got some information, but she wasn’t too impressed with the quality (the prices were about $150).
Then she noticed a couple of funky-looking women at a table with some truly unusual bridal bouquets. When she went over to investigate, she realized that these were no ordinary bridal bouquets–they had out-of-the-ordinary colors and designs, with flowers we had never seen before. And then she noticed the price–all of the bouquets on display were under $60!
That very same week, my bride then made an appointment with Pazzobello Flowers in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Pazzobello is a cute little brightly painted store, and the woman she spoke with was very friendly, enthusiastic, and helpful. Julie said that she wanted to spend $100 on two bouquets for her weding. She told the woman that her wedding dress was nontraditional red and her nontraditional ring had an orange stone, so she wanted flowers that were red, orange, and pink. She said that she liked the unusual designs she had seen them display at the Semple Mansion wedding fair, and she wanted something along those lines.
Flash forward to the day before our wedding, when the wedding bouquets were delivered (the $8.50 delivery charge was totally worth it!). They were packaged neatly and safely, and Julie’s mouth dropped when she undid the paper and 
saw two absolutely stunning bouquets. They were exactly what she’d been hoping for. Both had an array of flowers in just the colors she had asked for. They wrapped the flowers with beautiful orange ribbon. Many people commented on how gorgeous the flowers were.
And to think that originally she wasn’t even planning to carry any! There are a lot of great Minnesota wedding flower shops out there, but personally, we can’t recommend Pazzobello flowers in Minneapolis, MN highly enough.
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04.29.08
Posted in Wedding Vendors in Minnesota at 3:49 pm by Rev. Tomkin Coleman
I just met with a couple last night who was inquiring about a Unity Sand ceremony (appropriate for more non-traditional wedding ceremonies), and I had so many tips for them that I thought I’d write them out for everyone.
First of all, a definition: The Unity Sand Ceremony is a new wedding tradition, which can be a beautiful and powerful symbol of your wedding vows. In the ceremony, the bride and groom each hold two bottles of colored sand, and then pour them into a vase (often glass). The mixing and melding and layers help symbolize the couple joining together. The sands can be black and white, or any colors you choose, depending on what colors are meaningful to you. Once mixed in the vase, the sands are then always together and it would be impossible to separate them again. Properly explained, this ceremony can be a beautiful and meaningful visual symbol of the wedding vows that are being witnessed.
If this non-traditional ceremony appeals to you, a sand ceremony can be a wonderful choice to help symbolize your marriage vows because it’s:
- Visually powerful: Exchanging wedding rings is almost universally done, but it’s nice to also have a symbol of your wedding vows that can be seen from across a crowded room
- Good on windy days: Unlike lighting a unity candle (which can be blown out accidentally when used outdoors), a sand ceremony works anywhere, even on windy days
- A great keepsake: While a couple can keep their unity candle as a memento, many more couples keep their sand ceremony vase as a centerpiece in their homes, reminding them of the love and commitment they felt on their wedding day. The two bottles can also be kept, and though they are then empty, they can be then used as flower vases, if you like.
- Good for families: The sand ceremony can work especially well for blended families, as children can participate, too… you can have 4, 5, 6 or more colors of sands blending together, each from one member of the family. Afterwards, the family can then exchange hugs, and it can be a very powerful element of the wedding ceremony, providing a concrete, visual symbol of the family joining together.
However, there are several important tips that should be remembered:
- Measure out the sand beforehand! It’s very important that the two bottles of sand, once combined, equal the volume of the vase. Otherwise, if the two bottles of sand contain more than the volume of the vase, it will be easy for one bottle of sand to get “dumped in”, and then 90% of the vase will have the sand from one partner, and only 10% of the volume contain the other - oops!
- Get a bottle with a cork (rare): I also highly recommend that the vase come with a cork or other stopper, so you can keep the vase of sand forever. It would be a shame to have such a powerful symbol of your lives joined together get knocked over by the dog a couple years later, and have the sand spill all over. You can use any bottles and any vase you choose, and you can even buy “sand ceremony sets” that have the bottles and vases and sand all prepared for you, and yet many of those sets do not have a stopper for the vase! How odd!
- My recommendation?
- This set (shown empty of sand) is only $19, and it has a stopper. There are many other sets online, but they don’t come with stoppers. If you are including children in your ceremony, you can order as many side bottles as you want.
- For sand, here’s a good site for sand in any color (only $3.50 per color, and comes with a full pound of sand).
I hope this blog posting helps other couples who are looking into using this new tradition of representing their wedding vows with a powerful visual symbol.
Rev. Tomkin Coleman
Home page - Minnesota Weddings with Rev. Coleman
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03.18.08
Posted in Wedding Sites in Minnesota at 8:43 pm by Rev. Tomkin Coleman
Sarah Pikul from the Radisson Plaza Hotel in downtown Minneapolis was incredibly kind, and she gave me a private tour around Radisson’s downtown Minneapolis flagship hotel - wow! What a great place for wedding ceremonies and receptions!
- Note that this hotel is different from the other Minneapolis Radisson (the one by the University of Minnesota) - this hotel is the flagship property, the one right in the heart of downtown Minneapolis, by the theater district, Nicollet Mall, and the light rail which connects right to the Minneapolis/St Paul airport.
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 on the other side.
There’s several ways to enter the Radisson… if you come in from the front, you are either walking in (perhaps you took the light rail here from the airport), or perhaps you took a cab. In either case, you’ll then see this valet parking section, and then enter the main lobby (below).
So if you enter through the front door from the street, you’ll walk into the lobby, be sure to look up (right-hand picture) - the lobby extends upwards to the top floor - almost 20 stories high!
However, most wedding guests who are coming to weddings at the Radisson Hotel in downtown Minneapolis, however, will be driving…in which case, they’ll enter into the heated basement parking lot (unique among downtown Minneapolis hotels). Wedding guests then come 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.
The hotel ballroom is beautiful, with lots of mirrors and glass chandeliers. The ballroom is actually much larger than this picture shows - when I toured the Radisson, they were set up for a meeting, so I didn’t get to see it set up for a wedding (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, and then the divider is drawn back after the ceremony, revealing the tables all set up for the wedding reception.
Ah, one of my favorite parts about the Radisson Plaza Minneapolis - they’re beds are SleepNumber beds! It’s the only hotel chain that has them. They also have feather beds available in their upgraded rooms. I love weddings at hotels - wedding guests not only get to go to your wedding, they get to visit all their friends and relatives who are staying at the hotel. The ceremony and the reception are then all held in the same place, so no one has to travel… it’s a great relief to out-of-town guests, especially.
- Note that not only does the Radisson Hotel 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 a drastically reduced room rate, something I’ve not seen at other Minneapolis/St Paul hotels.
If your wedding ceremony and reception is at the Radisson, you might want to have your rehearsal dinner at the Firelake steakhouse, which is right off of the hotel’s lobby. Minneapolis/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 in downtown Minneapolis does not charge a room rental fee for weddings, but just a food and beverage minimum. Figuring out prices for weddings 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 has a wonderfully refreshing policy - $61/person includes every single thing. Wow! Their up-front policy is so 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 to see if your date and time is available, and if it is, they’ll send you out a full packet of materials, which is very well put together, and extremely helpful.
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03.11.08
Posted in Wedding Sites in Minnesota at 4:59 pm by Rev. Tomkin Coleman
Wow, what a gorgeous site. The Semple Mansion in Minneapolis, MN (reviewed here) had their wedding fair last weekend, and not only was the site stunning, but the vendors there were incredibly friendly and helpful.
We started in the fantastic wine cellar downstairs, which is in their old bank vault. So cool! Behind 15″ steel doors lay a gorgeously painted room with murals of vineries. I’ve always had a fascination with safes and bank vaults, and so I’ve seen many, but I’ve never seen such a beautiful, ornate one such as this. What a great idea, to have it for the wine cellar!
The Semple Mansion’s catering manager was there with a fantastic spread of food… wow, is he a great chef.
The old billiards room downstairs (in the above picture, it’s to the left) is now the groomsmen’s dressing room for weddings, and many other vendors were there.
The main floor was spectacular. This is where wedding ceremonies are held (with the reception on the top floor in the ballroom.) A pianist set the mood for the wedding fair, and then all sorts of friendly vendors were spread around the luxurious room. Note the amazing eight-foot wide chandelier, and the ten-foot wide fireplace!
The highlight of the Semple Mansion has to be it’s ballroom, though. I thought I was impressed with the gorgeous architecture downstairs, and the beautiful main floor, but the ballroom took my breath away. All the woodword was hand-painted, and the whole room was just gorgeous. Most Minneapolis, MN wedding mansions are beautiful, but when you want to have hundreds of people come in, you then have to go to their ballroom, which is usually a 1970s structure tacked on to the mansion. Not at Semple Mansion - the entire third floor consists of the ballroom, so you don’t have to go anywhere else. It’s absolutely amazing! All the way around the ballroom are benches built into the wall…perfect for guests to visit with each other.
Rarely do I rave so much about a wedding reception site, but the Semple Mansion in Minneapolis, MN is really amazing. Right next to downtown Minneapolis, on Franklin Avenue, close to Uptown.
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03.03.08
Posted in Wedding Vendors in Minnesota at 3:50 pm by Rev. Tomkin Coleman
Last weekend’s wedding fair at the Semple Mansion in Minneapolis was incredibly fun (review to come), and my favorite vendor was an incredibly friendly, incredibly good caterer - Fabulous Catering of Minneapolis, MN.
So now, my favorite restaurant in the Twin Cities is a caterer… who knew?
My pick for best caterer in Minnesota - Fabulous Catering
Their food is absolutely amazing… I’m used to eating wedding reception food and it being basically ok (not great, but not bad). But I never get to eat food at a wedding that really knocks my socks off… that’s reserved for really high-end restaurants. Well, Fabulous Catering completely surprised me. The owners are obviously “foodies”, who really love what they do and know what they’re doing. They’ll go anywhere, make anything, and I’d eat anything they make. Absolutely fabulous - they’re now my #1 favorite wedding caterer in Minnesota!
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Posted in Wedding Vendors in Minnesota at 12:34 am by Rev. Tomkin Coleman
I always recommend Steve Rouch of Choice Photo when couples ask me for a photographer recommendation, and here’s another reason why - yesterday, Steve was voted the Best Photographer In Minnesota by Minnesota Magazine!
Here’s my favorite example why Steve’s photos are so great, and make people look like they should be in a magazine. Isn’t the difference amazing? I highly recommend him!
Link to home page - Rev. Tomkin Coleman, MN wedding officiant
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02.27.08
Posted in Wedding Sites in Minnesota at 8:32 pm by Rev. Tomkin Coleman
A bride just wrote to me today with some interesting questions about using chairs for weddings at Minneapolis and St Paul, MN parks. Here’s my thoughts:
Dear Rev. Coleman, thank you for your terrific reviews of Minneapolis and St Paul parks and gardens, and the information about their rental for summer wedding ceremonies! I was wondering if you could have chairs on the stone surrounding the large fountain at the Lyndale (Lake Harriet) Rose Garden?? I don’t understand why you wouldn’t be able to have them there.
Rev. Coleman’s answer: Red tape is difficult, isn’t it? The Minneapolis Parks Department does an absolutely wonderful job with the gorgeous parks in their system, especially with this this delicate, 100-year-old garden, the second oldest public rose garden in the US. I just love the Heffelfinger Fountain (pictured), a bronze and marble sculpture imported from Italy. The paving around it is not all that large, actually, and would only hold about 10-12 guests on the pavement. Most wedding ceremonies are held off to the side, where there’s more room.
The good people at the Minneapolis Parks Department had a much looser policy in the past, but over the years people probably abused the policy, and so the poor Parks Department then had to tighten up the regulations to compensate for a few people being inconsiderate. The Park’s Department budget has been slashed in recent years (as have most city budgets… witness the Minneapolis Public Library having to be closed on Sundays and Mondays…sigh), and thus the Parks Department had to lay off a lot of workers in the 1990s. Thus, the department didn’t have the budget to keep up with repairs necessary with their current looser restrictions, so they compensated by tightening up the rules in an effort to keep repair needs at a minimum. 
I’m sure the vast majority of weddings would be extremely considerate of any Minneapolis park, but it only takes a few irresponsible people who move chairs around onto the grassy area, which then damages the lawn, which then gets more damaged by the other visitors in the next week, and then the lawn eventually becomes a muddy mess by the end of the year. I suspect that this kind of scenario probably happened a bunch of times in the early 90s, and eventually the good people at the Minneapolis Parks Department were forced to tighten up the regulations. It’s a shame, isn’t it? I’m sure the vast majority of weddings were very considerate of gorgeous garden ecosystem, but it only takes a few inconsiderate people to damage a lawn for a whole season.
And why does the Irvine Park in St Paul allow chairs?
Well, I don’t work at the St Paul Parks department, but I am big fans of their work. I think that probably the reason that the St Paul Parks department allows chairs in Irvine Park is because the park is infrequently used during the week (that’s just my opinion, of course). In contrast, the Lake Harriet/Calhoun lakes chain of parks are only a small fraction of all the parks in the Twin Cities, MN area, but it has literally hundreds of thousands of visitors per year (the Lake Harriet/Calhoun chain of parks is by FAR the most popular park system in Minnesota), but over across the river in St Paul, the isolated Irvine Park hardly gets any visitors at all. So even if a few inconsiderate wedding guests did abuse the privileges in Irvine Park, the gorgeous gem of a park gets so few visitors that the lawn would repair itself pretty easily. There simply isn’t hundreds of other visitors per weekend walking on it afterwards. Grass and lawns can repair themselves, after all, but only if the grass has the time to do so without getting trampled on again immediately.
Just my two cents, derived from my having officiated literally dozens of wedding ceremonies in these two parks. This article is also written with the generous help from my father, who is a gardener and has plenty of opinions on how to keep lawns looking good (thanks, Pop.)
Warm regards,
Rev. Tomkin Coleman
http://www.mnweddingminister.com
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02.25.08
Posted in Wedding Vendors in Minnesota at 5:17 pm by Rev. Tomkin Coleman
I was meeting with a couple last Monday evening at my regular spot at Nina’s Coffee House in St Paul, when they expressed an unusual wish. This Minneapolis, MN bride and groom expressed an interest in renting a car for their upcoming wedding, and they asked for recommendations. I get many couples who ask for limo recommendations, but they wanted a regular car, not a limo. They were looking at possibly renting a sports car, but an antique car was preferred. Their reasons for renting a car for their wedding were that:
- Will be so excited at their wedding that they didn’t want to drive themselves
- Wanted to keep the special feel of their wedding day, even when traveling to and from the wedding site
- Didn’t want to worry about parking at the Como Conservatory in St Paul, MN, which can be quite busy on Saturdays
- Didn’t want to have to worry about alcohol in the car
Rob King, of Antique Limo in Minneapolis, MN, has an absolutely gorgeous antique Rolls Royce that he rents out for couples at their weddings. His service seems to the Twin Cities, Minnesota area - instead of renting to a large wedding party, to get the bride, groom, and all their attendants from the wedding site to the reception site, Rob’s service is much more intimate, as well incredibly classy.
So let’s say, for example, that like the couple I talked to this weekend, you’re having a wedding ceremony at the Como Conservatory in St Paul, which is right by the Como Zoo. On the afternoon of your big day, you’ve got your wedding dress on, your make-up is set, and now you’re ready to go to the Conservatory’s Sunken Garden for the ceremony. Rather than getting into your everyday commuter car with your groom, instead, a gorgeous 1962 silver (”Shell Gray” is what Rolls Royce called it) antique Rolls Royce shows up at your home, complete with driver
! The driver whisks you away to your wedding site, and then after your wedding, when you walk out that front door to the cheers of your friends and relatives, you don’t have to then go find your car…instead, your Rolls Royce is waiting for you. When you get in the car, a bottle of champagne with crystal glasses is ready to calm your nerves ($25 extra, a great deal…), and then the Rolls Royce takes you away to your wedding reception. Instead of heading directly to your reception, though, which will be full of incredibly excited wedding guests, you can take a moment with your groom to relax and enjoy the time together. You can even stop off at a bar for a quiet drink, or split that champagne in a quiet picnic. That quiet breather may be the only time that you and your groom have alone together on your special day…it can be quite romantic and refreshing!
Rob has rented his services with his Rolls Royce in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for over a decade, with multiple weddings under his belt, so he’s very experienced and considerate. Rob is a really nice guy - I chatted with him on the phone, and he has a quiet, friendly manner, and is very easy to work with. The rental fee for his antique Rolls Royce, plus his service as a limo driver, is $400 for 2 hours (if you want more than that, which is rare, it’s $200/hour more.) Rob King’s phone number is 612-790-0225 (cell phone). For couples who want a moment alone after their wedding, and want to do it in a classy way, this opportunity sounds perfect!
Rev. Tomkin Coleman, Minnesota Wedding Minister & Officiant
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02.08.08
Posted in Wedding Sites in Minnesota at 8:16 pm by Rev. Tomkin Coleman
Most wedding fairs in the Minneapolis and St Paul area take place in January or February, but there’s a great one coming up in March at the Semple Mansion in Minneapolis, MN.
Semple Mansion is relatively new on the scene, as it was just renovated a couple years ago. This wedding ceremony and reception hall is huge and gorgeous, with marble columns and ornate woodwork everywhere you look. Here’s a complete review of Semple Mansion, with pictures, contact information, and rates, and here’s a direct link to their site.
This March 1st and 2nd, 2008 wedding fair will be held from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and is held in conjunction with Minnesota Bride Magazine. There is no admission charged (!), and it should be a fun event. While I like the really huge wedding fairs held in places such as the Minneapolis Convention Ce
nter, I love smaller wedding fairs such as this one because they have such a warm, intimate feel. Rather than setting up booths in an auditorium, you’ve got a string quartet playing over here, cake samples over there, etc. It’s a really nice way of getting to know Minnesota wedding vendors, plus, you get to see the interior of the gorgeous Semple Mansion!
The Semple Mansion in Minneapolis is located at 100 West Franklin Avenue, which is just south of I-94, west of 35W, just south of downtown Minneapolis.
Home - Rev. Tomkin Coleman, Minnesota Wedding Officiant and Planner
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01.25.08
Posted in Wedding Vendors in Minnesota at 5:14 pm by Rev. Tomkin Coleman
Minnesota brides may already know about the historic Stillwater Courthouse, which hosts many gorgeous weddings, but did you know that the Stillwater Public Library is now available for wedding ceremonies and receptions, too? The library was originally built as a Carnegie Library, and last year (2007) a major expansion project added a scenic terrace from which you can see the St. Croix River from the Minnesota side and now the library has beautiful indoor spaces for weddings. The Stillwater Public Library, in the historic river town of Stillwater, MN, has a serving kitchen and list of caterers is available. The historic Stillwater Library only had about seven weddings last year–because they are just beginning to market the site for weddings, at this time it is often available on highly desirable days and on shorter notice. Indoor capacity is up to 150; the terrace capacity is 300. The rental fee for 5 hours use of meeting rooms A and B, plus the terrace and kitchen, would be about $1105 - see their website for specific details and options.
Home page - Minnesota Wedding Officiant and Planner, Rev. Tomkin Coleman
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12.13.07
Posted in Wedding Vendors in Minnesota at 5:15 pm by Rev. Tomkin Coleman
Besides the 3 Minnesota wedding shows held in January 2008 (reviewed here), there is a show on February 17th, as well - the Perfect Wedding Show in International Market Square in downtown Minneapolis, MN.
Tickets for the Perfect Wedding Show are $10, but if you pre-register at their website, it’s buy one, get one free (basically, $5/each.)
International Market Square is just north of 394, and west of 94, but if you don’t know where it is, directions are here.
January is the most popular wedding planning month, but if you missed the other 3 Minneapolis, Minnesota area bridal shows, it can be nice to catch the Perfect Wedding Show in February. The purpose of going to one of these bridal shows is so you can meet with many wedding vendors at once, so you can compare a bu
nch all at the same time. Vendors with really good local reputations often don’t have to advertise because they already have as many weddings as they can handle (I fall into this category, thank goodness), and smaller wedding vendors without a large budget can’t afford to advertise at wedding shows, so you are getting a fairly narrow view of what is available when you attend a show. However, there is no other way of meeting so many vendors at one time, plus it’s quite fun! Even if you’ve done most of your planning, it’s great to get caught up in the excitement of planning your wedding, and visiting with a friend or your mother can be a great way of getting ideas and exploring options. I highly recommend going!
Why attend the Perfect Wedding Show, as opposed to the other three local shows? Well, the venue is fantastic. The International Market Square in downtown Minneapolis, MN is really beautiful, and thus the event is really classy. Plus, if you want to get to a bridal show, and missed the Minnesota wedding shows in January, it’s the only February show!
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11.20.07
Posted in Wedding Vendors in Minnesota at 7:04 pm by Rev. Tomkin Coleman
Check it out:
The Minnesota Wedding Blog has won the 11/19/07 Blog of the Day Award! 
“Blog of the Day Awards offers the best selection of weblogs and famous blogs on a variety of topics. Criteria include content, quality, creativity, and the personal opinion of the judges.”
Rev. Tomkin Coleman, MN wedding officiant and planner - Home page
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Posted in Wedding Sites in Minnesota at 5:18 pm by Rev. Tomkin Coleman
New page! 
Minnesota brides and grooms are often asking where would be an appropriate place for their rehearsal dinner in the Twin Cities, especially one near their wedding ceremony site. These couples are searching for a restaurant which has a private dining room and should be able to handle 20-40 wedding guests on a busy Thursday or Friday night. Not many restaurants match this criteria!
There are about 20 restaurants in Minneapolis and St Paul, Minnesota that can both accommodate large groups and also have private dining rooms.
I’ve created a new web page which lists all 20 of these rehearsal-dinner-appropriate restaurants, plus the page has reviews of my six favorite rehearsal dinner sites in Minneapolis and St Paul. This page helps point couples in the right direction, as each restaurant has a link to their website, their phone number, and tells what kind of food they serve. The reviews have pictures, descriptions, seating capacity, and general notes on having rehearsal dinners there.
As always, if you have any suggestions, just let me know!
Rev. Tomkin Coleman (home page)
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11.14.07
Posted in Wedding Vendors in Minnesota at 4:15 pm by Rev. Tomkin Coleman
Minnesota Wedding Shows in 2008 - Reviews and Info
There are four wedding fairs in the Minneapolis and St Paul, Minnesota area in January, 2008 - here’s contact information, pictures, maps, and reviews of these Minnesota wedding shows. The shows reviewed are the:
-Wedding Spectacular (aka Bridal Spectacular)
-Wedding Fair
-Wedding Showcase
-Perfect Wedding Show (in Feb, reviewed here)
…and later on, the three, smaller Wedding Expos.
Note that January is the biggest month for wedding planning. Few couples get married in January, but many couples are planning for the summer because:
- As the holidays are over, the new year has started, and couples start to realize that their wedding date is coming up quickly!
- Also, many brides received wedding proposals over Christmas or on New Year’s Eve, and so they’ve just started their planning.
Some Minnesota wedding shows are better than others. The main difference is size (number of vendors) and choice of venue (site). Here’s my review:
Bridal Spectacular Wedding Show
by the Mpls/St Paul Magazine’s Wedding Guide
The first wedding show of the year
The Minnesota Wedding Fair
by the Twin Cities Bridal Association
The largest wedding show of the year
- Sunday, January 13th of 2008
Hours: 11:00 am - 5:00 pm
Minneapolis Convention Center, downtown Minneapolis, MN
1301 2nd Avenue S, Minneapolis, MN
$15 admission
200 vendors
As stated above, the Minnesota Wedding Fair is the largest wedding event in Minnesota. In addition to the wedding vendors, the Minnesota Wedding Fair has a fashion show at noon and 4:00 pm (no other wedding event has fashion shows). There is also an extra, smaller, couture fashion show at 2:00 pm (limited to 125 guests), that’s another $10. You can order wedding fair admission tickets early, but they’re not any cheaper that way (I’ve never seen them sell out.) The space is not as beautiful as the Depot in Minneapolis, but for such a large show, it really does need to be in a huge site like the Convention Center, and the Minneapolis Convention Center is an exciting spot. I’ve held a booth at this fair, and there’s an electric feeling of excitement there, with lots of fun noise and activity.
Minnesota Wedding Showcase
by the Minnesota Bridal Network
- Sunday, January 20, 2008
Hours: 11:00 am - 4:00 pm
Northland Inn & Conference Center
I-94 at Boone Avenue North, Brooklyn Park, MN
(763) 785-9148
Last year, at least, tickets to the Minnesota Wedding Showcase were $15, the tickets were free if you registered online first. They’re not advertising free admission this year, but it’s worth a shot. This picture shows the lobby of the Northland Inn, which is quite beautiful. The bridal show is held in the convention center, which is a large, modern ballroom.
Later on, smaller Minneapolis area wedding shows in March & April: Wedding Expo
By Gingerbread Shows
These wedding expos are smaller, but free(!)
- March 1-2nd, 2008
Eden Prairie Center Mall
8251 Flying Cloud Dr, Eden Prairie, MN
(651) 457-8980
Sat. 10:00 am - 9:00 pm, Sun. 11:00 am - 6:00 pm
- March 15-16th, 2008
Rosedale Center Bridal Fair
Rosedale Mall
1595 Highway 36 W, Roseville, MN (651) 457-8980
Sat. 10:00 am - 9:00 pm, Sun. 11:00 am - 6:00 pm
- April 5-6th, 2008
Northtown Mall
398 Northtown Dr NE, Blaine, MN (651) 457-8980
Sat. 10:00 am - 9:00 pm, Sun. 11:00 am - 6:00 pm
Don’t take anything too seriously at any of these events - there are a lot of other Minnesota wedding vendors out there, too, and many of the high-end, boutique services (like mine) don’t advertise at all any more, either in print or at shows, because they have all the weddings they can handle. But wedding fairs/expos/shows are a great way to talk to a lot of people and get a lot of information all in one place. Nothing can beat talking to people face-to-face, so at a wedding vendor show, you can get questions answered right away, and you can see see if the people running the businesses are friendly and suit your style.
Notes:
- The Perfect Wedding Show from the Perfect Wedding Guide at International Market Square will be held in February 18th, 2008. Information on this bridal show wasn’t available when I wrote this blog, so this February bridal show in Minneapolis is reviewed in this blog entry.
- Also, the GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender) doens’t seem to be happening this year (2008, $5 admission), seeing as there’s nothing on their website about it.
Summary:
So there’s four big wedding shows in the Minneapolis area to choose from in the spring of 2008:
- January 6th, 2008 at the Depot Hotel in Minneapolis
- January 13th, 2008 at the Minneapolis Convention Center
- January 20th, 2008 at the Northland Inn in Brooklyn Park.
- Plus, February 17th, 2008 at International Market Square (details here it its own blog entry)
All four Minnesota bridal shows have the same format (wedding vendors that you can meet), but each one has different vendors. Which one is best? Well, it’s nice to go to the largest one (Minnesota Wedding Fair at the Minneapolis Convention Center), just because it has the largest number of vendors, but otherwise, with today’s busy schedules, I’d recommend just going to the one that is on a day or weekend when you’re available.
There are three other wedding shows in the spring of 2008 which are held in Minneapolis/St Paul, Minnesota shopping malls, and they are later on in the year. These 2008 wedding shows are smaller, but are free. As listed above, these Minnesota wedding shows are on March 1-2 at Eden Prairie Mall, March 15-16 at Rosedale Mall, and April 5-6 at Northtown Mall. These wedding shows make shopping around for services much easier, in that you get to talk to many vendors all at once, rather than making lots of calls and setting up appointments to talk to vendors. You don’t get to talk to vendors who aren’t at the shows, of course, but it’s a great place for one-stop shopping, and it’s a great place for getting questions answered. Plus, it’s fun to visit the vendors and get ideas - I highly recommend going!
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Posted in Wedding Vendors in Minnesota at 4:03 pm by Rev. Tomkin Coleman
Minnesota Wedding Fairs 2008 - Reviews and Info
There are three wedding fairs in the Minneapolis and St Paul, Minnesota area in January, 2008 - here’s contact information, pictures, maps, and reviews of these Minnesota wedding shows.
Note that January is the biggest month for wedding planning, as the holidays are over, the new year has started, and couples start to realize that their wedding is coming up! Also, many brides got wedding proposals over Christmas or on New Year’s Eve, and so they’ve just started their planning. Few couples get married in January, but many are planning for the summer!
Some Minnesota wedding shows are better than others - here’s my review:
Bridal Spectacular Wedding Show
by the Mpls/St Paul Magazine’s Wedding Guide
The first wedding show of the year
The Minnesota Wedding Fair
by the Twin Cities Bridal Association
The largest wedding show of the year
- Sunday, January 13th of 2008
Hours: 11:00 am - 5:00 pm
Minneapolis Convention Center, downtown Minneapolis, MN
1301 2nd Avenue S, Minneapolis, MN
$15 admission
200 vendors
This is a the largest wedding event in Minnesota. In addition to the wedding vendors, the Minnesota Wedding Fair has a fashion show at noon and 4:00 pm. There is extra, smaller, couture fashion show at 2:00 pm (limited to 125 guests), that’s $10 extra. You can order wedding fair admission tickets early, but they’re not any cheaper that way (and I’ve never seen them sell out.) The space is not as beautiful as the Depot in Minneapolis, but for such a large show, it really needs to be in a large site like the Convention Center.
Minnesota Wedding Showcase
by the Minnesota Bridal Network
- Sunday, January 20, 2008
Hours: 11:00 am - 4:00 pm
Northland Inn & Conference Center
I-94 at Boone Avenue North, Brooklyn Park, MN
(763) 785-9148
Last year, at least, tickets to the Minnesota Wedding Showcase were $15, the tickets were free if you registered online first. They’re not advertising free admission this year, but it’s worth a shot. This picture shows the lobby of the Northland Inn, which is quite beautiful. The bridal show is held in the convention center, which is a big ballroom.
Later on, smaller Minneapolis area wedding shows in March & April:
Gingerbread Show’s Wedding Expo
These wedding expos are smaller, but free(!)
March 1-2nd, 2008
Eden Prairie Center Mall
8251 Flying Cloud Dr, Eden Prairie, MN
(651) 457-8980
Sat. 10:00 am - 9:00 pm, Sun. 11:00 am - 6:00 pm
March 15-16th, 2008
Rosedale Center Bridal Fair
Rosedale Mall
1595 Highway 36 W, Roseville, MN (651) 457-8980
Sat. 10:00 am - 9:00 pm, Sun. 11:00 am - 6:00 pm
April 5-6th, 2008
Northtown Mall
398 Northtown Dr NE, Blaine, MN (651) 457-8980
Sat. 10:00 am - 9:00 pm, Sun. 11:00 am - 6:00 pm
Don’t take anything too seriously - there are a lot of other Minnesota wedding vendors out there, too, because not all of them advertise in wedding guides and shows, but wedding fairs and expos are a great way to talk to a lot of people and get a lot of information all in one place. Nothing can beat talking to people face-to-face, so you can get questions answered right away and see if the people are friendly and suit your style.
The Perfect Wedding Show from the Perfect Wedding Guide at International Market Square doesn’t seem like it’s going to be held this year - at this point, there’s nothing up on their website.
The GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender) doens’t seem to be happening this year (2008, $5 admission), seeing as there’s nothing on their website about it.
So there’s three big wedding shows in the Minneapolis area to choose from in the spring of 2008: January 6th at the Depot Hotel in Minneapolis, Jan 13th at the Minneapolis Convention Center, and January 20th at the Northland Inn in Brooklyn Park. All three have the same format (wedding vendors that you can meet), but each one has different vendors. Which one is best? Well, it’s nice to go to the largest one - Minnesota Wedding Fair - at the Minneapolis Convention Center), just because it has the largest number of vendors, but otherwise, with today’s busy schedules, I’d recommend just going to the one that is on a day or weekend when you’re available.
The other three wedding shows in the spring of 2008 are held in Minneapolis/St Paul, Minnesota shopping malls, and are later in the season. These 2008 wedding shows are smaller, but are free. As listed above, these Minnesota wedding shows are on March 1-2 at Eden Prairie Mall, March 15-16 at Rosedale Mall, and April 5-6 at Northtown Mall. These wedding shows make shopping around for services much easier, in that you get to talk to many vendors all at once, rather than making lots of calls and setting up appointments to talk to vendors. You don’t get to talk to vendors who aren’t at the shows, of course, but it’s a great place for one-stop shopping, and it’s a great place for getting questions answered. Plus, it’s fun to visit the vendors and get ideas - I highly recommend going!
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11.13.07
Posted in Wedding Sites in Minnesota at 10:40 pm by Rev. Tomkin Coleman
Most of the Minneapolis/St Paul wedding expos are in the fall, or in January-February, but the Como Zoo’s Conservatory in St Paul is having one tomorrow, Wednesday, November 14th, 2007. Como Conservatory’s Showcase will have some wedding vendors to talk to, such as photographers and musicians, it won’t be as big as the Twin Cities Bridal Expo or the Perfect Wedding Guide’s Expo early next year.
The main reasons to go to Como’s expo are:
1. If you may be using the Como Conservatory for an evening wedding. The Conservatory will have the gardens lit by candles, which is really amazing. You can’t really get a sense of how beautiful this effect is during the day, and it would be worth going to the Showcase just to see that set-up.
2. If you are considering using the Como Conservatory’s new reception hall. It’s beautiful, but it’s so new that few people know about it. The new reception hall, unlike the renting Conservatory for a reception after the ceremony, will allow alcohol, too.
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10.17.07
Posted in Wedding Vendors in Minnesota at 1:38 pm by Rev. Tomkin Coleman
I got the nicest email from Tom Weeklund, who plays piano for wedding ceremonies with Mary Pay Nydahl, who is a singer for weddings in the Minneapolis and St Paul, Minnesota metro area.
Their website is Music Ministry Plus, which has information about their experience and services. They have portable equipment to handle weddings any place there is electricity. They’ve worked together for the past 20+ years doing weddings and funerals all around the cities. They have a demo CD that we give out to couples to help plan their music and also a CD of wedding songs that they sell. Their fees are $175 for Mary Pat (singer) and $200 for Tom (pianist). If Tom needs to bring his keyboard and sound system, it is an additonal $50. These fees cover an unlimited amount of songs for the wedding ceremony.
Home page - Minnesota Weddings With Rev. Tomkin Coleman
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10.09.07
Posted in Wedding Vendors in Minnesota at 1:53 am by Rev. Tomkin Coleman
Up till now, there’s been no way to compare all the wedding ceremony and reception sites in Minneapolis and St Paul, Minnesota. Each bride and groom has to search bridal guides, magazines, and the internet to:
1. Find what wedding reception sites are out there
2. Research them online to find out prices… and many times, the wedding reception sites wouldn’t publish their rental fee, and wouldn’t publish how much their meals cost. So each couple would have to call each reception site to get a quote.
3. Compare the sites.
And only THEN, can they start the real business of find a wedding ceremony or reception site (calling to see if the site is available on their date, and visiting the site to see if they like it as much as they like the pictures.)
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just skip steps 1 and 2? Every single couple has to go through steps 1 and 2, and everyone duplicates everyone else’s work.
This information has to be constantly updated, because rental fees are always changing, and meal prices are always changing, as well. That’s okay - knowing the local Minneapolis and St Paul area wedding scene is my job, and I’m constantly updating the website.
So feel free to check out the above-mentioned comparison chart of wedding ceremony and reception sites - and if I have any of the information wrong, just let me know! I rely heavily on my readers for information, and I always want to keep the information as up-to-date as possible!
Home page of Rev. Tomkin Coleman, Minnesota Wedding Officiant and Planner
Winner of Best Wedding Planner, 2007 from Citysearch.com
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07.18.07
Posted in Wedding Sites in Minnesota at 1:47 pm by Rev. Tomkin Coleman
I’ve created a new page for my website, a review of my favorite hotels in downtown Minneapolis where I have performed wedding ceremonies, hotels that are classy, friendly, and which are really expert at hosting wedding receptions.
Each downtown Minneapolis hotel is reviewed in detail, with a general map, pictures of the outside and inside of the hotel, pictures of a wedding reception hosted by each downtown hotel, with contact information and notes about having a wedding ceremony at each of these Minneapolis hotels.
In this new page is an article I’ve written about how the wedding reception costs are calculated at Minneapolis hotels, which is much different than the way costs are calculated for other wedding receptions sites in Minnesota (at least in the Twin Cities area).
In this new page, the advantages and disadvantages of using a Minneapolis hotel for your wedding ceremony and reception is also discussed in detail (basically, I highly recommend this option, and the reasons for this recommendation are discussed in detail.)
Home page of Rev. Tomkin Coleman, Minnesota Wedding Officant and Coordinator
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06.07.07
Posted in Wedding Sites in Minnesota at 2:30 pm by Rev. Tomkin Coleman
I had a wonderful chat with St Paul, Minnesota’s Luther Seminary’s seminary pastor, Rev. Dr. John Mann, who explained how the school is tightening up the restrictions on their chapels a bit, and for the time being, are not taking reservations for their chapel for wedding ceremonies. Couples who have already reserved the chapel for their wedding in 2007 (and a few in 2008), will still keep their reservations, of course. New policies will probably be instituted this summer (the summer of 2007), probably along the lines of renting the space to out-of-town Lutheran couples who are using their home church’s minister for their wedding.
If you are looking for a Minneapolis or St Paul wedding chapel, however, there are several churches and chapels in the Twin Cities, Minnesota area which will rent out their space to non-members. Ceremonies are usually non-denominational or interfaith.
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05.31.07
Posted in Wedding Vendors in Minnesota at 9:17 pm by Rev. Tomkin Coleman
For amazing food at really good prices, the best prices (and terrific food, in my opinion) I’ve found is TST Creating Catering. Their phone number is 651.488.0971. Here are two examples from their website:
-$9.50 Stuffed Canadian Pork Loin Roasted Whole Whole roasted stuffed Canadian back pork loin served with oven brown potatoes, baby carrots, tossed salad and dressing.
-$8.25 Baked Quartered Chicken served with cheesy baked potatoes, California medley & garden harvest salad. Most catering services charge a minimum of $28/plate, and the national average is $55/plate.
TST Catering also rents out their banquet hall, which is called the Ideal Hall, and wedding ceremonies can be peformed there, as well. Here’s a picture of their hall: 
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02.07.07
Posted in Wedding Vendors in Minnesota at 2:29 pm by Rev. Tomkin Coleman
Some of my favorite weddings have been at Gibbs Farm in St Paul, which is an historical farmhouse and barn that is often set up and rented out for weddings, both indoor and outdoors. One wedding was held on the porch, with the Guests in chairs under the shade trees, while two others were held on the lawn. Receptions are usually held out back, either in the barn or right next to the barn (in a tent). The site has all the advantages of a wedding in a park, with the benefits of a fully-equipped reception hall. For instance, there is beautiful little parlor in the house, which elderly guests like to use when they don’t want to be outside. They also have really nice bathrooms, which are incredibly helpful for guests with babies. Guest with infants (and other wedding guests, too), really appreciate a clean, comfortable, quiet restroom, especially such a nice one in a house.
Gibbs Farm is a beautiful site, and unlike other Minnesota farmhouses/reception halls which are available for weddings, it’s actually within the city limits, so Guests don’t have to travel very far.
Picture of Gibbs Farm in St Paul, MN (from their website):
The house is even prettier in person, plus the barn out back is very special, in a rural, down-home sort of way.
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02.06.07
Posted in Wedding Sites in Minnesota at 2:19 pm by Rev. Tomkin Coleman
A new wedding reception hall has been opened at the Como Conservatory in St Paul, which is building the Conservatory has needed for a long time. The Conservatory is the most highly sought-after wedding site in the Minneapolis St Paul area (the most sought-after in the state, actually), but up till now wedding receptions there have been limited because of the small size of the Conservatory. Como Zoo’s new Visitor Information Center has many rooms, though, and several of them are perfect for wedding receptions in Minnesota. One of them is a huge reception hall where you can have dancing, which is on the second floor and has views of both the Como Zoo and of the Como Conservatory. The other wedding reception site is called the Covered Porch (pictured above), and on one side you can see the Conservatory and on the other side you can see the Zoo and it’s historic Carousel. Here is a 360 degree view of the Covered Porch at the Como Conservatory.
The site is also reviewed at my page on sites in Minnesota for small weddings, and there is another blog post about weddings at the Como Conservatory, too. The reception site is catered by Lancer Catering, and I’m awaiting an email from them for information about rental rates. Stay tuned!
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Posted in Wedding Sites in Minnesota at 2:10 pm by Rev. Tomkin Coleman
Notes on:
Rice Park for wedding ceremonies
I have peformed many wedding ceremonies at the Landmark 
Center in St Paul, but a new twist on that idea is to have the wedding ceremony outdoors in Rice Park
Sunday, January 6, 2008
