21 Best Small Wedding Venues in Minnesota
You might not think that a wedding and event design company known for big, immersive experiences would love small weddings, but we do! There are so many unique, special ways you can design an intimate wedding experience. Here, we’re rounding up our top picks for best small wedding venues in Minnesota, including rustic, industrial, rooftop, indoor, and outdoor venues. The ideas are endless!
Small & Intimate Wedding Venues in MN
Hewing Hotel
Photos by Lucas Botz Photography
A warehouse turned hotel in the North Loop, the Hewing Hotel can only be described as Northwoods Chic. The combination of original architectural elements with Nordic touches create a unique Minnesotan experience. It is at once cozy and comfortable and luxe and modern. A variety of spaces throughout the property are well suited for small weddings.
The Annex
The Annex is great because it has the right balance of personality and flexibility. It's such a versatile space with a skylight, exposed brick walls, and lots of lush green plants. It also features an incredible mural on the exterior of the building. Located in south Minneapolis in the LynLake neighborhood, it is walking distance to lakes, restaurants, and bars.
Aster Cafe
Located in the heart of St. Anthony Main this historic riverfront venue is on "the prettiest street in Minneapolis" and the perfect spot for a small wedding. Aster Cafe has a very unique tent for outdoor ceremonies or receptions, plus a couple of different indoor private event spaces.
Orchestra Hall
Photos by Cadence and Eli
Orchestra Hall isn't just for music loving couples, although the acoustics are the best in Minneapolis. This venue hits all the right notes for small weddings.
The modern addition finished in 2013 provides several spaces for ceremonies and receptions. In fact, your wedding can move throughout the spaces creating a truly one-of-a-kind progressive experience. The expansive windows, terraces and patios overlook Peavey Plaza and Nicollet Mall.
Paris Dining Club
This truly hidden gem tucked away in North Loop is the brainchild of James Beard award-winning chef Jamie Malone. Paris Dining Club serves up all the hip NYC loft vibes with exceptional food and curated wedding packages. Perfect for intimate weddings up to 40 guests.
Glass House
Photos by Tiffany Kokal
Planning and Design by Laine Palm
The Glass House (formerly known as the Holden Room) is located in the hip North Loop neighborhood and shares a home with Hennepin Made glass blowing company. You will find their artisan glass fixtures and pieces throughout the space. This modern industrial space boasts tall ceilings, ample natural light, and laid-back vibe. Open up the garage door and make your way outdoors in their brand new courtyard. The space is so versatile any time of year.
PAIKKA
Located in St. Paul right off of 94, this unique venue is as convenient as it is pretty. PAIKKA has multiple rooms - both featuring 1940s steel vaulted ceilings and original brick walls. The outdoor courtyard is perfect for small ceremonies or just hanging out on a beautiful summer day. The Green Room is bright, light-filled private suite across the courtyard outfitted with a kitchenette, lounge, and fitting room.
Walker Art Center
Photos by Jeremie Barlow
The iconic Walker Art Center was practically built with small weddings in mind. Sleek and modern, the museum is a blank canvas for your wedding inspiration.
The street-level and rooftop terraces, plazas, and sculpture garden across the street mean you can have an artful outdoor ceremony or reception. The indoor venues boast incredible views of downtown Minneapolis. (Bonus: your guests will get complimentary gallery admission).
If you’re looking for a rooftop wedding venue or outdoor venue for your small wedding, Walker Art Center would be a perfect fit.
Neu Neu
One of the best features of the Neu Neu is the outdoor parking lot "courtyard" which is perfect for couples who want to have food trucks at their small wedding. Guests can mingle indoors and out depending on the weather. The Green Room and getting ready space are To Die For. The Main Studio has 22' tall rafter ceilings. which means you can hang just about any decor you want, from cafe lights to floral.
Theodore Wirth Regional Park
Photos by Rivets & Roses
This sprawling Minneapolis park has three excellent and distinct options for small weddings. The historic Wirth Chalet Fireplace Room (pictured here) and Pavilion are full of character and charm. Their fireplaces are great to cozy up to for a winter wedding. The modern Trailhead contrasts its sister properties featuring Scandinavian styling. All spaces are great for indoor and outdoor use, taking full advantage of the beauty of the park.
Pique Travel (Excelsior, MN)
Travel agency by day, event space by night, this charming venue in Excelsior is not to be missed. Constructed in the 1940s and originally home to the Lyman Lumber Warehouse, the newly renovated space features a vaulted wooden barrel ceiling and hardwood floors that still have the original painted pallet markings.
The large windows and fireplace are two more unique amenities that add to Pique Travel's appeal. Get ready and then stay the night at the Bird House Inn less than a block away.
The DeGroodt House (Excelsior, MN)
Photos by Anna Grinets Photography
Also in Excelsior, the historic DeGroodt House is full of whimsy and charm. Oh, and a hidden grove surrounded by towering pines. The main floor of the house can accommodate a seated dinner or cocktail-style receptions in its three connected rooms. Upstairs, the Suite is available for rental as a weekend stay or get-ready space before an event as part of your DeGroodt experience. You can also tent the driveway for a small outdoor dinner party, utilizing the garage for the bar.
Mother Co., Plants
Photos by Joe and Jen
Mother Co., Plants in Minneapolis, was created as an elevated extension of the shop for private events. It’s a space of texture, warmth, and simplicity, reminiscent of Southwest architecture. The large glass doors open into a pretty little courtyard perfect for entertaining indoors and out. Perfect for plant lovers!
The Lora & Hotel Crosby (Stillwater, MN)
Two hotels in historic Stillwater were made for intimate gatherings. The Lora is an award-winning hotel built into a cliff along the banks of the St. Croix river. Get married in their Cave Room, which features original stone walls from when the building used to be a brewery in the late 1800s.
Hotel Crosby can be described as laid-back luxury, taking decor cues from the lumber trade that was once a booming industry in the St. Croix River Valley. Located on Main Street, Hotel Crosby is within walking distance to just about everything.
6 Big Wedding Venues that Work for Small Weddings
Small weddings aren't just for small venues. Many of the most popular Minnesota wedding venues aren't limited to small events but can still host them beautifully.
If you've always wanted to have your wedding at one of these venues but thought your wedding was too small, think again! Through innovative design and smart floorplans you can have the tiny wedding of your dreams.
Hutton House
Photos by Cadence and Eli
Tucked away in an unexpected corner of Medicine Lake, The Hutton House is the perfect intimate wedding destination. The gorgeous, versatile space is one of the most sought after wedding venues in Minnesota, and it’s easy to see why—bright modern interiors, a dramatic staircase for a grand entrance, and a relaxed, welcoming vibe.
The Hutton House’s Fireside room is perfection for small fetes and the outdoor courtyard makes it even more versatile. This venue makes for an incredible indoor/outdoor small wedding experience.
Machine Shop
Photos by Cadence and Eli
While the main floor at Machine Shop gets all the love, the upstairs space is just as pretty and has multiple different options for a ceremony set up. An intimate wedding of 50 or fewer guests could fill the space nicely with the ceremony and reception. Everything is on one level with the bathrooms and dressing rooms close by.
Of course, the main floor is also wonderful and allows for some decor elements the upstairs does not—a large, dramatic ceremony backdrop for one.
Machine Shop has several rolling wood walls that make great partitions to divide up the space into smaller areas. Create a flow through the main floor for the different activities that are happening so your guests are getting a brand new point of view for the ceremony, reception, and dinner. Or, utilize both the main floor and upstairs, keeping in mind that you will need more decor or furniture to make the spaces feel appropriate for a small guest count.
Urban Daisy
Photos by Cadence & Eli
Tucked into the edge of Northeast Minneapolis, Urban Daisy calls the historic Fisk Building on Hennepin Avenue home—a structure dating back to 1917 that once served as a playing card and poker chip factory, a past still visible in the red ink stains on its concrete floors.
The venue spans 12,000 square feet of open space featuring high ceilings, large windows, and polished cement floors, with separate areas for ceremonies, receptions, and cocktail hours, as well as a built-in bar and seating for up to 270 guests. For smaller weddings, consider using just one section of the venue. It’s easy to put your ceremony and reception all in one of their large rooms.
Some of Urban Daisy’s amenities include retracting garage doors that let in plenty of sunlight, live trees, wall planters, two chair options, and two fun photo walls (daisies and disco balls). Not to mention their two beautiful getting ready spaces.
The Whim
Photos by Cadence & Eli
The Whim is Northeast Minneapolis’ newest venue and it couldn’t be more perfect for small celebrations.
Immersed in natural light and 1920s industrial beauty, The Whim is a design-ready space of sweeping white brick and elevated timber ceilings allowing you complete freedom to curate the tiny wedding of your dreams. If the weather is nice, you can utilize their beautiful outdoor patio before moving guests inside to the front of the space which features a gorgeous nook with a built in bookshelf to display photos or flowers or whatever you want. Set up the ceremony against the wall of windows for an intensely beautiful backdrop. You could do an entire small wedding in just the front of the space, with their curtains blocking off the back. Of course you can also open the curtains to reveal a second set up, perhaps dinner and dancing. Their hidden basement speakeasy space provides another fun element for you.
Quincy Hall
Photos by Cadence & Eli
Located in Northeast Minneapolis, Quincy Hall is a cool, eclectic, and industrial space with soaring 40’ vaulted ceilings, expansive windows, and open floorplan making it ideal for weddings of 10 to 1,000. It boasts a lot of great amenities including free parking.
The space can easily be divided with their curtains and gray wooden rolling walls, which is ideal for creating distinct, intimate spaces for the various aspects of the wedding day. Have your ceremony close to the entrance with all big windows and natural light, then move to another area close to the beautiful built in bar for social hour, then a final space for dinner. The options are endless for you to create your own custom flow throughout the venue.
Hollywood Theater
Photos by Cadence & Eli
Few event venues in Minnesota carry a story quite like the Hollywood Theater. Nestled in the Audubon Park neighborhood of Northeast Minneapolis, this Art Deco gem opened in 1935, with its marquee boldly proclaiming it the "Incomparable Showplace of the Northwest." The building's Streamline Moderne design features a smooth Kasota limestone exterior, a patterned terrazzo floor, gilded pillars, and acoustical tiles in geometric patterns.
Guests are welcomed into the intimate foyer with original (working) fountain and movie cases. Move guests into the main theater for your cinematic ceremony on the stage, followed by a small celebration. The space works well for small seated dinners or cocktail-style receptions.
Planning your small wedding in Minnesota
Small weddings are our jam. We would love to craft a truly original, intimate, and personal experience for you and your short list of guests in Minnesota or wherever you want to wed. Spring, summer, winter, fall—small weddings are for any season. Our immersive, high-touch approach is all about hospitality. You and your guests will feel truly special and taken care of. To learn more about our process, insight into average costs, and what it is like to work together, download our Wedding Experience Guide.
Consider a Micro Wedding Package
Couples looking for a stylish, done-for-you wedding should check out Minne Weddings.
Minne Weddings are all the awesome parts of a wedding without all the stuff you don’t want. Planned and designed by their award-winning team, Minne Weddings offers curated, all-inclusive packages: venue, officiant, planning, design, flowers and decor, photography, rentals, and more.