Duluth Wedding Venues
I want to get married outside in Duluth with a nice view but I don’t want to spend a lot of money. What are some good places? And then I can’t decide if I’d want my wedding reception indoors or outdoors or at the same location as the ceremony. I need some ideas. I want it to be nice, but not too spendy.
Minnesota Point in winter. Beautiful and free.
I can vouch firsthand that Minnesota Point in the winter is an awesome place.
You can also rent the area of Leif Erickson Park where they do movies in the park. Nice backdrop. Near the lake, lots of green. The same with the gazebo/pavillion thing at Brighton Beach.
Both of those don’t offer much in the form of space for the reception. If you are looking for a direct view of the Lake that has room for both a ceremony and reception, your best bets are the Glensheen Mansion or Park Point near the beach house. You might be able to put up a tent at Leif Erickson, but I could be wrong.
Further up the shore you have Grand Superior Lodge and Superior Shores and Lutsen, all of which offer outdoor space for a ceremony on the shore of Lake Superior and space for a reception.
I’m guessing the cheapest of all those locations would probably be Park Point with the beach house since you could bring in your own catering and wouldn’t be requires to spend a minimum amount.
Sadly, there aren’t too many ceremony/reception options in Duluth, which surprises me a little, but it is what it is.
Hopefully this helps!
I should clarify that there aren’t too many ceremony/reception options ON THE LAKE in Duluth. There are tons of options for ceremonies and receptions in the city… not all of which are on the lake obviously.
I went to a friend’s wedding a few years ago on Park Point. She had the wedding at sunrise, followed by a reception at Enger Tower, catered by the Scenic Cafe. It was great! The whole celebration was done by 10 a.m. Everyone had a fabulous time and still had the whole day to explore beautiful Duluth.
You can rent out the beach house at the end of Park Point for $600.
Lafayette Square on Park Point is really affordable (around $400, I think). Access to the beach and the clubhouse is nice. Not as big as the beach house, but definitely accommodating for up to 100 people or so.
We got married in Enger Park. Don’t recall how much the space cost, but it wasn’t much. You just rent the little pubic building, basically. We had the ceremony by a nearby tree. The flowers were gorgeous in August. Lovely photos, I can email a few of you like. I assume you can rent our at least use the gazebo there, though we didn’t.
Grand Superior Lodge is probably the best all around space for a wedding and reception on Lake Superior. It is a ways out of town and I doubt it’s cheap but that can be relative when speaking of wedding budgets. Having everyone in one place can add a lot of value to your investment.
Lake Place in Duluth has a mini overlook created strictly for the purposes of weddings, unfortunately it is relatively unused. It would be cheap and close to just about everything in Downtown Duluth.
Forgot to add: I’ve DJ’d hundreds of receptions and weddings all over the area for the past 20 years. Email me if you want some more background and ideas
I have to tell you that although Park Point is beautiful any of the venues there will make your caterer want to shoot themselves.
Spirit Mountain. The lodge has an amazing view, it’s affordable for the size, and I’m sure there’s somewhere out there to get married outside if you want.
Getting hitched seems to be a popular topic on PDD. Various related links:
Duluth-area Wedding Dress Tailor
Duluth wedding reception ideas
Winter Outdoor Settings
Duluth Wedding Officiants?
Unique outdoor wedding ceremony venues?
Site for small reception in Duluth?
Duluth area wedding and reception
Enger is really nice, but watch out for fog — it gets pretty thick up there depending on the day/weather.
Spirit Mountain does a great job with being accessible with a really nice view and setup. Plus having the reception there is really convenient.
Good luck.
Ryan w/ Mere Cinema
Back a few years ago even if you rented the beach house out on Park point, the public was still allowed to access it at will. Not sure if this is still the case but may be something to check into.
I got married at the Deeps … at night … in the winter. It worked for us.
Oldenberg Point at Jay Cooke St. Park.
$25 reserves a large stone shelter with a huge fireplace, electricity and a catering area. There are two open areas nearby for a ceremony. You’re also a short walk from the scenic overlooks.
Hwy 210 washouts washed-out our August wedding. Oldenberg Point survived and the park should reopen in October.
Jay Cooke is closed for awhile because of flood damage. I’m pretty sure Hwy 210 is in very bad shape.
Back in June of 11 I got married at the pavillion out on Brighton Beach. It cost me 75 bucks for half the day at the pavillion and it was beautiful! It’s on the lake unless you mean foot-to-water on the lake. Friends of mine didn’t even rent the pavillion, they just stood on the rocks down there at sunset and did their thing which was also very beautiful.
If you rent the beach house, the house itself is unavailable for the public while you have it rented (this only applies to the interior – the exterior is still accessable to the public).
The most beautiful wedding I have ever been to was at Enger Tower in the summer. I’m old and have been to many weddings, of all sorts at all kinds of venues, from NorthLand Country Club & Kitch to 10 people in front of their fireplace at their home. This Enger event was truely the most gracious and lovely event ever. Plus you save a ton of $ on flowers becasue the city provides them. I like it better than the rose garden, speaking of city provided flowers, because it is less busy. And as any wedding, it’s not the venue, it’s the celebration of the event and the couple.
Thanks for the clarification, BadCat!
Gooseberry falls is awesome. $50 per building. The rest is what you make it.
I got married at the stone stage in Leif Erickson park and thought it went swimmingly. We had plenty of room for a combination of chairs, blankets, and standing room, you can use the electricity located on the back wall of the stage, and the lovely expanse of greenery provided a great backdrop for our pictures.
10/10. Would get married there again (Jebus forbid)
I got married at Fitger’s in Sept ’99. There’s a conference room with exposed stone walls (great backdrop!) upstairs next to the theater. We had a short & sweet 7 pm ceremony that rolled right into the reception keeping it simple & economical. Pictures were done outside before the ceremony on the lakewalk – turned out beautiful. Still get compliments on how much fun it was. Plus it’s pretty cool to say you were married in a brewery.
You can get married anywhere … on the shore of Lake Superior if you want … at a local state park, your back yard, where ever you want … and then have your reception at one of the many and varied restaurants that offer catering … or do a buffet. There are a lot of variations you can use and that will not cost you an arm and a leg and will still make your day very special. I have officiated at many weddings in so many beautiful settings such as on Lake Superior, on the lift bridge (yes, the middle of the lift bridge), Jay Cooke (which now is closed due to the recent weather), Enger Tower, Madeline Island, people’s back yard, Pattison Park, Gooseberry Falls, Split Rock, and so many more!
Oh – and PS – don’t for get to
Vote NO in NO-vember
I recently heard that a friend of mine from way back in high school had her wedding at the Old Main Park ruins (5th and 23rd). I wasn’t there but I can only imagine that it was a great venue. Plenty of space and the old arches provide an architectural and visually stimulating connection to the city and its past. Something to think about.