Norskedalen Nature and Heritage Center

Next to hiring our photographer, Rachel Traxler, selecting Norskedalen as our ceremony and reception venue was the best choice we made during our wedding planning process. Kristin Glomstad was a joy to work with while we were planning; she was so polite, responsive, and accommodating and was always able to provide helpful suggestions when we hit a blip in the planning and coordinating process. While we were planning, my *then* fiance and I lived across the state, and Kristin was so flexible in letting us stop by to explore, plan, etc. whenever we were in town. This was so helpful for drawing up reception plans, getting an idea of decor in the space, etc. The entire rental space accommodated (*comfortably*) yard games, an outdoor cocktail area, outdoor seating, dancing, a full buffet, dessert tables, a ceremony space, DJ booth, and all of our guests! Norskedalen is truly an ideal outdoor wedding venue. I was concerned about the distance from our guest accommodations to the venue, but we easily remedied that by hiring Ready Bus Company to shuttle our guests to Norskedalen from the hotel and then back to the hotel at three separate times during the evening: worked like a charm! Because the venue is essentially a blank slate, it can appear quite daunting when initially starting out; do not panic! My mom and I planned, organized, and coordinated the wedding, so it is doable (with the help of lots and lots of wine), but I will say that hiring a coordinator, or a day-of coordinator, would help you immensely in the planning and coordinating process. We moved all of the picnic tables from the pavilion to the yard and behind the ceremony area for additional seating (you will need to have lots of hands on board for this if you choose to go this route!). We then brought in tables and chairs from an area rental company and they fit perfectly with the rustic-charm of the pavilion. I was bummed that open flames were not allowed, but we chose to use battery tea lights and lots of twinkly light strands and it was beautiful (: For the cocktail area, we moved the pavilion bar outside to the area between the pavilion kitchen and the preserved house next door (stabilized with lots and lots of wood cookies). We used this as the "hard liquor" station. Two tables were also lined against the house and those were used for wine and wine glasses. Our kegs and non-alcoholic beverages were lined against the kitchen. Some family members strung lights from the kitchen roof to the house and it was the dreamiest cocktail area! In addition to the ceremony and reception areas, there are so many opportunities for gorgeous photos at Norskedalen. With the backdrop of the coulee, the bluffs, and the Bekkum Homestead, the photos that Rachel captured were stunning! Can you tell that I was (and still am) obsessed with this place?? This is also a great venue for kiddos, if you're choosing to have them at your wedding; we had quite a few at ours and they kept themselves out of trouble and plenty busy catching tadpoles in the pond, exploring Troll Trail, playing yard games, etc. (: I really cannot say enough good things about this venue and the wonderful people who keep this place up and running; if you're looking for breathtaking, outdoor venue that you can customize to your liking, definitely consider Norksedalen!

Over all Norskedalen was beautiful and exactly what I wanted. They were transitioning between wedding coordinators but I was well taken care of. One thing to know about this vendor is that they do not allow any open flames. Just something to keep in mind if you were hoping for that sparkler send off!

I really can't think of a way this venue could be more perfect for an outdoor wedding because there is just so much land and beauty around, you have so many photo opportunities. The only bad part of our experience was working with Tammy, in the office, as apparently she was the only one who deals with booking weddings there. On my first meeting with her, which I was so excited about being newly engaged and excited about starting to do these things, she insulted me by handing me the packet of all the information about the venue, and said "and please read it, as most people don't," which I was already planning on doing anyways. After that I had my fiance call down there when we had questions and she started out fine with him, but then eventually gave him attitude too. It's really just too bad that such a beautiful wedding venue has someone with such awful customer service skills, especially when dealing with people who are so excited to make a huge memory in their lives there. The last part I want to mention about her is that she emailed me two days before the wedding and said "I don't have a lot of notes on your wedding, but I'm thinking you're still planning on getting married here on Saturday, as you've paid." I responded by telling her I was not going to be available by email being so close to wedding events starting, so she then called and had the nerve to add to her brochure of things to read that she wanted each car parked at Norskedalen overnight to have a parking permit on them. So then I told her it was too late for that as it was not in the brochure and I wasn't going to make an announcement at the reception telling people this, because of her lack of planning, which she didn't believe it was she told me "well it's just kind of common sense (that they would need a parking permit.)" She really was a bear to work with throughout, but then said we were the best group that had been through there after the wedding (when it didn't matter). So she alone really makes choosing Norskedalen as a venue a toss up. Also, if you are planning on moving the picnic tables out of the shelter and bringing in tables and chairs as well as other decorations and things, know it is a lot of work, so have plenty of people lined up to help! which we did, but I felt bad about everyone having to work so hard after the fact, because the weather was extremely hot during set up on Friday, the Wedding day, and clean up on Sunday.