Science Museum of Minnesota

partner, Buttercream was delicious. We live out of state so I thought planning a wedding over the phone and emails would be difficult but our coordinator made it very easy. All the guests were very surprised with how beautiful and intimate the venue was for a science museum. You don't even feel like you are in a museum up at Elements Cafe because of how it is set up with the terrace. All the guests enjoyed their free admission to the museum the day of the wedding as well. Overall, had a beautiful wedding at SMM. Truly made our dreams come true.

ssed in our planning! The food was delicious and the venue stunning - we received so many positive comments from our guests, especially about the access to the terrace overlooking the Mississippi! The bride (our daughter) said it was "perfect" - hence the 5 star review :). Highly recommend!

y ever!

tion there. We had our reception in the Elements Cafe, which is a big open space that overlooks the museum and has a great patio area that looks out to the Mississippi river. During the day it is their cafeteria area for guests, but you could never tell that was the case once it is decorated! We had beautiful draping with lights going across the ceiling, they have a very nice black draping that covers the cafeteria area, and fun mood lighting. Everything was so elegant, the staff are top professionals, and it all flowed together! We loved everything! 100% would recommend for wedding receptions or other events you may host!

ss from the initial tour to the endless emails we sent them. They always responded quickly and were very courteous and helpful. They coordinated with our other vendors in such a professional manner that it greatly reduced our stress on the wedding day. It was a unique and beautiful location and we were very happy with how everything turned out.

took long to respond to even the smallest question and helped with everything she could. Everyone on the Science Museum events side was great to work with too. When we got to the day of the event everything was STUNNING and the Lancer catering staff was so fast and efficient and even immediately helped us when we forgot cake cutting items. My guests favorite parts were the food and the amazing perk in the contract that base admission to the Museum was included to take their kids around to learn. It was great and I would recommend this unique venue to anyone, even people who aren't nerds like us!

um which was a delightful bonus. The food was delicious. The staff were wonderful to work with, especially Kaitlin who really went above and beyond to make our day special. I have nothing but glowingly positive things to say.

new that Elements Cafe would be beautiful once it was flipped over but I was blown away with how everything turned out the day of our wedding. The food and service from Lancer Catering was also fantastic. The chef even made our guests cannolis as a special request!

d reception in the same place so that guests did not need to relocate or move. Kaitlin, Laura, and the entire staff did an amazing job. Kaitlin and Laura were great at communicating before the wedding to iron out details, and I met with Kaitlin twice before our big day. Everything on the day of the wedding went smoothly. The food was absolutely delicious, and every detail went according to plan. The staff went above and beyond to be sure that things were perfect for me and my husband. My guests commented on how much fun they had at our wedding and how great the venue was. I highly recommend the Science Museum of Minnesota!

ng a wedding here is their relationship with Buttercream. I'll leave a separate review for them, but suffice to say, they RUINED our cake and are doing their best to ignore me now. So just save yourself the hassle, and plan on paying extra to get a cake from someone else, because the Science Museum is 100% worth it!

nning process. I thought I was organized and then I met Kaitlin! She was so patient and articulate and made sure all of our questions were answered. The actual wedding was gorgeous and the staff exceeded our expectations. From the security to the wait staff, everyone was so professional and made sure all we had to do was enjoy our night. We couldn't have asked for a better venue. Plus our guests loved the museum!!!

ivered. Lancer was extremely accommodating of our vegetarian diet, and guest dietary needs throughout the planning process, and made a menu that we and our guests loved. The space was perfect for what we wanted, and the day of event staff ran everything so smoothly that neither of us were stressed about a single thing that day. The highlight for us choosing the museum was that we were able to visit the museum along with our guests. We got photos in the exhibits that exceeding all of my dreams. I couldn't have asked for a better day filled with love, science, and good food. I would happily recommend a wedding at The Science Museum of Minnesota.

nue was, how tasty the food was, and how friendly all the science museum staff was throughout the night! I highly recommend the Elements Cafe for a reception-- the cafe's ambiance, views, and location were out of this world! Kaitlin was especially amazing to work with. She was so responsive to all our questions and really helped us make the best menu/drink/room layout decisions for our wedding day! We were so glad to have her help in planning our wedding day at the Science Museum. Also: on top of great menu/bar options, awesome staff, and beautiful ceremony/reception rooms- you also get to take photos all around the exhibits!!!! The photo ops are endless! We are so happy we chose the Science Museum!!! Our guests still can't stop raving about how perfect of a venue it was! :)

r friends and family (and us) loved how the space looked for the wedding. We also loved how different this was than most locations -- everyone loves a picture with the T-Rex while in a tux or dress! We had fun on the musical steps and loved the great views of the city. The museum staff also went above and beyond the next day when we went back to pick up the linens. Lancer catering is the exclusive caterer for the museum and they were great to work with, especially with dietary modifications for our guests. They had tons of food options, and it was all delicious. If we could have another party here, we absolutely would!

onable. Kaitlin with Lancer Catering was wonderful to work with. We appreciated her organization and guidance in planning our wedding. She was very prompt with communication, and made everything feel so easy! Even when we wanted to make last-minute changes, she was extremely helpful and accommodating. It was a perfect night! Thank you!

lexible with us. I would highly recommend hosting your wedding at the Science Museum!

location and guests loved it. We highly recommend the Science Museum.

h that it was as easy as being there. I wish I could relive the day over and over again- the venue, the coordination and the food were all excellent, and we received compliments galore on all of the above. I went to the Science Museum often as a child, and it was so special to enjoy the best day of my life there with family and friends. Mahalo from Hawaii!!

my husband loves dinosaurs. Everyone we worked with from the beginning to end were very helpful and quick to respond! Their catering company, Lancer, had amazing food and we got tons of compliments on the food! The catering coordinator, Kaitlin, was great and was very easy to communicate with through the whole process. She was always quick to respond to the million questions I had and if she didn't know the answer she found out and got back to me! The food and venue space were reasonably priced and our guests loved having access to the museum before and during the reception. We have gotten so many compliments on our wedding and I'm so glad we had our wedding at the museum!

n, were a joy to work with while planning. We sent probably over 100 emails before the big day and Kaitlin was always super helpful and quick to respond every time. Before finding the science museum, we looked at many venues around the metro and found the science museum’s prices to be very reasonable. I really can't recommend them enough. The space is so fun and includes many extra’s like admission to the museum and validated parking and tons of great photo spots – we used the musical stairs for our family photos. The terrace was heavily utilized all night with gorgeous views of the Mississippi. It was an absolutely perfect venue and wonderful experience working with Kaitlin and the entire team.

volved costs, very quick to respond to emails, answered all of our questions thoroughly, and were very accommodating about letting us see the space multiple times. We are an out-of-town couple, so this was very important to us. We booked in the Elements Cafe and even though our weather was terrible, our guests had a great time and we still get compliments on it a month later! Plus, in addition to getting a beautiful room and great experience, all of your guests get admission to the museum day-of (great for entertaining while you take group photos!), validated parking, and a year membership to the museum. I wish we could rate higher than 5 stars!

the information we needed to book the location very easily. Since I don't live in the twin cities, she sent me videos and walked me through the venue to give me a better idea. The venue fit our 130 guest very nicely with room for DJ, dance floor, cake table, photo booth and bar. I especially like the musical stairs leading up to the cafe area and the separation of space for the cocktail hour and the rest of the reception. Our guest loved the outdoor patio space overlooking the Mississippi (makes for great pictures!). As added bonus, all guest received free admission and parking to the museum on the wedding day which worked out well. This gave the guest something to do during the day as the ceremony and reception didn't start until 5pm. The proximity to so many hotels makes this a great spot in St.Paul. I would highly recommend the Science Museum of Minnesota as a venue for your special day as well as other events (they have rooms of different sizes for different needs). About the catering/food: Our wedding was held at the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul, MN. The venue works with Lancer Catering and Buttercream Bakery. The food was AMAZING! We received many compliments on the food, especially the Naan bread and the Mac N Cheese dish. My husband and I have different backgrounds (I am Malaysian-Indian and he is American). We wanted a menu that reflected our background. Lancer has an incredibly diverse array of food options from many parts of the world. Kaitlin at Lancer was wonderful and worked with us every step of the way. We ended up with a custom menu served as part of a buffet. Lancer was very accommodating with last minute additions and changes. I was honestly terrified about planning an event this big from a distance (I live in Boston). Kaitlin made it a breeze, I had no stress at all! Our correspondence through e-mails and phone calls worked out great! We received videos, pictures and timely updates along the process. The wedding day catering staff did a great job as well. They took care of everything and we just concentrated on having a blast. I would highly recommend working with Kaitlin and Lancer for your catering needs.

dresses up beautifully! Lancer's food was delicious and reasonably priced. Finally, Kaitlin was so easy to work with - she was prompt and thorough in responding, she was incredibly organized, and she eased any of our concerns from the moment we started working with her through the big day and beyond! THANK YOU ALL!

Discovery Hall which is great if you are looking to have a smaller-sized wedding (we had 114 attend). Kaitlin with Lancer Catering was very responsive to our questions, our vendors' questions, had great attention to detail and was overall a pleasure to work with. The food was great and the menu selection flexible. Other perks included the free museum access (which our guests loved) and free parking. Security and basic decor were also included in the rental. Could not be happier with our selection and highly recommend this venue.

Kaitlin did a wonderful job. She was always so helpful right up to the end. No matter what is was. Always quick to respond to our many questions we would send her, never took more than a day to get a reply. It has been almost 2 months since our wedding and we still have people telling us how it was the most fun and beautiful wedding they have ever been too! The food was also wonderful. Everything was delicious! I would recommend the SMM and Lancer catering to anyone if they want a day nothing short of perfection!

along with her staff went above and beyond in doing this and when we walked into Elements Cafe that night I was speechless! My daughter, Nicole is our only child. She was born way too early with not much chance to live too long. She is now 32 and met the man of her dreams, got engaged and booked this venue over a year ago at my husband's recommendation after renovating it a few years ago. If we could have given her the moon we would have but believe me, this was the moon! It is a gorgeous venue and the patio with panoramic views is breathtaking. The staff was wonderful, the food was incredible and I would highly recommend this for not only a wedding but any event!

constant emails and getting back to us ASAP with our answered questions. Since I was planning this wedding from out of state it was hard to get a feel for the space, but the pictures and customer service really helped me feel at ease. I got to spec out the venue for the first time a few days before our wedding and it was perfect. After some flowers, table cloths, and other minor decorations the Argon room looked beautiful. I loved the art on the walls and it added some color variation to the room. On the day of the event the coordinator was beyond helpful, making sure the staff was doing what they needed to be, escorting guests and answering and handling any last minute requests. My only complaint would be the candy bar we ordered. It was lackluster for the price paid. Specific candy I asked for ran out quickly, but they did restock it when i requested. And it could of been decorated better, the black table cloth was not a good choice. But everyone loved it anyways! Overall, we were very happy we chose the Science Museum and for our small wedding of under 50 guests the Argon room was a perfect setting. One of the added benefits is that we got free access to the museum for ourselves and our guests. So we were able to take pictures next to dinosaurs, and other awesome exhibits. A great day for sure! Thank you.

the museum to name a few, but Kaitlin really worked incredibly hard and diligently to make sure all our questions were answered and helped us have an amazing day. We loved working with her and her team at the Science Museum!

s is PERFECT for unpredictable MN weather. Kaitlin is wonderfully responsive, which was incredibly helpful and put us at ease. Only disappointment came down to food service - the fish had bones in many of the guests dishes and was not as good as the tasting. The dinner service was almost an hour late actually bringing out our meal, which really set our schedule behind and forced us to cut things from programming. Huge bummer. Otherwise, a good experience.

t she was always gracious and quick to respond... even while planning her own wedding! We rented Discovery Hall for our reception and had our own private balcony and view of the river (guests loved this!). The entire staff was so accommodating with changes, early arrival for set-up, and making sure that everything was in order for our big day. Oh, and the food was ridiculously mouth-watering; portions were HUGE. Guests were raving about Lancer Catering and were super impressed with our menu choices. I would recommend this venue over and over again. The staff, food, location, fluid communication, and overall focus on the bride and groom cannot be topped!

all over the world and 22 states. Without exception, people were delighted with the the whole experience. Locals couldn't believe how the "Elements Cafe" could be transformed into an enchanting space. Midway Rental along with Kaitlin Caron worked together to create this magical venue. The Science Museum site staff worked incredibly hard to make it perfect. All this was done with highest level of professionalism and respect. Disregard the reviews prior to Fall of 2015; the new event coordinator is fantastic, timely and accommodating . Enjoy you great find in the Science Museum Reception Space!

door and outdoor patio areas of this space. It is amazing how they transform this space for a special event! Lancer Catering did a TREMENDOUS job, going far above and beyond with their service to us that night! As for the food, it was AMAZING! Two-weeks later our guests are still raving about their dinners (the steak was cooked to perfection ;-) Both Lancer and SMM staff were easy to work with and accommodated our every need from start to finish of planning our special day. In the end, we came in under what our final invoice was supposed to be, and a reimbursement was immediately made to us! We could not possibly be happier about the way the event went. Thank you so much to all the staff that made everything possible!

made the whole room look absolutely beautiful and was definitely worth it! The food we had at the tasting was great, but the meals served on our wedding day were phenomenal! The Lancer staff was kind, polite, and helped us with everything from unexpected guests, unknown allergies, and packing up the cupcakes at the end of the night! A couple of months before the wedding date we were assigned to a new wedding coordinator, Kaitlin Keller, and she was absolutely amazing! She was organized, professional, knowledgeable, and she replied to any (and all) questions we had in a very timely manner (usually the same day if not within a few hours)! The bartenders were awesome, and the day of coordinator kept everything running smoothly. The only time we were approached was when the coordinator was changing hands for the evening, otherwise, we didn't even know they were there (and that's how it should be)! We had no worries or stresses the entire event and couldn't be happier with how the day turned out!

feedback from our Guests. Staff very attentive and accommodating. We also really appreciated the support in terms of dealing directly with all the other vendors and ensuring the collaboration would lead to a perfectly organized event. We definitely recommend this venue.

Science Museum event coordinators and the new Lancer Catering sales manager were all great to work with and very responsive to emails (easiest mode of communication for us while both working full time). They were even willing to meet with us at the venue the week before the wedding so we could more easily picture the floor plan and to finalize details for the ceremony. We liked that we were able to book the venue, food, drinks, cake (they use Buttercream in St. Paul), and decorations all through one contact which really simplified planning for us. Everything went perfectly and it was a beautiful venue for the ceremony and reception!

windows (which showcased a gorgeous view of the sunset), a large patio with a panoramic view of the river, a floor plan that accommodated both a cocktail reception area (overlooking dinosaurs) as well as a large seating area for dinner with several options for decorating (lighting, chair covers, napkins, etc.). Other key features include free, covered parking, passes to the museum on the day of the wedding (if guests need something to do between the wedding and the reception, this is a built-in option) and is conveniently located downtown St. Paul with several hotel options in the immediate vicinity. We viewed several other reception locations but found SMM to be the most enticing. Not only is the space beautiful but the food and service were top notch. Several guests came up to us the night of the reception and commented on how good the food was. Working with Kaitlin Keller, Catering Sales Manager from Lancer Catering and Jennifer Ernst George, SMM Facility Sales and Event Manager made our lives easier as they helped us navigate through the planning process. They were knowledgeable and very responsive. I would highly recommend this venue.

ved having access to the patio and all of the windows let in a lot of light and made things feel spacious and elegant. You must use Lancer Caterer- there are a lot of food and other options to make your wedding go well. The person who showed us the space was great and very thorough and the coordinator was pretty easy to get in touch with at first, however the closer we got to the day of, the more difficult it was to reach the coordinator in a timely manner. She has a lot on her plate, with multiple events going at once,and gets hundreds of emails a day. We had a difficult time getting answers about food (some of our guests had allergies) or updated estimates and this was likely because of the multiple people needing to be involved since it's a large place. Being a big place, there are a lot of restrictions which is understandable however these were not communicated through the coordinator. The coordinator was not able to check in with our vendors so we needed to provide all of the information we had to our other vendors. We met with the coordinator the day before the event, which was helpful but there were things that we had to follow up with at that point so we did need to make last minute changes, particularly with our other vendors which luckily worked out ok, but would have liked to do that before a day before our day. The coordinator is not the person there for the day of, there are event leads that do the actual event. There was miscommunication about when vendors could arrive (this made things a bit tricky on the day of and we were fielding calls from vendors), what time the parking ramp and bar closed and the staff communicated this to our DJ. The day of staff were helpful but did give misinformation which was a bit frustrating because some of our guests left after they heard things were closing at 11 (they actually closed the bar at 12). Luckily we had an amazing friend helping with everything on our end and she took care of most of the scrambling on the day of, if we had not had her things would not have gone smoothly. The miscommunication and the fact that the coordinator is stretched thin is disappointing since we felt like we spent plenty of money for things to run smoothly and effectively instead of having to have our family and friends pitch in . Overall, this is a great location, and the food was great- but have or hire someone to help you with all of the coordination to keep the stress down.

early impossible and we didn't get a quote until the 11th hour with no time to make any alternative decisions. I would recommend having your reception here but you have to be on the Lancer rep CONSTANTLY to get the information you need or you'll end up going double over budget out of sheer last minute panic like we did. That being said, the food was amazing!

tour the exhibits. The young guests especially liked this because they could go down and look at the museum with their parents if they were feeling a little antsy. The food was wonderful, The serving staff was great and staff who set up the room transformed it. The only downside was the Lancer wedding coordinator Kim. She would not respond to emails in a timely manner, she was not pleasant to work with and things were not getting done. Fortunately we had hired our own wedding planner and once we asked her to step in, things started moving. I would not recommend this venue unless you hire outside help with coordination. ( unless things change)

lutely delicious, from simple appetizer wraps to the marinated sirloin steak (probably the most tender sirloin I have ever had). The Buttercream cake was also fantastic! Though we were initially disappointed that we couldn't "personalize" certain things (you have to stick to their menu, drink selections, etc.), it ended up being much easier than working with several different parties/companies. Atmosphere-wise, it was lovely. The ceiling drapes are definitely worth it. We arranged for the guests to go on a photo scavenger hunt in the museum (free admission for all guests!), and asked the guests to send their pictures to a Dropbox account, where we uploaded them and put them on a slideshow during the reception. Acoustically, the space also worked very well for our jazz combo (cocktail hour) and jazz band (dance). The negative aspects of this space were minimal, but still notable. first of all, it's pretty expensive (but not unreasonable for a big venue in downtown St. Paul). Second, communication with Kim (Lancer Catering) and the Science Museum was spotty during the planning process, but when it came down to the week of our wedding everyone responded promptly and was very accommodating. Finally, the biggest bummer of the night is that we couldn't find anyone to open the doors to the outside pavilion. It was raining before the reception, but that had subsided after dinner. It would have been really nice to use that beautiful space! :( All-in-all, it was a magical place to have our reception. Our guests LOVED the scavenger hunt, the music, and the food!

wonderful, but the caterer they make you use needed help. It would take weeks to get a response to an email if your wedding wasn't less than a month away. When your contact person is on vacation, there isn't anyone else at the catering company that can answer your questions. Even 4 weeks away from the wedding, it still takes a week to get a response to your questions.

oom into a fairy tale! There were a few times during the wedding planning process that we had trouble getting a hold of someone to answer our questions so make sure you have a list when you do get a hold of someone - phone calls are better than e-mails. If you are able to book Elements Cafe, you will not be sorry! We loved being able use the balcony that overlooks the Mississippi River. Beautiful!

rop and our guests got to walk through the exhibits for free on the day of the wedding. The Lancer catering company was very professional and the food they provided was great. I would definitely recommend to anyone for a big event.

o visit the museum is a great unique touch for guests. Service was good had some bumps in the early stages of planning but worked it all out and in the end everything was great!

th a couple of the exhibits, and took a lot of shots outside in the "backyard" area too. Aside from the few pictures we took with the dinos, you really can't tell we were in a kid oriented museum. We used the elements cafe as our reception site. It was perfect. Our older relatives had a great time sitting on the balcony chatting while some of the younger folks danced inside. We loved that people had the option of being near to or away from the music and weren't stuck huddling in a corner trying to catch up with old friends while Sweet Caroline was turned up to full blast. The staff were helpful, responsive and kind. We had some issues with the security staff, but everyone did their best to make sure we were happy with the situation. overall, it was f-ing awesome.