Laura and Hudson Wedding at Lowertown Event Center Saint Paul, MN

After promoting the Rooftop for engagement session in the Twin Cities, let’s follow Laura and Hudson’s day, from the makeup to their ceremony celebration in a basement venue. As always, I will take advantage of this couple’s special event, to share with you their choices (hoping that can help some readers), then I will detail the venue, and finally I will present similar or alternative options.

An Attaching Couple

Laura is a nurse, a job that I really value and appreciate. Taking care of people is really exhausting work to do, but rewarding in a human aspect. Hudson is busy selling warehouse options to big companies. As you might notice observing the pictures, he is madly in love with Laura. He is the kind of groom who would do anything to create a large smile on her beloved face, and he will be, I am sure, a great father. Laura is a clown, daughter of another clown, her father. She joked and made silly faces all day long. As most women, she is the artistic touch of the couple, paying attention to details. For this wedding you will see a lot of prohibition period style (30s). Also, as many women, she needs to be reassured and comforted. And this is what Hudson excels in, with tiny stars in his eyes.

Preparation at the Hyatt Place St. Paul

We first met in Minneapolis while they were looking for their wedding photographer to cover their ceremony in the Twin Cities. I warned Laura and Hudson that I would take not only the beautiful expected pictures, but also the unexpected moments: stress, tears, silly faces and awkward silence.

They gave me the green light for a real authentic reportage, and I had a lot of fun doing that all day. That especially applies to Laura who laughs all the time.

First Look

When the bride and the groom were both ready, we staged a first look. For that we used the Hyatt Hotel Lobby. It’s indeed a nice lobby that features enhanced parts of the previous building offices: customs.

Bride and groom portraits

We followed the first look with bride and groom pictures with the cinematic art nouveau door of the previous Custom House.

The bride wanted pictures at the adjacent Mears Park. Unfortunately, we discovered one week prior to the event that a Jazz festival was hosted on the place. Luckily, there were other options to take advantage of. For instance, I wanted to bring them to a rooftop. But first we headed toward a small park downtown, facing the Mississippi River and the Harriet Island.

On the way, we also stopped to take a few shots on Robert St to take pictures on the bridge.

Group pictures on the Kellogg Mall Park

After that we took the traditional bridal pictures on the Kellogg Mall Park, taking advantage of the fountain, the arbor and the view of the city. Then we ran out of time and headed to the Lowertown Event Center.

Wedding celebration at the Lowertown Event Center

Their ceremony was like their personality, full of emotions and silly moments. There was no rehearsal with their officiant (a friend), and thus was a powerful authentic moment. There was a lot of laughter and hilarious situations. I absolutely had fun capturing this moment. Then they welcomed everyone with a receiving line.

Finally, they signed their marriage certificate with their officiant and witnesses.

The party

After a grand entrance, they took the microphone to thank all their guests. Then followed the speeches. Some included wet eyes and tears. After the dinner, they opened the dance, with a remarkable silly dance. Finally, before I left we escaped on the rooftop of an adjacent building to take pictures using the sunset light before the night, taking advantage of the panoramic view of the city.

Presentation of the Lowertown Event Center

A historic building on Sibley Street

Opened less than 10 years ago, the Lowertown Event Center is a relatively new wedding venue in town. But, if you look at the limestone walls, the steel columns and the frontage of the building, then you understand it’s a century-old building.

Post-Industrial and Romanesque Style

As all the historical-style buildings, it has an interesting life. From the first owner who used it for a medical company, to present owners, it changed hands, and is now used as a restaurant and offices (the Park Square Court).

The architecture is pretty interesting. It’s a mix of Romanesque and red brick industrial (such as we can find in Stillwater).

So let’s see all the particularity (good and bad points) that this place offers:

Good sides:

• A Romanesque architecture is a mix of arched windows, and post-industrial style, with red bricks, and steel columns.
• A small bridal suite (with a makeup table but no natural light)
• A dedicated room to get married (pretty convenient)
• A large room for dinner with a wood floor ballroom
• Each room is decorated with multiple chandeliers. In photography I usually like to play with them to create artistic images.
• Rooms are equipped with tables and Chiavari chairs. If you do not have an idea of what Chiavari chairs are, it’s a style of nice chairs from Italy.
• A wedding coordinator (Charice).
• It’s located in a complex, so you (or your guests) can enjoy different bars or restaurants to have a drink or a rehearsal dinner the day before.
• The downtown St. Paul, adjacent photography spots: Mears Park, the little brick alley, rooftop, Rice Park, Irvine Park, the Union Depot, etc.

Bad sides:

• It’s located in the basement of the complex, so there are no windows. As a consequence there is no natural light, which is needed for good wedding photography.
• Low ceilings, decorated with tubes or exposed wood beams. In photography we would prefer a 10 feet high and white ceiling allowing us to use our flashes to properly light a room. This is pretty convenient, especially when we face a low light environment (which is the case in these venues).
• Not a dog-friendly place. Like the bride and the groom, you would have to leave your four-legged best friend at home.
• Public bathrooms. They are shared with the rest of the buildings.
• A choice of caterers’ vendors to hire. You cannot hire the caterer you want, but must choose among a short list of caterers with whom they have developed a partnership.
• Parking can be tough in St. Paul Downtown.

On the last point, I would like to thank Charice the coordinator, who was pleasant to work with. I value Charice’s responsiveness and flexibility each time I asked her something. For instance, the caterer staff was not very enthusiastic nor reactive to serve me my dinner fast, and were even rude. That lack of professionalism is something that bothers me, because I’m constantly running all day long, and only have a short window frame to eat between two events to photograph. I can’t eat and take pictures at the same time. Well, after a few words with Charice my dinner was ready.

4 Alternatives in Minnesota

If you like the historical aspect of this venue, you might be happy to discover 4 other historic venues.

Conclusion on the Lowertown Event Center

In my opinion, the Lowertown Event Center is a great place to get married. It’s beautiful and well located in St Paul Downtown, allowing you to take advantage of the other photography spots (such as the Mears Park). Nevertheless, the low ceilings and the lack of windows and the low light environment are a big problem for great wedding photography. Also you would need a very good photographer to have good pictures.

In consequence, if you are planning to get married there, call me and send me a message!