Profile Event Center, the Best Venue Ever!

As I'm sure many of you already know, Lauren and I have decided on a venue for the reception: the Profile Event Center in Minneapolis.

In the end, I think we wound up checking out about 7 or 8 places, and this was the best in many ways. Not only was it inexpensive, but they have no contracts with any outside companies, aside from their own food catering service at the adjacent restaurant. So that means we can bring in whatever liquor, photographers, cake, DJ, etc. that we want. Everywhere else that we had checked had certain places you needed to go through. Now our options are unlimited.

The part of this that Lauren and I are most excited for will be our big trip to the liquor store a few days prior to the wedding, where we stock up on beer, wine, and other fine liquors.

Also, this place has an awesome audio setup. They have all the speakers, lighting, and connections all set up and ready to go. I wouldn't have had to worry about finding a DJ in the first place, of course, but now I can just make a general playlist on my laptop and plug it into the house system and we're set for the night. I'm sure we'll find a friend to monitor the music anyway.

Another cool feature is their video system. They have several video cameras, and a couple big screens. We could have someone run the cameras and get close-ups of the speeches, or perhaps do a Twins-like "Kiss Cam" to entertain the guests.

The only downfall that we can see is the venue is located two blocks from the brand new TCF Field, home of the Gophers football team, and they have a game vs. Purdue that day. That could be a pain with 55,000 people next door. Even so, I think the pros outweigh the cons considerably with this place.

Lauren and I next will look for a venue for the ceremony itself. Stay tuned...