Wedding FAQ

While we encourage all of our wedding clients to host both portions of their wedding here at the Arboretum for ease of their attending guests, we understand this may not always be the case. We welcome ceremony-only or reception-only wedding events year-round

Yes. We can place a two week hold on one ceremony and one reception location for your event. Please inquire with an Arboretum Reservations/Events Staff member regarding availability and what information is needed to place this hold.

Once a contract is drafted up, you will have two weeks to review and sign the needed documentation. We cannot accept any form of payment until a signed contract is received by the Arboretum Reservations/Event team. 

All wedding events are required to place a deposit of $300 for ceremony-only events or $750 for ceremony and receptions or reception-only events in order to secure their reservation. This deposit is non-refundable, but does apply to the event’s final balance. Your final balance will be due 90 days prior to the wedding date. Please inquire with the Arboretum Reservations/Events team for pricing of available spaces.

The MN Landscape Arboretum requires all wedding events to obtain general liability insurance if there are 25 or more event attendees and/or if the event chooses to serve alcohol. This insurance is due 30 days prior to the day of your event.

Rental fees are dependent on the day of the week and your membership status. A 30% rental discount will apply to any wedding event hosted on a Monday-Thursday and a 15% rental discount will apply to any wedding event hosted on a Friday or Sunday. Wedding events hosted on a Saturday do not receive a rental discount, outside of having a membership. The contract holder must be a member of the Arboretum at the time of booking in order to obtain the membership discount.

All deposits are non-refundable. Any additional or final payments that are made within 90 days of the wedding are also non-refundable.

When your guests arrive at the Arboretum, they need to communicate to our Gatehouse staff which event they plan to attend. Once approved, our Gatehouse staff will direct your guests where to park or hand them a map with a highlighted route of the best pathway to take to get to the ceremony location. If needed, passengers can be dropped off at the garden or building entrances.

For most events, your guests’ admission into the Arboretum for the day is included with the cost of the room rental. If your guests would like to arrive earlier or stay later to explore Arboretum grounds, they are welcome to do so within building and grounds hours. Parking is free of charge to all Arboretum guests, but is permitted in designated areas only.

We are unable to reserve any parking spaces for your guests; these are public parking spaces and may be used by other Arboretum guests on a first come, first served basis.

Yes, the Arboretum Reservations/Events team places signage throughout our main building each morning so, regardless of which entrance is used, your guests will arrive at the correct location. You are welcome to place directional signage outside for ceremonies, however it must be free standing and removed promptly after the ceremony finishes.

The Arboretum parking lots, garden paths, and buildings are ADA accessible. A limited number of wheelchairs are available at the front desk to use at no charge. Two of our garden spaces, the Knot Garden and the Oak and Nut Collection, are not ADA accessible.

The Arboretum is a smoke-free facility, including the grounds. No smoking of any kind is tolerated on the property.

No. Photography permits are included for couples who choose to have their wedding at the Arboretum. Couples who choose to have their wedding at the Arboretum are also provided a complimentary engagement photography session. Please inquire with the Arboretum Reservations/Events Team when setting up your session. 

For any photography sessions, the couple, as well as the photographer must stay on paths and paved areas to protect our gardens and landscapes. Any damage to the property will be charged to the rental account. Please be respectful of other groups taking photographs.

Yes. You can schedule a complimentary ceremony rehearsal no earlier than three months prior to the wedding date. Rehearsals are scheduled on a first come, first served basis and are subject to move locations and/or times to accommodate other private, paying events. Rehearsals must be scheduled within building and grounds hours and are not allowed to be scheduled on the day of the wedding. An Arboretum Reservations/Events staff member will be present for a portion of the rehearsal to answer any questions you might have.

The MN Landscape Arboretum Reservations/Events Team and Catering Teams do not provide decorations to our events. All of our wedding events assume the responsibility for setting up and taking down decorations. Any free standing decorations are allowed. Decorations needing to be placed on walls are only permitted with the use of command strips. No nailing, stapling, or taping decorations to walls and ceilings is allowed, and absolutely no hanging decorations from the chandeliers or copper piping in the spaces will be tolerated. 

Sparklers, open-flame candles, fireworks, balloons, confetti, and glitter are not permitted on site. Arboretum staff reserves the right to consider any decorations inappropriate, and any special or unique decorations, including butterfly releases and unity candles, are not allowed without prior written approval by Arboretum Reservations/Event Team staff. Flower petals, if dropped, must be real petals and cleaned up directly following the ceremony.

Ceiling drapery is only allowed in the MacMillan Auditorium and must be previously arranged through the Arboretum Reservations/Events Team.

The Arboretum Reservations/Events team is staffed seven days a week and will have at least one staff member present on the day of your wedding should you need to get a hold of us. This staff member will check in with you prior to your wedding start time to ensure you have everything you need. In the week leading up to your wedding, you will receive a final details email that will include a phone number. You will be able to reach the Arboretum Reservations/Events team on this phone number during the day of your event.

Vendor delivery and pickup needs to occur during the access times listed on your event contract. Also included in the final details email you will receive will be a gate code to get into the Arboretum after hours. Please communicate this code to your vendor as we will not have the Gatehouse staffed after hours and this will be the only way for your vendors to get into the Arboretum. The Arboretum is not responsible for additional fees acquired from vendors arriving after rental time frames to pickup items.

Tables and chairs are included in the cost of the room rental for your event. You will work closely with an Arboretum Reservations/Events team member to develop a room layout that works best for your event needs.

You are also welcome to rent tables and chairs, along with any additional event needs or decorations through an outside vendor if you prefer.

Planning your wedding can go at your own pace. We like to meet with couples one time to go over room layouts, questions, and overall event details whenever you are ready to plan. Of course there will be ongoing communication with updates and many of our couples choose to have an additional meeting over zoom or a phone call to touch base.

Yes, we have four spaces available for changing room usage on the day of your event. These spaces are reserved on a first come, first served basis with access to the space from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. on the day of your wedding. All personal belongings and items being stored must be removed by 6 p.m.

All of our wedding events with a reception have access to their private rental spaces beginning at 10:00AM for decoration setup. Building and grounds hours are subject to change throughout the year. 

All of our wedding ceremony events receive one complimentary hour of setup and one hour of takedown in the garden, as long as these hours fall within our building and grounds hours. Building and grounds hours are subject to change throughout the year. The Arboretum Reservations/Events team cannot be held responsible for any lost or damaged items in reserved spaces.

All decor items must be cleaned up promptly following the ceremony, including any arbors/arches, flower petals that were dropped, or other remaining items. 

Any trash left behind, including wedding programs, water bottles, or ceremony giveaways is the couple’s responsibility to take care of.

All food and beverage for wedding events is required to go through our on-site catering services. Please connect with our catering team for more information on available options, current food and beverage minimums, and other pertinent information. A dessert of the couple’s choice is permitted as long as it comes from a licensed bakery. No outside food and beverage is allowed, including in our changing rooms, without prior written approval by the Arboretum Reservations/Events team and/or the Arboretum catering team. Breakfast and lunch options for changing rooms can be arranged through the catering team or anyone is welcome to utilize our on-site cafe for food needs throughout the day. Any Arboretum staff member is allowed to confiscate outside food or beverage that is brought into the buildings or to garden sites. 

The Arboretum Reservations/Events team and the Arboretum Catering team are a part of two separate companies. As such, the Arboretum Reservations/Events team cannot speak to the policies and procedures of the Arboretum Catering team and vice versa. You will have two main contacts to connect with throughout the planning process: one through the Arboretum Reservations/Events team and one through the Arboretum Catering team. However, rest assured. We work side by side with all of our teams here at the Arboretum to ensure that everyone is on the same page and that you will have a successful event.

Some of our rentable spaces come equipped with A/V equipment, others do not. Additional A/V equipment can be rented, including a projector, bluetooth speaker, Smart meeting board, TV, and microphones. Please inquire with the Arboretum Reservations/Event Team for options. 

You are also welcome to bring and utilize your own A/V equipment for your event.

You are responsible for cleaning up any decorations you bring into the space for your event.

The Arboretum will not be held responsible for items left overnight or items that are lost or stolen from the wedding event, but will do everything in our power to track down any missing items the day after the wedding.