Restaurant Receptions

Ideas & Inspiration

Duplex Restaurant in Minneapolis provided the perfect locale for an uptown couple's summer nuptials.

Restaurant Receptions

The planning process for your wedding tends to take on a life of its own—and often becomes a metaphor for your relationship and the people and things most important to you. Every detail seems to be punctuated by a memory or moment in time. You chose peonies for your bridal bouquet because he gave you peonies on your first date. Your bridesmaids’ dresses are mimosa-hued tea-length beauties to commemorate the girls’ getaway to Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Your ceremony is in the same church in which his parents wed. And your reception is at a banquet center, um … just because?

Your personal touch doesn’t have to end with the ceremony. You can bring that same nostalgic twist to your reception by choosing a venue that does more than just serve chicken or fish, it adds another layer of personalization to your day. But you don’t have to set out on a nationwide search for a reception site that screams your name—just look in your own neighborhood for that one eatery that has special meaning to you.

Feels like home
“Restaurants are a good way to incorporate a personalized aspect to the wedding, especially if a couple has a connection to the restaurant, like they had their first date there or grew up going to family dinners there,” says Nicole Walesch, wedding planner and owner of b.inspired in Minneapolis. That personal connection is why Maggie Arends and Matthew Kulseth chose Duplex Restaurant & Wine Bar in Minneapolis for their reception last August.

“We had our first date at Duplex, so we immediately thought of it as a possibility,” Arends says. Other reasons included proximity to the couple’s house, where the ceremony took place—they rode their bikes to the restaurant for the reception—as well as the food. Guests dined on strawberry balsamic salad, mussels, and bruschetta; chose from Southern-style catfish, blackberry-glazed chicken, or vegetarian home-made pasta for the entrée; and were treated to a late-night snack of flatbread pizza and cupcakes for dessert. 

Besides the menu and location, Duplex offered Arends and Kulseth something they couldn’t get at more traditional reception venues—an affordable price. “It’s not a ‘wedding place’ and they didn’t charge us ‘wedding prices,’” Arends says. She does add one caveat: Planning a reception at a nontraditional venue can be a bit tricky. “I would not recommend a couple do this kind of reception without at least some planning help.”