
Question:
Dear Rev. Tomkin,
As you know, just around the corner — the evening of Wednesday, January 11, 2012 — is our third annual Wedding Showcase at the McNamara Center at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis! It’s a great event to help engaged couples imagine a wedding reception in our spaced here. Delicious food, live music by a 10-piece band…very fun night. We hope to see you there!
Sincerely,
Amy
Amy Leyden | Director of Sales & Marketing
McNamara Alumni Center
200 Oak St. SE, Suite 100 | Minneapolis, MN 55455
Phone: 612.625.8876
Visit our website at www.mac-events.org
Facebook: MAC | Twitter: @McNamaraEvents
Winner of Best Meeting Facility (Non-Hotel) 2007-2010
Minnesota Meetings and Events magazine
Answer:
Dear Amy,
Ooh, I love the Wedding Showcase at the McNamara Center – count me in!
Note to readers: This is a super-fun event, completely free (although you need to RSVP here). There are hair and makeup consultations, you get to see all the rooms set up for weddings (which is really quite spectacular), and it’s a very festive atmosphere. It’s fun to actually enjoy being engaged – buying magazines, searching the internet, watching movies – and part of the experience is going to a wedding showcase, seeing various ways flowers can be set up, what food options are available, and what vendors offer in ways you might not think of (an espresso bar, or photo booth, for instance). Other wedding events are often held in non-wedding locations such as conference halls, which isn’t as inspiring as this one, which is held in the unique McNamara Center, with its fantastic architecture, water features, and combination of old and new design elements.
For instance, check out this old-school stone arch from the former University of Minnesota sports coliseum, which has been rebuild into the inside of the modern McNamara Center:
This arch is in the same room as the amazing avant garde architecture of the McNamara’s main room:
There are other rooms available for wedding ceremonies and receptions, too, if your wedding is more intimately sized:
Other wedding reception options at the McNamara Center:


I’ve performed wedding ceremonies in all the above rooms (reviews here), and if you go to the Wedding Showcase, you’ll see them set up for receptions, and you can get inspired. Some brides go with their grooms, and some with their mothers or friends…either way, it’s a great way to spend time having fun being engaged, while getting to meet vendors, see the McNamara Center in all its different aspects, and spend time with your fiancé, mother, or girlfriends!
McNamara’s Wedding Showcase, Wednesday, January 11th, 2012, 5:30-8:00 pm.
200 Oak Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455
RSVP here.
See you there!
Warm regards,
Rev. Tomkin
Rev. Tomkin Coleman
Voted 2007′s “Best Wedding Planner” by CitySearch
Voted 2010′s and 2011′s “Best Wedding Officiant” by Minnesota Bride Magazine