American Swedish Institute

I had been dreaming about having my wedding at ASI ever since I was a little girl and saw the Turnblad mansion for the first time! My dream came true on October 12, 2024! Our wedding day was everything we had hoped for and more.

We booked our date 2 years prior because almost every date in the fall was booked out a year in advance for the 2023 season. We really enjoyed the tasting event we attended in February 2024, but after that we didn’t hear back from the venue about planning until just under 2 months before the wedding. A bit stressful, but once things got going we got it all done in time. Kim (catering director) was fabulous- she took the time to sit down with me to answer all of my questions, listen to my crazy ideas, and alleviate all my stress! She had so many wonderful suggestions for vendors to use- Buttercream Wedding Cakes, Mirror Me Perfect (photo-booth & audio guestbook), and Ignite Lighting (Go JD!). We had an A+ team and we were thrilled with how everything turned out.

We unfortunately ran a bit behind schedule due to some miscommunication with our party bus company, but Kim had the brilliant last minute idea of having our first dances during cocktail hour before we went upstairs for dinner. My husband and I weren’t sure at first, but decided to trust Kim and just go with it! We are so glad we did!! Everyone was already outside in the courtyard, it was golden hour so the lighting was just perfect, and after dinner we were free to start the party! Thank you Kim for that suggestion and helping to ensure all of our wishes were met and everything ran smoothly. We cannot thank you enough!

The best part about ASI is there are so many options and spaces to use, and they are extremely flexible with whatever you want to do. We got married at St. Constantine Ukrainian Church, which worked out great because we couldn’t access ASI until after 3pm (we were able to set up the ballroom around 12pm and the Fika cafe around 2pm) because of the museum hours. We had our cocktail hour in the Turnblad mansion and outside in the courtyard (we lucked out with an absolutely gorgeous Oct evening!), our dinner was upstairs in the Larson Hall, and cake/dancing was downstairs in the Fika Cafe. Many of our guests actually went back outside after dinner to continue enjoying the beautiful weather. Everywhere you went there was a party! We had over 200 guests, but it never felt cramped as people were mingling all over. Our guests were raving about how beautiful and unique the venue was. They loved getting to experience different parts of the venue rather than being stuck in one big banquet hall the entire night.

If you’re thinking about booking a wedding at ASI-just do it!!! Autumn, Winter, Spring, or Summer- it’s the most magical venue in Minneapolis. The best part is we get to keep going back to experience the magic whether we’re having dinner at the Fika Cafe or touring the museum for the hundredth time :)

We love you ASI! Thank you for making our Big Fat Ukie Scandi Wedding a success!
C&J

My husband and I had the best experience working with ASI - and especially their coordinator, Nadya. We had planned for a small, intimate ceremony to take place in January...then February...then March. Nadya and the Institute were extremely flexible and understanding with the COVID restrictions and we greatly appreciated their patience in working with us. The day of the wedding, the service was exceptional and every detail we had talked about was covered. The food was AMAZING to say the least. We couldn't be happier in deciding to have our intimate ceremony and dinner at the Institute.

20/10 would recommend to anyone and everyone.

The American Swedish Institute and its staff were incredible. The staff was easy to work with and flexible and open to all of our ideas for our wedding. Amanda, our contact, was so helpful and her communication was impeccable. She was always on time to our meetings and always followed up with a thorough email outlining what we talked about.

For the catering aspect, they have an in-house catering company called Slate and Stone, which has some of the incredible food that I have ever eaten! So that is a big plus!

Also, for those looking to get ready at the venue or have a space to relax, ASI had 2 classrooms. These rooms were perfect for us when we were waiting and relaxing before our ceremony!

In terms of the venue itself, we took advantage of all the spaces available for use at ASI. The mansion was a stunning location for our cocktail hour and first dance. The courtyard and outdoor space were perfect for our outdoor evening ceremony. And the Larson Hall (ballroom) was beautifully decorated and well set up for our dinner and dancing.

Overall, ASI was an incredible venue, and our experience there was even better than we could have ever hoped. Our guests were blown away by both the old and modern details of the venue and spoke highly about how great the staff was, how delicious the food was, and how much fun they had at ASI.

I highly recommend this venue to any bride who wants to have both old and new, and/or outdoor and indoor. It is in a great location within Minneapolis (5-10 minutes from downtown) with many options for hotels and Airbnb's close by.

My daughter's recent wedding reception was held at the Swedish Institute. I was a little nervous about holding it there since I'd read some less than stellar reviews of the place, but my daughter and her fiancé loved the space and my entire family is Scandinavian. We decided to risk it, hoping that changing to in-house catering had also meant they'd improved their service. I'm so glad we did! Everything was perfect, thanks in large part to Kaitlin Astleford, who's the catering sales representative. Kaitlin worked with us from when we signed the contract through the reception. She was professional, responsive, accommodating and nice. She was there through the entire reception and made sure that all of our earlier requests were carried out and that everything ran smoothly. The Turnblad Mansion provided a gorgeous venue for cocktails and appetizers, and our guests also loved being able to explore the exhibits and upper floors of the mansion. Larson Hall in the Nelson Cultural Center was a beautiful space for dinner and dancing (we had 21 tables for guests, plus a 7 piece band and weren't at all crowded). Several of our guests remarked on the delicious food (courtesy of Slate and Stone Catering), and the service provided by the waitstaff and bartenders was professional and efficient. We couldn't have asked for a better wedding reception and would highly recommend the Swedish Institute!

We loved having our wedding at ASI. The mix of modern spaces along with the mansion provided both a beautiful backdrop and a wide range of flexibility to have portions of our celebration in different areas of the venue - altogether it made our day fit together perfectly. The entire event flowed seamlessly - all of the staff we interacted with were not only very professional but kind and upbeat. We planned our wedding from the east coast, and they kindly accommodated us by providing tours to our family in the area and later to us. In the planning process, Kim provided very useful expertise and insight, and always had solutions to help us plan the perfect day. The food was incredible, the venue provided us with great vendor recommendations, and ASI worked smoothly with all of our other vendors.

We had a wonderful wedding experience at the American Swedish Institute (ASI) on Friday of Memorial Day weekend! We must give a major shoutout to Kim Benedict, who is the Director of Catering at ASI and somehow also manages weddings. She did a wonderful job answering all of our questions, tending to our requests, and making our wedding day a logistical breeze. This venue is likely not a good fit for everyone; it is a museum first, not primarily a wedding venue. This means that there are times you have to work around museum hours and needs. Also, you must use ASI’s caterer, Slate and Stone – the same chef of Fika (soooo good) – so no disappointment there. For us, it was a perfect one-stop shop! Pros: beautiful setting, in the heart of Minneapolis; only minimal decoration needed; multiple options for where to hold the ceremony and reception, including the possibility for outdoor reception; can easily pivot for weather if needed (as we did); clean and accessible bathrooms; delicious food; staff who regularly cater and serve and are familiar with the location; plentiful parking; full access to the whole venue (our family explored the Turnblad Mansion during cocktail hour, and the kids could play in the kids area of the mansion); tasting event was a lovely buffet dinner with prospective vendors. Cons: Kim is pulled in a lot of directions, so communication, while prompt, was sometimes a bit scattered; getting ready space is just basement classrooms, so not great for cute photos; must rent chairs and tables for anything outdoors; Park Ave is a bit busy and loud, if you’re doing your ceremony on the steps of the mansion; taxes and tips aren’t necessarily super visible up front, so what seems like an affordable rate is actually quite steep (we caught multiple errors in the estimate, so be sure to triple check). Overall, we give it 5 stars! They do what they are doing very well! And best of all – our family returns to the Swedish Institute every so often for a fun family outing, which will forever remind us of our special day!

This was a beautiful venue with an awesome staff! Our wedding was supposed to take place outside and a storm started at 5:10 which was 20 minutes before the wedding. Amanda, our day of coordinator, was able to pull off a complete change to plan b which was inside. The staff made our day go by without any problems! It's also a fun venue to look around the exhibits and take great photos!

Our son’s wedding at ASI was beyond beautiful. The food was outstanding and working with the staff was a breeze. If you desire an interesting, beautiful, historic mansion, this is your place. The modern cultural center worked perfectly for dinner. Food was amazing. Staff was supportive and very helpful.

This was a wonderful place to have our son's wedding. It is a beautiful venue, inside and out. We were able to have the ceremony outside, and it was a perfect night for people to mingle both inside the mansion and out on the lovely porch. Our guests loved it! We can't wait to see the pictures - the mansion is truly amazing! The people were great to work with and we loved the big rooms for changing and the downstairs room for the dance. The only down side was not being able to have real candles or flowers inside the mansion, but there are so many ways to work around that. Would highly recommend it!

I thought American Swedish Institute was an absolutely beautiful venue for our reception. We rented the mansion for the cocktail hour and then used Larson Hall for the dinner and dance. The photos on the grounds turned out beautiful. They are an operating museum, open to the public though, so that made it more difficult to get photographs in. One of the spots we really wanted photos was in front of the blue wall by the main entrance, and we thankfully did get some great shots there, but unfortunately, a staff member made us move out of that area. Maggie, the site coordinator/catering coordinator was very helpful and always responded very quickly to emails. The bar packages to me seemed a little strict. There was no option for the host to just pay by the drink. The food turned out well. The bar staff did end up cutting off some of the guests. I also would've suggested mopping the dance floor because my sister fell and injured her knee after a drink was spilled.