Bachelor Farmer is one of our favorite restaurants in Minneapolis, so it was a natural choice to plan a dinner in their upstairs space to celebrate after our small wedding ceremony. With a group of just sixteen, the Afghan room was the perfect size and they were able to seat us all around one large table. We booked our event about a year out and, though the private event contact turned over very frequently, each new person was quick to respond to any questions. The month of our event I had quite a few questions, and Emily specifically was very helpful and communicative in figuring out the details and accommodating a few special requests. I provided a seating chart, place cards, and a few other minimal decorations which they did a nice job setting up. They were very flexible with our arrival time, and hosting our guests for drinks and appetizers while we finished up with our photos. I only had two minor disappointments. 1— I felt the smørrebrød course was somewhat inferior to the version we've so enjoyed downstairs in the restaurant (though I understand constraints of serving a larger group). The dessert was divine and made up for it. 2—I had asked for cocktail menus to be placed out so our guests could order specialty drinks beyond beer and wine, and I don't think this happened until we asked (though guests were served whatever they ordered). Not a big deal, and probably only mattered to us. Overall we were pleased!

We booked our wedding reception at the Bachelor Farmer about 8 months before the event. The manager in charge of the reception space changed after our booking and was helpful throughout the process assuring us of every detail we confirmed throughout the meetings leading up to the event. Unfortunately, nothing was written down (though we were assured they'd "take notes after the meeting". The main coordinator couldn't be at our reception (which we were made aware of in advance). We wished she would have as likely much that happened would likely have been handled differently. She was good at her job and personable and I like to think she would've taken charge when things started to go wrong. The person left in charge dropped the ball on many details (we found out from a guest who knew her that is was her last night there...likely explaining why she seemed not to care about all that went wrong). We were told there was a last minute shortage of staff (a James Beard winning restaurant should have stand-by staff, right?) and they changed our request for 2 bars to one bar. We were told the bar manager felt this worked better...a change literally made after it was initially set up and just an hour or so before the ceremony and not run by anyone...us or our wedding planner who was on site at the time. We had empty buffet tables, dishes stacked on guest tables and missed requests for greeting cocktails for guests...and the list goes on. The coordinator apologized and tried to explain all the missteps. She admitted it was the first time they'd had that many guests for an event (why book or why not overstaff if you hadn't done this before?) and said it was "a learning event". They took $1,000 off our total bill, but left a sour taste in our mouth for their expensive food. Guests likely didn't notice all we did, but we were embarrassed and disappointed on a night we'd planned many months for.