University Club of St. Paul Reviews

Incredible! Best wedding & reception venue ever! The venue was absolutely gorgeous, the food was wonderful, and the dance floor and bar spaces were perfect for a crowd that likes to dance and drink, but perhaps most importantly, the SPAC team was unbelievable. I actually cannot say enough wonderful things about David, Julia, Nicole, and the rest of their staff. Throughout the entire process – from our first tour of the venue to paying the final bill, they were incredibly responsive, accommodating, genuinely caring, and just outstanding overall. I never waited more than 12 hours for a response to any question, they were super helpful with ideas and tips and always made sure we weren’t forgetting anything (I had no idea what I was doing), and they always went out of their way to make sure their answer was “yes” to anything we asked for. The day of, everything was seamless, and they did cute little things to make the day even more perfect and special for my husband and I. The day was more perfect than I could ever have imagined, and I could not have been happier with our experience with SPAC. If you don’t believe me, reach out to David or Julia – I guarantee within a few minutes of talking to them you’ll see why I loved working with them!

The venue sells itself. It's gorgeous in every way possible. It's old and elegant, but the food adds a modern twist. The food was wonderful. Our contacts at the University Club were accommodating and great to work with - they help plan and set up the entire reception while letting us bring in our own ideas and personal touches. It's the perfect space for a St Paul reception - the view of downtown St Paul is beautiful.

My husband and I are both in the hospitality industry and we had a unique vision for our wedding. We were looking for a space that fit our desires as well as a person who made us feel like our guests would be taken care of the way we would have. Julia exceeded our expectations from day one. She listened to what we wanted, and knew how to make it work for us without hesitation. The planning process was seamless and any email was responded to very quickly.
The food was amazing - "best wedding food ever" was something we heard multiple times throughout the evening.
Day of...staff was fantastic!! We had a small miscommunication regarding beverages but, it was corrected so quickly that only I (the bride) had any idea anything had happened.
100% recommend for so many reasons!

I am so incredibly happy that we held our wedding at the University Club. I feel like it is Minneapolis/St. Paul’s best-kept-wedding venue-secret. We held our wedding ceremony and reception at the University Club of St. Paul on September 15, 2018 and LOVED everything about the day! From the very first email to Julia back in January, to writing this review two weeks after our wedding, working with the University Club has been nothing short of amazing.

The location is wonderful. Tucked away along Summit Avenue in the heart Crocus Hill near downtown St. Paul and near the Cathedral, the Club has a timeless charm. The space itself is gorgeous – elegant without being stuffy, with ivy climbing the walls, a beautiful chandelier in the entrance, windows letting light pour in and a cozy fireplace as a focal point. We got married in the Summit Room in front of the fireplace that we decorated with candles and flowers, held our cocktail hour in the adjoining Terrace Room and our dinner and dance back in the Summit Room. The day of service was wonderful and everyone was so kind, attentive and professional.

I am convinced there is no one better in the business than Julia Struve. She was very responsive, extremely organized and super personable and funny. I once emailed her with about 10 questions and she answered them all within an hour. When she and my day-of-coordinator met, I just sat there and they figured everything out! She is on top of everything, which you need when planning a wedding.
And the food was AMAZING. I had many guests tell me it was the best wedding food they’ve ever had. Our photographer took all of our pictures there and he said The University Club is his new favorite place with its crazy beautiful venue and dream lighting.
Wonderful location, amazing service, incredible food - I recommend the University Club without reservation and if I could give it 10 stars, I would!

Following our daughter’s out-of-town wedding, we scheduled a Sunday brunch at the University Club St. Paul to introduce the recently-married couple to our many friends who had not been able to attend the wedding. We had previously attended a wedding reception at the Club and had been very impressed.

Our entire experience was excellent. It is a beautiful venue, with many windows, a lot of sunlight, a large banquet room and a connected area excellent for serving drinks. The food, served buffet style, was remarkably good. Many guests commented on how delicious it was. The Club was very flexible and supportive as to some dietary needs. The service during the meal was very professional – very available and responsive without being intrusive. The servers were friendly and upbeat.

The planning process was equally remarkable. We worked primarily with Ms. Julia Struve, who was knowledgeable, helpful, very responsive, and graciously flexible when the attendance count dropped slightly a few days before the event.

It being winter, we had the Club arrange a valet service, and that service also performed well.

We recommend the University Club very highly.

A wonderful venue with really nice and capable staff. We are just so pleased with our choice of The University Club. Julie and Dave made a great team getting us set up with menu selection tastings, wine selections to go with the meal and champagne tasting. The food, by the way, is prepared by WA Frost, a well recognized local restaurant. The staff on duty during our ceremony and event were each wonderful to work with and we greatly appreciated their can-do attitude. Although the club has a limited parking situation, we used their valet service and our guests were very pleased with this added touch!

We held the wedding ceremony and dinner at this location on Summit Ave. The people in attendance commented on how great the food was for the event. Julia was very easy to work with and made the event a success. The rooms are a little dated but they do show well on pictures . Worth your time to check out.

I cannot say enough good things about the University Club. I just had my wedding at the downtown clubhouse on Cedar and it was everything I dreamed of. The location is gorgeous and Julia was an absolute delight to work with. She responded quickly and never told me no we can't do that, it was always we can! The ceremony was in the downstairs lobby and ceremony up in the ballroom. The staff that was there the night of the wedding was awesome. The only complaint from guests was the portion sizes could have been bigger but, I have been hearing from friends and family since the even saying that it was the best wedding they had ever been to over and over! Thank you Julia and staff!

After searching high and low for an amazing venue, we found it in the University Club, Summit Ave club house. BEAUTIFUL Location with a lot of history, wonderful food, and Julia (the wedding coordinator) is AMAZING! She responded to all of our questions the same day, which is rather impressive planning from 1000 miles away! Our day couldnt have gone any smoother than it did. The staff is so professional and really made this run nicely. Would recommend the club to everyone and anyone!

If you have a chance, try their food. AMAZING!

Julia was an absolute DELIGHT to work with! She was really quick to respond about everything and SUPER knowledgeable. All of the staff the day of was extremely professional and fun to work with.

Julia, the wonderful woman helping throughout my planning process did a flawless job.

They were extremely helpful and responded very quickly to emails with questions. Being that we had a Friday wedding they let us in the day before to set everything up. We were also able to bring in wine and beer that we bought, which brought prices down quite a bit. The guests kept raving about how beautiful the building was and our pictures came out amazing. Overall we had a fantastic experience with the staff and the beautiful space.

I was incredibly impressed with the entire atmosphere here last weekend. The food was great, the band was even better and the ambiance OMG, when they brought in the rose petals it really topped everything off. A ++!

My husband and I had a great experience working with the University Club of St. Paul. Our wedding was actually at the St. Paul Athletic Club property, but they manage both. Julia was our point of contact and was quick to answer questions about anything. She was also really flexible with us on a few changes that we wanted made including our desert table and late night snacks. She happened to go on maternity leave towards the end of our planning, but prepped several other coordinators including Nicole for the day of. Everyone we worked with was great! Our contract came with ivory linens, security, all the waitstaff, a suite for the Bride & Groom at the Hotel 340, and so much more. We were lucky enough to be able to get in to decorate ourselves the day before, but I don't think that's common. They were willing to work with us on any requests and answer even the silliest of questions.

The food was amazing! Besides the venue being absolutely beautiful this was the #1 reason we chose them! I haven't had a single guest complain about their meal. It came out hot and was delicious and I actually got to eat my dinner! The thing I will note, this was not the least expensive venue we could've gone for, but the value of the food, staff, location, bar, etc was worth every penny! The staff didn't let us worry about a thing. We had a missing piece for the cupcake tower we brought in and they figured out a solution. I still have no idea if anything went horribly wrong! I wouldn't have changed a thing about our day. Thank you to Julia, Nicole, David, and all the university club staff for making our day beautiful and special!

Thanks to the University Club for being a beautiful venue with excellent customer service!

I had my wedding reception at the Summit Avenue Clubhouse earlier this month. As I was planning my wedding from Washington D.C., my family members helped me scope out the location. After I selected the venue, I worked closely with Julia who is an awesome event planner. She is so helpful and efficient which made all the difference in planning a beautiful wedding from a-far. I can't pay enough compliments to Julia!

The food that was served was excellent - many guests told me the steak was the best they'd ever had. We also chose the walleye which was perfectly cooked. It's clear that food is a huge forte for the University Club.

I initially chose the location because it would fit my guest list of about 100 very well, and the building showcases some beautiful architecture and character that reflect the lovely community where the University Club Summit Avenue Clubhouse is located.

There was a small billing mishap after my reception, but it was handled quickly, efficiently, and they were very apologetic. What spoke to me most in this situation was not that they made a (small!) mistake, but they took accountability and fixed it very quickly.

I would highly recommend this venue - I had a beautiful wedding reception that I will remember fondly!

This venue is absolutely beautiful!! We loved it so much and got so many compliments from our guests. We had the ceremony and reception here and wouldn't change a thing. Nicole was great during the planning process and our day of coordinator was so great and helpful. Excellent food, bartender was fun, great dance floor and we hardly added any decorations because the venue speaks for itself.

Our wedding at the down town location University club was beautiful. The price (3 grand) was good value considering we negotiated the Lobby area to be free, and used the lobby for our ceramony, and ballroom for reception. The U-club wedding coordinator Julia Strue, was great. She was very quick with responses to emails, and was flexible and willing to work with you on some negotiations. She did however go on maternity leave before our big day leaving us with Talon-from WA frost, who was quite rude and not pleasant to work with. On the big day, the catorers/staff were very nice and did a great job. The food was excellent as far as wedding food goes.
I would have to complain about the price of food and beverages. I believe we paid about 350/keg and had to may a $21/bottle corking fee to bring in our own wine. We paid between $28-33/plate. Also, the chairs are chinsey and ugly so it was spendy to have to cover them all.

My husband and I chose this location because of the lovely old decor, the beautiful view, and the VERY affordable price. We knew we were going to have a smaller wedding and the space would accommodate us well. Everything was great- the tasting was wonderful and the changes we made were reflected on what was served, the Banquet Captain was very attentive, and we were both very pleased with the amount of time and space we had available to us on our wedding day.

My only complaint had to do with the room in which the ladies were to get ready. I have a major phobia of bees and my Matron of Honor is very allergic to them. Unfortunately, the room we were getting ready in had some sort of a wasp nest nearby and bees continued to get into the room. When I went down to complain about it, I was met with someone who made me feel like I was bothering them too much. Finally people were sent up to rid the bees, but they kept coming back, so nothing was solved. By the end of our stay, we had counted at least 9 gigantic wasps that had been hovering around. I was terrified and, really, that didn't seem like professional behavior on the Club's behalf.

Like I said before, other than that bad experience, the rest was great and I would recommend the venue to others though I'd remind them that sometimes you really get what you pay for.

Beautiful club, perfect for ceremony and reception. We were told the Summit room would seat up to 160 comfortably although we had less then 150 guests and it felt very crowded. We did not like having to move the tables off the dance floor before the dancing could start.

It sort of breaks my heart to not be able to give the University Club of St. Paul a better review. We had our reception at the Downtown Clubhouse, the old St. Paul Athletic Club (and apparently they are going to be changing the name back to that, I found that out from a news article after I'd had my invitations printed). The space itself is absolutely beautiful - both my fiance and I have a love of old architecture, and this was the only place that fit the bill that wasn't outrageously expensive. We used the lobby for the cocktail hour, and the grill bar and ballroom for the dinner and dance. Like another reviewer, we went through four (technically five) catering managers in the 15 months of planning our wedding. #1 got fired, #2 pursued other opportunities (but was amazing to work with), #3 and the company parted ways, #4 was by far my favorite, but then less than two weeks before the wedding, I found out from #4 that #2 was going to be working with me for the most part. I was told some things would be included by #s 1 and 2, that was then told was an additional charge to use by #3. They were good with working on us for the dinner as I wanted something pretty specific that they made for us, and the entree was delicious, I just wish there had been more of the side (texas-style green beans with bacon and onion). The banquet chairs that they have are pretty hideous, so it was an additional expense that I was expecting to incur to have them covered. The hotel is gorgeous, but they need to get the management figured out. We were the bride and groom, and didn't have a room despite having made a reservation. On the whole, I'm glad we had our reception there, but there were definitely issues.

We had our reception at the University Club on Summit Hill. The service was absolutely terrible. The underlying issue to all of them is a lack of communication between staff members at the University Club as every time I spoke to a manager on duty they had no idea what was actually going on for our reception (this includes the day of the actual event).

Dinner was served late, 40 minutes late. The manager on duty even anticipated this as he told the bakery we used that they would not be able to accommodate our timeline earlier in the afternoon. Knowledge of this might have been useful for a variety of reasons including letting our guests know and having photos taken at the church which we rushed to finish in order to make it to dinner on time.

The bakery actually had to store several of the cakes on their own site and bring them back to be served for dessert which of course was late because dinner was late. In addition, the bakery and their photographer had to bring the cakes up from storage and get them ready to be served as no one from the University Club had even started to do this in spite of having spoken with Eddie Wu several times.

There was no assigned seating signs for family as we had requested in our meeting with Julia which resulted in several people not sitting at the head table whom we would have liked. The manager on duty said he had asked my mom about this. My mom lives four hours away and had not been involved at all in the planning of the wedding nor had she ever even visited the University Club.

Finally, because dinner was served 40 minutes late, dessert was served late, and the dance floor was cleared later than planned. During the clearing of the tables from the dance floor several of our guests whose tables were moved were apparently told and/or got the impression that the reception was over and actually left not knowing that there was a dance to follow.

Very mixed feelings about the wedding we had there (Summit location). The rate we were quoted was indeed affordable, the room was decorated beautifully, and the food was most satisfactory. On the negative side, we went through a succession of no fewer than 4 event planners/coordinators, all of whom promised to be there on the big day... and when that day came, the one who was still supposedly employed at that time was nowhere to be found. Ditto for most of the serving staff. The two servers who did show up were woefully understaffed to provide champagne, wine & soft drinks to the thirsty guests on that hot day.

We had reserved both the Summit room and Terrace. Our experience with the University Club from about 4 months prior to the wedding was an absolute nightmare.

Around end of June, we stopped receiving any and all communication from our assigned coordinator, Amanda. Weeks of unanswered emails and phone calls went by.

End of August, I received one email response from Danielle, answering one question (out of many) that I had asked in previous emails, and ignoring my requests for an in-person meeting, as it was stated in the contract we would have an in-person meeting 4 weeks prior. It was at this point we were informed our previous coordinator, Amanda, was no longer with the U Club. We were told, “we thought she was still handling some weddings” even after her departure. No one knew if our wedding was included in that. There was no introduction from our new coordinator Danielle, no assurance that she would now be taking over and no apology.

Early September, about three weeks before the wedding, my fiancé was finally able to get ahold of Danielle. He was also able to speak to the owner of the U Club, John Rupp. He shared our immense disappointment regarding the lack of communication. While doing so, John Rupp told him that if we were so disappointed, we should just not have our wedding at his venue. This was three weeks before and a completely inappropriate response. Eventually, we were able to have our in-person meeting at the venue and were promised the following from both John and Danielle:

Communication would be 100% better from that point on.
Our wedding day would go perfectly.
Our wedding would receive the most attention out of any wedding they had planned for the year.

None of these promises were met. My email to Danielle the week of the wedding went unanswered. We had a rehearsal the day before and walk in to the reception layout, not the ceremony. We had to wait 45 minutes for everything to be taken down and reset to the ceremony to begin the rehearsal. We are then late to our own rehearsal dinner.

The wedding day arrives. I walk into the venue expecting my guests to be seated in the Summit room so I could sneak into the Terrace room, that would supposed to be closed, unseen. I walk in to almost all of my guests staring at me, who have now seen me prior to the wedding. I had to stand in their public restroom, crying and humiliated, as my 8-months pregnant Maid of Honor corralled my wedding guests into the Summit room. As a woman, I’ve spent my entire life imagining that first moment of walking down the aisle and my guests and groom seeing me for the first time. This moment was ruined for me. Additionally, no one knew where the flowers were (they were delivered to the venue hours prior), and I again had to send my 8-months pregnant Maid of Honor to run around the venue gathering the flowers, my bouquet, the boutonnières and my mother-in-law’s corsage. Danielle was no where to be found. Not once did Danielle check on me prior to the ceremony.

After the ceremony, while we were taking photos, I noticed that random dinner name cards were being moved. I asked my Maid of Honor to please get Danielle for me. This was the only time I spoke to Danielle the entire day, after having to have someone get her for me.

Dinner begins and we are served a salad with no dressing. It is inedible. My husband has to get up from the head table and ask them to dress our salads. The entrees come out much later than anticipated, and they are cold. Almost all of our guests ordered the New York Strip, and the steak was rubbery and flavorless. We are informed by a guest that the coffee that was put out for guests to help themselves to, has a dead fly floating inside the canister.

After dinner, my husband and I are trying to salvage our enjoyment of the day, when we are informed by my brother and his girlfriend, that the ceiling had just leaked dirty water all over them. It started raining around 4 PM this day. Around 10 PM, we walk around the Summit and Terrace room and find 6 separate places that water is leaking in from the roof. 4 places in the Terrace room, one being directly over their piano that got covered in dirty water, and two in the Summit room, one being directly over a guest table covering it in dirty water. My own brother and his girlfriend left my wedding early from being soaked in disgusting water. Our guest book and card box got wet. Phones left on the table in the Summit room got rained on. My husband had to get one of the two people still left there for the night (a bartender and a server) to let him know we were being rained on. When my husband asked if they were aware previously that the ceiling leaks, we were told the owner, John Rupp, was aware and knowingly has not done anything about it. Please see the photos attached of the dirty rain water accumulating all around the rooms we reserved for the most important day of our lives.

The day after our wedding, we called John Rupp. When my husband began to explain how terrible our wedding day had gone, John interrupted and said "I'm not doing this with you over the phone". He told my husband to email him to set up a time to meet. John responded to our email nearly a week afterwards, and we were able to meet with him. In the meeting, John himself told us that he was firing our coordinator, Danielle, and that our wedding was a "complete failure". We agreed.

We told John the only thing that could make this right, is a full refund of all payments made to the University Club for our wedding. John agreed to a full refund, looked both my husband and myself in the eyes and promised he would make good on this agreement, and shook my husband's hand. That was on September 30th, 2023. John promised we would receive our refund by October 30th, 2023. We have not heard a single thing from him since, and he has not responded to any attempts to contact him since that agreement was made.

We are now in the process of legal proceedings. We want to have another ceremony again someday, far, far away from the University Club. I am hopeful someday we'll be made whole and will have that opportunity.

Please, if you are seeking communication, edible food and a safe and dry experience for your wedding day, do not use the University Club of Saint Paul.