“My husband, Josh, and I got married at East Town Ballroom on 10/10/2026. Because ETB - unlike other places - does not charge a room rental fee on top of the food and beverage minimum, we went into the tour knowing that we would REALLY have to dislike it in order not to book with them. But we were absolutely blown away with how much we loved it. We had a pretty ambitious goal for our venue food budget, and Emma worked hard to help us attain it. For full transparency, we paid about 10,700 for a wedding of 120 people, decorations, three kegs, and covered parking for vendors. Most other venues we looked at would have had STARTING prices at 14K. Over the course of the year we spent working with Emma, we asked her about 10,000 questions. She answered every one with generosity, patience, and grace and never made us feel like a burden. Even when we changed our minds on some details, she was extremely receptive and always quick to respond. She went above and beyond in every way and made the planning process a true breeze with how organized she was.
I also want to speak about the staff - it is the understatement of the century to call them kind and professional. Whether it was with welcome bags, making sure our floating candles were lit during cocktail hour, or doing the final cleanup the next morning so we wouldn’t have to worry about it, they lifted so much of the last-minute stress that happens in the 24 hours before and after the ceremony. They made us feel so taken care of and celebrated and showed us that they genuinely cared about us having a wonderful day.
Part of the reason we were so excited about ETB is because neither my husband nor I are from Minnesota, so we had a lot of travelers coming in. Having the hotel block, ceremony, and reception all in one location was so convenient, and we were even able to hold welcome drinks and the after party in the hotel lobby due to its spaciousness and bar. It felt amazing not to have to worry about traveling to other locations with all of the guests and so relaxed to just come back inside and get off of our feet for a debrief after an awesome sparkler sendoff. It was especially nice for our grandmothers and family members with very young children because they could easily make their way up to their rooms when they were finished partying without needing to work with a shuttle service or call an Uber.
Some random recommendations/things to note:
- get the wedding drapings. It’s 1K-2K, but so so worth it. The ceremony/reception are in what is basically a giant meeting room, and when it’s not set up for a wedding, you can tell it’s a meeting room. The drapings completely transform the space and make it super dreamy and romantic!
- This is totally a personal opinion, but I was not a fan of the carpets in there. We got an aisle runner (6x40) and this worked great.
- If you’re wondering how long your aisle song should be - my dad and I took about 25 seconds to walk down the aisle.
- rooftop for pictures looks out over downtown Minneapolis and is perfect for golden hour!
- The food is great! There were a lot of GF options and even a kid’s meal (chicken tenders and fries), which I haven’t seen at other venues.
All in all, we can’t recommend East Town Ballroom enough. Everything about it was absolutely amazing, and I encourage every engaged couple looking to get married in the Twin Cities to check it out!”
