Northern Pacific Center — Attraction in Brainerd

Having been in the wedding and event industry for 12+ years I think I’ve calculated that I have seen close to 2,000 weddings in my life. So when it was finally my turn to be a bride, I had high expectations for wanting our wedding to feel different but also easy (since I had other weddings/events I was working on at the same time). From the moment we toured NPC Grace was lovely to work with and helped us understand all of our options. We chose to get married in the Luminary Fern room which is white and modern with beautiful gold floors, we leveraged the bridal suite and groom’s room to get ready, and then had our reception over in the Blacksmith Main room. We loved the contrast between one white space and one industrial space for our pictures. The chairs were included, as well as a lounge set up, and then TONS of options for additional decor rentals right through the venue. My husband and I live in Minneapolis, so it was so helpful to have the majority of the decor come right through Grace/NPC. We rented the golf cart through them which I would also highly recommend. Next, the food!

When planning for the wedding we kept coming back to how important the food and beverage experience was to us. When we were thinking about where to book our wedding we kept coming back to the amazing food we had at a wedding at the Northern Pacific Center a few years back and found out that was 3 Cheers. Sheila and 3 Cheers do an incredible job from front to back. The food is absolutely amazing, and the package options they offer really helped us build out our experience for the day. The constant communication about choices, timelines, what’s next, etc. put us at ease for our wedding day. This is nowhere near what you would consider being “wedding food”. All of the dishes were incredibly well done - and served at the perfect temperature. People only remember the food at a wedding if it is terrible, or blows you away it’s so good. In this case, it’s most definitely the latter. They handled ALL Food and Beverage for the entire wedding day, from food in the bride and grooms rooms while getting ready, to a champagne pour in the ceremony location for our receiving line, to butler passed hors devours, and open bar, everyone was amazed, and it was all so perfect!

All around, between Grace at NPC guiding us through the planning process and answering ALL of our questions within 1-2 days, and Sheila with catering, our wedding was everything we could have asked for and SOOOO...

Let me start by saying that this venue is absolutely stunning and this review has nothing to do with the location itself but rather the owners and staff. I booked this venue for our 9/5/20 wedding over a year ago. Things changed when the new owners parted ways with one of the former partners. The space I had reserved for our rehearsal dinner was turned into a coffee shop. I know this only because I have a home in the area and happened to drive by. The staff at NP did not inform me that the location was no longer available for a rehearsal dinner and it was not until I questioned it that they told me they had moved me to another space, fine no problem. As we got close to the wedding everything became a battle, they suddenly tried to change the terms of our contract claiming a new one needed to be signed due to the split of the partnership. We were no longer allowed to bring in our own alcohol and outside decor (arbors etc) was prohibited. Anytime I emailed it took days to receive a response from Grace the venue manager. Fast forward to wedding day. There was another wedding on the property the same day which would’ve been totally ok BUT their getting ready space was right next to ours and you could hear every single word they said and every single blow dryer they used. What should’ve been a relaxing morning with my bridesmaids turned into a major headache. The other couple also walked over to our ceremony space as it was wrapping up to take photos... pretty intrusive. In addition when I walked into Blacksmith Main, our ceremony space, many lightbulbs in the chandeliers I paid to rent were burned out. When my wedding planner brought this to Grace’s attention she claimed it was an “electrical” issue. When you pay to rent lighting it should be in working order. I’ll say it again... this space is absolutely stunning but the owners care more about money than making the day perfect or special for couples. I would highly recommend looking elsewhere...

We got married at Northern Pacific Center- Our ceremony was in the Luminary and reception was in Blacksmith Main. Included were rentals to their bridal and grooms suites that were so fun to get ready in! I've never seen a more stunning venue that decorates itself. The beautiful chandeliers and string lights, wooden farm tables, and historic brick made for such a cozy yet rustic setting. NPC has endless areas to take photos-inside and outside!

We had such a great experience working with Grace from NPC, she was very prompt and responded to all of our questions. They are very willing to work with you and accommodate requests as best as they can. NPC has there own caterer (3 Cheers Hospitality/Clocktower Hospitality) this was so nice having our caterer decided for us! There are several tiers of food options to choose from and varying price ranges. Sheila was very accommodating and helpful during the selection and planning process. Something to be aware of is the food is made offsite and then brought over to the venue right before serving, the kitchen where the meals are prepared are a short distance from the venue. Our one complaint is that drinks were not served in glass during cocktail our. You could rent glassware through NPC or an outside sources but if was a significant added price and you had to have storage for enough glasses to last the whole night because there was not a dishwasher on site. This is a very materialistic thing but it kind of bummed us out. Late night pizza was made at the new restaurant on site (Notch 8) and it was amazing! We were very impressed how 3 Cheers/Clocktower Hospitality was very open to any changes of items that we requested and allowed us to add our own personal touches to things.

We would highly recommend this venue and we are so glad we chose NPC to host our...