Vintage and Romantic Town and Country Club Wedding

This Town and Country Club wedding is easily one of my favorites from this year. This gorgeous venue in Saint Paul is perfect for couples looking for a space with indoor and outdoor outdoor options, and inspired vintage decor. If you’re looking for a conveniently located venue with beautiful city skyline views, start your search here!

From British Tudor style wall sconces to a built in herringbone dance floor, Town and Country Club was the perfect choice for Eileen (she/her) and Jerry’s (he/him) romantic Saint Paul wedding. Their rental included access to the River Room, Director’s Room, 1888 Bar, and the Back Lawn. These areas gave them several options throughout their day.

About Town and Country Club

Town and Country Club was built in 1890 and is Minnesota’s first golf club. While the space primarily serves as a golf course and country club, it often hosts weddings and receptions. The venue books about a year in advance, with tours available by appointment only, Tuesdays through Saturdays.

This venue is conveniently located just ten minutes from downtown Saint Paul and downtown Minneapolis. The club is easily accessible for local and out of town guests, with just a 20 minute drive from the Minneapolis-Saint Paul airport. And with plenty of hotels just minutes away in nearby downtown Minneapolis and downtown Saint Paul, there’s plenty of lodging options available.

The club provides a variety of spaces to rent. Their Back Lawn is perfect for outdoor gatherings, and is available May-October. From small events with 50 guests to parties with up to 350, there are several indoor options for any sized gathering. Rentals range from $1,000 to $12,000. Couples have the option of renting the Back Lawn, or the River Room Package, which includes the River Room, North Room, Director’s Room and the 1888 Bar. The River Room Package requires a $10,000 food minimum.

Parking is very easy and accessible at the club, with a large lot attached to the front of the building and another attached to the pool area.

Getting Ready

The couple started the day at Town and Country Club in separate getting ready spaces. Eileen and her crew used the Adobon Room, which can accommodate up to 12 guests, while Jerry and his friends used the Saint Andrews Room. Jerry and his crew also made use of the golf simulators downstairs, which are available for rent in one-hour increments.

First Look and Private Vows

We arranged the couple’s first look at the back of the building for extra privacy, and utilized 1888 Bar for their private vow exchange.

Portraits in 1888 Bar

Eileen and Jerry unintentionally booked their wedding during a heat wave. 100 degree weather plus humidity had us change plans several times that day, and the venue made those changes as seamless as possible. We used the 1888 Bar for group portraits instead of forcing folks to suffer in the heat outdoors.

Pro tip: start hydrating 3-4 days prior to the wedding. And don’t just stick to water – electrolytes every day that week leading up to the wedding saved me!

Vintage car Photos

Eileen’s love of all things British and vintage started at home. Her dad has a 1960’s Austin Healey 3000, which he generously let us borrow for some portraits. The original plan was for him to drive Eileen to the ceremony in the car, and afterwards she and Jerry would cruise around in it for some epic portraits. But the 5pm heat was going to be too much for that idea. Instead, we parked it under the venue’s overhang out front and took some photos there.

Ceremony at Unity Church Unitarian

Eileen and Jerry chose another convenient location for their ceremony, Unity Church Unitarian. Just 10 minutes from the venue with plenty of street parking, it was an easy location choice for their ceremony.

Note for photographers: the stage itself is well lit, but the rest of the sanctuary is quite dark.

Cocktail Hour and Reception in the Director’s Room

The couple was originally going to use the Back Lawn for their cocktail hour and reception. We ended up staying indoors and utilizing the indoor spaces for the entire evening. While I love an outdoor cocktail hour, I’m so grateful the venue was able to accommodate this change of plan because it was just TOO DAMN HOT, y’all!

Golden Hour at Town and Country Club

For golden hour, the couple and I ventured out on the property. The venue has a beautiful view of the skyline.

A note to couples and photographers: the venue allows two golf carts to drive out on the property. Only the couple is allowed to use one cart. The other cart is for a single member of the media team and must be driven by venue staff. So if you hired two photographers, a videographer and/or a content creator to document your day, only one member of the team is allowed to join.

Here’s some advice from the couple for future marriers:

“At the end of the day, you get to marry the person you care about the most and thats the best part! (The bride was panicking 30 minutes before the ceremony so we decided to practice our first dance one last time and two seconds in to the song, the bride remembers thinking “oh. yeah. this is what its all about. Getting to marry my best friend.” We highly recommend doing this as a distraction!) Also don’t get married on a 100 degree day when your dress is 10 pounds but hindsight is 20/20″

And here’s what Eileen and Jerry had to say about their experience working with me:

“Rebel Diamonds Studios is professional, fun and just a really awesome person. The photos speak for themselves but what you don’t see is how much she advocates for social justice, support for mental health and uplifting women/POC creators. It’s always so nice to have someone with the same values capture your wedding!”

To book a photographer for your Saint Paul wedding, reach out here!

Contact Me | Follow Along on Instagram