Apple Valley and Rosemount sit ten minutes apart and pull in opposite directions. Apple Valley has the Minnesota Zoo, which publishes hourly venue rates and a long list of rules. Rosemount has two city buildings that print every fee down to the changeover charge. Between them you can plan a Dakota County wedding almost entirely from published numbers.
What follows is only what each venue or city publishes itself: spaces, capacities, rates, catering and alcohol rules, and what is not allowed through the door. I have added the Dakota County licence steps, how I would think about light at each place, and the venues I checked and rejected, including one that is not in Minnesota at all.
Which venues here actually host weddings?
Five places publish enough detail to plan around, and they span a very wide range.
| Venue | City | Largest published capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Zoo, Discovery Bay Great Hall | Apple Valley | 240 seated, 400 cocktail |
| Rosemount Community Center Banquet Hall | Rosemount | 300 |
| Steeple Center Assembly Hall | Rosemount | 204 theatre, 192 with tables |
| Valleywood Golf Course | Apple Valley | 176 reception, 144 seated |
| Apple Valley Senior and Event Center | Apple Valley | Not published |
If that list is short for the two cities' size, it is, and the neighbouring suburbs fill the gap. Our Eagan venue guide and Inver Grove Heights guide cover the next ring north, and the Twin Cities venue directory widens it further.
What does a Minnesota Zoo wedding actually involve?
The zoo at 13000 Zoo Boulevard is the most distinctive venue in either city and the most rule-bound. The zoo publishes hourly rates by space: Discovery Bay Great Hall seats 240 for dinner or 400 for a cocktail reception at $600 an hour Friday to Sunday and $500 Monday to Thursday, with a two-hour minimum. Tropics Plaza and Trail seats 175 or takes 400 standing at $700 an hour on weekends. The Minnesota Lodge seats 80 with a 100-person cocktail capacity at $400 an hour on weekends, and the Lodge and Trail combination runs $600 an hour with trail access until 8pm.
Read the FAQ before you fall in love with it
The zoo's private events FAQ is where the real constraints live. General event windows are 10am to 4pm and 6pm to 10pm, and for an evening event the only area you and your guests can access is the space you rented, so there is no free run of the zoo for portraits. Outside catering and beverage vendors are not allowed at all, and any other outside vendor needs written approval and a certificate of additional insured. A deposit of 50 per cent of the facility rental plus 25 per cent of other charges holds the date.
The decor list is stricter than any venue I know in the metro. The same FAQ bans live goldfish, mylar shreds, confetti, glitter, balloons, streamers, rice, birdseed, gel candles and liquid bubbles anywhere on zoo grounds. Flowers and plants must come from a licensed florist or wholesaler, and candles must be encased in glass. Tell your florist early: that rules out several standard send-offs.
What else is in Apple Valley?
Valleywood Golf Course, the city-run course at 4851 McAndrews Road, takes up to 176 guests reception-style or 144 seated for dinner. Tables, chairs and house linen are included, and the venue offers ceiling drapery with string lighting, an optional dance floor, an outdoor gazebo and a patio. Any licensed caterer may be used and the venue runs a full bar. Rates are not published online, so that is a phone call.
The city's rentals page adds the Apple Valley Senior and Event Center, which it describes as offering a wide array of rental options from wedding reception spaces to the theatre room, and lists reservable park shelters at Alimagnet, Cobblestone Lake, Farquar and Lac Lavon parks. One important note from the same page: the Apple Valley Community Center is temporarily closed for construction and is not accepting reservations, so do not build a plan around it without checking. The Senior and Event Center sits at 14601 Hayes Road and the city calls it suitable for parties, receptions and banquets, but publishes no room capacities or rates.
What does Rosemount's Steeple Center cost?
The Steeple Center at 14375 South Robert Trail anchors the north end of downtown Rosemount and hosts weddings, meetings, parties and performances. Its Assembly Hall measures roughly 30 by 73 feet and seats 204 theatre-style or 192 with tables and chairs, and the 2015 addition brought a full catering kitchen, expanded restrooms, a lobby with a fireplace and cafe seating, an outdoor patio, three multi-purpose rooms and a conference room.
The city's 2026 rate sheet makes Saturday a full-day rental only, 9am to 11pm, at $840 for residents and $1,120 for non-residents. Friday is hourly with a six-hour minimum at $60 resident or $80 non-resident, and Sunday is hourly with a five-hour minimum at the same rates. Room 100 seats 60, Room 200/201 takes 80 at banquet tables and Room 202 takes 48.
The add-on fees on the same sheet are the ones people miss: a $300 refundable damage deposit, a $367.50 security fee if alcohol is served, a $200 changeover fee to flip the room from ceremony to reception, a $200 Sunday set-up fee if you want round tables, a $500 holiday fee for federal holidays, and $50 for a screen or $100 for a projector. A Saturday with alcohol and a changeover therefore costs meaningfully more than the headline number.
What about the Rosemount Community Center?
The Community Center at 13885 South Robert Trail has the largest room in either city: an 80-by-60-foot Banquet Hall seating 300, with a large wood dance floor, a built-in stage, a catering kitchen and a private patio, plus an auditorium seating up to 350 theatre-style with a curtained stage.
The rules are published in detail and are worth reading before you commit. The city's banquet hall guidelines require all food to be commercially prepared by a licensed caterer, grocery or restaurant, with no homemade food and no potlucks, and restrict alcohol to providers holding an on-sale licence on public premises from the City of Rosemount, meaning you cannot bring and serve your own. Security is required whenever alcohol is served, at an average of $367.50 for a three-and-a-half hour block, and there is a $500 refundable damage deposit. Friday occupancy can start as early as 8am and run to 1am; Saturday starts at 9am and also runs to 1am.
Three specifics matter for the look of the day: glitter and confetti of any kind are banned in the banquet room, birdseed and rice are prohibited inside the building including vestibules, and smoke machines are out, though low-fog dry ice machines and electric sparklers are allowed.
How does the Dakota County marriage licence work?
Both cities are in Dakota County, and the county is unusually convenient here because one of its three service centres is in Apple Valley itself.
- Complete the county's online marriage licence application form.
- Reserve an appointment online at a service centre, or walk in. The three are the Administration Center in Hastings, the Northern Service Center in West St. Paul and the Western Service Center in Apple Valley.
- Both parties are usually required at the time of application, though the county notes there are exceptions. Bring proof of age: a birth certificate, a government-issued driver's licence or ID card, or another qualifying document.
- Pay the fee. Dakota County lists $125, or $50 with premarital education, which matches Minnesota Statutes section 517.08.
- Use the licence within six months of issue.
If you are marrying at the courthouse rather than a venue, our Dakota County courthouse wedding page walks through that version of the day separately.
How I would plan photographs at each of these
At the zoo, the ceiling is the problem and the exhibits are the prize. Discovery Bay is an underwater environment with very little daylight, so portraits there are an artificial-light exercise. The Tropics is brighter but humid enough to fog a lens that has been sitting in a cold car. Because evening rentals confine you to the rented space, schedule portraits before the rental window rather than assuming a walk through the zoo.
At Valleywood the gazebo and patio are the outdoor assets. Rosemount's Steeple Center gives you a lobby with a fireplace and windows, the most photogenic interior in either city, and the $200 changeover fee tells you the Assembly Hall is one room doing two jobs. Plan where you will be during that flip. Our guide to Minnesota sunset times by month is the fastest way to work out when your portrait window actually falls, and the Apple Valley wedding photographer page covers how I work in this corner of Dakota County.
Which venues did I leave out, and why?
Apple Valley Events at Sunset Ridge shows up in searches for Apple Valley wedding venues and is a real barn venue that hosts weddings, but its own site gives its address as 2124 12 Mile Road NW in Sparta, Michigan. It is not in Minnesota, which is a good reason to check an address on a venue's own site before you plan anything.
Rich Valley Golf Club has a Rosemount address and a banquet room by reputation, but its domain now resolves to a domain-sale page, so I could not confirm from the club itself that it currently operates and hosts weddings. Dakota County Parks does rent wedding spaces, but the Schaar's Bluff Gathering Center is at 8395 127th Street East in Hastings and the hike-in A-Frame ceremony shelter is in Lebanon Hills Regional Park in Eagan, so neither is an Apple Valley or Rosemount venue; our Hastings venue guide covers the first and the Eagan page the second.
Frequently asked questions
Can you get married at the Minnesota Zoo?
Yes. The zoo rents several indoor and outdoor spaces by the hour, with event windows of 10am to 4pm and 6pm to 10pm. Evening events give access only to the space you rented, not the whole zoo. Outside catering and beverage vendors are not permitted, and the decor restrictions are long, so read the private events FAQ first.
What is the largest wedding venue in Apple Valley or Rosemount?
The Rosemount Community Center Banquet Hall, at 80 by 60 feet with a seating capacity of 300, is the largest single room either city publishes, and its auditorium seats up to 350 theatre-style for a ceremony. The Minnesota Zoo's Discovery Bay Great Hall takes 240 seated or 400 standing.
Can you bring your own alcohol to a Rosemount city venue?
No. The city's banquet hall guidelines require you to buy from and be served by a liquor provider holding an on-sale licence on public premises from the City of Rosemount, and private renters may not bring in or serve their own. Security is required whenever alcohol is served and is itemised on your permit.
Which county issues the marriage licence for Apple Valley and Rosemount?
Dakota County. Apply online first, then book an appointment or walk in at one of three service centres, one of which is the Western Service Center in Apple Valley. Both parties are usually required, the fee is $125 or $50 with premarital education, and the licence stays valid for six months after issue. The county's own page lists current exceptions.
Are sparklers allowed for the send-off?
It depends on the venue. Rosemount's banquet hall guidelines allow electric sparklers and low-fog dry ice machines while banning smoke machines, confetti, glitter, and rice or birdseed inside the building. The Minnesota Zoo bans rice, birdseed, confetti, glitter, balloons, streamers and liquid bubbles anywhere on its grounds. Ask in writing rather than assuming.
Do you photograph weddings in Apple Valley and Rosemount?
Yes, and travel is free within 40 miles of the Twin Cities, which covers all of Dakota County. The Rosemount page, the Lakeville page and the Burnsville page cover how I work across the south metro, small Minnesota wedding venues is worth reading if your guest list is under 60, and you can send me your date to check availability.
Sources
- Minnesota Zoo: Private Events Facilities
- Minnesota Zoo: Private Events FAQs
- Valleywood Golf Course: Weddings and Banquets
- City of Apple Valley: Facilities and Rentals
- City of Apple Valley: Senior and Event Center
- City of Rosemount: Steeple Center
- City of Rosemount: Steeple Center Rental Rates
- City of Rosemount: Community Center
- City of Rosemount: Community Center Rental Information and Banquet Hall Guidelines
- Dakota County: Marriage Licenses
- Dakota County Parks: Schaar's Bluff Gathering Center
- Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes: Minnesota Statutes 517.08
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