Como Park Conservatory Wedding Photos: Permits and Hours

You cannot book a posed wedding or engagement shoot inside the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory during public hours. Como's own photography policy says it is not issuing photo permits during public hours at all, and its visitor policies say posed photography, group photos and tripods are not allowed in the Conservatory. The only way in with a camera and a wedding dress is a private rental before or after the building opens.

That sounds restrictive until you look at the rates, which are published, specific and cheaper than most people expect. Here is what Como publishes about ceremonies, photo sessions, hours and the one loophole that costs five dollars.

Can you take wedding photos in the Conservatory during public hours?

No. The Conservatory's photography policy opens and closes with the same line, in capitals: at this time it is not issuing photo permits during public hours. It then says plainly that you must rent the Conservatory space before or after public hours if you want to use it as a backdrop.

Como's visitor policies draw the same line for everyone else: candid pictures are fine, but posed photography, group photos and tripods are not allowed in the Conservatory. Drones are prohibited by the City of Saint Paul and by Como. Service animals are the only pets permitted, and food and drink are not allowed in any Zoo or Conservatory building.

The City backs this up. Saint Paul's film and photo permit page says a permit is not required for non-commercial photography for personal or family use anywhere in the park system, unless it impedes access to public property or it is conducted at Como Park Zoo and Conservatory. Como is the single named exception in the whole city.

What does a private photo session cost?

Como publishes a rate grid for 30-minute private photo sessions taken before or after business hours, and it varies by garden and by day of the week. On the policy page, Monday through Thursday is $200 in the Sunken Garden, the North Garden or the Japanese Garden. Friday and Sunday are $367 for the Sunken Garden, $250 for the North Garden and $325 for the Japanese Garden. Saturday is $400, $267 and $350 respectively. Sessions are booked through Facility Rentals at 651-487-8250 or comoweddings@ci.stpaul.mn.us, and commercial work goes through a different contact entirely.

Thirty minutes is short. If you are planning engagement photos rather than a wedding, it is worth comparing that against a free outdoor location; my guide to Saint Paul engagement photo locations covers the alternatives, and the Saint Paul engagement page explains how I usually structure a session that needs more than half an hour.

Getting married in the Sunken Garden

The Sunken Garden ceremony rental is Como's headline wedding space, and the published rate is $750 Monday through Thursday, $1,100 Friday, $1,200 Saturday and $1,100 Sunday. The reservation is 90 minutes, and that 90 minutes covers set up, the ceremony, photos and take down. Guests enter through the Historic Entrance of the Conservatory, where coat racks wait in the foyer.

Seating is the detail that catches people out. Como provides up to 10 chairs in the Sunken Garden; everyone else stands. This is not a space for a seated guest list, and it is a good argument for keeping the count genuinely small. If that is the direction you are heading, my micro wedding page and my roundup of small Minnesota wedding venues are the right next reads.

Time slots are fixed around public hours. From May through Labor Day the Sunken Garden is available 8:15 to 9:45 a.m., 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. and 8:30 to 10:00 p.m. After Labor Day through April a 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. slot is added. Couples may also photograph in the Palm Dome during their rental, though the Palm Dome stays a shared space, and no other Conservatory garden is available during your slot.

The North Garden and the Japanese Garden

The North Garden holds up to 35 guests and rents for $400 Monday through Thursday, $750 Friday, $800 Saturday and $750 Sunday, again for 90 minutes. Como provides up to six chairs and will add a table for a guest book or unity candle on request. Its season starts earlier, running March through Labor Day on the morning and evening slots, with the 4:30 p.m. slot added from the day after Labor Day through April.

The Charlotte Partridge Ordway Japanese Garden is outdoors and seasonal: May through September only, with two one-hour windows at 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. and 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. It holds up to 35 guests and rents for $600 Monday through Thursday, $650 Friday, $700 Saturday and $650 Sunday. Being outdoors, it needs a weather plan, which is the one thing Como cannot sell you; my rain plan guide covers how to build one.

What does 90 minutes actually buy you?

Treat the 90 minutes as three blocks of half an hour and the day plans itself: setup and guest arrival, the ceremony, then photos and clear-out. Under real conditions, expect closer to 25 usable minutes of portraits.

That has consequences. Get everyone ready and photographed elsewhere first, so the Conservatory slot is spent on the ceremony and a handful of frames that could only happen under the glass. Keep family groupings to a printed list of five or six combinations. Put someone other than the couple in charge of gathering people. And if your slot is the 8:15 a.m. one, brief your hair and makeup team honestly about how early that makes their call time.

The evening slots are the harder light problem. From roughly late autumn onward the 6:30 p.m. slot is fully dark outside, so the glasshouse reads as a black ceiling over lit plants. That is a look, not a flaw, but it is very different from the bright green frames couples usually have in mind. My Minnesota winter wedding guide covers how to plan for it, and the Como Park Conservatory page goes into how I approach the room itself.

Artist and photographer hours: the five-dollar back door

Como runs occasional Artist, Photographer and Family Photo Hours, an exclusive morning session inside the Conservatory before it opens to the public. No registration is required, admission is $5 cash per person paid at the door, and the page explicitly invites tripods, cameras, paint sets and easels for family photos, senior portraits and artistic shots.

These are scheduled a handful of times a year on specific Saturday and Sunday mornings, usually 8:00 to 10:00 a.m. It is not a substitute for a wedding rental, and you are sharing the building with other photographers, but for an engagement session on a budget it is by far the cheapest legitimate way into the Conservatory with a tripod. Watch the page for dates.

Visiting, hours and your marriage licence

General admission to Como is free. The visitor hours page asks for a voluntary donation of $8 for an adult and $5 for a child to help care for the plants and animals. Hours run 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. from May 1 through Labor Day, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday from early September through the end of April, with the Conservatory staying open until 6 p.m. on Mondays in the winter season. Your rental slot sits immediately before or after those hours, which is why the times are so rigid.

Como is in Saint Paul, so Ramsey County issues the licence. Ramsey County issues marriage licences in person at the Plato Building, 90 Plato Blvd. W., Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; both parties normally appear, applicants must be 18 or older with valid identification, and the licence expires after six months. The fee is statutory: Minn. Stat. 517.08 sets it at $125, or $50 with a notarised statement confirming at least 12 hours of premarital education.

If a 90-minute glasshouse ceremony sounds like the right size for your day, it usually means you are planning something closer to an elopement than a banquet. My Twin Cities elopement guide, the Saint Paul elopement page and the wider Saint Paul wedding photography page all cover how those days run, and my list of Saint Paul wedding venues covers where to hold the dinner afterwards.

Frequently asked questions

Do you need a permit for wedding photos at Como Park Conservatory?

You need a rental, not a permit. Como says it is not issuing photo permits during public hours, so posed photography inside the Conservatory has to happen in a paid private session before or after opening. Saint Paul's own film and photo permit page names Como Park Zoo and Conservatory as the single location in the park system where even non-commercial personal photography needs authorisation.

How much does a Sunken Garden wedding cost at Como?

Como's Sunken Garden page publishes the ceremony rental at $750 Monday through Thursday, $1,100 on Friday, $1,200 on Saturday and $1,100 on Sunday, for a 90-minute reservation covering setup, the ceremony, photos and take down. The North Garden and the Japanese Garden are cheaper. Confirm rates when you enquire.

Can we use a tripod inside the Conservatory?

Not during public hours. Como's visitor policies say tripods are not allowed in the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory, alongside posed photography and group photos. The exception is the occasional Artist, Photographer and Family Photo Hours session, where the published invitation specifically tells visitors to bring tripods, cameras, paint sets or easels.

How many guests can come to a Como Conservatory ceremony?

The North Garden and the Japanese Garden are both published as holding up to 35 guests. The Sunken Garden does not list a headcount but provides up to 10 chairs, with everyone else standing, so it is best treated as a standing-room space for a small group. Confirm your number with Facility Rentals before you send invitations.

What does it cost to visit Como normally?

Admission is free. Como's hours page asks for a voluntary donation of $8 for an adult and $5 for a child to support the care of its plants and animals. That gets you in during public hours to look, and to take candid pictures, but not to run a posed session, use a tripod or photograph a group. Those all require the private rental described above.

Sources

• Como Park Zoo and Conservatory: Marjorie McNeely Conservatory Photography Policy
• Como Park Zoo and Conservatory: Sunken Garden weddings
• Como Park Zoo and Conservatory: North Garden weddings
• Como Park Zoo and Conservatory: Charlotte Partridge Ordway Japanese Garden
• Como Park Zoo and Conservatory: Artist, Photographer and Family Photo Hours
• Como Park Zoo and Conservatory: Policies and FAQ
• Como Park Zoo and Conservatory: Visitor Map and Hours
• City of Saint Paul: Film and Photo Permits
• Ramsey County, Minnesota: Marriage Licenses
• Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes: Minn. Stat. 517.08