Campus Club

Overview:

From DJ Mike H:

I had the opportunity to visit Campus Club and tour the space with their event manager Jenn, and talk to the event captains on March 22nd, 2016. It was a great meeting, the staff was very kind and was more concerned with what they can do to help us rather than how we can help them. 

However, the venue is not particularly easy. There are a few elements of this venue that make it more difficult than your typical wedding location.

First of all, the load-in will take much longer than normal. You will load-in through the East Loading Dock at the Coffman Memorial Union. It is located behind Coffman and you will receive instructions via email from the staff on how to get there. Once you've parked at the loading dock, head up to the Campus Club on the fourth floor to get a loading tag which you put on your car to show you are able to load your gear. Once you've loaded your gear to the fourth floor, you will park in the East River Garage, then head to up to the Campus Club with all your gear set up there. Not an easy load-in. Give yourself plenty of time, you will need it.

The ceremony usually occurs out in a terrace and they'll have a spot for you to set up your gear. Pretty easy.

Cocktail hour takes place in three different spots. Over by the bar, they have a soundsystem which you can plug an iPod/laptop into. However, at the lounge corridor, they do not have a sound system. That means you'll have to set up a speaker at the lounge corridor in order to play background music. So essentially, there will be background music on their speakers at some areas of the cocktail and background music on your speakers at other areas. 

Once cocktail hour is over, move your speaker over to the main ballroom, where the rest of your gear should already be set up. The main ballroom is a perfect size and once you're there, you should be golden. They have a venue microphone, which they like to use for speeches.

Load In:

It's a bitch. Give yourself a lot of time. You'll have to come in through a loading dock, get a loading tag to put inside your car, load your gear in, park your car and then come up the fourth floor. The more time you have, the less stress will be involved. It's not your typical load-in. 

Special Considerations:

I had a good talk with all of the event captains. Their biggest pet peeves are people not setting up on time, DJs not helping get everybody lined up for the Grand March and DJs not being assertive on the microphone. They were very nice and I believe will be very helpful, but basically, if you do your job the way it's intended, they'll be very happy with you!

Challenges:

No shortage of challenges. The cocktail hour will be tricky because music will be playing from two different sources (your speaker, the venue's speakers). Be sure to have everything set up in the main ballroom before you move your speaker to the cocktail hour. That way once the cocktail hour is over, you simply move it the ballroom, plug it in and you're good to go.

Time is of the essence at this venue. Give yourself a ton of it.

Extra Venue Call Questions:

Where do I load in?

How long does it usually take DJs to load in?

Can I plug an iPod/laptop into your sound system for cocktail hour?

Do you have a venue microphone I can use for speeches?

Website:

http://campusclubumn.org/wedding-special-events

The Knot:

https://www.theknot.com/marketplace/campus-club-minneapolis-mn-246782