Addie Theis Paradis already had a connection to Minneopa State Park, so when it was time to plan her wedding, she turned her sights on having it there.
Although at the time there were several farm- and barn-oriented venues available, she discovered just what she wanted in the 100-year-old picnic pavilion near the waterfalls at Minneopa.
The centennial of the structure is being noted this year, taking some short-term attention from the extremely popular bison range and 160-year-old Seppman Mill on the other side of Highway 68, and the aforementioned falls.
“I am a botanist and wanted our ceremony to occur in a natural landscape in the Minnesota River Valley,” said Paradis, a southern Twin Cities native who married a Mankato native, Travis Paradis. She had conducted graduate research at the park before the pandemic and was engaged at the falls overlook in December 2022.
But she had also catered some weddings in the past and promised herself she would never get married where weather could affect the experience. Something, it seemed, would have to give between those two conflicting ideas.
A member of the Friends of Minneopa group, she heard stories of many beautiful weddings held at the pavilion and, upon further investigation, found it checked many of the boxes on her wish list: running-water bathroom, close parking, beautiful and large shelter to protect from rain, proximity to Mankato and a natural backdrop on public land.
Everything she was looking for, it turns out, was literally right under her botanist’s nose.
The main part of the pavilion was constructed in the summer of 1914 for $4,200, according to documents provided by Minneopa volunteer Tim Pulis. Drawn by Mankato architect Albert Schippel, the 24-by-68-foot section was built by J. B. Nelsen and Co.
Two additional wings designed in the original style were constructed by Edw. Schumacher in 1924 at a cost of $1,235 each, Pulis found. They are 22-by-24 feet each, forming a Maltese cross shape.
Except for Seppman Mill, which was built in 1864, the pavilion is the oldest structure in the park.
Other buildings in the area are Works Progress Administration, or WPA, projects dating back to 1939. During their wedding, Addie and Travis both acknowledged the park is on the traditional territory of the Dakota people.
Each year the picnic shelter, located just past the park office, is the stopping point on the way to view the double Minneopa Falls, as well as for picnics, family reunions, parties of other sorts and, previously as a rest stop for the 1,800 riders in the Mankato River Ramble Bike Tour.
Soon after the original section was built, a gravel floor was added and upgraded in 1921 to concrete, Pulis said. Through the years, in addition to regular maintenance, electricity was installed, heavy-duty picnic tables added and two fire pits built nearby.
Although the pathway from the parking lot to the falls used to be on the north side of the shelter near the creek, 25 years ago a concrete sidewalk was installed on the other side of the shelter to make it accessible to all and to keep kids from getting too close to the creek.
That sidewalk also made the shelter accessible for the older members in Paradis’ wedding party.
“When the waterfalls are flowing, you can hear the water as you eat your picnic lunch,” Pulis said.
On her May 31 wedding date, Paradis and her husband heard a different form of water: a light rain. Thankfully, the historic structure provided shelter and allowed the rain to become a positive part of the wedding.
“The picnic shelter really sheltered all of our loved ones during the ceremony,” she said. “The sound of falling rain and our guitarist really set the perfect scene.” A scene that fulfilled her natural setting wishes without being overly susceptible to weather.
“Now to find out the picnic shelter is celebrating a historic birthday, we feel so special to have honored the space in a great way,” she said.