A message to the bride and groom: Shhh

Laughter and music on the Stillwater Public Library's rooftop are pure bliss for the brides and grooms getting married there.

But for some library neighbors, living near those late-night sounds is giving them the wedding bell blues.

About a dozen people showed up at Tuesday's City Council meeting to protest a recent decision by the council exempting summer weddings and other private parties held at the library from the city's 10 p.m. noise ordinance.

The blanket variance extends the noise curfew to 11:30 p.m.

"The neighborhood is absolutely opposed to this," said Jerry Helmberger, who lives next door to the library, and with his wife operates a bed and breakfast there. "Since the library [expansion] opened, the burden to this neighborhood has done nothing but increase."

The library is the latest venue available in a city that is a popular wedding destination for brides and grooms from all over the Twin Cities and beyond.

The Johnson Terrace, with its romantic pergola and panoramic view of the St. Croix River, opened a couple years ago as part of the library's expansion.

Nell Kadlec, who grew up in Stillwater, got married there in September.

"As soon as I walked up there onto the terrace, I knew I wanted to get married there," she said. On that beautiful winter day when she visited the terrace, she gazed out at all the steeples and at the St. Croix River. Then she saw the pergola, and started to imagine herself standing under it.

"That's what sold me on the whole thing -- it frames it perfectly for a wedding," said Kadlec, who now lives in Minneapolis. "I could picture my whole wedding party there."

But she chose to go somewhere else for her wedding reception, in part because of the 10 p.m. noise ordinance. "Mostly it was because we had to be done by a certain time just because of the noise, and I knew with our group, we wouldn't be able to do that," she said, laughing.

Renting out the terrace and the library's community rooms provides another funding source for the library and is an integral part of its business model, city officials say.

Revenue generated

Last summer, during the terrace's first wedding season, 10 private events were held, including some weddings, said library director Lynne Bertalmio. The rentals generated $10,000 for the library.

This year, there are 13 weddings booked for the summer and the library has budgeted $30,000 in revenue, Bertalmio said.

Rachel Peterson is one of two brides-to-be who sought a variance from the city's noise ordinance for her wedding event at the library, because she wanted her reception to run later.

The petitions from Peterson and the other bride-to-be, Erin Keto, prompted the City Council to consider a blanket variance for the summer.

Peterson, who grew up in Stillwater but now lives in New York City, said she and her fiancé are planning to hire a band and put in a dance floor.

Neighbors who spoke against the variance argued that 10 p.m. is late enough for any event. They also told the council they were upset that they weren't consulted before the blanket variance was passed a few weeks ago.

On Tuesday, at Council Member Adam Nyberg's urging, the council voted to honor the existing blanket variance only for the 13 events already booked for this summer.

The council will revisit the noise variance in the fall, and pledged to notify neighbors ahead of time.

As far as the neighborhood's concerns go, said Dolores Dickinson, "we can label this summer lost." She lives across the street from the library.

"Summer is when we have our windows open ... it's when we're out walking," she said.

Allie Shah • 651-298-1550.