Fall weddings can be done. I had mine on Oct 8, 2011 - caught most of the MN-Purdue game (ugh...) in the morning with my groomsmen at Nyes, got married at Our Lady of Lourdes next door in the early afternoon. Following week was a bye so our honeymoon didn't interfere. It was perfect.
As for TCF... I would say it's probably not worth the novelty. I've never been to one there, but the catering costs and slightly above-average facility fee (in an already overpriced wedding facility market) make it not really worth it. I hate to agree with Don here, but honestly, weddings rack up in money SO fast. We did almost everything ourselves (Save the dates, invites, decoration, flower arrangements at the farmer's market, went cheap on tuxes, etc etc) and still spent $20k on everything (though I suppose that included the honeymoon). I know it's totally 100% personal preference (and family members want a say in how it goes down), but if you can do something simple and save the money, do it. If I could do it again, I think I'd tell my guests not to bring gifts, in exchange we'll save the money on the venue and food (and booze..). You get to go pick out your own stuff on your own time with your own money later. You can buy kegs and bottles of booze, cater in some cheap food to some place (or even do potluck), iPod it for the music (even shell out the $600 for a DJ if you really want), and come out tens of thousands of dollars ahead. As Don says, goes a long way toward saving for a house, a romantic trip to Europe, etc. Spending more on venue/food/booze also makes you make difficult choices on who's invited - cutting it down means more can come and have fun.
Just some advice from a fellow Gopher fan.
