Whether you are planning your wedding, reception, reunion, graduation, corporate event or any other…read moregatherings. Knotty Pine Venue possesses the perfect mixture of country, all while offering you a private and modern accommodations! The owners were able to recommend a variety of vendors - catering, DJ, Desserts and security. Nice size venue for the wedding/reception we attended. Large round tables were provided and easily fit the 200 guest of the wedding. They also provided banquet tables.

I was a day of coordinator for a wedding here in April. The venue was beautiful and set up…read moreperfectly with lots of space for the head table, guests, DJ, food, dance, cake table, snack table, gift table, and bar. There were spacious lounge rooms for groom groomsmen and bride and bridal parties with lots of mirrors and private bathrooms!! Perfect for everyone to get ready in all at once and leave all there stuff safely throughout the day. I did not stop hearing comments from the guests all day about how cute the bathrooms were. There was full changing tables, very family friendly. The lighting was the best I have seen at a venue. There was tons of natural light, the photographer thanks you! When it got dark the lights were beautiful but also actually lit the place up so we weren't sitting in a cave! It was beautiful inside and out, lots of places outside to do pictures. The parking lot is massive and there is easy pull up drop off access for limo or grandparent drop offs. The kitchen is spotless and practical with its own entrance. The owner Dorisa, her husband, and all of the staff were impeccable. I did not meet them until the big day during our first crisis (non existent keg) and they went above and beyond to help. The owners and staff were always present, never difficult to find, and ready to do whatever it took to make the day go off without a hitch. Throughout the whole day I was constantly seeing Dorisa, her husband, and all the staff go above and beyond expectations helping where it was needed, not just required. Overall I was incredibly impressed. It felt like we were being hosted by a family in their gigantic beautiful venue home than renting a space from a business. I don't think it can get much better than that! I strongly recommend this venue to anyone and everyone! Thank you!!!

Great place to have a wedding reception. The Hickory Park food is the bomb and the price is right…read more People can sit up in the upper levels and watch the dancing queens on the dance floor shake their money maker. Friendly service.

The Octagon Center of the Arts has since moved down the block a few spots. I recently wandered into…read morethe shop and the adjacent gallery that was featuring a sign history of Ames. Great Stuff.

I really love this place! Cool art store/gallery/space to rent!…read more I have enjoyed concerts, classes, and art shows here! The rooms are beautiful and big enough for a nice crew to be in, but not huge enough to make things not feel intimate! The store is full of hand made, art stuff! Like Prints, one of a kind things, local art, jewelry, kitchen items, books, dvd's, cd's you name it! If it's art they probably have it! Perfect store for gift shopping for the unique someone who has everything...

We recently had our reception here, they delivered exactly what I envisioned. The set up was…read moreabsolutely stunning, the food was off the charts (we got so many compliments) from the rehearsal dinner to the food for the day of, it was all delicious. We had a math error for our cupcake count and their baker made herself available as to provide additional cupcakes the day before our wedding (which we also got a ton of compliments for). Gatherings also provided us a small cake to cut for the reception, not only was it stunning, but it tasted as good as it looked. I don't think I have a single thing to complain about, seriously, I couldn't have asked for it to be more perfect. I highly recommend them.

Came here to view the venue for our future wedding. Kim was very pleasant and gave us a complete…read moretour of the barn. Barn holds up to 300. They have a gorgeous interior space and plenty of outdoor seating options for your event. Ceremony and reception can be held at the same place with either an outdoor or indoor ceremony. There is a gazebo set up outside with benches on either side of an isle. There is ample room for parking in their gravel lot. The Bridal suite is absolutely gorgeous and bright! I can only imagine the perfect photographs being taken in this room for someone's special day! When we visited the venue was decorated for an upcoming wedding this weekend. Kim had great ideas, decorations and planning for the upcoming event and would be wonderful to work with. Check out their website for more information.

The rustic Fairview Lodge is run by Story City and is nicely situated and overlooking the park and…read moreright next to the historical Carousel. This is primarily a meeting venue and a convenient place to "wash up".

Wowwww This is the park of all parks!…read more Worth the drive from Des Moines to Madrid, Iowa. Great "tree museum" if that's what you want to call it but it was very educational and well worth the time and money. Visited on a Friday morning with our homeschool community and it was a busy morning. Reserved a guided tour months prior for our large group and paid extra for the tree house playground experience. The guided tour was absolutely fascinating and our group learned so much about how to identify different types of trees and plants. The gardens are awesome even in the fall. Worth a second or third trip for the different seasons we have here in Iowa. The playground was MASSIVE and newly built. All wooded and just a walk away from the arboretum. My kids and the other students really enjoyed this playground. Safe and fun. Found lots of accessibility for all to play Highly

A lovely spot in the middle of Iowa. Offering classes, initiating preservation of monarch butterfly…read morehabitat, building pollinator gardens, and quiet places for a walk. Entry fee for non-members is $10 per person with reduced rates for children. Open year-round to the public, this sanctuary has facilities for meetings, parties, weddings, etc. A number of trails allow you to walk through the different gardens and enjoy and ever changing display throughout the year. We were so pleasantly surprised at this little slice of paradise so far off the beaten path. Established in the early 1980s by an Iowa family that owned a nursery in the region. Bird watchers, gardeners, and anyone that just enjoys beautiful flowers should check out the Iowa Arboretum.

I had the pleasure of participating in a wedding that was held here recently…read more I dont have all the details of the rental agreement, but here are my take-aways. The house you can rent with the barn is huge. It had enough space and beds to hold the wedding party. The couple had the rehearsal dinner here the night prior to the wedding. We all met at the house, mingled, talked, and had dinner. There is a full kitchen and a butlers kitchen. They cooked dinner right there. Lots of space in this beautiful old house. It was a beautiful October evening so we even hung out in the open garage at a large table. The grounds are spacious. There is a pond and a little road that runs around it to the Barn, which is the venue. The next day we came back for the wedding. The majority of the wedding party had slept over, and stayed in the house. Bride made her way to the barn in the private suite for hair and getting dressed. I am married to one of the groomsmen so I was in charge of a couple little things. I got to talk with the nice staff who were helping get things set up. I asked them to add a couple little things to their honey-do lists before the wedding and they said no problem. I ran around to help and when something came up, they were quick to accommodate and help out. The barn is beautiful. I love the interior and the lighting. It is a barn. Barn doors on both ends, large wood structure with large beams. Details in cast iron and great floor for dancing all made this a great place. Easily holding about 200 people. Ample parking in the field that is mowed to accommodate. The couple catered in and it seemed seamless. Open bar as they have their own liquor license. We dance the night away in the barn under the beautiful tree lighting. The barn doors wide open for cool air. The kids playing on the hay bales right outside the doors. Being this far outside of town you could see stars forever. If I needed a romantic country setting, this is a great choice.

I was invited to a wedding in Iowa and the wedding took place at this beautiful rustic barn. What a…read morebeautiful place, the smell of wood, the beams, the cast iron details, just absolutely breath taken. Every detail made this place that much special. I'm from big cities and this place made me feel like as if I was part of a hallmark movie. Perfect and beautiful

If you are looking for something historic but wanting the church/chapel feel, I would highly…read moresuggest the Candle Lit Way wedding chapel. It was built in 1883, and has been restored to its previous beauty. My fiance and I choose The Candle Lit Wedding Chapel because we did want something historic and a chapel too. The interior is decorated with antique paintings/sculptures of a religious theme. The owners, Dan & MaryEllen are a super couple. They are thoughtful, caring, flexible and very willing to work with couples. The acoustics inside are amazing! We had a solo violinist and also a singer with an acoustic guitar. They both sounded SO beautiful inside when they played,. (Music nor people needed a mic to be heard) The small things makes this a very special place to wed. My fiance, as their tradition goes, was able to ring the chapel bell just before our wedding. The sign outside changed to the couples name, date, time of their wedding...and Dan even offered to have a pot of coffee ready, for anyone who needed that extra kick in the morning. I am so grateful we found such a beautiful location to say our "I dos". The price of the chapel varies depending on your guest count. We had a small group..so it wasn't much to pay.