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!!!

We had my mom's 80th birthday party at the 1850 Homestead and it was perfect! Michelle was easy to…read morework with and so helpful. If you are looking for a place to have a birthday party, a reunion, a work party, a celebration of life celebration or any type of event this is the perfect place. The refurbished barn is beautiful. The outside setting is beautiful. They also have an air bnb on site which looks awesome. I can not say enough great things about the 1850 Homestead. It is AMAZING!

Opens in August, looks like it will be a nice place to hold events great stand of corn next to it…read morefor a backdrop... Classic barn interior housed in a modern shell to maintain climate control year round. We have an event booked for mid August.

My bridesmaids and I got ready here in October before my wedding. There were 7 of us, and there was…read moreplenty of space for us all in the seating area. There was PLENTY of space for our hair and makeup and the lighting was great! I loved that there was a little dining area in the back for us to keep drinks and bagels so we could eat breakfast and drink mimosas while getting pampered!! We were able to hook our phones up to the sound system to play our own playlists while we got ready too, which was such a good vibe for the morning of my wedding. I was also REALLY impressed with the customer service - we had a bit of a mix up while booking, and Samantha was INCREDIBLY accommodating. The space was SO cute and felt so special :)

From the owner: Bridal Suite Rentals read more

We just got married at Emerald Hills this June! It was an…read moreabsolute DREAM wedding! Everything was too perfect for words and I honestly cannot rave enough about the Emerald Hills venue and staff! The bridal suite and grooms lounge were my personal favorite details about the venue. Plenty of room for larger bridal parties! We never once felt crowded at all and Abby had everything decorated so tastefully. Every little detail matters and she knew just how to show it! I really cannot express my gratitude to EH enough, we had the perfect wedding day at the perfect venue! If we had to do it all over again we would hands down pick Emerald Hills every single time!

Looks very nice but the sound is soo bad. It's like a loud gymnasium. If the music/sound is…read moreimportant to you on your wedding day then I wouldn't rent this place.

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.

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.

Wow, fancy pants new events space just south of downtown! I…read morewas invited to the DSM MAGAZINE cover unveiling party, so I thought I would check it out! Little did I know there was going to be free food and drinks in a new fancy pants events space.. The River Center is set up perfect for an event like this! Lots of space upstairs and down stairs, and also fun outdoor space! The River Center had bar set up in all three locations as well, up/down, and outside! The staff was super nice and were super accommodating! I got to check out the upstairs bathroom cause naturally I brought my son ( bad idea?) and he had to go! Bathrooms were super nice, the food looks fab (again my son ate like 5 fancy cookies) and the space and sound system worked really well! If you were going to have a huge wedding, prom, or a big corporate event, this would be a great spot to do it.. It's fancy without being, to fancy. It got lots of parking around it, and it's close to other fun restaurants and bars, and the baseball stadium if you need to venture out and eat more food since you didn't get to eat 5 cookies like your kid.

One Great Location for any Gala Occasion, the Event Staff and Culinary Team can make your ideas of…read morethe perfect Swarah Happen. Chef Diego will make Magic happen with an appetizer spead, buffet style meal, or a full plated table service. Check out the Catering Guide online, Call the Event Directors, and get your Event Scheduled. This is an extremely unique Event Space that can handle small business Groups during the day and large Cascading Parties day or night...Dream it, Book it, then Enjoy it...

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...

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".

Super great place! No spray pick your own fruits, veggies and berries! Highly recommend!read more

From the owner: We specialize in pick - your - own berries, fruits, and vegetables as well as home made jams and…read moreorganic resale of grains, beans, and other food products.