What nobody tells you on the tour.
I have photographed weddings in these rooms and fields for years. These are the things I wish every couple knew in month one instead of month nine.
Nobody selling you a venue is going to mention the parking, the septic, or the rentals line.
That is not dishonesty, it is just how the business works: a venue sells the room, and everything around the room is somebody else's problem. I am on the other side of that, standing in the field at five o'clock when the plan either works or does not. These guides are what I have learned from being there, written for couples who have not booked anything yet.
Read the guide for your room
Capacities, real costs, rain plans and where the light lands, one page per venue.
- Fireside WineryMarengo, Iowa
- Cedar Ridge Winery & DistillerySwisher, Iowa
- Quad Cities Waterfront Convention CenterBettendorf, Iowa
- The Hotel at Kirkwood CenterCedar Rapids, Iowa
- Chestnut Mountain ResortGalena, Illinois
- Goldmoor InnGalena, Illinois
- The Celebration FarmIowa City, Iowa
- Iowa TaproomDes Moines, Iowa
- Des Moines Art CenterDes Moines, Iowa
- Hotel Julien DubuqueDubuque, Iowa
- Stone Cliff WineryDubuque, Iowa
- Eagle Ridge Resort & SpaGalena, Illinois
- Ashton Hill FarmCedar Rapids, Iowa
- Salisbury House & GardensDes Moines, Iowa
- Festhalle BarnAmana, Iowa
Planning something these guides do not cover? Tell me the date and the place. I will tell you what I would watch out for, whether or not you hire me.
Ask me about your day