Wedding Venues Des Moines // Des Moines has more character than most people expect: an English-style manor with 16th-century oak paneling, the restored 1913 Younkers Tea Room, a modernist art center by three famous architects and a museum terrace facing the golden dome of the Capitol. Half an hour out, you are among barns, vineyards and the covered bridges of Madison County.
We checked every venue below on its own website for current weddings, capacities and, where they publish them, prices.
Written October 2026. Prices and capacities are the ones the venues published at the time; always confirm them when you inquire. Cover photo by Macabe Sitler, a photographer in our community.
Wedding Venues in Des Moines
A manor house, historic halls, a museum terrace and a winery, all in or close to downtown.
Salisbury House & Gardens
South of GrandUp to 250 guestsIndoor & outdoor
Built in the 1920s for cosmetics maker Carl Weeks and his wife Edith, Salisbury House was modeled on the King’s House in Salisbury, England. Its 42 rooms are full of 16th-century English oak, and indoor ceremonies take place in the Common Room with its 19-foot oak table. From May to October, weddings move out onto the terraces and gardens for up to 250.
Hoyt Sherman Place
Sherman HillUp to 150 seatedIndoor
Hoyt Sherman Place centers on the 1877 mansion of Hoyt Sherman, brother of General William Tecumseh Sherman. Weddings take place in its art gallery, which became the city’s first public art museum, and the newer Great Hall has big windows over downtown.
The Tea Room
DowntownUp to 300 seatedIndoor
The Younkers department store opened its Tea Room in 1913, and after a fire in 2014 the room was restored and reopened in 2017. It has 14 floor-to-ceiling windows, 16-foot ceilings and balconies over the skyline, and a private bridal room comes with every booking. Licensed outside caterers are welcome.
Des Moines Art Center
Grand AvenueUp to 150 guestsIndoor & outdoor
The Des Moines Art Center is a lesson in architecture: a lobby by Eliel Saarinen with travertine floors and oak walls, a courtyard with a reflecting pool framed by buildings by Saarinen, I. M. Pei and Richard Meier, and a patio by Meier’s white pavilion for ceremonies. The lobby and courtyard rent for $5,000 and the patio for $1,500.
Its rental rules exclude religious events, so ask first if you are planning a religious ceremony.
State Historical Building of Iowa
East VillageUp to 350 guestsIndoor & outdoor
At the State Historical Building, receptions take place in a sky-lit atrium surrounded by the state history museum, and the Grand Terrace for the ceremony looks straight at the Iowa State Capitol.
Hotel Fort Des Moines
DowntownUp to 270 seatedIndoor & outdoorLodging on site
Dating back to 1919, Hotel Fort Des Moines has a restored Grand Ballroom with a staircase balcony down to the courtyard, 290 guest rooms for your guests and a speakeasy for the after-party.
Mainframe Studios
DowntownUp to 200 seatedIndoor
Inside a building of 180 artist studios, Mainframe Studios rents The Big Room, with 12-foot ceilings and a whole wall of windows over downtown. It costs $1,950 from Monday to Thursday and $3,750 from Friday to Sunday.
Jasper Winery
Near downtownUp to 300 guestsIndoor & outdoor
An urban winery with its own vineyard, Jasper Winery holds ceremonies on its front lawn or among the vines, with a banquet hall, a barrel room and a tent from May to October. Staff, bar service, tables and chairs are included, and any licensed caterer can cook.
Living History Farms
UrbandaleUp to 180 guestsIndoor & outdoor
At Living History Farms, a 500-acre open-air museum, you can marry in the 1876 town of Walnut Hill: in its Church of the Land (from $1,100 for four hours), at the gazebo or on the Flynn Mansion lawn ($600), and celebrate in the Flynn Barn with string lights from May to October.
Wedding Venues Near Des Moines
A greenhouse in the woods, an opera house, barns and vineyards, all within about 50 minutes.
Iris Aisle
Near WintersetUp to 75 guestsIndoor & outdoorLodging on site
Hidden in a cedar grove near Winterset, Iris Aisle is a Victorian-style greenhouse where you can marry under glass, in the woods or among wildflowers. Packages for 2027 and 2028 start at $1,500 for an elopement and go up to $8,500 for a whole weekend with cabins and tent sites, and you bring your own food (even a potluck). Its site says LGBTQIA+ couples are always welcome.
White Knot Barn
ProleUp to 300 guestsIndoor & outdoor
Twenty minutes from the metro, White Knot Barn sits on 140 acres with a vineyard and a pond where ceremonies take place, with the barn and its six-foot crystal chandelier as the rain plan. Its 2027 rate is $8,000 on Saturdays and $6,000 on Sundays.
Iowa Arboretum & Gardens
MadridUp to 200 guestsIndoor & outdoor
With 120 acres of woodland, prairie and century-old oaks, Iowa Arboretum & Gardens is a peaceful choice. A ceremony and reception costs $3,000 in season in 2026 ($3,250 in 2027), and its Treehouse Village has a micro-wedding package for up to 50.
Prairie Moon Winery
Near AmesUp to 250 guestsIndoor & outdoor
A family-run winery with a 13-acre vineyard, Prairie Moon Winery offers ceremonies indoors or out with vineyard views and a banquet hall for up to 250. A Saturday ceremony and reception costs $5,000.
Pella Opera House
PellaUp to 250 seatedIndoor
Opened in 1900, the Pella Opera House seats more than 320 for a ceremony in its theater, with a lighting and sound technician, and hosts receptions for up to 250 in its Great Hall, which has a built-in dance floor.
Good To Know Before You Book
- Marriage license: it comes from the county registrar and costs $35, including one certified copy. It only becomes valid three days after it is issued; a judge can shorten that in an emergency (Iowa Code, chapter 595).
- Paperwork: the application needs an affidavit from someone who knows you both, confirming your age and that you are free to marry. Your officiant returns the signed certificate within 15 days.
Looking for more ideas? Have a look at our favorite wedding venues in Iowa.
And when you have found your venue, find the right photographer on our map.
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Find your photographer
Photographers who shoot in Des Moines
Film-inspired photographers from our community, in and near the area. Tap one to see their work, or send them all your plans at once below.
Jake and Candi Slobodnik
KC.PhotographyKansas City, MO, United StatesCouples·Family·Lifestyle
Kelsey Herrmann
Kelsey Michelle PhotographyKansas City, MO, United StatesBoudoir·Couples·Lifestyle
Jessica Weischedel
283 Photography LLCSioux Falls, SD, United StatesBirth & Newborn·Couples·Documentary
Ashley Hancock
The Hancocks ImageryIL, United StatesDocumentary
Thais and Darron Fry
THAIS PhotographyChicago, IL, United StatesWeddings & Elopements
