BarnesPlace

My husband and I fell in love with Barnes Place as soon as we saw it the first time. Paula's (the owner) husband showed us the venue and he was so delightful and helpful in answering any questions we had. We dreamed of an outdoor venue such as this and we were so excited to have found it. For much of the planning process, everything seemed fine and Paula seemed to be very organized. She was quite pushy at times when it came to planning details. Her own opinions on how the day should be run were very well known. I tried to shrug them off since I was so excited for our wedding, but it was bothersome. Then the day of the wedding came..... There were so many things that went wrong the day of the wedding. So many things that still irritate me so much. My friends and family have told me countless small details about the rude, insensitive, owner of Barnes Place that left them feeling uneasy. I'll just share a few of the unfortunate experiences to give you a taste. First of all, one of my bridesmaids had just had a baby four months prior to the wedding. She obviously had to pump a couple of times during the day and Paula acted disgusted that she asked to put her bottle of milk in the fridge. Not only that, but she yelled at my bridesmaid for walking downstairs to find the fridge when she wasn't supposed to leave upstairs (mind you, there was NO ONE ELSE down there and it was an hour before the wedding, so what was the big deal?!) Secondly, during our planning with Paula, my husband and I told her about our idea to get a picture of the wedding party popping a bottle of champagne. She seemed tickled by the idea at the time, but apparently forgot all about it because when we went to take the photo after our ceremony, Paula forbid it. Even more than that, she gave my brother a stern talking to about it. Gee, thanks, Paula. Third, Paula made us start shutting down the venue a half hour before our scheduled time to shut down. She said we only had 30 minutes to get everything out of the venue. Our decorator that was hired by Paula was even shocked by this. She was running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to get everything together and ordering us around. We were told that our decorator would be responsible for gathering everything and we would not have to do any of that. We were just to enjoy. YEAH RIGHT. Instead, my husband, my friends, my family, and I spent the last 30 minutes of our wedding day boxing things up inside and hauling them out to vehicles. One of our items turned into a huge problem that put me over the edge...We had a wood pallet that I painted our timeline on for guests. Paula's husband told us that we could leave on the side of Barnes Place and pick it up with a truck in the morning. When we went to leave after the reception, Paula told us that we absolutely could not leave it there and we better figure out what to do with it. I left the venue that night in a bucket of tears from all of the stress Paula caused. When my husband and I got back to our hotel room and were finally getting to focus on just the two of us, guess who texted us? That's right - Paula! She informed us that we left behind a binder that had a copy of our scripture readings in it and needed to schedule a time to come get it. ARE YOU SERIOUS. Barnes Places was gorgeous, but absolutely not worth the amount of stress it caused on one of the most important days of our lives.

Venue is beautiful but that's it. Lots of extra costs like 900.00. Decorator was nice and so is Paula's husband. Rest of the staff was rude and treated guests poorly. Paula sets up every wedding the same so no need to tell her what you want. I spent three days after the wedding feeling so mad at the issues we had but I finally let it go. Daughter's wedding was in September so I waited to write a review to keep from getting worked up again. Examples of what went wrong. I bought and paid for place settings to go on the tables. I wanted plates , silverware,napkins and menus on the tables. I asked three times for the plates and didn't get them. The bar would not give out our koosies unless a guest got a beer. This was crazy. I had to get firm on this so guest could have them . We ended up with 150 left over. Bar would not poor a guest a Coke without alcohol. Paula was rude to my dad when he was opening the door for my handicap uncle in a wheel chair. We did not do a run through. Paula also said the place she recommended to by alcohol would buy back what we didn't use and I got stuck with 25 cases of beer and we don't drink. My daughter wanted to have kids ride in on trikes and a wagon. She hid them and again I had to say go get them we are using them . If it was an issue it should of been addressed in a proper meeting. My daughter had a tree planting in the ceremony and the pot was never unloaded from our trailer. Glasses for non alcohol drinks never made it out of the trailer either. Don't plan on doing this GS the way you want because they just seem to set everything up the way they are used to doing it every weekend. Very disappointed. Guest didn't know what went bad but after two years of planning we didn't get what we wanted. What has happened to the service industry???

We chose this venue for our daughter’s wedding & it was absolutely the best experience. The owners & staff went above & beyond to make sure the day was perfect. The venue & grounds alone are beautiful & once they add decorating it becomes even better. They had so many suggestions as to what really works & they were so very helpful. Everything ran like a well oiled machine. The order of events at the reception were terrific where all important items (intro’s, cake cutting, first dances) were done first so all guests could enjoy & see. We had many compliments on how well everything went. I can’t say enough good things about this venue. It’s perfect!

This was the most amazing venue! Our wedding was so seamless and everything happened as planned! Paula and her team had everything organized and put together as we arrived, and the day flowed beautifully. We had a small hiccup with our marriage license and that never even phased them. They helped us fix it like nothing even happened. The planning and final walk-through meetings made the day just as I wanted and everything I envisioned! Many many people said that was the best wedding and venue they had ever been to. It was just perfect! 10/10 recommend! Thank you for making my day the most amazing day!

The Barnes Place crew were awesome and made sure our day went off without a hitch. They took care of so many behind the scene details, I can't imagine having family members or friends take care of everything they did for us. Amazing weekend we will never forget!

Where to begin with how wonderful Barnes Place is! What an amazing venue for our wedding and the staff is top notch! Paula and Ernie are fantastic, Emily's decoration ideas were on point, and CJ was awesome with keeping things organized! We made a last minute decision to have our wedding outside (65 in December WOW) Emily and the whole staff were on board and everything went flawlessly! We highly recommend Barnes Place! Lindsey and Luther

My husband and I fell in love with Barnes’ Place the minute we stepped foot through the door. The venue is absolutely perfect for a modern-rustic theme, and it’s an even more gorgeous setting for photographs, which was important to us. We got engaged in August 2016 and wanted a fall wedding for the next year and the first available Saturday was November 11, 2017. We took it and had hopes of an outdoor wedding even though Iowa weather is so unpredictable. We spent the year planning for an outdoor wedding but when the week of the wedding came it was just too cold and we had to move it inside. I gave the owners this direction around 10 p.m. on the night before the wedding and they transformed the venue into a spectacular setting for us. We were worried about the transition from ceremony to reception now that it was all inside, but the staff there moved so seamlessly and professionally through the whole process that no one even noticed. It was amazing. The staff was incredibly helpful in every step of the way – since we did not rent the venue out for the whole weekend, we couldn’t do a real rehearsal at the venue, which made me a little hesitant. But while my husband and I were taking photos, the staff went through the whole ceremony with our wedding party and when it came time for the ceremony, everything went so smoothly. The owner and staff were very helpful and accommodating throughout our whole experience. We chose to pay for the decorator and cleanup service at extra fees and it was so worth it. We met with our decorator twice and picked out what we liked and she brought it all together to look perfect, then we didn’t have to worry about buying or storing decorations at all. The cleanup service was amazing and kept the place looking immaculate all night, and at the end we could leave without having to worry about anything. Barnes Place is expensive once everything is added up, but looking at everything you get for the price and compared to any other venue in the area, it’s a much better deal. If it’s in your budget, we highly recommend it. Our family and friends couldn’t say enough great things about it, and we have absolutely no regrets about getting married there!

Absolutely amazing! Not only is this place beautiful but the staff is incredibly knowledgeable. We have had so many compliments on how smoothly our wedding went and it was all thanks to the staffs help. Would recommend them 100x over!

Was part of the bridal party at a wedding here not to long ago. This place is absolutely beautiful, inside and out. The staff is great and there to help. I would recommend this place to anyone.

I am a little torn about this review because I was so excited to have the Barnes Place as our venue. We toured the barn and the grounds and the place was gorgeous! There were a lot of pros - all the decorations on site, its basically an all inclusive venue, the revenue is reinvested in the venue etc. BUT they will nickel and dime you. $1000 for alcohol, $500 for bartenders and an officer, $300 for a decorator, $500 for cleaning. Just be aware of that. We considered trying to avoid some of those fees, but it is really difficult. With only a one day rental beginning at 7 am and ending at 1 am...that makes it really difficult to decorate yourself and clean yourself...I was a go getter and even I conceded. There was an inventory of items that you can ask for to see what items they have for decorating, but its not updated, so you will need a decorator to help you. Oh - and you do NOT get a rehearsal so you need to plan that into your crazy packed day. Unless you want to rent the facility for the entire weekend Friday, Saturday, and Sunday..which I think is $8000. Additionally I was really, really disappointed by all the rules. AFTER you sign the contract you get a 30 page document basically telling you all the Don'ts on YOUR day. The staff that works there were amazing and worked really really hard to get us what we wanted. They were great..the owner..not so much. On the day you are considering signing the contract you will have her full attention. After that - you are chopped liver. She would not give us our table layouts until literally 1 week before our wedding - and that took several emails and several phone calls and voice mails from our parents (who we had to go to so the situation was handled and taken seriously). With a guest count of 200+ she highly recommended not to do assigned seating which was completely against every other bride and wedding guest I have ever talked to. It seemed more like it was more of an inconvenience for her. She wasnt very helpful over email either...she'd get back to you in a couple weeks, but when she did again it was an inconvenience. Needless to say, I felt taken advantage of and disappointed on who our money went to. So was it worth it..? We justified it when we signed the contract because of all the pros, but after all the cons of The Barnes Place maybe not.

Beautiful venue--exactly the atmosphere we wanted for our wedding. It is beautiful without adding any decorations, but they do have an entire room of decorations available for use. I was delighted as the mother of the bride to be greeted at the door by staff who helped carry in all our stuff and started work on the set-up preparation immediately. I barely did a thing. Make sure to read and understand the rules and contract. I HIGHLY recommend paying the extra fee for clean-up: the Barnes' Place staff worked their tails off the entire day keeping everything running smoothly, looking beautiful, cleaning up, and helping us pack up and get on the road in a reasonable time frame after the wedding. They run a tight ship and know what works and what doesn't, which I appreciated. We had a great experience and I'm so glad we picked this venue!

This venue is gorgeous, there is no argument in that. But the owner is very hard to work with and created a lot of unneeded stress, especially for a bride. We had our final walk thru a month before our wedding, and went over exactly all of the specifications on the set up (they do not allow you to move any of the tables or anything yourself, the staff has to do it) however when we arrived the day before the wedding the set up was completely different than discussed and didn't even have enough seats for our guest count that was confirmed the day before. Instead of spending the day that we paid $1000 extra for to decorate, we spent it figuring out how we were going to make the layout work. We also hired a decorator through the Barnes Place, only to find out that she was a high schooler that wouldn't be available during any of the times that we would be out there (our wedding was a Friday). When I brought this up with the owner, she only responded with that yes the decorator was in high school but she was confident with her abilities. I didn't doubt her abilities, but we needed someone that would actually be able to physically be there. There are also very strict policies that they do not tell you about until after you sign a contract and pay your deposit, which is fine if that is your policy but they changed so many times in the year of our engagement it was difficult to keep track of what their policies actually were. One thing that was incredibly helpful, the owner's husband Ernie, was at the barn the entire day with one of the staff members (the owner was not there at all) while trying to figure out the mess of the seating). He was awesome to work with and tried very hard to fix issues that came up. However, the staff will tell you one thing and the owner tells you differently on what they can do and what they can't, so I believe in my experience there is a lot of room for improved communication when you have such a beautiful venue.

Barnes' Place is a beautiful location for a wedding. It is a good option for someone who doesn't want to deal with decorating a space (they have all decorations there that the staff sets up for you). Our wedding was beautiful, and for the most part the staff was sufficient. However, Paula (the owner) is ADAMANTLY against alcohol. You are not allowed to have alcohol at the barn if you are getting ready there, which is in their contract. I was fine with that because I knew it was their rule. The trouble occurred when we had a party bus pick up our wedding party to go see my sick grandpa, then drive around a little. Of course we had a cooler with 24 beers at the most (for about 20 people). Before we got on the bus, Paula pulled me aside and said if the cooler goes on the bus with us, there won't be a wedding. She said this TO A BRIDE...hours before her wedding. I was forced to confront her and argued that this is no where in her contract, and it is outrageous to tell 20 grown adults that they can't have a beer before the wedding. Ultimately we were able to keep the cooler, but the point is that no bride should have to deal with something like this on her wedding day. Paula is not concerned with the fact that this is the most special day of your life. I was later told by the bus driver that she had told him that "alcohol was banned" and not to allow it. It left me feeling like a child being told they were doing something wrong. Completely ridiculous. To be fair, I do need to say that the rest of the day went seamlessly. If you comply with Barnes' Places MANY rules, I'm sure you will have a good experience. I just think it's important for people to know who you will be dealing with.

We had Barne's give our champagne for our toasts to the bartender only to be served to guests (they denied even receiving the champagne until given photo evidence it was delivered. So no champagne for the wedding party for toasts. This was only found out when dj announced it was time for the toast, and the bride and myself had to track down the Barne's staff for our champagne glasses we had brought in. We were required to get a security guard due to having alcohol. We were not able to select a security, and the one who showed up sat in the back on one of their benches texting, eating our food, and cupcakes the entire time. When we voiced our frustrations we were only told they didn't hire him so nothing they could do. Essentially you pay a ton of money for a shell, and nothing within it. Everything else is additional. If you want to have alcohol you will need a $1,000,000 insurance policy for that day (this was something no one had ever heard of before). We would be asked about what specifics we would like for that day only to be told we shouldn't do that. To better explain an example is we were asked if we would have kegs, or cans, of beer. We said cans for most, but a keg for the cocktail hour. We were told they didn't want us to do that.... then don't give us that option!! Pretty simple. Can't control nature which we understand we were told that they would spray the property for bugs prior to the wedding, and just beware this does not mean there will be a difference. The site is undeniably a beautiful location. We saved a decent amount of money on decorations. Most of the process outside of those two things however was quite pain staking. They take absolutely no responsibility for anything because everything is contracted out. We have yet to receive even an apology for the mix up with our champagne. First they just blamed the delivery folks, and then when provided the photo the blame was just pushed to the bartender. Funny thing is they said to the alcohol delivery people when placing blame with them that they accept the deliver, and group everything together to make sure they have it all. Then turn around and point fingers after. At the end of the day, as the groom, I had an incredible day with family, friends, and my bride. However, it is incredibly sad when your bride is left totally upset about a day she has waited her life for, and gets these results. I am an incredibly easy going person, and do not leave reviews for companies, but this was one I couldn't remain silent on. Renter beware!!!

Barnes Place was a beautiful venue for a wedding, but the customer service was not. If you are someone who wants to have them basically do everything for you-set up the way they want-use all of their decorations and have them do the work for you the day of your wedding then this may be the place for you. But if you want to plan your wedding your way then be prepared for frustration. After we booked the place, Paula (the owner) emailed us only a few documents; the contract, the caterer’s/alcohol terms and the entertainment terms. So as we were planning we had many questions which seemed to be a frustration to her. We did not know exactly what she had in inventory-we asked for an inventory list for months; finally got it 1 ½ months before the wedding. One month before the wedding we were informed that we couldn’t use glitter as it was on the ‘Do Not’ list (which we did not have); we had already purchased and made several jars with glitter. We were then told no M&Ms, which we had already purchased (also on the ‘Do Not’ list). At that point I shared politely that it was frustrating trying to figure out what we can and cannot do. I asked if there was a ‘Do Not’ list we could look at and she then sent us a whole stack of documents including ‘Good to Know’ info, FAQ, Summary/Final Walk-thru info, Clean-up expectations, etc along with an email from her that she was “equally concerned” with us and offered us our money back (one month before the wedding). She never apologized for not sending us this info in the beginning which would have saved everyone a lot of frustration. We were stunned that she was offering us our money back; we had just been trying to ask her questions about her venue and we never asked for our money back. We did not did realize that asking questions was such a frustrating thing to her; after all she is in the customer service business. The day of the wedding Paula and her staff were rude to every one of our family members who were there to decorate and set up; obviously she had shared her frustrations over us with her staff. She was rude to our pastor as he was trying to set up his sound system because he evidently got in her way. After the ceremony my husband thanked her for all they had done and her only response was to tell him she was going to have to pay her staff overtime as she had never had to set up for this many people in the area the ceremony took place-around 250-her literature says they can seat 300. She never once told my daughter or her husband “Congratulations!” The only thing she said to them all day was “You’re 20 minutes behind!”-after the ceremony when they were dismissing their guests. We have had several guests tell us they thought it was rude that the staff was going around with their large trash cans picking up stuff off the tables long before the reception was over and other guests say she was just plain rude to them. This wedding was on a Friday night and they made it obvious they wanted us out of there so they could get home and be ready for the Saturday wedding. Paula never thanked us, not one time, for being her customer. The wedding was beautiful and the place was beautiful! But, the customer service was extremely frustrating. Again, if you want a wedding where they do it all for you and do it their way then this may be the place for you. But if you want to plan your wedding your own way you might want to think hard about this place or be ready for a lot of frustration.

The venue is undeniably beautiful, which is the main reason why my husband and I chose this location for our wedding. And we did have a beautiful wedding that we'll remember forever. Our guests enjoyed themselves tremendously and it ended up a wonderful day. ​However, they were not as accommodating nor as friendly as other reviews​ have mentioned. The owner, Paula, made us feel like we were inconveniencing her for being there, and she was frankly rude to us and our guests much of the time we were at the barn. It rained the day before and the day and since their driveway and entrance are dirt with very small rock, it was extremely muddy. They also started construction the day before our rehearsal, even though rain was in the forecast for a week prior. Instead of apologizing for the mud pit that our guests had to walk across, we were made to feel like we were in the wrong for being upset. We spoke to her husband, Ernie, who did apologize and quickly laid some carpet and flagstone over the mud. Ernie was wonderful to work with, as was Emilie who was the main staff member, aside from Paula, who coordinated the day. I never write reviews, however in this case my goal to make sure other couples looking for venues in the Des Moines area know that yes this place is beautiful and you will have a wonderful wedding day, but to please just be aware the owner was not accommodating, genuine, or friendly, in our experience, as most reviews say. Perhaps it was the weather or the busy wedding season getting to her, but whatever the reason there was no excuse for how we were treated, least of all by one of the owners.

We had our evening wedding at the Barnes' Place and it was spectacular. All the guests loved the location, the staff were amazing and it all came together beautifully.

We looked at this venue before it was completed and knew this is where we wanted to get married. The day could not have been more perfect and the staff were amazing! Everyone was was so helpful and made sure our dream wedding happened. The property and the barn were gorgeous! The staff/owner has though of everything when they built this beautiful venue

I could not imagine a better location for my wedding. The Barnes' Place had everything I needed to make my day stress free. The staff went above and beyond to take care of anything we needed and made sure all the little details went off without a hitch. If you want a beautiful venue that also feels like home, the Barnes' Place is for you.