Des Moines Art Center

My husband and I got married in December 2015 but held our wedding celebration at the Des Moines Art Center in August 2016. It was a wonderful evening! Cathy Williams was very helpful when planning the event. We had cocktails in the courtyard, a sit down dinner in the restaurant space (max 50 people, for larger groups you can rent the lobby), and dancing after dinner in the courtyard. During cocktail hour we arranged for docents to give guided tours of the Art Center. Everyone had a great time! The Art Center staff did a great job! We will have fond memories of this event for the rest of our lives. I highly recommend the Des Moines Art Center. It was fabulous!

We had the rehearsal dinner at the Art Center and selected Gateway to cater the event. It was a wonderful evening! The cocktail hour was by the reflection pool and dinner was served in the restaurant. We had 50 guests and easily had space and comfortable (August heat) in the restaurant. After dinner we went outside where the trees were lit around the pool which made a beautiful atmosphere for socializing. Cathy Williams was great to work with! Very knowledgeable and was there during the event. I would highly recommend this venue!

I really don't know what we would have done without the help of Cathy and the Des Moines Art Center Staff while planning our wedding. Cathy had suggestions for everything from florists and linens to lighting around the reflecting pool. It was a gorgeous event...I'm incredibly grateful.

We held our wedding reception and dinner for 120 guests at the Des Moines Art Center in August 2015. The ceremony was held just before at the Clare & Miles Mills Rose Garden (a separate reservation through DSM Parks & Rec). Cathy made time to get to know us and took initiative to help whenever she could. In our case, we relied on her expertise to make decisions related to equipment rental, weather planning, and layout. We had confidence in Cathy throughout the process and knew she would treat our other vendors with the same respect and punctuality that she had showed us. It was such a pleasure working with Cathy and having her coordinate with vendors, DMAC staff, and direct guests on the wedding day. I will highly recommend Cathy for years to come! In August 2015, Baru at the Art Center was the sole catering option at the Art Center. We originally considered this a plus when evaluating reception venues. We worked with them to serve two passed hors d'oeuvres and a family-style dinner. When responsive, communication was easy. Unfortunately, I had to initiate all contact and be the one to follow up after conversations to ensure things were moving along as discussed. While the initial quotes seemed overpriced, they were happy to work with us on a menu within our price range. To our dismay, only some of the menu items were prepared as agreed. We had very high expectations for the quality of each dish, most of which were not met (ex. cold dishes were not cold, meat was overcooked, ingredient discussions seemed disregarded, etc.). Overall, the food lacked the quality and care that you would expect for the price and reputation of this caterer. Cathy was extremely supportive through this process and the Des Moines Art Center has since expanded their catering options. Though our personal experience was a bit tarnished by the catering, the DMAC has made it clear that they take feedback to heart and have supported the voice of their clients. In summary, we absolutely recommend the Des Moines Art Center! The space was exceptionally beautiful, the docents and DMAC staff were superb, and planning was a breeze thanks to Cathy.

We had a small reception at the Des Moines Art Center in October 2015. The ambiance was wonderful, and the staff was helpful and very friendly. The location was quite and very intimate, which allowed people to have a wonderful opportunity to visit and have a good time. We requested a lot of food from Baru; DMAC was extremely accommodating, and the food was delicious. Half of our menu was vegan and Baru was able to get all the local Des Moines beers that we requested without any problem. We live in Denver, Colorado, but it was incredibly simply to work with Cathy Williams and her staff to plan the event remotely. We would highly recommend this location to future couples. If we had to do it again, we would pick this place in a heart beat.

The Des Moines Art Center is a beautiful venue for a wedding, and the staff is FABULOUS to work with. We were looking for a casual yet elegant setting for both our wedding and reception. We were married in the Greenwood Park Rose Garden, and went straight into the museum for the reception. We planned to have much of our reception in the outdoor courtyard, but mother nature had other plans. The day before the wedding, the DMAC's Event Coordinator Cathy called to say she was watching the weather and would plan accordingly. She transformed our outdoor reception into an indoor affair seamlessly. Baru was responsible for the food and it was absolutely delicious. The owners met with me several times to ensure that we had everything we wanted. We also had two guided tours of the world-class art collections that were a hit with our crowd, many of whom were out-of-towners and had never visited the Des Moines Art Center before. I would highly recommend this. If you are looking for a classy venue,surrounded by world-class art, and you want to work with a smart and organized team, you should definitely consider the Des Moines Art Center.

I had my wedding reception at the Des Moint Art Center on May 30, 2015 and it was perfect. The coordinator, Cathy Williams, was incredibly organized, helpful, and so nice to work with. She made sure everything for the tables and decorations were set up perfectly. Sara Hill with Baru catering was also phenomenal. The food was fabulous and the food staff was excellent. I would definitely recommend this reception venue to future brides!

Our dtr. was married in the Rose Garden on June 20th. She and her new husband are both artists so the Art Center was a perfect venue. Keep in mind that the Rose Garden is Des Moines Parks and Rec. and separate from the Art Center. Cathy W. with the Art Center was very helpful and very accommodating. She was a calming presence the evening of the wedding. Sara H. did a lovely job helping use with the menu and order of the evening. Keep in mind with it being a museum you can't hang a lot of things and need to keep things simple and elegant. We had a wonderful reception. Food as excellent. I can't say enough about how helpful and grateful we are for staff's help. They are a class act. Highly recommend.