Gateway Hotel & Conference Center

Exceptional Hospitality Meets Memorable Weddings!

Holds ceremonies and receptions

4.4

Praised by couples for:

Amenities

Quality catering

Helpful staff

Gateway Hotel and Conference Center is a hidden gem in the Central Iowa area! Don’t picture the dated venue of yesteryear, it’s gone through a very thoughtful renovation that created spaces that have a “touch of ISU” rather than it being the forefront. At Gateway, we signed ONE contract that covered: the ceremony, reception, CATERING, rehearsal, room blocks, linens, dancefloor, chair rental, etc. Truly a full-service venue that knows weddings inside and out. I can’t mention Gateway without talking about the FOOD. I swear, prepare to have your guests rave about the food at your wedding for the next decade. The planning process covered every minor detail, right down to the napkin fold. At times I thought, there’s no way this is just included—yes, it was included—and yes, you can pick out exactly what you want. Zoie and the team were amazing to work with. My post-nuptial blues have me wishing that I could get married every year so I can continue to work with them. The Gateway Hotel and Conference Center is the perfect place to get married and have a party that will be talked about for a long time. From Friday morning until Sunday afternoon—you, your family, and your guests are treated to incredible service at a fantastic venue.

Briar J.

5.0

We had our wedding reception at the Gateway Hotel and Conference Center this summer, and could not be happier with how things turned out!! Everyone we were in contact with at the Gateway leading up to the wedding was SO helpful, and our reception turned out even more perfect than we had hoped. Our guests could not stop talking about how great the food was, and the staff made sure my husband and I and our families had nothing to worry about that evening. If you are looking for a wedding reception venue in the Ames area, you won't find a more wonderful place than the Gateway Hotel and Conference Center!!

Kara B.

5.0

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Zoie Kooiker

CATERING MANAGER + EVENT COORDINATOR

Typically responds within 24h

Gateway Hotel & Conference Center is a premier and newly renovated Ames, IA, hotel wedding venue offering timeless indoor and outdoor spaces for ceremonies, receptions, and wedding weekend celebrations. From intimate gatherings to grand receptions surrounded by family and friends, we blend classic elegance with modern comfort for life's most meaningful celebrations. With thoughtfully designed event spaces, exceptional service, and comfortable on-site accommodations, the Gateway creates a seamless and memorable experience for couples and their guests. From the moment you begin planning to the final dance of the evening, our experienced and passionate team is dedicated to making every detail feel effortless and every moment truly special. Whether you're planning a cozy rehearsal dinner, a romantic ceremony, or a lively reception, Gateway Hotel & Conference Center offers versatile spaces to suit celebrations of every size, accommodating up to 430 guests. With more than 30 years of experience hosting weddings and special events, the Gateway team understands what it takes to create a seamless and joyful celebration. Our venue offers a variety of convenient in-house services, helping couples simplify the planning process and focus on enjoying every moment. We believe your love story deserves a beautiful beginning, and we would be honored to help you create a day that will be remembered for a lifetime! Take a 360° Virtual Tour and enjoy an exclusive sneak peek today!

48+ years in business

Speaks English

Medium team (11-20 members)

Amenities + details

Amenities

Ceremony Area

Dressing Room

Handicap Accessible

Indoor Event Space

Liability Insurance

On-Site Accommodations

Outdoor Event Space

Reception Area

Wireless Internet

Ceremony Types

Civil Union

Commitment Ceremony

Elopement

Interfaith Ceremony

Non-Religious Ceremony

Religious Ceremony

Second Wedding

Vow Renewal Ceremony

Settings

Ballroom

Garden

Hotel

Restaurant

Venue Service Offerings

Bar & Drinks

Food & Catering

Planning

Rentals & Equipment

Service Staff

Any questions?

Meet the team

Zoie Kooiker

Catering Manager + Event Coordinator

I believe every wedding should feel as meaningful as the love being celebrated. I enjoy working closely with couples to bring their vision to life and create a day filled with beautiful details, joyful moments, and lasting memories. Helping couples experience a smooth, stress-free day surrounded by their loved ones is what makes me so passionate about my work here at the Gateway!

4.4

out of 5.0

22 reviews

Your trust is our goal. Our community relies on honest reviews to help you make those big decisions with ease.

Search reviews

Briar J

Highlighted review.

8/28/2026

Gateway Hotel and Conference Center is a hidden gem in the Central Iowa area! Don’t picture the dated venue of yesteryear, it’s gone through a very thoughtful renovation that creat...

ed spaces that have a “touch of ISU” rather than it being the forefront. At Gateway, we signed ONE contract that covered: the ceremony, reception, CATERING, rehearsal, room blocks, linens, dancefloor, chair rental, etc. Truly a full-service venue that knows weddings inside and out. I can’t mention Gateway without talking about the FOOD. I swear, prepare to have your guests rave about the food at your wedding for the next decade. The planning process covered every minor detail, right down to the napkin fold. At times I thought, there’s no way this is just included—yes, it was included—and yes, you can pick out exactly what you want. Zoie and the team were amazing to work with. My post-nuptial blues have me wishing that I could get married every year so I can continue to work with them. The Gateway Hotel and Conference Center is the perfect place to get married and have a party that will be talked about for a long time. From Friday morning until Sunday afternoon—you, your family, and your guests are treated to incredible service at a fantastic venue.

Response from Gateway Hotel & Conference Center on 08/31/2026

Thank you Briar!!! You and Brady truly made my job easy. It is so special to us that we we...

re able to play a small part in your day and I am elated to know that things went well. Thank you times a million for trusting us, it was a true honor ❤️

Kara B

8/06/2019

We had our wedding reception at the Gateway Hotel and Conference Center this summer, and could not be happier with how things turned out!! Everyone we were in contact with at the G...

ateway leading up to the wedding was SO helpful, and our reception turned out even more perfect than we had hoped. Our guests could not stop talking about how great the food was, and the staff made sure my husband and I and our families had nothing to worry about that evening. If you are looking for a wedding reception venue in the Ames area, you won't find a more wonderful place than the Gateway Hotel and Conference Center!!

Any questions?

Kelsie M

8/27/2017

Gateway was fantastic to work with from the beginning & meeting our budget for reception down to the big day and letting us borrow small items for decorating tables! The food was g...

reat & having a taste testing day months beforehand really helped out to choose the food we wanted!

Allie H

11/17/2016

Our experience with Gateway Hotel & Conference Center was nothing but great! Our coordinator, Gabriela was amazing! They were always quick with responses to any questions we had an...

d helped us set up the night (very late) before our big day on Saturday!! The food was also outstanding!

Marie B

5/25/2015

The atelier suite was perfect for me, all my bridesmaids, and my mom and MIL to get ready in! It was large enough for six people to get ready and two hairstylist to comfortably wor...

k! Also the bathroom is pretty amazing!

Lindsay M

7/30/2014

Our wedding reception at the Gateway Hotel was lovely. We were able to get into the room 3 days before the wedding to decorate. They even boxed up all of our stuff after the weddin...

Elizabeth P

5/13/2014

I had my wedding on April 26 and the Gateway did an amazing job. They helped me on all my special requests and answered to any and all questions I had.

Nicole W

10/22/2013

It was beautiful, but seem to be orienting new staff and it made my job as the bride more work since I had to keep following up with them since they were making numerous mistakes w...

ith the room blocks and requests for the reception. Give them a year and then hopefully they will be more organized. They did try to make up for all of their errors by giving is the fancy suite, but I would have just preferred having a smooth experience. I am not a wedding planner; that should be there job. :). The wedding reception was gorgeous and food was great and service the day if the event was amazing, but the journey there was a pain!!!

Joseph B

9/13/2013

Very easy venue to work with: they took the hassle out of much of our wedding preparations. They do the decorating for you and the food is phenomenal. We are still hearing complime...

nts on the food for our wedding. No better place in Ames for your reception than the Gateway!

Kelsey V

8/06/2013

We had a brunch wedding reception and the Gateway Conference Center catered the meal. Several of the guests commented on how good the food was. The staff was great to work with a...

nd they helped make it a very enjoyable day for us.

Kaitlyn K

8/03/2013

The food was great!! The venue was beautiful! The only thing that we were not expecting is the service by the event planners. They talked about how they would be there every step o...

f the way at the rehearsal and on the wedding day. Neither people who we met with at our final meeting was there for the rehearsal and we saw them 2 times the day of the wedding. It seemed like there was no communication between the event planners and staff. I had to tell the staff what we wanted. The wait staff was amazing (except for the bar tender. She was ride to our guest and us!) we felt like we would be well taken care of by the event planners but it seemed like after they received out check they were out of the picture.

Samantha A

4/02/2013

Everyone was so nice, helpful, and easy to work with. The food was AMAZING, all our guests are still raving about it! It was a little more expensive compared to another reception ...

spot we looked at, but totally worth it. :)

Ann N

11/06/2012

The Gateway Hotel and Conference Center was a great place for my daughter's wedding reception. We loved having the hotel and event venue all in one place. The food was excellent!...

! Working with Jacque Uthe, the wedding and social events coordinator, made planning a wedding very enjoyable and fun. She responded to my emails, phone calls, and any questions immediately. She had great suggestions for us to get the most for our money. She keep my stress level at a minimum and stayed late the night of my daughter's wedding reception to make sure all went well, even though it was also her own wedding anniversary. She is awesome with details and accommodated our wishes, even adding some things that we did not expect that were amazing. We also had a brunch, held in the Iowa Stater restaurant, for our departing guests the next morning. It was delicious!! Jacque goes above and beyond to make sure everything runs smoothly. We have loved hearing all the compliments from our guests on how nice the reception was and it is largely due to Jacque and the staff at the Gateway. We are glad we chose Gateway Hotel and Conference Center.

Pete K

10/11/2012

We were going to have our reception in the smaller town we got married in, but a fire forced us to have to find a new place within 2 months of the wedding. We looked at places in ...

Ames, and the Gateway was the most helpful and made everything seem possible. Also, having the hotel without the typical hotel feel was perfect on the day of our wedding. We had an amazing time and didn't have to worry about anything. All our friends and family agreed!

Kelly T

9/14/2012

My fiancé and I wanted to find a wedding venue where we could have an outdoor ceremony, indoor reception, and amazing food. Gateway did not disappoint. The ceremony at the waterfal...

l patio was gorgeous. The reception was held directly inside in the garden room. The hors d'oeuvres and meal were delicious. Everyone raved about the food. The staff went above and beyond in making sure everything was perfect for us. Can not say enough good things about Gateway.

Rachel J

11/05/2011

they were very organized during the wedding day and leading up to it. It is a bit expensive but they have really nice rooms to use! the only thing I didn't like was that at the end...

of the night they seemed to clean up and disappear and didn't give us the leftover cake like we had asked but at least they saved the top layer od the cake like they were supposed to!

Emily T

10/18/2011

Using The Gateway was absolutely the best decision I made in planning our wedding. The staff is so on top of things as well as friendly and flexible. They took care of any detail I...

asked them too and because they are all seasoned professionals, they often had things done before I had even thought of them. We had both our ceremony there (outside) and reception and both went fantastically well without a hitch due to the diligence of the Gateway staff. Plus, the food is absolutely wonderful.

Stephanie S

7/19/2011

the rooms were ok, had no mini fridge though... and had to switch our room three times on the first night. rented a conference room to open presnts in and had them cater breakfas...

t, so that was nice. overall decent hotel.

Kristen G

10/27/2010

I loved working with the Gateway! The entire staff was amazing. From the wedding coordinator to the chef, everyone was awesome. My husband and I felt so taken care of. Whenever we...

had a question, they were prompt and curtious. Plus, everyone raved about the food, which isn't always the case with weddings!

Becky R

10/26/2010

Gateway Hotel and Conference Center has a great location, easy to find.

Renee R

9/14/2010

We used the Gateway Hotel & Conference Center for our Ceremony and our Reception. The ceremony was held on the Garden Waterfall Patio which is beautiful and was a great place f...

or our ceremony. The reception was help in the Garden Room that overlooked the patio. Everything was great except for the food. The food was not what we ordered or had tasted. This was very disappointing since we had ordered a non-breaded chicken and received a breaded chicken.

Melissa S

8/09/2010

We had our reception here as well as our brunch the next day. Food was great. The staff was great. We were very pleased.

Service area & Contact info

2100 GREEN HILLS DR, AMES, IA

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(515) 268-2200

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Gateway Hotel & Conference Center

Zoie Kooiker

Catering Manager + Event Coordinator

Typically responds within 24h

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