National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium

The big reasons we chose the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium as our wedding venue were: 1. Affordability 2. Uniqueness of venue 3. Included services which included set up and tear down of the reception space 4. J & D Catering partnership with the museum 5. Beautiful indoor ceremony space (Train Depot) We throughly enjoyed having our ceremony and reception here. The guests loved the variety of the venue. We loved having both in the same space so people did not have to drive at all during our wedding. Teri, the wedding coordinator, made sure to meet our needs and walk us through the big day. The food was scrumptious. Some places nickel and dime you for things such as silverware. They charge per plate or tablecloths. We appreciated that this place did not do that and instead, had an overall price. When picking up our items the next day, everything was impeccably organized. I was impressed. Thank you, Teri, and the museum staff for making this a memorable day!

Having our wedding at the museum was the best decision we could’ve made! Absolutely beautiful venue, and the staff was so helpful with helping us set things up, keeping the wedding day running smoothly and on time, and really made it a stress-free wedding day for us. Would book here again, no doubt. Thank you Teri!

Teri and the whole River Museum crew were great to work with! They made the day extremely hassle free for us, we didn’t have to set up anything. The tables were intertwined with the animal exhibits which our guests loved. The otters even came out to dance when the DJ started! We could not have had a better experience.

We recently celebrated our wedding at the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium. The grounds were beautiful and we got so many good photos outside! Our ceremony was in the train depot, and we had excellent natural light there - I wanted my aisle to be a good length and the train depot was perfect for that too. We appreciated that the space could host our ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception as some of our guests had limited mobility. The venue has an exclusive caterer but the food was excellent. We got so many compliments on the space and the food from our guests. But bottom line for us was the affordability and the responsiveness of the staff. Teri was quick to answer any emails and was key to our day going smoothly. She understood the vision we communicated, was there to help with setup, and had all of our decorations packed up for pickup the day after. I can't tell you how much of a relief that was - it really helped us enjoy our event until the end.

Highly recommend Teri and her staff at the River Museum. First of all she is professional. She’s a great communicator, organized and patient. My daughter had a travel theme where every table had a different city to visit. Each table was decorated differently. Her staff took our 12 boxes of decorations and worked their magic. It was amazing!!! Teri dealt with some last minute items with grace and a smile. She took so much stress off of me. If I was still running a DJ business, this would be one of my favorite places to work at due to her.

The River Museum was the perfect venue for our wedding this June! Our guests loved having the opportunity to see the exhibits and thought it was unique that our dinner tables were placed amongst the exhibits. Teri and her staff were phenomenal at supporting us through our wedding planning process and on wedding day. Everything turned out so beautiful, and we could not have asked for a better day! Thank you to Teri and her staff for helping make our day so special and memorable! I would HIGHLY recommend this venue to anyone in their wedding search.

The whole experience at the river museum was amazing! Everything was ready to go and they made everything so easy! The food was amazing. I can’t thank everyone enough for all that they did!

Terri and her entire staff were excellent. We received so many compliments on how beautiful everything was. Everyone loved walking around and looking at the exhibits. It made for an unforgettable wedding experience! I highly recommend booking here for a wedding.

If you want a stress free and worry free day, look no further! Teri and her crew are so great to work with! She brings her A-game is a huge help. Teri didn’t miss any details and provided so many additional services compared to other venues. HUGE PLUSES include set up and tear down of the reception and you don’t have to worry about your decor until the next day.

This venue was just fantastic! Working with Teri was very easy. I’m the grooms mother and the couple weren’t both able to be there when they first booked the venue so I tagged along with my son. I also helped with the flowers for the reception and everything was made so easy. All set up and take down was done by the crew there and the caterer they work with has fantastic food! Everything went perfectly as planned and made it stress free for the happy couple and their families

My husband and I recently had gotten married at the Mississippi River Museum in December 2022 and our wedding was beyond perfect! This venue is a unique and beautiful location with lots for our guests to enjoy. During the night, our guests would not stop talking about how incredible the museum was for the wedding and how it is great for all ages. The space was perfect for us to have our ceremony and reception in the same location as well as being conveniently located along the riverfront in Dubuque with plenty of hotel options for traveling guests. The venue coordinator was also fantastic with keeping our wedding day running smoothly behind the scenes. There are not enough words to express just how helpful the museum staff was during this whole process. The museum will help put up decorations and take them down after your event so you are able to relax and enjoy your special day without having to worry about cleaning up. I highly recommend this venue if you are looking for a place in this area and I would give it a higher rating if I could. Thank you National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium for such an amazing wedding!

Absolutely thrilled that our son's wedding reception was held at the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium. It was so perfect for that unique vibe the couple was going for. This is not your "typical" wedding reception venue. Our guests were constantly saying how amazed they were with how everything was set up around the aquarium exhibits. As they ate dinner or even after, they were able to enjoy the exhibits as well, as visit and dance the night away around them. And Teri was so incredibly easy to work with. She made everything so perfect and her team was so kind and thoughtful throughout the whole night. I honestly can't say enough wonderful things about the whole experience. And the cost to book the venue was so affordable. They work exclusively with J & D catering and they food was outstanding. We decided to go with the 3 entree option of roast beef, balsamic orange chicken, and lasagna and it didn't disappoint. Guest also raved about the food and the J & D cupcakes. If you are looking for everything you want in one place and want to have a beautiful unique experience, I highly recommend the NMRMA!!! Thank you so much for everything Teri! You made everything so simple and easy so our family could just soak in the moments and enjoy ourselves.

Every couple should get married here!! This venue is absolutely amazing. From the beautiful spaces, amazing staff, and the private access to the exhibits during the event, the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium offered a unique wedding experience for us and our guests! Teri Witt is the venue's banquette manager, and she helped plan every detail of our special day. The staff helps with all the planning, set up, and tear down of the whole event, which was extremely helpful and was important to us when selecting a venue! We were blown away by all of the amazing services that are offered for the affordable price. Our guests were talking about how cool this venue was all night & into the days following. Overall, we had the BEST experience here and are beyond thankful we found this venue!!

This venue is so unique! Our guests loved how much there was to look at and do, and we loved the natural feel of the space. If you're looking for a "wow" venue, it's this one! Their staff are also amazing and helpful throughout the entire planning process.

I cannot imagine our wedding day anywhere else! The River Museum was a fantastic venue for a number of reasons. The venue itself is both beautiful and unique. It was a great destination for our family and friends who were coming from out of town. We got so many compliments! Teri was so easy to work with. She answered all of our questions throughout the planning process and ensured that our day ran smoothly. We (myself, my husband, our parents, and bridal party) were all able to truly enjoy the event rather than running around working out the details. I'm so grateful to Teri and everyone at the Museum that helped us have such a memorable day!

The Mississippi River Museum was the most perfect venue for our wedding. Teri helped out so much and was amazing. I would highly recommend this venue.

Where do I even start?! Sooo many wonderful things to say about our experience. If you are looking for a truly unique and beautiful venue- look no further than the river museum! First off, Teri, the sales and banquet manager there is so easy to work with. She answered any questions I had right away, accommodated our requests and was with us the entire night to help see that everything ran smoothly. We had so many people tell us how it was their first wedding at the museum and just how cool it was. Guests were able to not only enjoy the food, company and music but they could also walk around and check out the muesum as well. And the grand entrance down the main stair case...it still gives me goose bumps just thinking about it and the feeling of having all of our family and friends waiting to greet us once we arrived. Not to mention the food was fantastic and the gorgeous pictures we got outside while the sun was setting were the cherry on top! I cant say enough good things about our experience here. The next day we were already thinking about when we could plan another event there! Book this for your wedding! You wont be disappointed!

The event coordinator is so easy to work with and provides excellent service. She is really good at understanding your vision and providing guidance to help make choices when you feel lost. The space is really fun, inviting, and beautiful. There catering option is also fantastic, easy to work with and has great food.

This venue was the absolute best. Our guests truly enjoyed our wedding as they were provided with top notch service and the venue is not even comparable to others. The atmosphere is magical and unique.

I cannot recommend the River Museum enough. If you want a unique venue with an experienced and caring staff please book here! The day was perfect. There was little we had to worry about while still getting exactly what we wanted. The two things that drew us to the museum was the uniqueness and beauty of the venue, as well as having Teri as the coordinator to make sure the whole day ran smoothly. Both desires more than delivered. The museum was beautiful and the staff managed all our set up and tear down of decor. We had no stress on our day because Teri and the staff had everything under control. Teri even worked closely with our other vendors, reaching out to them to make sure everyone was on the same page. There was absolutely nothing wrong with our day, and if there was, we don't know because Teri and the staff handled everything amazingly. It was wonderful and a relief to not have to stress about timeline, or making sure vendors knew the plan because Teri handles it all. She makes sure everything is as you want it. They are a well-oiled, professional team. I had so many people complement me on the venue and that they had no idea it did events like this. If I could do it all over again there is nothing I would change. If I could give a million stars to the River Museum & Aquarium I would.

Everyone did a fantastic job. Above and beyond.

The River Museum and Aquarium was the perfect venue for our wedding. It was so unique and classy. Teri was great to work with. They really made our day so easy and stress free!

We highly recommend NMRM! Such a unique venue and Teri did an amazing job of keeping ahead of everything. Not one thing was out of place and everything stayed according to plan. All the guests were in awe of how beautiful and magical the wedding went. We are very happy we went with the museum for our wedding venue. If we could do it all over again, we 100% would!

Just attended a wedding there and it was fantastic. All held outdoors due to COVID, which worked out well (tent on the grass and dance floor up on the deck). We were able to use the restrooms indoors and... best part... watch the animals! River otters make the best wedding guests! Also an easy walk across a bridge to the hotels downtown. Is this heaven? No, it's the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium in Iowa!

This venue turned out to be perfect for several reasons. We chose it initially because we had a large invite list and needed a place that would accommodate large parties. Due to the pandemic, most of our guests were unable to travel or attend. But, with the boatyard on site, the event coordinator for the museum was able to change our reception to an outdoor event for additional COVID safety. She also ensured only vaccinated staff worked our event. She worked directly with our other vendors to help us get a tent and outdoor seating only six weeks before our event, which also happened to be scheduled for the Labor Day weekend. Finally, she was able to get special requests for our bar, including local craft beers. With the sunset views in the boatyard and the active river otters, the event could not have been more perfect.

We got married May 1 and it was absolutely perfect. Teri was such a great help in any questions we had leading up to the day and responded in a timely manner. As the bride, I was nervous adjusting to the COVID restrictions and capacity restrictions. Teri was more than prepared for the COVID curveballs and made me feel at ease. The day of was great! Everything went so smoothly and Teri was very calm (even when our photos took a little longer than planned). The reception area looked amazing - they did all the set up and tear down which was a huge help. If anything went wrong, we didn't know about it. Ceremony: Train Depot - So beautiful! We didn't even decorate the space. We loved the natural look and feel of the space. Reception: The bartenders came up to the head table to take drink orders during dinner. I was not expecting that. It was super nice! The banquet staff brought us plates of our assorted desserts. Everyone kept telling us, "You won't have time to eat on your wedding day." We did and almost had all the desserts! I think the best part of our day was opening my Grandma's gift before she left for the evening. My mom asked Teri if she would be able to grab the gift so we could open it at the reception. Teri went to grab it during all the hustle and bustle. This was the best part of the night. My grandma had been taken to the hospital earlier that week and we weren't sure if she would make it to the wedding. It may have seemed like a little gesture from Teri, but, it meant the world to me and my grandma. Our guests constantly told us, "I didn't know they did weddings here!" and "This is so cool!" My nieces and nephews also loved being in the museum when it was closed. They ran around checking everything out and it was super sweet to see. James and I talked about doing a vow renewal for our 20 years by the end of our wedding night. Seriously, could not recommend the venue or working with Teri enough.

we got married April 3rd 2021 and I can't tell you how amazing Terri was with everything. She was super organized and always had a quick response to questions. The staff did a great job setting up the decorations how we wanted them and they even did the clean up. I highly recommend this venue to anyone.

I had my wedding at the River Museum on 10/10/2020. We chose the museum in 1/2019. We were actually between the River Museum and the Grand River Center and had actually booked the Grand River Center initially but they had rules that contracts couldn’t be signed that early at that time. During a wedding vendor show, Grand River Center coordinator didn’t show much of an interest in us. As we rounded to Teri’s table, she remembered our names and was genuinely happy to see us. It may not seem like a lot to some people but that was what sealed the deal. The River Museum it was! From the first moment Teri was always there and willing to help with any question or concerns we had along the way. We booked the Train Depot for our ceremony which was a beautiful space even without decorations! We were a little worried about 2 things; the loud noises if trains pass and that in October the air conditioner may still be in the window. A train didn’t pass and the air conditioner was out! Even if the air conditioner was not out if you have 3-4 bridesmaids, I don’t think it would even be an issue and if your photographer is good enough, I don’t think they would even have it in the shot if you didn’t have any wedding party. Our wedding reception actually took place upstairs. I love the layout upstairs and it left plenty of room for COVID-19 social distance guidelines. The dance floor and supper happened upstairs then the photobooth from my DJ and the aquarium was downstairs. It is such a unique venue! The head table is served by staff which posed a slight problem due to me not eating beef and pork, but the beef and gravy ended up on my plate despite passing on the information beforehand. It wasn’t a huge deal because it was rectified immediately. Teri was at the venue for the whole wedding and tailored to all needs perfectly! At one point she was running because we decided to do our sparkler send off early so that she could get it set up. We are so appreciative of the assist that Teri and the River Museum provided us trying to make our wedding day as great as possible despite and ongoing pandemic. I felt safe every step of the way. If you are going back and forth on booking the River Museum let me just tell you to DO IT! You will not regret it!

Amazing. Honestly what better way to combine love for the outdoors and river life, than to have a wedding at an Aquarium dedicated to the area we live in. We first found out about the Mini-Matrimonies through a sponsored Facebook advertisement. We were instantly intrigued. After seeing everything in person for the first time. My husband actually proposed while we were there because he knew it was perfect for us. Teri and staff are amazing to work with. Teri is very knowledgeable and gave us all the necessary guidance we needed to pull off our big day in just a few short months! We choose the Mini-Matrimony because of the current pandemic. We knew we had enough family to attend that portion and the rest could stream live through an app we found. We also have the option to have a reception at the Museum sometime in the next year if we choose to.  Being from Iowa, we wanted that beautiful fall wedding but weather made things tricky for us. Teri was very quick to help with changing everything from an outdoor event to an indoor event.  The layout was beautiful. Main Channel Tank was our ceremony spot, the Otters were behind everyone and the "View From Space" wall, tying it all together with some lower lighting and our minimal but festive fall decorations. With all the amazing tanks, showing Mississippi River Aquatic Life, it was simply beautiful. We do completely recommend couples look into having their Weddings and Mini-matrimonies at the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium! Only cons or suggestions we had were minor hiccups such as a gong sound effect during our ceremony but I was marrying my best friend so I ignored it 😊 but my guests were irritated by it. That was nothing to decrease the 5 Star rating. We will definitely be recommending to friends and be back to visit this amazing place!

Teri is amazing! We could not have DJ e it without her. She helps you start to finish . Meets with you to help set up anything and calm your nerves. The team is amazing. The baby otter steals the show and keeps guests entertained! If there isn’t a special exhibit in the upstairs area, we had the guest tables and dinner up there to have more space to roam in the exhibits. Pricing is affordable and Teri is THE BEST.

You couldn't ask for a more perfect and unique wedding venue. Teri Witt and her staff make the night a breeze so all you have to do is enjoy your day and visit with your guests. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

We had our ceremony and reception here and had a blast! Everyone seemed to really enjoy the space and the staff at NMRMA are absolutely amazing about keeping things on time, organized and making you feel like there is nothing to be worried about on your big day!

If you are looking for a cool easy place to get married I would recommend here for anyone! Our guests gave us nothing but compliments saying how much they enjoyed the unique atmosphere, beauty, ease of the night. We held our ceremony outside by the eagle and the hawk, held our cocktail hour outside on the steps, and moved into the main exhibition area for the dinner and reception. Teri and Nate were very easy to work with, responsive, and patient! The day/night went smoother than I could have every imagined - Teri and her staff did an incredible job of set up, tear down, and everything in between. The exclusive caterer they work with, J&D Catering, was easy to work with and awesome food! I couldn't have imagined a better day if I had tried!

We loved everything about planning and having our wedding at the River Museum. The venue is unique and all of our guests greatly enjoyed the atmosphere. The guests loved being able to look at the exhibits and walk around outside. Our ceremony was in the Train Depot at 6pm and then we had our reception in with all the exhibits and dance floor there too. We heard nothing but positive feed back from our guests about the venue, wait staff, and food. For us, our favorite part was the ease of working with the museum. Teri, the coordinator, took care of everything. She and her staff set up all the tables, decorations, and kept us on schedule the entire evening. She worked with our vendors to get the flowers, cake, dj, sound system, and decorations delivered and set up. I would tell Teri what I wanted, like how the centerpieces should look, and she did it. We couldn't be happier with how everything turned out. We had an amazing day and a wonderful time working with the museum and Teri. Highly Highly recommend this venue!! :)

EVERYONE SHOULD GET MARRIED HERE! Note my all caps. I want to do all I can to express my enthusiasm for the National Mississippi River Museum as a venue. They were incredible. We worked with Nate in the early planning stage. He was unbelievably responsive. If he couldn't answer a question right away, he would respond to the email and let us know when he would get back to us. He accommodated literally every request. My now husband asked for a layout of the space and he sent an attachment of a photo where the tables would go. As we got closer to the date, we worked with Terri who was on site during the ceremony and reception. She worked so hard all evening. We didn't worry about anything. They handled set up, they handled tear down. Our only job was to have fun. We loved that they had an exclusive caterer! One less decision to make, and as an added bonus, their caterer is awesome! Diane is a funny and kind person and we received many compliments regarding the food. Finally, the value. Everything was reasonably priced. I'll conclude with some compliments we received the night of the wedding: "this is the coolest place I've ever seen a wedding be" "when we get married, we are going to copy everything you did" "I had no idea something this cool is so close to where we live" "Beautiful place for a wedding" The list goes on and on....