The river center

As a wedding photographer, I always love getting to work at the River Center. It's gorgeous and I've always had lovely interactions with the staff during events! Would super recommend for anyone looking to get married in downtown DSM.

My husband and I got married at the River Center North side, with staircase Dec 2022, and we loved it! We had about 115 guests and the size was perfect; the downstairs for ceremony and reception and the mezzanine for cocktail hour while the venue staff flipped the downstairs from seating to tables. The food, dessert, and our signature drinks from their in-house catering and bar were all delicious, and we got to do a tasting prior to deciding on a menu. From what we saw researching other venues, it's pretty reasonably priced.

VENU: I absolutely love the new side of the River Center. I honestly think it is the most stunning venue in DSM. However, there were some communication issues with staff throughout the entire planning process. Obviously, if you have an event in this space it will always look gorgeous but I would recommend being very specific and stay vigilant and very clear in communications throughout the planning process. FOOD: We got so many compliments on our wedding food. The Chef is amazing and our guests could not stop raving about our options red wine braised short ribs and chicken marsala.

I attended my niece’s wedding on 11/12/2022. The venue was beautiful, the staff was friendly and helpful to everyone. We had a lovely time. Highly recommend this venue if you live in the area.

My husband and I had our wedding reception at the River Center in September, and we had an absolutely outstanding experience. Tiffany was a pleasure to work with throughout the entire planning process, and the reception itself was fantastic. The food was incredibly delicious - our guests raved about the food for months afterwards. We had a beef carving station, fingerling potatoes, green beans, a salad with a champagne vinaigrette, and rolls, for anyone wanting specifics. Additionally, the service from every single employee was truly above and beyond. They were all friendly and extremely helpful! One server even brought me a whole personal plate of the appetizer some sort of pear and brie bite when I asked if there were any left over, and they always made sure we had something to drink. The owner even introduced himself, brought us champagne, and offered to get us anything we needed. I hardly ever write reviews, but our experience with the River Center was so phenomenal that we can't rave about it enough, even months later. They made it such a breeze for my husband and I and both our families, so that night none of us had to worry about a thing. If you're looking for a reliable, professional, unique, and beautiful venue in Des Moines, this is it!

We had my sisters wedding here last friday. It worked out great, the room flip took a little longer then I though and the catered chicken was a little over cooked and dry but everything else was great. They had the air down to 68 and it had a hard time keeping it cool but that is the only bad things I could even think of.

Not big enough to host the Whiskey Festival. It has grown too large for this venue.

The River Center DSM is a gorgeous venue. They provide exceptional quality in everything they do, and their marketing manager, Sophia, is especially helpful and competent. She did an amazing job at walking us through the process and and we would recommend this venue to anyone who asks!

the Schram band was great. beautiful location.

A beautiful venue for my son’s wedding. The food was outstanding and the service was exceptional.