As with all good things, this does end. But not until December 31! Be sure to give Betsy a call at 515-268-2204 and save your date.

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Now… the news. We have a new wedding special! Book any Friday or Sunday date in 2011 or 2012, and receive 20% off of the banquet room rental. It’s a great way to save some $$ to use on that special splurge item you’ve been eyeing.  Give Betsy (our wedding guru) a call at 515-268-2204 for more info.

This award is so special to us because it is based on our brides’ reviews and opinions of our service.  A big THANK YOU to all of our brides who voted and allowed us to be part of their special day.

Questions? Call Betsy at 515-268-2204 and she can fill you in on all the details.

Wedding colors:

“Purple and Kiwi Green”

 Which of your vendors would you recommend to other couples?

• “Florist:  We used Hy-Vee Floral in Boone, IA.  Lisa Simpson did an excellent job of taking a small idea and adding her magic touch to the flowers.
• Photographer: Taylor L Chung out of Ames did our photography.  He was excellent.  He remembers everyone’s name which made our day even more special for our wedding party.
• Cake and Cookies: Cake Me, I’m Yours! Heather Friedrichsen out of Perry, IA.  She did a fantastic job with our wedding cake.  She is a wonderfully creative person.  Her cakes are homemade and she has so many different flavors- we ended up with 5 in both our wedding cake and the sheet cakes.
• Band: The Bill Martin Band played at our reception for a couple of hours.  They are a great group.  We really enjoyed listening and dancing to their music.”

What was your favorite thing about Gateway Hotel? 
“The customer service we received was excellent.  We could not have asked more from a staff that not only knew what they were doing but also enjoyed it.  Betsy (Gateway’s Wedding Coordinator) was there for every little detail and everything turned out wonderfully.  We received so many compliments on how wonderful everything was!  We still hear about how amazing the food was at our wedding.”

What made your wedding so unique? 
“Our wedding was a wonderful experience.  We had fabulous vendors as well as a wonderful staff at Gateway helping make our day the best.  Both of our families were also instrumental in the success of our day making it the best day!”

What was your favorite thing about Gateway
“Our favorite thing about the Gateway was the excellent service. We could not have been more satisfied with how we and our guests were treated by the exemplary staff. We received numerous comments about how accommodating and friendly the hotel was. The whole staff was eager to help and were phenomenal at what they did. From beginning to end, everything was smooth sailing because of the knowledge and expertise of the staff. It was also the little things the staff did that gave our entire wedding that extra special touch. I was very impressed and felt that the catering managers had our best interests at heart when giving advice about food and drink. And since we weren’t able to have a Guinness keg at the reception, they had two bottles of Guinness placed at the head table for my husband and I, and that completely made our night!”

Which of your vendors would you recommend to other couples?
“We would recommend all of our vendors to local brides. We were completely happy with all the services they provided and they were all amazing at what they did.

• Our DJ, Musical Edge DJ Service, was fantastic. They had great music and kept everyone dancing all night and the DJ was a great guy. We also purchased an uplighting package with them and we are so happy with that choice. The lights completely transformed the room and gave it the perfect ambiance.
• We loved our cake! Sweetest Perfections did a phenomenal job for us. She worked with me to create a beautiful cake that was so pretty, I had a hard time cutting into it! But I’m glad I did because it tasted fantastic as well and we got lots of compliments on the great flavors.
• We were so happy with the decorating job that Celebrations Party Rentals did for us. They were so helpful in presenting ideas to us and accommodating our ideas and decorations as well. They made the room just look amazing and the ceremony in front of the waterfall just took my breath away.
• We arranged all of our flowers ourselves, but we purchased them from Doherty’s Flowers in Des Moines. The staff at Doherty’s is very knowledgeable and really helped us pick out which flowers would be best for the wedding.
• Our photographer was an old friend from school, Jon Lemons. He did a superb job. Jon is very talented and has an eye for capturing candid moments that are very special. We love his photojournalistic style and he is just a great guy to be working with in general.”

What made your wedding so unique?
“Our wedding could not have happened without all of our amazing vendors. We honestly do believe that we owe all the credit to them and their talents. We picked each of them because we believe they are exemplary in their field and we were right. I had some ideas of what I wanted for the wedding, but for the most part, I just gave the control to the professionals and let them do what they do best. This turned out to be exactly the right decision. When I walked into the reception room, I was completely blown away. Everything together in that room, the cake, the decorations, the flowers, the music and lights…it just all came together and made the room look like a million dollars. I just couldn’t believe my eyes at how much the room had transformed and to me, that was a very special thing. All the efforts of all the individual vendors resulted in something that was simply perfect. On top of just looking perfect, the whole night went perfectly as well. We could not have asked for friendlier, more professional people who were absolutely phenomenal at their jobs. We felt very fortunate to have had such amazing people around us to share in our day; not just friends and family who love us, but also a support staff who made our happiness their number one priority for the day.”

Which vendors would you recommend to other couples?

• Indulgent Moments cake decorator very professional and cake was amazing. He has been perfecting his frosting for years!!!
• Down Home Karaoke was  amazing too; they took a bunch of pictures for us and played great music.
• Bob Wilson Photography just started his business, but took amazing photos. He can do several different options, and his prices were perfect.”

What was your favorite thing about Gateway?
“The food was amazing, and everyone did a great job.”

Tell us a little about what made your wedding so unique.
“Our wedding was the best day ever. From the beginning at the waterfall (garden patio) to the reception, Gateway did an amazing job with everything- we got so  many compliments and had an amazing time. I would recommend the Gateway to anyone who is interested in getting married in the Ames or surrounding areas!! The price is perfect for great service and a night you will never forget.”

Wedding colors/theme:
“Navy blue and silver with a semi-Asian theme.”

What made your wedding so unique?
“Our Ceremony was held on the Waterfall Garden Patio, and we hung white paper lanterns along the aisle.  The guests were given raffia fans with blue satin ribbon to help beat the summer heat, plus we had a signature drink during the cocktail hour on the patio ~ Peach Bellinis.  The reception was in the Garden room which was decorated by Flowers by Design; there were large white paper lanterns throughout the room, and we had uplighting which changed the whole room.”

What was your favorite thing about Gateway?
“The convenience of Gateway was really nice; we were able to stay at the hotel, get ready there, take pictures, have the ceremony, and the reception all in one location.  I wanted everything together verses driving to so many locations throughout the day.  Plus, the food is really good!”

Which  vendors would you recommend to other couples?

• “I would recommend Flowers by Design, they were able to put together tables, decorations, and flowers exactly how we wanted them, as well as doing all of the set up and take down.  It was really nice to have them because we were able to rent chairs for inside and out, and all the decorations, and flowers from one vendor without having to worry about setting up or take down on the big day.
• I would also recommend Todd Hugen Photography. Todd & Peggy worked really well together and took some really fun pictures.  It was nice to have two photographers because one could do all of the regular wedding photos while the other captured the candid moments throughout the day.
• Cake Me I’m Yours was another great vendor, I had a very specific idea in mind and they were able to bring exactly what I wanted to life.”