The Simpson Barn - Johnston, Iowa

Emily W.

My husband and I got married here on Nov. 2 and it was wonderful. The price is very reasonable considering the freedom you have with decorating, picking your caterer, and serving alcohol.

It’s a self-proclaimed no-frills venue so you are 100% responsible for all the decor set-up and take-down, and everything else. But we both have big families and lots of friends who were all more than willing to help out. So we could customize it the way we wanted and it ended up being our dream wedding venue - couldn’t have imagined a better place!

They provide lots of banquet tables and round tables and chairs, which is really convenient. We rented cocktail tables to use with the banquet tables instead of using all the venue’s tables and chairs, as that freed up a lot of space for our 140-ish guests. It can technically accommodate 175 guests upstairs but that would be really tight and wouldn’t leave much room for walking/mingling/dancing/food etc.

The heating worked great (almost too great for a while - we had to turn it down before the ceremony). So this place is perfect for a cozy fall or winter wedding. There is no AC so I wouldn’t recommend this for a late spring or summertime wedding.

The building manager who was present during our rental slots was a bit rude and unhelpful, particularly during the set-up day. But again, we were getting a great deal and it didn’t interfere with the wedding/reception.

In the end we couldn’t have been happier with how it all turned out. It was probably more work than a conventional venue, but we got to do exactly what we wanted and we saved thousands of dollars by booking the Simpson Barn. Regular venues charge exorbitant fees, on top of their rental fees, for ‘preferred’ caterers and required bartenders/corking fees. You won’t run into that with this venue.

I highly recommend this spot for anyone who is creative, has a solid vision and plan, is not afraid to put in a little elbow grease, and who has a good group of people who can help out. We loved it!

Sandy

Absolute beautiful barn! I rented this location for my wedding in September a while ago and it was so lovely. With every great thing there is always downsides and here’s mine: when setting up my wedding inside the venue there was broken pieces of glass scattered everywhere on the main level. One person was injured due to this and when you rent this location in the contract is clearly states you must clean up everything. I guess the previous renters for this venue failed to do so and the keepers of this location failed to do a check through before another persons time in the venue. Also the woman who you go through to set up the venue to rent stays through your whole wedding which is not a problem at all. The problem was the woman knowing it was a wedding and still showed up in what appeared to be her “night clothes”. She was also snippy and rude to multiple guests of mine. There is also only air conditioning in the basement. So all of the upstairs is hot and sticky where is more than likely where your main event will take place. They provide an industrial fan that is loud but it feels better than dying in the heat.

The positives: the price is fairly cheap if you don’t rent an officer to have alcoholic beverages. The scenery inside the barn is rustic and amazing for pictures. The outside is great for pictures as well!

Berraco I.

Nice venue. Went there for a September wedding reception. Nice place for a barn reception.

Christina J.

The barn is beautiful decorated. I recommend lots of lighting and tulle to brighten the place. Also, 150 guests was too many when using round tables. Great to have food served downstairs. Also nice to have downstairs area for staging wedding party.

The facility offers nothing in the way of lights. They do have tables chairs and ladders though. And lots of hooks in the walls

Stephanie M.

Absolutely beautiful venue and setting for a wedding and/or reception. But there is no air conditioning. I felt just terrible for the bride and groom of the July wedding I attended. It was 91 degrees inside and too hot for most to sit inside of the barn and enjoy dancing, etc. The big fans only blew the hot air around. Not recommended in the summer months unless you want your guests to be sweaty and miserable. Plus the food was downstairs so a little tricky for older folks and women in heels to go up and down the stairs. Lots of tripping hazards going inside and out too.

Sam G.

Lacks the ability to be a decent venue for weddings. Is very low cost and easy to access, but we were only given the venue after 12pm meaning we would have to set up for our wedding 4 hours before the event. This is way too short for a wedding venue set up and because of this we were unable to book this venue

Leana L.

It may be a nice place, if you even get to view it. I called a week ago to set up an appointment, moved things around on my schedule to be able to make it and the man who set up the appointment had forgotten about it. The woman i spoke to on the phone frantically apologized and was nice in trying to remedy the situation. But after waiting an hour and a half in total for an appointment that no one showed up for, i am crossing this venue off my list.

Ron S.

Unique rustic place for receptions and parties. Limited kitchen on the lower level. Meeting space on the upper level, but restrooms and water are down stairs. No elevator. Long outdoor ramps. No A/C - big fans.