The Temple for Performing Arts Reviews

I cannot say enough about the Catering DSM/Temple for Performing Arts team, specifically Sarah. She was absolutely amazing to work with and thought of every little detail for us. We originally had our 300 person ceremony and reception planned for the Temple for Performing Arts, but two months before our date made the decision to reduce it to 15 people (due to COVID) and postpone our reception a year. We ended up keeping our date and moving our 15 person evening to their smaller venue space at St. Kilda Collective... and it was absolutely PERFECT. The food was outstanding! The space was beautiful! We had both our ceremony and reception there and honestly can't imagine it being any different. The flexibility of Sarah & team to change everything two months before our big day was so appreciated by my now-husband and I. It made the already stressful situation of attempting to plan a wedding during a pandemic much less stressful. I cannot thank them enough for a perfect, perfect evening. I would not change a single thing! Couples- look no further than Catering DSM for all of your wedding needs, you will not be disappointed!

After a whirlwind of a year, and having postponed our original wedding date 3 times due to COVID, we finally tied the knot at the Temple for Performing Arts in December 2020. Sarah was our coordinator, and she made the planning process so easy. She is highly communicative, and the fact that the Temple also has their own catering company, Catering DSM by St. Kilda, made things so convenient.

We had planned our wedding from out of state and Sarah was always happy to hop on a conference call to make things easier. She also helped us customize our menu so that it was exactly what we had wanted (truffle oil mac and cheese croquettes and lobster tail? yum!). She also helped us turn our plans for a “hot toddy” station into reality. Sarah and the Temple were also EXTREMELY supportive with all things COVID, which we are so thankful for!

Overall, the Temple for Performing Arts is a beautiful venue, with so much charm and character, and you’d be in great hands if you decided to get married there! Thank you to everyone at the Temple for a beautiful wedding day!

Alex was WONDERFUL to work with throughout the entire engagement process. He was consistently prompt with responses and always guided me with his expertise. The day of the wedding was even better. Alex was there to lend a helping hand whenever needed and flawlessly coordinated with our other vendors. The Temple was the perfect, historical venue for our special day. Our day would not have gone as smoothly or looked as wonderful without Alex and the rest of the venue staff.

Sarah and everyone at the Temple were absolutely amazing to work with and helped make the day exactly what I was wanting. I was so appreciative of how willing they were to accommodate our requests, adjust last minute details and helped consult throughout the entire planning process. I have heard from so many quests how delicious the food was and how much they enjoyed the venue. Food was one of the most important things to my husband and I, and the catering at the Temple was amazing! Everything was prepared beautifully and tasted great, from our cocktail hour o'dourves, to the entrees and our late night pretzel bar. Another amazing thing about the catering at the Temple is they were able to accommodate all of our guests dietary restrictions, which I loved so that every single one of our guests were able to enjoy the food. Thank you so much for going above and beyond to make my day stress free, and one I can look back on with no regrets!

We had a wonderful experience with The Temple for Performing Arts! The staff is extremely professional and the venue is absolutely gorgeous. Although a bit pricey, this venue does EVERYTHING for you, except for music and decor (flowers, centerpieces, name cards, etc.). They are extremely organized, and it was very nice not having to find different vendors for food, drink, tableware, or other equipment.

The temple is a beautiful location. We had both our ceremony and our reception there. When you use the temple, your food is through Catering DSM. They were amazing, and the venue's events director Mallory was just great to work with. It was a magical night and most of that is from it's location and who helped run everything smoothly. The Temple does not need much for decoration - I hope future brides visit it and see just how classic and grand it is.

Wow! We can't say enough for Mallory and her team! The food, the venue, and the staff made our wedding dreams a reality! We could enjoy the day and evening without stress and knew that everyone was working to create a wonderful and magical day! Would highly recommend this venue for weddings and other events! Amazing!

The best event of my life!! We cannot say enough great things about Jeff and Mallory at the Temple. Every need was met. Mallory was expressly attentive to every detail of our rehearsal, ceremony dinner and ceremony. The food is fantastic. The staff was fun and engaging. One can really tell that they love their job and service is a priority. If you are having a wedding in Iowa, the Temple is a MUST see location. You will not go wrong.

We chose the Temple for our ceremony and reception and could not have been more satisfied. A huge thank you goes to the whole staff (especially Mallory, the event manager) for all the help. They truly know what it takes to successfully make a customer happy. Everything was exactly what we had been promised and more. Mallory had every moment of the event planned, which made everything run smooth with no mishaps throughout the evening. My family was a 100% pleased, and so were my guests. To this day, they keep talking about how impressed they were with the food stations and the variety of food they could choose from. We began with our wedding in the reception hall then moved to the grand hall for cocktail hour, dinner, then dancing. One of the most memorable moments was our grand entrance on the balcony that looks the grand hall. It was such a special moment! The hall is majestic with beautiful lighting and decor. I could go on and on about how amazing and magical this place is and how our vision became reality, thanks to Mallory and the rest of the staff. This place is perfect in every way, we highly recommend this venue for any event.

The Temple for Performing Arts was SO AMAZING for both ceremony and reception. We had our ceremony in the recital hall, and the reception in the grand hall. The recital hall was perfect for our ceremony, with great architecture and stained glass windows, good sound, etc. We had 125 guests and it was the perfect size. The grand hall is just gorgeous with the marble columns. This venue doesn\'t need a whole lot of extra decoration because of all the beautiful architecture! \r\n\r\nCatering DSM has taken over the catering/event management for this venue, and they are amazing. They not only worked with us to create the perfect custom menu, they were also very helpful in organizing all the details for our wedding day. We had so many compliments on the venue, the food, and the signature drinks they suggested. Thanks to Jeff and Mallory for making our wedding day amazing!

Beautiful Venue and everyone at DSM Catering was so helpful. Coming from a somewhat unorganized bride, all of the staff at the venue made sure everything went seamlessly. Food was amazing and we received many compliments. Can not say enough good things about this venue.

The Temple was the perfect place to hold our wedding reception. And the staff was beyond helpful and accommodating. Planning a wedding from another state can be quite changeling and everyone at the Temple did everything they could to ensure my reception would go off without a hitch. They made sure I had everything I needed the night of so all I had to do was sit back and relax. And an added bonus was having the staff dance for us! :)

We had our reception at the Temple for Performing Arts and the service was amazing. The banquet coordinator, John Lengeling, was ultra-professional and executed the details almost perfectly. They were flexible and accommodating and provided an beautiful atmostphere for the event.

We had the ceremony AND reception at the Temple for Performing Arts. The "recital hall" is a gorgeous place to have a ceremony... it is very intimate and has the most amazing architecture. The "Grand Hall" is where the reception was held. The ballroom-like space doesn't require much decoration and it's beauty speaks for itself. It is an amazing place to have a romantic wedding and celebration!

I can't say enough about David and Kristy from the Des Moines Embassy Club. They are wonderful, organized and very knowledgeable about planning an event at the Temple! The service and the food are impeccable... I can't say enough good things about it! All of the employees (bartenders, coordinators, servers, etc.) are great to work with!

Had a perfect wedding! Thank you!

I genuinely enjoyed hosting my wedding ceremony and reception at the Temple for Performing Arts. The venue itself is absolutely gorgeous and a perfect fit for the dark victorian gothic theme I had envisioned, something I was rather worried about given most wedding venues are lgiht and airy. It was so wonderful to decorate and turned out beautiful! My guests all commented endlessly on how beautiful the location was.
The cost to rent the spaces was rather steep, I felt, at least for Iowa. Weekdays are cheap as dirt, but Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are all pretty pricey, as well as an extra $1000 if you're in the wedding season or not. On top of that, however, you are also required to use their catering service and can't bring in someone else or make food yourself. The catering was EXCELLENT, mind you, but still requires a $6000 minimum. It's an expensive venue, in my opinion, but was one of the only places that truly captured the feel I wanted.
The staff itself was wonderful to work with too, although there was some unresponsiveness every once in awhile that was worrisome. But with COVID and everything going on at the time of my wedding, they really made everything work and helped to make it a beautiful ceremony and reception anyway. I worked with Alex and Sarah, both of whom were so relaxed and friendly, but informative and knowledgeable.
While the price is a decent deterrent, I would certainly recommend this location if you can afford it just for its aesthetic and beauty alone. Food was great, service was great- Would Recommend,