Nebraska-Omaha

Looking for an outdoor wedding venue on/near the water

My fiancee and I are getting married next Fall and are looking for a outdoor location for our ceremony that can accomodate 100 plus wedding guests that is also on the water.  We have considered Heartland of America Park (picture posted) that I love but the location is so small that we would have to cut way down on the guest list and I have a big family, deciding who to invite to the ceremony and who only to invite to the reception is difficult plus I do not have the heart for it.  Any suggestions appreciated.




Re: Looking for an outdoor wedding venue on/near the water

  • edited December 2011
    Walnut Grove park in Millard has a small pond area :D
  • wishonastar01wishonastar01 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I am getting married at Ameristar which has an outdoor area that overlooks the water and has downtown Omaha in the background.  We are planning on 100+ and they said that was no problem.

    Good luck
  • edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_nebraska-omaha_looking-outdoor-wedding-venue-onnear-water?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:79Discussion:265c5897-8803-4f9f-a813-f2deea6847afPost:6ef7022b-61c2-4a4d-9b84-24263aa80433">Re: Looking for an outdoor wedding venue on/near the water</a>:
    [QUOTE]I am getting married at Ameristar which has an outdoor area that overlooks the water and has downtown Omaha in the background.  We are planning on 100+ and they said that was no problem. Good luck
    Posted by wishonastar01[/QUOTE]

    Alright so... my fiance works at Ameristar. And we have been looking for a wedding ceremony site for 9 months. We found the perfect one but because of the Summer Arts Festival next summer we nixed that because it was RIGHT next door to it.

    Well, I just told my fiance Coleby "Apparently Ameristar has an outdoor wedding ceremony spot" and he said "Yeah behind the sportsbar" and I just wanted to smack him.


    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_nebraska-omaha_looking-outdoor-wedding-venue-onnear-water?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:79Discussion:265c5897-8803-4f9f-a813-f2deea6847afPost:8f6fc5ac-9cfb-41c2-b0cf-c4170f74c338">Looking for an outdoor wedding venue on/near the water</a>:
    [QUOTE]My fiancee and I are getting married next Fall and are looking for a outdoor location for our ceremony that can accomodate 100 plus wedding guests that is also on the water.  We have considered Heartland of America Park (picture posted) that I love <strong>but the location is so small that we would have to cut way down on the guest list and I have a big family, deciding who to invite to the ceremony and who only to invite to the reception is difficult plus I do not have the heart for it.</strong>  Any suggestions appreciated.
    Posted by jennifer21011[/QUOTE]

    Maybe I have been hanging out on the Etiquette board on here way to much but inviting people to just the reception or just the ceremony is not liked. People think you are being gift grabby.

    Also there are TONS of spots at Heartland of America park that you can get married at.

    The picture I have attached is where I wanted to get married originally. It is at the top of Gene Leehy Mall right near the Library. So freaking pretty! (Click on it for a better image)


    <a href="#" title="Click to view a larger photo" onclick="return gSiteLife.LoadForumPage('ForumImage', 'plckPhotoId', '61bf501c-63de-4053-b88f-da829a0b2250', 'plckRedirectUrl', gSiteLife.EscapeValue(window.location.href));"> <img src="http://cdn.cl9.vanillaforums.com/downloaded/ver1.0/content/images/store/1/8/61bf501c-63de-4053-b88f-da829a0b2250.medium.jpg" alt="" width="429" height="285" /></a>

    image
    06.09.2012

  • wishonastar01wishonastar01 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I'll be honest, I was a little concerned with the area being between their pool and sports bar, but their coordinator really reassured me. She said they will make sure the pool doors are closed and will take care of anyone if the situation rises that someone wants to pound on the pool glass.  The sports bar can't be seen, it's just brick.  To me the space was really private and was pretty with the Omaha skyline in the background.  I like the peacefulness of it.  I guess I really wanted to be outside without tons of people being able to come up and be a part of the wedding. =)  This gave us that.
  • edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_nebraska-omaha_looking-outdoor-wedding-venue-onnear-water?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:79Discussion:265c5897-8803-4f9f-a813-f2deea6847afPost:494aba7b-b506-4ce3-b8b6-9c7b09105450">Re: Looking for an outdoor wedding venue on/near the water</a>:
    [QUOTE]I'll be honest, I was a little concerned with the area being between their pool and sports bar, but their coordinator really reassured me. She said they will make sure the pool doors are closed and will take care of anyone if the situation rises that someone wants to pound on the pool glass.  The sports bar can't be seen, it's just brick.  To me the space was really private and was pretty with the Omaha skyline in the background.  I like the peacefulness of it.  I guess I really wanted to be outside without tons of people being able to come up and be a part of the wedding. =)  This gave us that.
    Posted by wishonastar01[/QUOTE]

    Are you having your reception there as well? Or just the ceremony?

    image
    06.09.2012

  • wishonastar01wishonastar01 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We are having the ceremony and reception there.  I wanted a venue that had a hotel or hotels close so that if my guests were in a case where they shouldn't drive then they had options. We looked into places that had shuttles or into renting shuttles, but Ameristar just seemed to have everything we were looking for.  I knew I wanted an outdoor ceremony and they were one of the few places I found that did and had hotel options close.  I know some people will say that I shouldn't have chosen Ameristar for the reception because I could have found catering elsewhere much cheaper and yes, there are cheaper places; however, I liked the food and feel like having everything right there will hopefully eliminate any problems with companies running late or forgetting something. I guess I just wanted to eliminate any chance for problems. =)
  • edited December 2011
    Have you thought of River West?  it is a private park on the Elkhorn river.. hasnt been effected by the flooding (plus!) and has really low rates! 

    http://riverwestpark.net/groupeventrental.html
    Photobucket Wedding Countdown Ticker PersonalMilestone Visit Omaha.Weddings.com Visit Sports.weddings.com
  • edited December 2011
    How is the pricing for Ameristar??
  • wishonastar01wishonastar01 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Pricing is ok for the most part. I believe it was $1000 to rent on a Saturday (not sure on other nights/days) but at the time they were offering a special so we got it for only $500.  

    The thing that I would say is somewhat difficult is the food.  We are doing a plated dinner and that is running $26-28 a person. I believe a buffet would run similar in price.  I know if we did a different location that would allow outside catering, we could have really saved in this area, but we decided that it was worth the cost for us in the long run.  I really wanted to have a place where we could get married outside but have a venue close in the case of rain, extreme heat, etc. Also, we really wanted to have our reception that had a hotel very close so that we didn't have people driving unless they wanted to after the wedding.  

    I will say that I have been very pleased with the quality of food, the care that we have been given, and the plan for the wedding and reception.  With all that being said, the price is worth it to us, but that was because of everything that we wanted was right there.

    If looking in Council Bluffs, it was truly the best we found and I considered and toured many venues before we chose Ameristar.
  • edited December 2011
    What about Chalco Hills?
  • edited December 2011
    I love that picture at gene leahy mall. How did you find it and do you know how to look into renting that area. 
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_nebraska-omaha_looking-outdoor-wedding-venue-onnear-water?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:79Discussion:265c5897-8803-4f9f-a813-f2deea6847afPost:791568de-b1da-4a11-be2c-054df242cf0a">Re: Looking for an outdoor wedding venue on/near the water</a>:
    [QUOTE]Walnut Grove park in Millard has a small pond area :D
    Posted by Lhausman[/QUOTE]

    the River City Star has an amazing facility with a lawn overlooking the Missouri River AND a large wedding tent in case of bad weather. Here is their web-site:<a href="http://www.rivercitystar.com" rel="nofollow">www.rivercitystar.com</a> and good luck to you!
  • The River City Star has an amazing facility with a lawn overlooking the Missouri River AND a large wedding tent in case of bad weather. Here is their web-site:www.rivercitystar.com and good luck to you!
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