Conrad Mansion Wedding & Reception Venue With Lodging — Hotel in Grundy Center

We LOVED our stay at the Conrad Mansion! I’m a bit late on posting this as we got married in October, and I should probably be transparent that unlike others who have left reviews, the owners were not present when we were there. HOWEVER - Jeff was extremely helpful and responsive leading up to the wedding, and would answer questions at all times of the day which I really appreciated as wedding planning is very stressful and time consuming. And this used to be their home, so I can understand why they would be protective of it - maybe just be sure to communicate your concerns from other reviews with them before making a decision, but we don’t regret a single thing about booking here.

We chose Conrad Mansion as majority of our guests were traveling from out of state, including our wedding parties, so it was really important to us to be able to spend a whole weekend with everyone. $11k may seem like a lot, but majority of other places we were looking at with the amount of people we had (about 170) were still over $9k and those were for one day only, not including stay, where as this place we could have 40 people stay with us and it was for a whole weekend. Plus the venue is STUNNING!! Mansion is a little outdated but it’s still beautiful and extremely functional. We even had our rehearsal dinner onsite and prepared our own food for it to save money (catered for actual wedding though). All of our guests absolutely loved it and all of our friends have even talked about us booking it for the future as an anniversary get together!

We really wanted an outdoor wedding (which thankful to the weather we were able to get), but it’s nice to know that when you rent this place that you get the whole property so you have a backup plan just in case, or you can even do half indoor/ half outdoor with the garages in the carriage house! The staff that were on site for day of the wedding were awesome. And I’m apart of a fire performance troupe (Sabba Circle based out of Des Moines, IA) so it was really important to me to be able to have us fire perform at our wedding which they were cool with so I think your experience can really just depend on communication! We also had my friends (from Norsefyre based out of NE) do aerialist performances during cocktail hour and while people were eating which was a dream!

So many places for beautiful photos. So many ways to customize it to how you want. They even have sheep there which is unique, and we loved that chairs, tables, outdoor games, etc were included. We’ll be reminiscing on this weekend for the rest of our lives, and we’re so thankful for the Conrad Mansion and them renting out their home to us. ❤️ little tip that helped things run super smooth for us - be sure to get your bridal/groom parties to help with clean up! Between clearing out/cleaning up when leaving and checking rooms, and especially night of the wedding when they have to clear up the carriage house, remember that many hands make light work!! Night of the wedding and leaving the carriage house before they locked it up, we literally all grabbed all of our stuff and decor like 20 minutes before they had to lock it up and just brought it outside and sorted it from there/put it in cars since we were staying there. Treat this place like your would treat your home. Made it so we could truly enjoy our whole day - and since you’re there all weekend you can set up a day or two early!!! Hope this helps, and if you’re planning your wedding, congrats! Thank you Jeff and Kim! We’ll cherish our memories there for eternity.

Sincerely, The...

We recently had our wedding at The Conrad Mansion in September, and the setting was absolutely stunning. The property is beautiful, and having the whole weekend to spend with our families made for a truly unforgettable experience.

As an out-of-state couple (about 3.5 hours away), attending the mansion’s monthly open houses was difficult — especially since they're not offered consistently. More flexible options (like occasional Saturdays or earlier Sundays) would be helpful for those traveling in.

The venue owners were always timely and courteous in their responses. However, we found the planning process lacked clarity at times. As a detail-oriented bride, I felt uneasy going into the weekend due to some last-minute uncertainties. The final step before the wedding involved completing an Excel spreadsheet of wedding day details, which was confusing in some places. One particularly stressful element was being told that anything not listed on the spreadsheet "didn't happen," which meant going back through emails and conversations to ensure nothing was missed.

We didn’t do a final walkthrough, and a Zoom call was deemed unnecessary by the owners, but in hindsight, more clarity and a structured final review would have put our minds a bit more at ease. We did walk through the reception area upon arrival to confirm setup, but knowing exactly what to expect earlier would have been very helpful.

The owners live on-site and were available if needed, which was convenient. They also helped on the wedding day alongside a small number of staff. However, at times we felt closely monitored, particularly while decorating or enjoying the space with family, which affected the relaxed atmosphere we hoped for. During the reception, one owner managed the entrance door for conservation of A/C while guests entered the reception area, which occasionally felt a bit intrusive. Additionally, we were informed that the venue owners obtained a meal at our wedding. While we had planned for vendors to receive a meal and had a designated table for our outside vendors, providing a meal to the venue owners was not expected given the owners live onsite and this was not outlined in our contract nor discussed prior to wedding day. Ideally, this piece should have been communicated ahead of time.

One downside we hadn’t anticipated was the high number of bugs inside and around the mansion / reception area. While we understand that nature is part of the setting, the volume of bugs — particularly in and around the reception space — did impact some guests' comfort and is worth noting for future couples and the venue's attention.

Final Thoughts: The mansion is gorgeous and works well for a variety of wedding styles - from modern to rustic. Additional staff support being hired could ease pressure on couples and vendors. Improved clarity and consistency during the planning phase would go a long way. We were told a few things were acceptable, only to find out later they were not — a sentiment echoed by some of our vendors, as well. A Facebook group or online resource for Conrad couples would be a great tool for sharing advice, vendor info, and connecting / bouncing ideas.

Despite a few bumps, our wedding day was exactly what we envisioned, and we’re so grateful for the memories we created and the opportunity to have our wedding at the mansion. If you love the look and feel of The Conrad Mansion, it can be a fantastic venue — just be prepared to stay organized and communicate your...

My fiancé (at the time) and I were wanting a destination wedding. After conducting research it judt wasn't possible. Then I stumbled onto the Conrad Mansion, a venue over an hour away from us in the middle of nowhere outside a quiet town in Iowa. This venue blew our minds. It was wonderful to have the ability to sleep over 40 people in one house and have both our families under the same roof for 3 nights to get to know each other. It brought our families close, as we didn't get to do many family events due to covid the past couple years. The wedding venue itself was beautiful as well and it allowed us to have our dream wedding of friends and family coming together. We had just a little over 100 people and it was perfect. Jeff and his wife were wonderful with their "Couples Guide Book" that was filled with suggestions and things to know. They had wonderful recommendations of who you could use for catering and DJ, but allowed you to make whatever choice you wanted for your big day.

There were a few times where I felt could have gone better, which came down to communication. One thing that bothered me the most was that I was required to send in my table set up plan 3 weeks before the event, but then when we arrived it wasn't set up that way. And when approched about what tables we needed I felt the owner was annoyed that i disnt want to use just the long tables that were already set up, and that if we used round we'd have to help put all the tables away and set up the rounds, which seemed to be inconvenient for him. I guess i would have assumed that if I was required to provide a set up 3 weeks before, it was known what was needed. It made me feel like I was in the wrong for not wanting what the "normal set up" was. I was also told that there was a specific "team" that would be there for set up, but it was only Jeff. Luckily we had 6 other guys that came early as well from our bridal party to help. But then the tables had to be done a certain way and he got upset that the boys weren't doing it correctly and raised his voice at them. We had another incident that same night that Jeff became upset with some guests who had arrived and supposedly drove on the grass. However, the long driveway didnt have lights or a way to guide them at night , and they had no idea they went off the road slightly on the grass. They came in quite upset with the confrontation as he had approached their car to talk to them. They had just arrived from out of state and had just made it to the mansion. They had no idea who he was as he was talking to them, and were quite hurt that that was their initial welcome. It just wasn't the greatest first night with communication, and had me worried and on edge all weekend wondering if we would offend him again.

Overall the wedding and stay at the mansion was beautiful and amazing and we loved the opportunity to allow our families to bond in a way I don't think we would have at any regular venue. Just wish the communication with the owner went...