Happy Apple Celebrations

At Happy Apple Celebrations, we are dedicated to providing you and your guests with memories to last a lifetime. Our rustic wedding and event venue, located in the beautiful rolling fields of central Iowa, is the perfect setting for your special day.

Our farm, conveniently close to the Des Moines metro, offers both beautiful outdoor landscapes and a large heated/air-conditioned indoor facility. With wooded areas, scenic ponds, and a relaxing atmosphere, Happy Apple Celebrations is the ideal location for any celebration.

Our Goal

Our goal is to provide you with a venue that removes the stress and anxiety from your event, giving you time to fully enjoy the weekend that is reserved just for YOU. With a venue capacity of 500, we offer amenities such as a manicured apple orchard setting, bridal and groom's suites, a full-staffed on-site bar, 13,000 climate-controlled square feet, non-exclusive vendors, a full-size prep kitchen, outdoor patios, an outdoor bonfire ring, classic white chairs, ballroom lighting, and handicap accessibility.

The New About Us

In 2019, the ownership of Happy Apple Celebrations was passed down to the third generation. Sara Pray, one of Rick and Sue's six kids, and her husband Ryan, took over the reins. Sara has been a part of Happy Apple for the last 25 years, starting as a youth working in the orchard and continuing to help with weddings as an adult.

As the new owners, Sara and Ryan are continuing the tradition of hosting wonderful experiences on the land they love. They are offering the same great services that everyone has grown to love while adding a few more options for bookings. They now have single-day options for couples that don't need or want as much rental time, which also decreases the price. They are also providing more of the tedious tasks, thus taking more off your plate to help destress one of the most important days in a person's lifetime.

Our History

Happy Apple Orchard was started in the early 1970s. The original two dozen trees, which were planted on the farm, came from K-mart on Hickman Rd. They were an end-of-the-season close-out price, purchased by Rick Motzko while delivering landscape stone to their garden department. The trees were labeled dwarf Red and Golden Delicious; although they all turned out to be standard size, MacIntosh apple trees.

Rick thought this would be a good thing for his dad, Dick, who had just purchased a farm near Cumming. Dick, together with his wife Audrey and son Rick, planted and nurtured more and more apple trees, year after year, until the orchard numbered more than 4000 trees.

Dick and Audrey owned and operated the orchard until 1989, at which time they sold it to Rick and his wife, Sue. They, along with their six kids, all worked and grew the business. During the 1990s, they sold apples to all the Dahl's grocery stores around the Des Moines area, had apples at most local farmers' markets, and sold apples right at the farm.

Dick and Audrey continued to help and direct them until they passed away. They are greatly missed still. In 1999, due to an agricultural over-spray from a neighboring farm field (while the trees were in full blossom), over half the trees died and had to be removed. Rick and Sue continued to sell apples, although at a much smaller scale.