Couples find Grandview Park Rose Garden a romantic wedding venue

SIOUX CITY -- Lovebirds need look no further for a wedding destination than the historic Grandview Park rose garden.

A popular wedding venue since 1937, this quaint garden has always attracted romantic types, such as Jennifer and Brandon Ballantyne and Heather and Javy Gutierrez.

Grandview Park’s beloved rose garden was created in 1937 with sponsorship from the Sioux City Municipal Rose Garden Association, which was a partnership of the Iowa Rose Society, Sioux City Garden Club, American Association of University women and other rose enthusiasts. The garden featured more than 100 varieties of roses and arching trellises designed by landscape architect Newell Guernsey.

Jennifer & Brandon Ballantyne

Jennifer and Brandon Ballantyne have known each other since their days at East Middle School. Jennifer recalls first meeting him in gym class at the old school.

“We’ve been together for nearly 20 years,” she said. “He’s my best friend.”

They started dating in their teens at East High School and continued through Jennifer’s time at Western Iowa Tech Community College and through raising their daughter, Alexus. It was June, 2017, when Brandon proposed to Jennifer at Snyder Bend Park when they were camping with friends and family.

“He just got down on one knee and proposed in front of the campfire. He was like ‘You don’t want to marry me!’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I do!’” Jennifer said. “He just thinks I’m the best thing that ever happened in the world, and I wonder why he thinks that.”

This wasn’t the couple’s first proposal: Brandon had proposed when they were younger, but Jennifer wasn’t ready to say yes (officially, with a wedding) just yet.

“I have the ring that he gave me 20 years ago,” Jennifer said. “That’s what we used to this day because it means a lot -- that’s what we could afford then.”

Brandon said they'd worn their same rings from that early proposal until the day they were married. He wanted a big wedding to include their friends and family.

"She really didn't need a big wedding, but I thought we'd grown up and we weren't kids anymore. We'd gained a lot of friends over the years, so I wanted to bring them all into it," he said. "We always felt like we were married anyway, but our actual ceremony stuff was more for our friends and her."

"She's my best friend," he added.

Their wedding was held Oct. 21, 2017, at the rose garden. It was a perfect fall day, according to Jennifer.

“He wanted a big wedding, and I’m glad we did it his way with a big wedding and a big party afterward,” she said. “We wanted something outside, and it was beautiful in fall with the leaves changing and everybody wasn’t roasting in heavy gowns. It was just like letting nature decorate the wedding. You don’t have to have decorations when you have all that prettiness in nature.”

She said they had at least 100 guests at the wedding. It was a standing ceremony with family and friends lined along the aisles.

“Everything just lined up like it was meant to be,” Jennifer said. “We just kept it really simple and it was so beautiful. I just wish I had done it sooner, now.”

Heather & Javy Gutierrez

Heather and Javy Gutierrez first met when they were working at a restaurant together. They began dating in 2013.

“I had started serving at a restaurant, and he was the cook,” Heather said. “We just started talking and we felt feelings for each other. We started hanging out, and, next thing we knew, we were boyfriend and girlfriend.”

Javy proposed to Heather July 10, 2017.

“He came up to me and said ‘I think we should get married,’” Heather said. “I was like, ‘Did you just ask me to marry you?’ He said, ‘I did!’ Then we started planning.”

Their autumn wedding was held Sept. 16, 2017. The couple was surrounded by more than 40 close family members and friends, with their ceremony held at the arch in the park near the rose garden.

“It’s beautiful, it really is. An outside wedding is just amazing,” she said. “It did rain on our wedding day, but it was still so perfect.

“Even though it had rained that day, it was a perfect day.”

Booking a private event

Angel Wallace, parks and recreation manager, books all private events, receptions and weddings through her department. Weddings require booking a year in advance, and cancellations require 30 days' notice for refunds.

Other popular event venues in the park include the Anderson Dance Pavilion, Sertoma Pavilion and Grandview Bandshell. Wallace has booked picnics, family reunions, birthdays, graduation parties and other types of gatherings in the park.