A timeless wedding at their favorite golf course…
A wedding at Glen Oaks Country Club in West Des Moines, Iowa, has a certain kind of elegance that feels right at home here: manicured golf course greens, beautiful grounds, refined spaces, and an atmosphere designed for gathering and celebrating. For couples planning an elevated Iowa wedding, Glen Oaks offers a beautiful setting for a wedding day that feels polished and sophisticated without losing the warmth and personality that make it uniquely yours.
But for Alisha and Michael, Glen Oaks Country Club wasn’t simply a beautiful wedding venue they selected from a list.
It was already part of their lives.
The couple regularly golf at Glen Oaks, and Michael’s parents live within the gated community surrounding the golf course. They knew the property long before they ever imagined celebrating their wedding there. They knew the greens, the landscape, the feeling of the club—and what it meant to spend time there together.
That personal connection made Glen Oaks an especially fitting setting for their wedding day. Rather than choosing a venue simply because it photographed beautifully, they were celebrating somewhere that was already woven into their lives and memories.
Their wedding at Glen Oaks brought together a classic black-and-white aesthetic, beautiful personal details, and an unmistakable love of good food, wine, and time spent with the people closest to them. They wanted to get dressed up, celebrate with their family and friends, and still have space for the real moments happening throughout the day—not simply a collection of perfectly posed photographs.
The couple worked with Yours Truly Weddings & Events to bring the design and logistics together, allowing them to enjoy their wedding day rather than spend it managing the many moving pieces behind the scenes. In fact, when asked what advice they would give another couple planning their wedding, their answer was simple: hire the planner and let them run with all of the decor and rental coordination. They were so glad they did.
That intentional planning was evident throughout their Glen Oaks wedding. Their invitation suite was one of Alisha’s favorite details, and their classic black-and-white aesthetic created a sophisticated foundation for the celebration. Stationery by Ephemera Design added another layer of personality and polish to the visual story of the day.
The same philosophy carried into their photography. Alisha wanted the beautifully composed portraits and carefully photographed details, but she also wanted the photographs that couldn’t be planned: the laughter, emotion, interactions with family, and genuine moments unfolding throughout the celebration. Her priorities included portraits of the two of them, their immediate families, and meaningful first looks with both her dad and Michael.
That combination—refined portraits alongside honest, emotional photographs—is exactly what makes a wedding gallery feel complete, and it is what we strive for with every wedding. The goal isn’t to turn the day into a photoshoot. It’s to create beautiful photographs while leaving room for the couple to actually experience their wedding.
For couples considering a Glen Oaks Country Club wedding in West Des Moines, I think that is one of the things that makes the venue particularly special. It can be a sophisticated setting for an elegant celebration, but it can also become deeply personal when you choose to incorporate the places and experiences that are already meaningful to you.
It was a wedding about getting dressed up, gathering their closest friends and family, enjoying good wine, and celebrating the beginning of their marriage in a place that was already part of their story.
VENDORS:
Venue: Glen Oaks Country Club West Des Moines
Planner: Yours Truly Weddings & Events
Photography: Jennifer Weinman
Video: Drew Dau
Flowers: Shelly Sarver Designs
Invitations: Ephemera
Band: Diamond Empire Band
Dress: Rosalie Bridal
Makeup: Ivory & Stone
Ceremony Musicians: Quartet 515
After her first look with her father, Alisha met Michael and we photographed a few portraits together and with their wedding party before their ceremony. There were lots of emotions throughout the day!
Cherishing a Love of Wine
And then there was the wine.
Alisha and Michael are serious wine lovers, so their guest book was never going to be an ordinary book. Instead, they chose a 6-liter bottle of wine from a small Napa winery they had visited together. During their trip, they had the opportunity to taste with the winemaker, who signed the bottle they ultimately saved for their wedding. On the wedding day, their guests added their own signatures to the bottle, transforming a favorite travel memory into a keepsake filled with the people who celebrated alongside them.
It’s the kind of detail I love photographing because it tells you something about the couple beyond the wedding day. Their love of wine is woven into their life together—they’re even building a wine cellar in their new home—so incorporating that shared passion into their wedding wasn’t about following a trend. It was simply them.
Sharing Vows Overlooking the Green
During their wedding ceremony, they carried through their wine theme by performing a unity ceremony mixing two wines together – and tasting it too. Overlooking the green while sharing vow at the Glen Oaks croquet lawn was the perfect way to start their marriage.
Kicking Off the Celebration
We love the elegant black and white details curated by Camryn and her team at Yours Truly Weddings & Events, and of course Shelly did a wonderful job with the flowers.
Sunset Photos Overlooking Glen Oaks Country Club & Golf Course
Because Alisha and Michael already knew the golf course so well, their portraits weren’t simply about finding a pretty backdrop. We could photograph them in a place they genuinely enjoyed and that already held meaning for them. The manicured fairways, mature landscape, and elegant club setting became part of the story rather than simply scenery behind it. And what better way to enjoy that than with sunset photos wrapping up the perfect day!
Congratulations to Michael and Alisha! To view more of our favorite weddings at Glen Oaks, go here
