About Us

Our Story

Carly, an Ankeny native, and Aaron, an Emmetsburg native, met in college through mutual friends. They soon began dating, but eventually went their separate ways. It wasn't until a couple of years later they reconnected and began dating again. Aaron then moved to Des Moines from Chicago to be closer to Carly.

About a year later, a job opportunity arose for Aaron to transfer to Northwest Iowa from Des Moines. After a weekend visit to Okoboji (and the promise of an acreage and dogs) she agreed to move. Soon after, he held up his end of the bargain and they purchased what would become Swiss Acres.

Over the 2-plus years since purchasing the acreage, their family has grown. Initially adding a couple of dogs and later a couple of cats. On New Years Eve of 2017 they welcomed the newest addition to Swiss Acres, their baby girl Reese Ann Janssen.

The Swiss Acres Story

Originally a Century Farm that once served as a Brown Swiss Cattle operation, Carly & Aaron purchased the acreage in June of 2015. The acreage included two barns on nearly 8 acres. Initially, Aaron wanted to tear down the Reception Barn but Carly's love for old barns wouldn't let him.

That February, Aaron proposed to Carly. As they started to discuss wedding plans, they knew they wanted to get married on their acreage that fall. As planning continued, the idea came about to use the Reception Barn for their ceremony. With that idea, the couple got to work.

6 months, and countless man hours later, the couple had their wedding and got married in the barn. After the wedding, they resumed their normal lives while the barn sat empty. Then one day, while going through wedding photos and recounting the fun they had at their wedding, an idea came about. Why not let others enjoy their wedding in the barn as much as Aaron and Carly did? From there, Swiss Acres was born...