chicago reception sites

[bopitaddict]

hi everyone,

does anyone have any recommendations for affordable reception sites in the downtown chicago area? or even a recommended website to go? i''m trying to help the fiancee out a little bit with the stress. i know there are other websites like theknot.com, which have a chicago board, but combing through it, most of it was in the burbs... plus it''s less organized than PS. and since i got great advice and recommendations on the ER, i thought i''d try again. ha... i''ve even got a couple of the acronyms down. (btw, is there a FAQ for acronyms here? (FI, MIL, MF, ABC, DEF). we''ve hit a couple of the hotels downtown and they''re a little out of our price range... we''ve also looked at navy pier... just wanted to see if there were some more ideas... anyways, any help would be appreciated.

thanks again for being such an awesome community.

-bopit

 

[jellybean]

First of all, how many people are you planning on having?

Second, the words "affordable" and "downtown Chicago" usually don''t go together.

We had our wedding in the suburbs, but my husband''s friends had their downtown about 4 years ago at a hotel...and right now the name is buried somewhere in the back of my head! I''ll see if I can get a hold of them to find out...

My mom went to a wedding last winter at the Westin on Michigan Avenue. I don''t think it was "cheap" by any means but since they did have the wedding over the winter the prices were a lot more reasonable (seriously, how many people get married in Chicago in January?

) She said it was gorgeous.

If you''re planning on a "smaller" wedding, then maybe one of the restaurants can accomodate you?

Sorry I''m not more help...all the hotels I can think of are pretty pricey.

 

[bar01]

I second the restaurant ideas - rather than Hotels or formal reception sites.

And with that idea – a crazy thought - would you consider Greek Food for a wedding reception? I have many professional meetings in the back room at Costa’s Greek Restaurant, in Greek Town. The private back room has its own bar, and can hold about 100 -120 people. Our meetings have dinners for about $20-25 per person (no drinks). No other costs - just the per plate cost. Free valet parking for your guests!. Nice place.

 

[eks6426]

Another option if you like one of the expensive place is to get married on any day except Saturday. That usually helps too. Also, what sort of reception do you want? Many of my cousins got married in Chicago with h'orderves & full sit down meal with dancing & open bar. The receptions were well over $50K--10+ years ago. I 2nd the restaurant idea. Greek town would be good and less expensive. If your group is not huge you might try R'osals in little Italy. They do a BIG NIGHT dinner that can be done for receptions. I think it is $50 per person.

http://www.rosals.com/

Here's the basic menu. They do these monthly for the public, but you can customize for a big group

In Love & Life, One Big Night can Change Everything!

IN KEEPING WITH OUR FINE TRADITION OF FAMILY STYLE DINING, WE ARE PROUD TO PRESENT AN EXCITING EVENING THAT WAS

Featured on ABC with James Ward
RoSal’s
BIG
NIGHT
Feast

Antipasti

RoSal’s special Antipasti salad & special Frezzelle

La Zuppa

Broth with pasta, carrots & meatballs

I primi

Tri color risotto
Stuffed Artichoke

Ii primi

RoSal’s awesome Timpano
I secondi

Baked chicken, Salmon & Artichoke, Ravioli & Italian vegetables

Dolci

Assorted sweets & cookies

Italy’s finest wines served with dinner
August 30th at 7:00
$59.00 per person
Reservations Required
Credit card reservations only
WWW.ROSALS.COM
(312) 243-2357
1154 W. Taylor Street
**A minimum of 15 guaranteed guests required**
No promotional gift certificates accepted - tax and gratuity not included

 

[bopitaddict]

thanks everyone for the ideas!

jellybean - we''re thinking ~200+ people, but i''ve heard that you take what you think and add 25%... so 250?

and yes, we''ve found out that downtown and affordable go together like water and oil. but it''s difficult when you see her excitement over some place and then disappointment after finding out it''s out of our budget...

we think a downtown wedding would be nice for all our guests since 85% will be from out of town - just so they can see the city and stuff... but if it has to be in the suburbs, then we can live with that as well.

a restaurant idea sounds great, now it''s a matter of finding one that can accommodate a large group.

bertrand - greek food sounds good. i do like greek town quite a bit - greek islands can probably accommodate that amount... we''ll go take a look around that area...

island dreams - a non-summer wedding was actually one of the ways we were going to save money... we were thinking about pushing back our wedding from the summer to the fall because there are more ''affordable'' prices. plus, it won''t be as hot and humid.

thanks again for all your ideas and help, we appreciate it!

 

[Blue824]

Well, what per person constitutes affordable?? If you have a price range that might make it easier to weed places out.

Have you looked at any spaces in Evanston or Wilmette stuff like that which is close but not too far? I think there are the Womens Clubs in those areas that are popular for wedding rentals. Suburban doesnt necissarily mean cheap either, ie: botanic gardens.

I think I heard the Holiday Inn ballroom downtown Chicago was nice & affordable. Have you looked into any of the museum spaces? I''m not sure what you want to spend PP, but there is typically a rental fee around $5000, depending on the site and time of year and day, and then you can pretty much customize your wedding meal through who ever the caterers are, some are more flexible than others. The Adler has my favorite space that looks out over the ocean & skyline.

http://www.galleriamarchetti.com/ they can accomodate very large parties (like 800 i think!), their food is supposed to be yummy too, not much infon on their sites. A New Leaf is on wells, like Old town/Gold Coast and people have weddings there too. I dont know details for there though. Anyway, that was sort of off the top of my head, if I think of anything later, I''ll post it.

 

[flutterby]

I am a big fan of Levy Events catering. I have been to several of their events and they are great. I was looking into having our wedding at Cafe Brauer, because I love it there (now its vegas). And because I went to a friends wedding there and it was amazing. The wedding was outside of Bruaer and it was $35 to use the lawn space from the city of chicago and then the reception was beautiful. It is an amazing ballroom, I cant really say the price but I know people have done it inexpensively by city standards. You can see the skyline, you are right in Lincoln Park, just a suggestion.

I dont know how to post links, but you can try copying and pasting this page.

http://www.levyrestaurants.com/Levy/PartiesEventsAndCatering/TipsAndTools/Featured+Wedding.htm