I have been engaged for three years and have pretty much researched every venue in Chicagoland before settling on Heritage Prairie Farm. My future sister in law recently got engaged and intitially stated that they would not be planning a wedding yet (since she and her FI are both unemployed). Then during Christmas she was talking about wedding plans and telling her mother about her first choice - the chicago Botanic Garden). To ensure that there would be no conflicts or problems over venues/dates I let them both know (her and her mother) that we were planning on October 2014 at Heritage Prairie Farms. I even pulled up the website on my laptop and showed it to them. Then in late January she told me she was going to visit Heritage along with some other locations. I again stated that it was our first choice venue and our planned date was October 2014. Then this past weekend she came over to my home and told us she was holding her wedding at Heritage Farm in May 2014. She has a party of 150 and we only have 75. About half of our list is the same as hers so I am sure you can understand that I do not want to have the same wedding only mere months after her. I really feel hurt and sad but know that any attempt to adress this will create drama and still leave me without my first choice venue. So, now I need a venue with the same kind of casual ambience and culinary edge that is unique. I, personally, have begun revisiting all the venues I initially researched and crying every day since this occured. I am exhausted and frustrated that after three years of research my venue was poached so if anyone has any venue suggestions please let me know.