reception venues in the city on a budget?

staceyd88

Hi! Just started looking at venues and feeling overwhelmed and under funded!  Looking for any recommendations on a reception venue in the city that will work with my tiny budget, since we are paying for this ourselves.  We are looking at having a small (85-100) wedding in the fall and so far the only things I've found that are reasonably priced are in the suburbs.  Since we live in the city and have a lot of out of town guests - I'd love to have the wedding in the city too.  Haven't found much yet - any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you!

divadancer11

Have you thought about the Rosemont area? Its close to the city and airport and there are many hotels.....if so I would suggest the Victoria venues...there are 3 and 1 of them is on top of the Holiday Inn Express on Manheim and Higgins(I think). They are very beautiful and from what the other knotties have stated in previous posts they are about 65/pp. I would also think about having your wedding on a fri or sun as there is usually a discount and all other vendors (trans/photo/video...etc) are at a greatly discounted price.

staceyd88

Thank you diva!  I am going to check them out now.

divadancer11

No problem.....another wonderful thing about these venues is that you will be the only wedding

ARJ6511

Check out Loyola University as well. It's a beautiful location, but I think their prices are more reasonable than other city venues. I agree about looking outside of the city like in Rosemont. Things in the city get so overpriced!

staceyd88

They do get overpriced!  Which is what is killing me since I really want it to be a Chicago experience.  Loyola along the lake front is agreat idea, I will check it out - thanks!

akrysl22

The most reasonable that I found was Marcello's. I liked that it has it's own parking, is close to the red line, and has reasonable prices.  They told us that they are renovating in January. 

The other venue that might work is Bottom Lounge's private room.  If you want an urban feel, that would definitely work!

With that many people, you might be able to do private dining rooms at restaurants - Rock Bottom, Quartino, Rockit, Vines on Clark, all of them had packages, we just had too many people on our guest list.

Good luck!

MobKaz

My son wanted to have his reception in the city as well, but did not want to spend a huge amount of money either.  He scoured the internet and took suggestions from anyone and everyone.  They did find a "reasonable" (it's all relative) package at Quartino's on State.

Another popular, "affordable" recommendation was Mrs. Murphy and Sons Irish Bistro.

When looking, prices will definitely dip down considerably in price going just outside of the city because of  the reduction of taxes and surcharges.   One place my son considered as sort of a win-win......bordered on the city and afforded public transportation for city friends, yet "suburban" enough for the "older" drivers.......and yet budget friendly was the Hyatt Regency O'Hare and The Hilton O'Hare.

rachelc1985

Not sure what your "budget" is, but that number of guests opens a lot of doors in Chicago.  My FI and I are looking to have 250 guests and keep costs low.  I recommend looking at Pazzo's (311 S Wacker), Germania Place, Holiday Inn/Chicago Mart Plaza, Salvatore's Ristorante, and any other restaurant you might like in the city.  All of those venues offer pricing under $100 pp.  We looked in the suburbs and some of them charge you even more than the city, which is outrageous.

If you're looking for a real Chicago-type experience, I recommend starting at Pazzo's (right by Sears Tower) and Holiday Inn/Chicago Mart Plaza (right on the river by the Merch Mart).  Good luck!!

Golfer09

Northstar eatery seems to have reasonable rental rates.  Jeremy Lawson shot a wedding there and it looked really fun - rustic in the city.  Not sure if that is the vibe you are looking for theme-wise but here is Jeremy's blog entry:

http://www.jeremylawsonphotography.com/blog.cfm?q=northstar+eatery&x=0&y=0

Here is the pricing from Northstar's website

Party Room and Deck rental: $500.00 first 2 hours (150 Every Additional Hour) $2,000.00 Minimum food and beverage purchase
• Tents, Jumping Jacks and Sports Available at an Hourly Rate • Permits Fees Extra

Party Room

$200.00 for 1st. (2) hours
$90.00 per every additional hour

Beverage  Service Includes: • Beer • Wine • Bottled Water • Pepsi Products • Gatorade
2 hours - $18.00
3 hours - $22.00
4 hours - $26.00
5 hours - $30.00

 

jbenbe28

How about a loft?  We saw 2 lofts that allowed us to bring our own caterer and alcohol (HUGE savings!)  The first was called Kitchen Chicago and the other was City Point Loft.

jennyfe43

I'd second the reco for Kitchen Chicago.  It's a smaller space, so it didn't work for me -- but it is a nice loft space wtih a lot of flexibility!

We are getting married at Pazzo's (another poster recommended), but I think they have a 125 person minimum for Saturdays which may not work for you.  

Good luck!

staceyd88

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_illinois-chicago_reception-venues-city-budget?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:72Discussion:0ae6b88d-c894-46e4-b6dd-29e89e022125Post:890df863-a2b1-47ce-97e0-30e3a036d468">Re: reception venues in the city on a budget?</a>:
[QUOTE]I'd second the reco for Kitchen Chicago.  [/QUOTE]

Kitchen Chicago looks awesome - thanks for the recommendation!

jimurphy9

Have you checked out A New Leaf or Loft on Lake? They both allow you to bring in your own caterer and supplies so you can make it as cheap as you would like (plus the venue price). Floating Leaf in Lincoln Park is very new and unique, I did not really care for the space but it is definately the most moderately priced venue I had found.

I ended up book Pazzo's at 311. They gave me a $1000 discount for booking a Friday I would definiately recommend them. I do not know if they have a minimum for Fridays but it is definitely worth a phone call!

Good luck!

kaputi82

Look at some of the Chicago Park District facilities.  There are some beautiful venues with ]rental prices for almost every budget but, on the downside, for some places you will have to rent things from their preferred vendor lists so I'm not sure if that would add extra stress and they also may have restrictions on when the party can end...

Good luck!

shuttergirl0304

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_illinois-chicago_reception-venues-city-budget?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:72Discussion:0ae6b88d-c894-46e4-b6dd-29e89e022125Post:4ffcb38b-89ce-4de0-b66a-c117607c5ad6">Re: reception venues in the city on a budget?</a>:
[QUOTE]How about a loft?  We saw 2 lofts that allowed us to bring our own caterer and alcohol (HUGE savings!)  The first was called Kitchen Chicago and the other was City Point Loft.
Posted by jbenbe28[/QUOTE]

I had my wedding at Kitchen Chicago in April 2011, and my whole wedding budget was only about 12K for around 80 people. When we booked, the Saturday rental was $1,500 + $500 deposit (refundable) for 12 hours + 1 hr. load out at end of night (noon to 1 AM.) They still did not have a preferred vendors list, so you could bring in anyone you'd like who is licensed. You can also bring it your own alcohol, but it does need to be served by a bartender.

I love this venue!!! Harwood floors, exposed brick, beams, glass brick, & it has two stories with a loft that looks over the main area.  Lots of natural light (some other lofts I've seen can get dark.)  It is in the commercial district a little west of the the west Loop, so it is not very close to hotels, but easy to get to by cab (& easy parking as well.) The venue will even call a cab company out at the end of your event to pick up guests. MTP

chiminog

Does anyone know the website/link to information on Kitchen Chicago as an event space (wedding reception), not if you want to use it as a rental kitchen? Or contact info? 

pbeth

I used to do some work with a catering company that does a lot of events with Kitchen Chicago.  The space is great, as long as its not too small for you:

http://kitchenchicago.com/

Also, if the catering company, Pure Kitchen Catering, is just wonderful.  Joshua Yates is who you would want to contact, they are super down to earth, fun, professional, flexible, and the food is most delicious:

http://www.purekitchencatering.com/

Good luck!

csolorio11

Check out Pazzos at 311 S Wacker. Amazing space at a fantastic value. We are having my daughters wedding there in September

jenvet09

Not sure if this would fit your budget...but Zed451 has a nice private room.  We are actually doing a brunch wedding there in September and it is saving us alot of money.  They go more on a room minimum...I know for a saturday night it was 10,000..our of our budget, but for brunch was 4500.  And the brunch is amazing!