can't find a venue or family style???? UGH

baileysmommy622

im interested (and having a hard time) finding venues that offer family style dinner anymore. does anyone know where it is still available? i guess i am interested in this service bc my fiance and i are paying for the wedding and it just seems like it would be the cheaper way to go? i could be wrong it was just a thought. i am finding amazing venues but there's always a catch. we are having a smaller wedding. we were going to tour abbington but when the service coordinator emailed me so told me there is a $7500 minimum for food and beverage. well at 100 guests thats $75/head and some are kids and not spending $75/kid that option is out! then looked at drury lane as they offer buffet at reasonable prices but after that coordinator contacted me she mentioned its a 175 ADULT guest minimum!!! to my fiance and i 175 guest is not a SMALL wedding (for us anyways) we are looking at maybe 120 MAX and a good handful are not adults. should i skip venues altogether and look more towards hotel banquet halls? i guess my champagne wedding on a beer budgets not gonna happen?

thealphabride

Hi Baileysmommy!
We had our wedding at Mayslake Peabody in Oak Brook (no minum guests) and brought in our own catering company. We served a great family style meal wtih 5 courses.  We had to pay for the venue, and the catering but it was well worth it because our per person cost with a 3 hour open bar ended up being about $42.00We also paid for our own wedding and we had about 100 guests. (95 guests and fed 5 vendors)
That also included our cake. I believe our total costs (including insurance, set up, sweet tray, etc was around $5500. for catering only.

If you can find a place to bring in your own catering, sometimes you can keep your costs down depending on the cost of the venue, and very few let you choose your own caterer without having to choose from their preferred list.
Mayslake has no list you must choose from.
www.mayslakepeabody.com venue
www.mariosevents.com caterer
Good luck!

Cony&Ben

There are a bunch of halls that do family style. Here are a few we looked into:
Orland Chateau (This is who we are going with as they do not have a minimum.)
Ashton Place
Georgios
William Tell
Belvedere Chateau

MrsPaps

Our venue offers Family Style and has more affordable plate prices...we were at The Cotillion in Palatine and the difference between them and alot of other halls is they have a person minimum vs a dollar minimum. They also have 3 rooms so can accommodate a large or small wedding. We didn't go the family style route but the food is AMAZING there!

baileysmommy622

thank you ladies!!! i'm just starting all this planning and am extremely overwhelmed lol

BetsyGIles19

I'm having my reception at Glendale Lakes Golf Course and they actually do family style as well but the per plate pricing is really good especially off season.  I was just in a wedding and the reception was family style at Maggianos in Schaumburg (but there are other locations) and the food was amazing.  I'm hoping a couple of the dishes are on the regular menu cause they were awesome!

roxiems75

check out victoria's.  they have 3 locations that offer different room sizes to accomidate different size parties.  they offer a great family style dinner and a great price too.  I have gone to 4 weddings at the Victoria locations and all have been outstanding.  I hope this helps.

brittanyjterrell

I second Belvedere Chateau! However, they have minimums depending on the room you choose. Lowest minimum is 125 for the smallest room , 150 for the Garden Room (the most popular- the one with the tree) and I'm unsure of the minimum for the largest room but I will assume it's about 200-225.

doctorlovesvintage

Victoria on the Park in Park Ridge. Its a modern building not too far from the city and right close to the airport. Maggiano's has the option for family style as well.

Monia2710

Definetly try Belvedere Chateau in Palos Hills.
It's just over 50 bucks per person but that includes family style dinner (3 meats, 4 sides, a soup, a salad, and dessert) This also includes all alcohol.

titinoray08

Not sure what area you are looking at but we booked yesterday with DiNolfo's Banquets in Homer Glen.  Minimum of 125 guests, family style includes 4 hour open bar(almost top shelf quality liquour), 51/2 hour reception.  Packages start at like 59.99 or something like that.  There is a lot of food included and the place is gorgeous.  If you are interested I will forward you the email I recieved with the brochures and pricing.  Good luck on your search.  Do not get overwhelmed.  Read these boards, look for reviews and relax. It will all come together.  I have only been planning for a month, I was very overwhelmed at first as well.  Just enjoy it, I am.

tahill2

You can also try looking into DiNolfo's Banquets. My friend got married there a few years ago and they did family style for her. There's one in Mokena and another in Homer Glen, which is the newest one which I hear is really nice! 

msmyrnio

i agree with victoria's. they have multiple locations and almost every dining/food option you can imagine. they'll work within your budget and needs

HandBanana

I had mine at William Tell.  We did the Dynasty Family Style which is a slight upgrade to the regular Family Style.  Our guest actually were very impressed by the food and we received compliments about the food being really great.