Mama Luigis Bridgeview, Candlelight Banquets Chicago Ridge, Royal Palace Chicago Ridge

fortunes_fool_21

One of many posts from me today haha.

I havent noticed a whole lot of SW suburban knotties on here, but Im looking to see if anyone has been to , or planned a wedding at one of the above locations.

My FI and I are planning our wedding again after putting it off for over a year (I was out of work for over 8 months).  Now that Im working again and we have a bit saved up we are trying to really fast forward our planning and have a Oct 1st wedding in the SW burbs.

Because things were tight for a while, we are looking for the best bang for our buck so to speak.  One of the main issues we are running into is minimums places have.  These 3 venues I have found ( as well as Di Nolfos in Mokena) can compromise with us a bit on minimums (we are having a max of 75 people), and we can get a whole lot for about $40/person.

Has anyone been to one of the above locations?  What did you think?  If not any suggestions for me?  Im looking for SW or Western Burbs, 75 people tops, Friday evening, full open bar for at aleast 4 hrs, family style is ok, for under $45 per person.

Thanks!

kthame

I'm a SWS Knottie!

You may want to look into Garden Chalet. They had very decent prices, and could absolutely accomodate $45/pp or less...I've seen their options.

We're having a Friday wedding at DiNolfo's and their mins for a Friday are 100, but you could ask if they would consider lowering it for you. They're not quite at $45 though...but put your negotiating skills to work!

Good Luck!

chosen175

My sister's baby shower was at Mama Luigi's.  I might be able to dig up some pics for you if you want to post your email addy (I have never been able to do PIP here!)  I don't remember anything that really stands out, either good or bad, about it.  I do remember that we were able to bring in our own cake, which was a huge plus.  The food was banquet hall food - nothing amazing, but nothing that tasted awful either.  The walls were brown paneling with mirrors so any color scheme would probably work.  If that's what your budget is and they're willing to make it work, I say give them a fair shot.

jenniferandstephen

We visited DiNolfo's in Homer Glen which is a newer facility and then Royalty West Banquets in Willow Springs which is a very kitschy castle place. Both seemed to give you a good amount of food with lower minimums and costs.

If you haven't visited www.letsplanawedding.com that's a good website to see a long list of venues in a certain area of the suburbs. Sorry I can't help with the venues you mentioned but good luck.

fortunes_fool_21

Thanks everyone that has posted so far.

We actually may look into Garden Chalet, its like 10 minutes from where we live.  (Palos Hills).  I am lucky that my sister (twin) got married in November, and has already done a lot of leg work in the area with reception vendors.  Her and her husband liked the Garden Chalet but said it was just so so.

We'd get married where they did if I wasnt so dead set against having a similar wedding (Belvidere Chateau which was really nice).

We are actually planning on looking into Royalty West in Western Springs too.  That was one of the first places we saw that we thought "We should go in there" haha.

Dinolfos in Mokena said they couldnt give us the smaller room which would accommodate us just fine because its booked for our date, but could possibly get the minimum down to like 85 for us, which honestly is great but I just cant afford to pay for 15-20 extra people that dont exist you know?

Dinolfs in Homer Glen was super nice and professional, but they would not budge on their 80 person minimum and they were over $10 more then the location in Mokena (for Friday they wanted $58/person)

Thanks for the feedback gals!  Keep it coming :-)

jenniferandstephen

Sounds like you've done lots of research.

In your 75 person estimate, did you include any vendors for which you might be buying dinner? At least then you might only be paying for a couple extra "empty" plates.

megs3084

Im a SWS knottie too!  We're having ours at William Tell in Countryside it might be a slight stretch in your budget, but you might be able to negotiate your pricing.  http://www.williamtellbanquets.com/banquets/WTWeddingBrochure.cfm

The pricing on there didnt include the tax/tip with I think was 20-21%.  but depending on what package you went with, you could be close to the figure you want.  I think you'd have to have one of the ballrooms though, we had to guarantee 175 for the atrium.  plus their 2010/2011 packages include your choice of sweettable, cake, limo, or chocolate fountain.  Perk!!

fortunes_fool_21

I really like the William Tell.  Its a great location and I like that its attached to the hotel for overnight guests.

They are a bit out of our budget, we have to stretch our minimum a bit.

Great suggestion though.  :-)