Banquet Hall –
Normandy Banquets, Elmhurst, IL – Very, very, very highly recommended
This is a gem of a place that I am soooo glad I found. It is actually half American Legion, half banquet hall. The room isn’t huge, nor real fancy, but it was perfect for what we needed. They have a linen company that they work with (review below) that was spectacular. The catering is done through a different hall, but the chef prepares the food on-site. We had their “budget buffet” package, and for about $34 per person, I couldn’t have had better if I had paid three times that amount. The coordinator there was awesome. They don’t have a website but you can find them if you google them. Well worth looking into if you are on a budget.
Linens – Samantha’s Decorations – Very highly recommended
This company works with the banquet hall that we used. I am not sure how or if they work with anyone other than the halls that they are contracted through, but if they do, use them – they are awesome! We got colored tablecloths, runners, chair covers and bows through them. I’m not sure of the norm, but we paid about $850 for 17 tables cloths and runners, and 160 chair covers and bows, as well as colored linens for the cake, place card, gift and candy buffet tables. We showed up late to the reception (had pics done at a haunted house after the ceremony), but we had sooo many people tell us how stunning the room looked when they entered.
www.stdeco.com
Photographer – Essence Photography – Very highly recommended
I love Essence! I admit I used to photograph for them, so I am biased, but they are really a great company. You get to choose your photographer and meet them before the wedding. I choose Melanie (she is no longer there though, we were her last wedding with them). She brought along a second shooter, and they were both so incredible the whole day. They were with me for 12 hours that day and I felt like they were family. I know people are really into the independent photographer thing right now, but in reality, the photographers who work for these other companies are independent photographers. Usually, as was in my case, they just don’t want to have to do the sales part on their own. So they work with a company who does that for them. There could always be a bad fit, but that could happen with anyone, and since you get to meet them beforehand, hopefully you would know if you just don’t fit well together before your big day. Believe me, being a photographer myself, picking my wedding photographer was the hardest decision I made for my wedding day. I talked with a TON of independent photographers. For the price, Essence was my best bet. And the thing I always worry about, what if the photographer gets sick or has an emergency the day of your wedding? With Essence there are always backup photographers, and their backup photographers are their regular photographers who just don’t have a wedding that day. Sorry – just trying to justify the company photography over the independent photography to some who would never think of going to a company otherwise J
www.EssencePV.com
DJ – Cage and Aquarium – Very highly recommended
Such a great company! We had Ryan as our DJ. He brought a helper along, but I never caught his name. We got to meet Ryan before the wedding, so we knew he knew what we were going for music-wise. We wanted Americana/Alternative for the cocktail and dinner hours. We had so many people ask for a music list that I had to email him after the wedding to get it. My husband made playlists of them on Spotify so we could listen to them and actually hear them (we weren’t there for cocktails, and during dinner, you just honestly aren’t really paying attention). It couldn’t have been better if we had played the music ourselves! The only time that things lagged a little was right after our first dance, etc. The music seemed to stay kind of slow, so I talked to Barb (DOC) and she had a talk with them and things picked right up. Incredible! People were dancing the entire night!
www.CageAndAquarium.com