Hotel Baker

Char91

Hello everyone! Not sure if this would be the most beneficial board to write on, but I figured I'd try! My fiance and I are having a Halloween wedding, and we are looking at a couple of different venues that have a more "historic" feel to them. We liked the Patrick Haley mansion in Joliet but they are unwilling to accomodate the guest count that we have (it is 75 lower than the minimum guest count that they require for our time of year). Anyways, we are looking at Hotel Baker now, and they say that they can accomodate up to 200 guests in their Rainbow Room. To me, the space seems a little small to hold that large of a wedding party. Has anyone had their wedding there/been to  wedding there where the guest count was closer to about 175? I just want all my guests to be comfortable.

manateehugger

I'm glad you're thinking of your guests' comfort. But this board is international. We don't have a clue where this hotel is. Try your local board on the upper right hand drop down menu.

But as a note, lots of venues try to up their maximum occupancy so more people will look at them. The best way to figure out actual space is to ask about table size, the number of people at each table, ask about layout (is there room for the bar, the DJ, the dancefloor, etc.). A lot of venues would tell me "Oh we hold 150 just fine," except that 150 didn't include dancefloor space.

Char91

Okay thanks for the input! I just started this so I wasnt quite sure where to post. The city and state would have been helpful too, not sure why I expected everyone to know what I was talking about! And we had visited the venue and seen everything, but I just cant imagine it comfortably fitting 200 guests. Thanks again

jessyk1065

My best friend had her wedding at Hotel Baker, not in the Rainbow Room but in the other room. It's a BEAUTIFUL space but I agree with you @Char91, I think it may be a bit small to fit your needs. She had 80 in the smaller room and it felt pretty cramped, even after they had moved tables. But, again, it's gorgeous, the food was great, and if they say they can fit that number in the Rainbow Room I'd probably take their word for it. Just keep in mind that things may feel a bit small!

Also, I can understand why you posted here, the Chicago/Illinois boards are surprisingly not super active...good luck with your planning!