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Illinois-Chicago
routonwedding
member
Venues on a Budget!
I am having a super hard time finding a venue within my 10k budget. We are open to a bit of travel outside of Chicago, preferably north of. We would like to have about 150 people. Our thought is to do more of a cocktail and appetizer reception, however it seems like every place we go has these crazy f&b minimums that would never be met that way or in our budget. Any suggestions would be amazing 
We are super crafty and fun. It is by far the most important to us that our wedding is a big party and everyone enjoys themselves. Id love a non traditional venue!
Thanks soooo much!
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Re: Venues on a Budget!
Planning Bio UPDATED with For Sale!
Check out the Grove in Glenview, you can cater everything in...the only catch is I think the house there can only hold 125 people.
167 Thrilled to Attend
71 Devastated they can't make it
22 making us sweat it out
RSVP Date- June 30
We also picked a month that isn't normally busy for weddings and that helped the cost too.
We had our wedding on a Friday and were able to secure a few discounts for having it on an off day. However, we did have our wedding in June so we didn't get super great discounts. If you have it in the "off" season, you can really save some great money.
Also, keep your eyes peeled for re-sale DIY stuff on our board. I know a few ladies are selling their centerpieces, I'm going to be selling our entire group of centerpieces already assembled for super cheap.
The one key to keeping costs down is to cut down your guest list though. 150 people might be a tall order for your budget. Perhaps there's a way to cut that down to only close family and friends?
We decided to not go with it because I found a place I liked better where we could have the ceremony and reception on the same grounds (which subsequently went out of business, taking our deposit with them, but c'est la vie).
We're having less people (100-125), and we rebooked with Mill Race Inn in Geneva, which is of the same sort of price range, but their biggest room doesn't fit more than about 130.
Good Luck!
Planning Bio
Married Bio - Updated 7.2
Picking an off time like the morning or a Friday night definitely does help on your budget. We are planning our reception on a Saturday in January. The hall isn't typically busy that month so they seemed happy to book something with us and were very accommodating. We also eliminated a few things from the package they offer (cake, champagne toast).
Our wedding reception was at the Seville on a Friday. Our budget was a little higher, but I think we could have done it for 10,000 even with the Seville!
GL!
Danielle
We are on a budget as well and are looking to spend a simliar amount.
We ended up going with a reception venue on the higher end of our budget but decided on Friday night and limited our guest list some.
We are having no more then 100 people and went with the Orland Chateau in Orland Park. (we live in the area). We negotiated the manager down to $47 per plate. That includes unlimited Family Style, Unlimited Premium bar (including your choice of any 3 bottled beers) for 5 hours and your wedding cake which is from Naples Bakery.
We arent doing favors, and are planning on doing budget centerpieces and cutting back on flower costs to stay as close to budget as we can.
Other places we looked at that werent as nice as the Orland Chateau but were a bit cheaper were: Candlelight Banquets in Chicago Ridge, The Royal Palace in Worth. The Belvidere Chateau in Palos Hills is actually pretty nice too, and they are right around $38 I think for a Friday or Sunday (we didnt pick there because my sister JUST got married there a few months ago).
The biggest thing to consider I think, is your guest list. That is where a big expense will come in.
Good Luck!