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Venues on a Budget!

routonweddingroutonwedding member
First Comment
in Illinois-Chicago
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!

  • morgie44morgie44 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Are you looking for 10,000 for just the reception or for the full wedding? 
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  • routonweddingroutonwedding member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    thats the whole wedding!
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  • MrsPapsMrsPaps member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Maybe look at restrauants then, you can easily do a cocktail type reception or look at any VFW halls or park districts. They may have lower minimums if any at all. My friend is doing hers in Indiana at the Knights of Columbus and is having a soft bar (wine/beer only) and just appeitzers.
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  • morgie44morgie44 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I would probably start looking at places where you can rent the the venue and bring in outside catering and drinks, then you can buy the drinks yourselves and do something more affordable for catering.  I know a girl who had her wedding catered by portillos (yum!)  there was also a knottie when I first started planning my wedding who had a fairly formal venue, but had it catered by Giordanos.  I think to find a space like this you are going to have to go to the burbs, but I am not that familiar with the northside.  Maybe Byron Colby Barn?
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  • njohnson0330njohnson0330
    First Comment
    edited December 2011

    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.

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  • Berni09Berni09
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    If you are willing to head southwest...Ashton Place in Willowbrook really worked with us and our budget.
    We also picked a month that isn't normally busy for weddings and that helped the cost too.
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  • Sparkette19Sparkette19 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011

    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?

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  • kmrazekkmrazek member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    It's not North, but West - St. Charles Place Steak House in St. Charles had great prices that fit into our budget of the same amount, and they can definitely hold 150. 

    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!
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  • sgyllingsgylling
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    You could look in Northwest Indiana too!
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  • Love is BaldLove is Bald
    Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Chateau Bu'Sche has great packages for $40 per plate on Fridas & Sundays, it can def work with your budget!
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  • princessczprincesscz member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I'm not positive as far as minimums go, but one of the nicer yet cheaper venues we looked at was Empress Banquet Hall in Addison, IL.  They may be out of your price range, I don't have even the paperwork from last year, but it might be worth looking into and finding out.  The people running it seemed really nice too.  Just a thought!
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  • ewennerewenner
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Definitely check out restaurants with private rooms.  You can save quite a bit of money this way because you don't have to rent things like tables, linens, plates, etc. We did ours at the Wildfire downtown, and it worked very well for us and our budget. 
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  • ashleypetashleypet
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    check out the Seville in Streamwood-  Great discounts and they even threw in a bunch of extras for free that i was willing to cut out.  My budget is  10K for 200+ people. 
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  • ashleypetashleypet
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    And you can still have a full meal, drinks, and it is a non traditional place
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  • MISSCOURTNEY20MISSCOURTNEY20 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We are having our ceremony and reception @ the Oak Lawn Hilton. It's in November on a Saturday morning. We only have to spend $3000 for the food. There is no room rental fee for the ceremony room. Try them! good luck!
    And the whole time, my future husband was in the room...... image image
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  • Berni09Berni09
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    MISSCOURTNEY20 - that's a great deal! How many people are you inviting?

    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).
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  • iwillrock90iwillrock90 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    vfw tinely park... the room only holds 145 people but it cost under 3000$ for 3 entree bufett and a all you can drink open bar all top shelf
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  • coreysmommacoreysmomma
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I am with Ashleypet!
    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
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  • alyssalowealyssalowe member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I wrote you back on TheKnot messages...
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  • fortunes_fool_21fortunes_fool_21
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    There are def. budget type places if you go SW. 

    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!
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  • maria.pedrozamaria.pedroza
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Try Carnivale for a lunchtime Saturday reception.

    It's very affordable considering it is in the West Loop in Chicago and chic!


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