HELP! Appetizer/Cocktail Hour Wedding Suggestions

[dmchicago]

Just started planning for an August/September 2007 wedding and looking for venue suggestions. We are not having a formal/sit-down dinner, but would like an open bar and appetizers (fancy cocktail party feel). Would love to have the ceremony and the reception at the same location (convenience for all), but not sure if I am completely unrealistic in expecting to find such a place. We are on a tight budget (and time crunch!) and quite frankly, I have no idea how to begin this process! Thank you sooooo much for any suggestions!
-Danna

[ChicagoNena]

Most places now offer stations with plenty of varieties of food to choose from. I found a place called Midwest Conference Center that's pretty reasonably priced and they offer alot of things. I've never been there but I think it's way worth checking out. You could also check out 2 magazines called Chicago Style Weddings and Brides Chicago for a few ideas and go on theknot.com and weddingchannel.com. Hope I helped a bit! and Good Luck!
-Esperanza

[laurasturm]

i'm getting married at kenilworth assembly club in a few weeks - it's lovely, indoor/outdoor, near the lake, all the plates/tables/silver included, you can provide your own booze, and you get the place for the whole day. check it out at www.kenilworth.org.

[avalontile]

I looked up the Kenilworth Club, and it looks great. I'm going there tomorrow.

How did you like it there?

Thank you!

[gamine]

I just got married there on September 2, and it was absolutely perfect. Alexis, the manager there, is wonderful. I used Mai Chef as my caterer and the food was excellent and beautifully prepared. They just repainted the interior to the historical colors of the building. All my guests loved the place, and the day went perfectly.

Two things to note -- 1) we had the ceremony outside, in their front lawn, b/c we used their piano (free of charge). If you don't want to use the piano, you can have the ceremony in the park across the street, which is slightly more picturesque.

2) There's a Metra station right across the street. I thought I'd planned around the train schedule, but I forgot to take into account that some trains go through the station and don't actually stop... so a train did go by in the middle of the ceremony. Not a big deal, but if you can do a better job planning around that than I did, you'll be in good shape.

Here are a few pictures from the wedding, if that helps...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=14648&id=751825578

Good luck and congratulations!!! Feel free to ask any questions you have.

Tori

[laurasturm]

everything about kenilworth was fabulous. alexis was so helpful. everyone loved it and we had a blast. it was beautiful!!!

except for our caterer - blue plate - who was HORRIBLE. just book someone else unless you have tons of money to give them. i suspect they would have been fine if we'd have spent $10,000.

but some of us have to pay out of our own pockets!

[valpoval]

The Kenilworth website looks great!! I'm a bit intimidated by bringing in an external caterer (and renting linens, etc) but I HAVE heard that that saves money, especially the BYOB factor.

Can anyone recommend a particular caterer that they used, same goes for florist, dj, photographer, etc.... and costs?? I plan to call around tomorrow but I don't even know where to start!

Thanks!