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Foodie Wedding for 150 in Chicago

Foodie Wedding for 150 in Chicago
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  • Foodie Wedding for 150 in Chicago

    Post #1 - August 2nd, 2011, 6:54 pm
    Post #1 - August 2nd, 2011, 6:54 pm Post #1 - August 2nd, 2011, 6:54 pm
    Revered LTH,

    After a pastry-based proposal, we are excitedly weighing various wedding scenarios. Deliciousness is paramount. We thoroughly enjoy Chicago restaurants (favorites include L20, old Mado (sigh), Longman, Takashi) but are sufficiently new in town that we're not familiar with venues or caterers. We would be so grateful for recommendations of venues with impeccable food or that allow outside catering, chef-driven catering companies, or restaurants amenable to a Saturday night buy-out.
    Thank you!
    (Mods: if this belongs in or might be cross-listed with the Professional forum, that's great.)
  • Post #2 - August 2nd, 2011, 8:54 pm
    Post #2 - August 2nd, 2011, 8:54 pm Post #2 - August 2nd, 2011, 8:54 pm
    have no info on this but I do know that Sepia just opened a large space for private dining.
  • Post #3 - August 2nd, 2011, 10:32 pm
    Post #3 - August 2nd, 2011, 10:32 pm Post #3 - August 2nd, 2011, 10:32 pm
    Terzo Piano, University Club or Spiaggia are three will be large enough to accommodate and will also focus on the food. Lots of other places that will do a close down too if in your budget.
  • Post #4 - August 2nd, 2011, 11:58 pm
    Post #4 - August 2nd, 2011, 11:58 pm Post #4 - August 2nd, 2011, 11:58 pm
    Congratulations on your engagement!

    You might want to talk to Wolfgang Puck Catering - they have exclusive or preferred relationships with a lot of venues & could probably make some suggestions of options to consider.

    South Shore Cultural Center & West Loop Studio both allow outside caterers (I've been to weddings & other functions at both that were managed by a variety of caterers, including one at the SSCC where Furama brought in a full Chinese wedding banquet) & IIRC are the right size.
  • Post #5 - August 3rd, 2011, 1:01 am
    Post #5 - August 3rd, 2011, 1:01 am Post #5 - August 3rd, 2011, 1:01 am
    Bonsoiree also does catering at any locations of your choice. Of course the food is good.
  • Post #6 - August 3rd, 2011, 6:37 am
    Post #6 - August 3rd, 2011, 6:37 am Post #6 - August 3rd, 2011, 6:37 am
    Athena wrote:Congratulations on your engagement!

    You might want to talk to Wolfgang Puck Catering - they have exclusive or preferred relationships with a lot of venues & could probably make some suggestions of options to consider.

    Based on only a single data point (they catered a grad school reunion at MOCA), I found Wolfgang Puck Catering to be laughably awful. Think BBQ chicken frozen pizzas and frozen mini egg rolls. Maybe they could do better under other circumstances, but I would never use my wedding to find out.

    Being the unhealthily food-focused guy that I am, I'd maybe pick a caterer first. Perhaps start by talking with City Provisions or LTH friends FIG Catering and asking them about venues that they like working with.

    Best of luck,
    --Rich
    I don't know what you think about dinner, but there must be a relation between the breakfast and the happiness. --Cemal Süreyya
  • Post #7 - August 3rd, 2011, 6:56 am
    Post #7 - August 3rd, 2011, 6:56 am Post #7 - August 3rd, 2011, 6:56 am
    RAB wrote:
    Athena wrote:Congratulations on your engagement!

    You might want to talk to Wolfgang Puck Catering - they have exclusive or preferred relationships with a lot of venues & could probably make some suggestions of options to consider.

    Based on only a single data point (they catered a grad school reunion at MOCA), I found Wolfgang Puck Catering to be laughably awful. Think BBQ chicken frozen pizzas and frozen mini egg rolls. Maybe they could do better under other circumstances, but I would never use my wedding to find out.

    I've been to a few weddings at the MCA. Wolfgang Puck is not a caterer for foodies. To each her own, but I also find the Kleihues building too severe and the blaring ambulance sirens from nearby Northwestern not conducive to celebration.
  • Post #8 - August 3rd, 2011, 7:37 am
    Post #8 - August 3rd, 2011, 7:37 am Post #8 - August 3rd, 2011, 7:37 am
    +1 for FIG. Even in the sweltering heat of a rural Michigan farm last August, they delivered one of the best meals I have ever had from a caterer (and wedding, for that matter).
  • Post #9 - August 3rd, 2011, 7:59 am
    Post #9 - August 3rd, 2011, 7:59 am Post #9 - August 3rd, 2011, 7:59 am
    annak-

    I would recommend doing a search on this site for "wedding." A quick, down and dirty search for "wedding" in titles only Eating Out in Chicagoland resulted in a number of threads. If I recall, there are also helpful threads in Shopping and Cooking and/or Other Culinary Chat. I have consulted many of these as we try to figure out what we want to do for our wedding. (eloping is currently #1...)
    -Mary
  • Post #10 - August 3rd, 2011, 8:45 am
    Post #10 - August 3rd, 2011, 8:45 am Post #10 - August 3rd, 2011, 8:45 am
    I got married almost three years ago. Our wedding had about 200 people and the size played a large role in our planning process. Many boutique caterers can't handle 100, 150, 200, etc. people. (In particular, I talked to FIG before our wedding and they weren't able to accommodate our size.) So your size might also rule out having your favorite restaurant do the catering. Many venues can only handle that size if you make other compromises (i.e. no dance floor). We came to the conclusion that for 200 people, it was best to stick with one of the established, larger companies.

    We got married at the Chicago Cultural Center. They pretty much allow any licensed caterer. They also allow you to bring in your own alcohol. This is a big deal because you save a lot of money by not having to buy alcohol from your caterer. It also meant that we could buy whatever we wanted. The caterer charged us a very small fee to run the bar, provide glassware, etc. Greg Christian was our caterer, but he is unfortunately not in business any more.

    Naturally, cost is a major factor in deciding on a venue and caterer. For example, do you want a traditional wedding with a formal dinner, dance floor, etc? Or would buying out a large (for example) Chinese restaurant be more your style? Ours was the former and so my notes below reflect this. In any case, be clear about your price range to venues and caterers. Most of the companies that we dealt with were quite flexible on working with our price range.

    There are tons of venues around town. Some have a short list of allowable caterers, some have a very long list, some have a list but allow new companies to get on the list, some don't have any restrictions. The variation in the look and feel of venues is huge. Many places host weddings that you would never expect. We ruled out some places that we liked because of the catering issue, but ultimately were just lucky that the CCC was the right venue for us and happened to have the best food/alcohol policies. It is worth I think it is worth putting together a short list of venues to help guide your search. Plus, a lot of venues gave us names of caterers that work their frequently. Certainly these weren't necessarily unbiased reviews, but we found some value in knowing who worked well with whom.

    A key thing with caterers is how flexible they can be while working with you. My wife and I had a fairly specific vision for what we wanted. We also wanted to serve some things that we bought on our own. Most caterers will tell you that they can do anything you want, but the more you talk to them about how they will do it, the better sense you will get about whether they really are flexible. For example, they all have menus of dishes that they make. Some caterers will try to keep you on their list of dishes (this is understandable since they know how to make these dishes well). Others were more willing to adapt. For example, we tasted a particular appetizer of something on a little piece of toasted bread. We told the coordinator that we thought there was too much bread. She made a note of this and the next time we tasted it (months later), they had tweaked it. Another example is that our caterer liked to use ingredients from the Green City Market. We shop there almost every week during the summer. Greg Christian invited us to go around the market with him and his assistant the week before our wedding to pick out products and we even ended up spit-balling a few new ideas to serve based on things we saw at the market.

    Plan to do a few tastings. We got prices and had conversations with many caterers. We then narrowed it down to about 4 companies. We set up tastings at these companies. We discussed the concept we were after, dishes we had in mind, etc. At the tasting, you sit at a table that is all decked out and they bring you enough food for four weddings. You taste tons of options, say what you like, what you don't like, what dishes need to be tweaked, etc. It is a lot of fun. Once we picked a caterer, we do another "final" tasting with them closer to the wedding date to make final decisions. You learn a lot from these tastings. I wouldn't have felt confident picking a company without going through this process.

    One thing that differentiated catering companies was the experience and, frankly, taste level of the people who worked with us. At some companies, we felt like we were assigned a 22 year old newby who didn't know much about food. When we first talked to companies about the concept we were going for, we'd mention the restaurant Avec. It was surprising to us that someone in the food industry in Chicago would be unfamiliar with this restaurant. At the three companies that we narrowed our choice down to, worked with very experienced people who were familiar with the Chicago food scene. Another thing that differentiates companies is the scale of the operation. We preferred to work with a smaller company where we would have more personalized service.

    Finally, we put a premium on being sure that the company could handle the job and deliver. Catering a 200 person wedding is very different from catering for 50 people or from running a restaurant. There are no guarantees, but do ask yourself whether you trust the company to get this right.

    Two companies that we really liked that definitely handle larger weddings are Entertaining Company and Calihan. Two companies that didn't impress us were Blue Plate and Food for Thought. I'm sure there are others that used these companies and had a very good experience, though.

    Yes, there are many, many related threads. See http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=c ... om+wedding
  • Post #11 - August 3rd, 2011, 11:22 am
    Post #11 - August 3rd, 2011, 11:22 am Post #11 - August 3rd, 2011, 11:22 am
    The Notebaert Nature Museum has a really nice room for weddings/special events. It's in a great location as well as being a nice room.

    http://pubs.hawthornpublications.com/pe ... ndex.html#
  • Post #12 - August 3rd, 2011, 11:29 am
    Post #12 - August 3rd, 2011, 11:29 am Post #12 - August 3rd, 2011, 11:29 am
    As an imminent groom, I can tell you from recent experience that much of the info in the previous threads is somewhat outdated, but still worth reviewing.

    "Deliciousness is paramount", along with your examples of restaurants, implies that the sky is the limit budgetwise.
    Ms. Snax and I are somewhat more modest in scale of our event, but we did choose the University Club for the reception. Their minimums are substantial, but still several K less than a restaurant like Blackbird.

    The U Club food is impeccably sourced and prepared, but on the conservative side. You would have to push them to show a lot of innovation, or aggressive spice levels. They also resist conducting tastings, so unless you become a member or have a friend who will take you there, you have to rely on their reputation.

    They do allow outside cake and booze, but all other food must come from their kitchen. Plating fees are significant, and corkage fees astronomical, so make sure their wine list is to your satisfaction.

    Part of marriage prep involved etiquette brush-ups, so I have learned to say to imminent brides, Best Wishes Anna!

    ("Congratulations" are reserved for the groom, apparently)
    We crack us up.
  • Post #13 - August 3rd, 2011, 11:32 am
    Post #13 - August 3rd, 2011, 11:32 am Post #13 - August 3rd, 2011, 11:32 am
    spinynorman99 wrote:The Notebaert Nature Museum has a really nice room for weddings/special events. It's in a great location as well as being a nice room.

    http://pubs.hawthornpublications.com/pe ... ndex.html#


    I attended a wedding at Notebaert and agree that is a great location (esp if you are nature lover). The layout of the space is a little untraditional, but it isn't bad in any way.
  • Post #14 - August 3rd, 2011, 11:33 am
    Post #14 - August 3rd, 2011, 11:33 am Post #14 - August 3rd, 2011, 11:33 am
    My wife and I held our wedding reception at Spiaggia's private dining space two weeks ago and were very happy with how everything was handled. I'd strongly recommend checking it out. I think they're able to serve most of what's on the Cafe Spiaggia menu, which I consider to be a pretty solid restaurant menu in its own right (which is to say much better than a lot of wedding food I've had over the years). The room's lovely, everyone we dealt with was professional and competent, and our guests really enjoyed themselves. Their wedding packages come with some fun perks - we got to have lunch with Chef Mantuano and his wife, and we get a meal at Spiaggia on our first anniversary.

    If I could offer some unsolicited wedding-planning advice: choosing to host our reception at a restaurant rather than bringing caterers into another space made our lives much easier. The quality of the food was a priority, but we really didn't care about picking out linens, flatware, etc., as long as it looked nice. We dealt with one person and she took care of everything. Feel free to send me a message if you'd like to know more particulars.

    We looked at a couple of other options, including the Berghoff and the Parthenon. We did not have a good experience with the event manager we were dealing with at the Berghoff (which wasn't much cheaper than Spiaggia anyway). We decided against the Parthenon fairly quickly, but it did seem like your money would go a long way there.
  • Post #15 - August 3rd, 2011, 11:41 am
    Post #15 - August 3rd, 2011, 11:41 am Post #15 - August 3rd, 2011, 11:41 am
    ndgbucktown wrote:If I could offer some unsolicited wedding-planning advice: choosing to host our reception at a restaurant rather than bringing caterers into another space made our lives much easier. The quality of the food was a priority, but we really didn't care about picking out linens, flatware, etc., as long as it looked nice. We dealt with one person and she took care of everything. Feel free to send me a message if you'd like to know more particulars.


    This is good advice, but one thing I'd note is that your planner at a good catering company can take care of all of this. Our catering coordinator took care of so many other details; we felt like we had a wedding coordinator, not just a catering coordinator. So it isn't so much of a difference between doing the wedding at a restaurant vs having a caterer do it on a different site. The difference is whether you are working with a skilled, experienced coordinator or not.

    I'm glad to hear about Spiaggia. We looked at it when we planned our wedding because thought it seemed perfect on paper. But the space turned out not to be very good, at least for what we wanted. I understand that they've since remodeled and updated it a lot.
  • Post #16 - August 3rd, 2011, 11:44 am
    Post #16 - August 3rd, 2011, 11:44 am Post #16 - August 3rd, 2011, 11:44 am
    Are you against having the wedding at a hotel? We looked at The James last year and were impressed but it ended up being a bit out of our price range. I can't find the food/drink package info on their webpage anymore but I remember being impressed with the offerings (the descriptions at least; we never tried the food).
  • Post #17 - August 3rd, 2011, 11:49 am
    Post #17 - August 3rd, 2011, 11:49 am Post #17 - August 3rd, 2011, 11:49 am
    TCK wrote:Are you against having the wedding at a hotel? We looked at The James last year and were impressed but it ended up being a bit out of our price range. I can't find the food/drink package info on their webpage anymore but I remember being impressed with the offerings (the descriptions at least; we never tried the food).


    My wife and I checked out the James. The food is done by David Burke's Primehouse, which is pretty cool. It turns out the room was too small for our size, but might fit 150. The food is fairly expensive. We ate dinner at Primehouse and concluded that it would be much, much cheaper to just buy everyone dinner there! The James also has some cool extras, such as a smaller private lounge area where you can go for an after-party, if that's your thing.
  • Post #18 - August 6th, 2011, 11:20 am
    Post #18 - August 6th, 2011, 11:20 am Post #18 - August 6th, 2011, 11:20 am
    We've been meaning to try the dining room at Kendall College, where all of the food is provided by the culinary students, so you are supposed to get top-notch food at a more reasonable price. I believe they have the facilities to host private events as well. Might be worth inquiring ...
  • Post #19 - August 6th, 2011, 2:44 pm
    Post #19 - August 6th, 2011, 2:44 pm Post #19 - August 6th, 2011, 2:44 pm
    You might want to contact Paramount Events Chicago (owned by Heaven on Seven chef Jimmy Bannos). They've might be able to help you get what you need.

    From their FB page: "Paramount Events is Chicago’s newest resource for providing unparalleled service and imaginative special occasions." Also, as part of a "giving back" gesture, Paramount Events Chicago will give a donation for every wedding booked to Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization.

    https://www.facebook.com/pages/Paramount-Events-Chicago/178259558888056
  • Post #20 - August 6th, 2011, 6:20 pm
    Post #20 - August 6th, 2011, 6:20 pm Post #20 - August 6th, 2011, 6:20 pm
    If you're willing to stray from the downtown area, consider the Museum of Science and Industry. My husband and I almost had our reception there; sadly we ended up elsewhere to appease the parents. Their caterer was very innovative and came up with some great ideas to blend two cultures (Indian and rural Oregonian!). Beautiful space as well. Promontory point is just down the road and is great place for pictures.
  • Post #21 - August 6th, 2011, 10:15 pm
    Post #21 - August 6th, 2011, 10:15 pm Post #21 - August 6th, 2011, 10:15 pm
    We got married 3 summers ago at the Sofitel Water Tower, in part because their cuisine was way beyond the typical banquet food. We initially gravitated toward non-traditional venues like museums, but many have exclusive caterers or a limited number they'll work with. Also, there were a lot of extra considerations vs. a hotel, and the event managers were not always very upfront about the overall costs. They'd quote a range for catering per person and "we'll figure out the rest of the details after we sign the contract" but those initial figures didn't include additional chef if offering choice of entrees, cake, table/chair rental, etc. that amounted to about $8-9k for a wedding of just under 200. Fortunately, my wife had worked planning fundraising dinners for a non-profit, knew the right questions to ask and demanded a fully itemize proposal before choosing. The Sofitel included pretty much everything -- apps, meal, cake, wine, bar, tables/chairs, linens (we did rent upgraded linens), etc. so it was much easier in terms of number of vendors. Plus, the food blew everybody away! Given all the events my wife helped plan (and that often I attended) I can say that the Sofitel's food is countless times better than pretty much any other hotel/caterer.
  • Post #22 - August 7th, 2011, 12:44 pm
    Post #22 - August 7th, 2011, 12:44 pm Post #22 - August 7th, 2011, 12:44 pm
    I don't know about venues, but Longman now has a catering license, so if you enjoy their food, you may explore if that is an option.

    This license was granted this summer, so it is a somewhat newer venture for the restaurant.

    miss ellen
  • Post #23 - August 7th, 2011, 10:17 pm
    Post #23 - August 7th, 2011, 10:17 pm Post #23 - August 7th, 2011, 10:17 pm
    We got married at the amazing space of Salvage One and had the Hearty Boys as our caterer. Salvage One has a list of preferred caterers, but for an extra fee you can bring in whoever you want. The food ended up being pretty great and we loved working with Kitty. We wanted really great food that would still be accessible to our guests that maybe aren't as adventurous in eating as we are. Check out the space at Salvage One, if you're looking for something completely different. http://www.salvageone.com/weddings.php
  • Post #24 - August 8th, 2011, 7:43 am
    Post #24 - August 8th, 2011, 7:43 am Post #24 - August 8th, 2011, 7:43 am
    Thank you so much for these great ideas! It's really so kind of you all to share personal experiences and wisdom. We are excited by a number of these suggestions.
  • Post #25 - August 8th, 2011, 2:24 pm
    Post #25 - August 8th, 2011, 2:24 pm Post #25 - August 8th, 2011, 2:24 pm
    Have you considered instead of a formal reception doing a wedding pub crawl with drink specials at each stop? I'm sure your guest will definitely remember the event, or at least the first eight stops before they black out.
    I'm not Angry, I'm hungry.
  • Post #26 - August 8th, 2011, 5:38 pm
    Post #26 - August 8th, 2011, 5:38 pm Post #26 - August 8th, 2011, 5:38 pm
    My catering preferences in no particular order

    Food for Thought I have always been happy with their service and food quality

    Calihan Catering. Wonderful food and great presentation. Was at an event about a month ago they did @ Venue 1 they had these wonderful farm tables for buffets. I would love love to find those tables.

    Finesse Cuisine They do some very inventive menus. You MUST give them a look.

    City Provisions. They do wonderful catering also,.
  • Post #27 - April 24th, 2015, 4:15 pm
    Post #27 - April 24th, 2015, 4:15 pm Post #27 - April 24th, 2015, 4:15 pm
    Hi,

    My niece is getting married next year. Her wedding will be in the range of 150 people.

    Any recent experiences on venues, caterers and/or restaurants/clubs is appreciated.

    Regards,
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
    Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways,
  • Post #28 - April 24th, 2015, 4:31 pm
    Post #28 - April 24th, 2015, 4:31 pm Post #28 - April 24th, 2015, 4:31 pm
    Good client of mine recently got married at - http://www.ravenswoodeventcenter.com/#new-page
    Never order barbecue in a place that also serves quiche - Lewis Grizzard
  • Post #29 - April 24th, 2015, 4:41 pm
    Post #29 - April 24th, 2015, 4:41 pm Post #29 - April 24th, 2015, 4:41 pm
    Feast and Imbibe (heather22 on LTH) get good reviews for catering weddings.
  • Post #30 - April 24th, 2015, 5:03 pm
    Post #30 - April 24th, 2015, 5:03 pm Post #30 - April 24th, 2015, 5:03 pm
    Fig is still to be considered.
    "In pursuit of joys untasted"
    from Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata

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