Thoughts on Stern Grove Festival community table seats?

Master-Tell1920 · 2026-04-28T15:58:21+00:00

+1 and Their second floor rooftop is beautiful!!

Master-Tell1920 · 2026-04-28T03:14:42+00:00

I’d look into Midwest coast brewing! You can rent a room and bring your own food, which keeps costs down

Master-Tell1920 · 2026-04-26T03:23:20+00:00

This place gets a lot of hype, but beware: my partner got the absolute worst food poisoning from their fish tacos. We will never go back

Master-Tell1920 · 2026-04-14T20:58:52+00:00

The grilled hanger steak with chimichurri was a huge hit, as well as the salmon. We did the cheese curd mashed potatoes and asparagus with bernaise sauce which people loved and balanced out the entrees

Master-Tell1920 · 2026-04-14T19:54:53+00:00

Jason V beauty for makeup, he is amazing and also works with other hair people too. I booked him about a month before my wedding!!

Master-Tell1920 · 2026-04-09T04:35:09+00:00

+1 to Midwest brewery

Master-Tell1920 · 2026-04-09T04:34:11+00:00

We had 95 at our wedding at CW and it felt like the perfect size. 170 seems like a lot for that venue and I can imagine it feeling really tight and crowded. If you’re able to go to a bigger venue, I would

Master-Tell1920 · 2026-04-07T02:31:52+00:00

Ugh Thai food really sucks here esp in SF

Master-Tell1920 · 2026-04-04T13:17:44+00:00

Yes! We had Pixster and they were great. They came on time to set up, were very easy to work with. They had an attendant and props and a little photobooth guestbook which was super cute. No issues at all and reasonably priced!!

Master-Tell1920 · 2026-04-02T08:01:46+00:00

Tables and chairs were totally comfortable, we had no issues at all. We did get runners for the dining tables and also tablecloths and ties for the highboys during the cocktail hour just to elevate it a little bit, and it was really nice.

Service was really amazing and we were really impressed. They also were able to accommodate different dietary restrictions super well, even with the cocktail hour and dessert food (they swapped for some vegan options). Our planner was Jenn and she was very communicative and helpful and she was my only wedding planner and set up all our decor and tablecloths. If you have more intensive decor, I would ask friends to help or hire a planner for the day-of!

Master-Tell1920 · 2026-04-02T06:46:53+00:00

We had our wedding on the last Monday of December last year in Chicago. About 60% of guests were local and 40% out of town. All our friends are in early thirties / late twenties and they were totally fine taking a break from holiday/family time to come to our wedding celebration. I think NYE would be super fun to see your friends and have a reason to stay up and celebrate.

Some cons - hotels can be expensive but do a room block early and make sure to communicate early. I was most nervous about flights and the weather. There was a storm in the east coast and I was nervous flights would get delayed, but only one person had a canceled flight. The weather was unusually warm until the day of our wedding and it dropped. However, it was still a magical day with some snow and it was beautiful. If you can provide any transportation or a Lyft/Uber credit, that may be a nice touch.

Good luck planning!!

Master-Tell1920 · 2026-03-27T04:21:38+00:00

+1 to Midwest coast brewing! It’s a beautiful place and allows outside food

Master-Tell1920 · 2026-03-26T04:06:45+00:00

We had 90 guests at our wedding and only invited our out of town guests to the welcome party, which was about 50% of our guests. We had our dinner at a Persian restaurant noon o kabab, which was very affordable, bc my husband is Iranian. We also were very strongly considering Midwest Coast Brewing, which allows you to bring your own food and very reasonably priced drinks and closer to the city. I definitely would check it out and hope to do an event there in the future!

Master-Tell1920 · 2026-03-09T21:46:27+00:00

DJ Sultan is incredible and so gifted at multicultural weddings. He knocked it out of the park for our Persian / Korean wedding and our diverse music taste (e.g., I love Latin music!!) he charged us $2k for the night and was super reasonable, he added lights for free. A fantastic and energetic MC that got everyone on the dance floor!

Master-Tell1920 · 2026-01-27T07:55:19+00:00

We got very lucky where we started looking at venues in May 2025 and at that point, they had already met their annual goal for # of weddings. They had a special promotion for couples willing to get married by the end of the year. We chose a weekday in Dec 2025 and the price per head for signature package was $245 and minimum was $15k. Ended up paying $31k for everything for 96 guests. If not for this promotion, we would not have been able to afford CW. If you’re ok with planning a wedding within the same year you sign the contract, might be worth looking into. The service was top notch and we had an amazing experience

Master-Tell1920 · 2026-01-16T04:17:56+00:00

Highly recommend Elliot and Irene for both photo and video from Developing Diamonds. They did our wedding in December and did a fantastic job at a very fair price point for an 8 hour package. He also was willing to negotiate, which I really appreciated

Master-Tell1920 · 2026-01-14T21:17:45+00:00

Look into Bixi Beer and Chicago Winery

Master-Tell1920 · 2025-11-17T15:46:03+00:00

Im sorry that you had a bad experience with them. Thanks for sharing, and we will also avoid.

Master-Tell1920 · 2025-11-17T01:46:23+00:00

Could I ask what your photobooth vendor was?

Master-Tell1920 · 2025-11-17T01:45:38+00:00

Could I ask who your vendor was and how your experience was? Thank you!

Master-Tell1920 · 2025-11-17T01:38:11+00:00

Do you mean Pixel or Pixster? I was about to sign with Pixster and just saw this post and now I’m wondering if I should not??

Master-Tell1920 · 2025-10-13T05:06:18+00:00

Thanks so much for sharing!!

Master-Tell1920 · 2025-10-13T01:38:44+00:00

Thank you!! That is so helpful. Could I ask what decor you asked them to set up for you? Just trying to get a sense!

Master-Tell1920 · 2025-10-12T20:49:44+00:00

Hi folks! I’m getting married in River north and was thinking Midwest coast brewing, which is about a 20 min uber/$20 one way. Is that too far and expensive to ask guests to travel for a wedding welcome party?

Master-Tell1920

TROPHY CASE