MAGICAL. There is no other way to describe the Ivy Room. After pouring over dozens and dozens of venues in Chicago and the burbs online, this was only place I was interested in getting married. Visiting and seeing the place in person, and meeting Donna and Matt sealed the deal. This venue is class, class, class all the way. From the breathtaking courtyard and ballroom with french doors overlooking the courtyard, to the their outstanding vendor list, to Matt, Donna and Christy's invaluable guidance, this place is PERFECTION for the discriminating city bride who can't bear to get married in a generic banquet hall or hotel. And it's worth every penny. People can't stop talking about our wedding, and we owe a lot of that to the Ivy Room and the fantastic vendors Matt and Donna personally recommended -- Toast and Jam DJ Laura, I Do Films, Emily Johnston Anderson Photography (albeit indirectly through David Wittig --also amazing!), Cornelia McNamara Flowers, Berghoff, BCR events and Bruce Otto. Since our wedding, I actually miss this place--and am seriously hoping someone we know gets married there so I have an excuse to go back :).

P.S. -- for all you Ivy Room Brides dying to get married in the gorgeous courtyard, don't be devastated if it rains. I was so looking forward to my courtyard ceremony, but it rained and we had to go to plan B -- and I couldn't be happier. Everyone bent over backwards to make the ballroom look gorgeous and the lighting by Chicago Lighting Design really made everything look great. We opened the french doors to let a little twilight light in and provide a view of the dewy courtyard, and in the end, the indoor ceremony was very intimate and special. Inside or out, the Ivy Room is unbeatable!!