From our first contact with Independence Grove to the completion of the event managed by Daniel Straus, our daughter's wedding could not have gone any better or any more smoothly. Having no experience planning a party for 170 people, we relied extensively on Dan's guidance and suggestions. His assistance made this a stress free and enjoyable event for us and our guests. Dan kept us informed of deadlines and made sure we met our responsibilities while making sure Independence Grove more than fulfilled its part of the deal. The venue was beautiful, and the service and employees were professional and relaxed. We would heartily recommend this facility and Dan's management for any event in Independence Grove.

This was by far the most perfect wedding celebration ever - so happy to say it was mine :) With a backdrop of the lake and a light dusting of snow seen through the windows, the candle-lit ceremony by the fireplace was beautiful. The food was awesome (our guests are still raving about it) and the folks at IG were extremely flexible with respect to our menu preferences. A huge shout out to our event coordinator Dan Straus who was absolutely amazing - extremely professional, knowledgeable, responsive, creative and fun - an absolute pleasure to work with....makes me want to plan another party!

It was perfect,everyone was very attentive,and very professional. Glad we did it!

Alyson was truly a pleasure to work with during our wedding. Being our main contact person at IG, she made the whole process a seamless one. When dealing with everything from food selection to selecting the appropriate event package, Alyson was very diligent in responding and communicating with us. I highly recommend her when planning ANY event at IG!

Could not have been happier! What a beautiful venue with beautiful,caring people who assist you in every aspect to make sure that your "special" day is everything that you have ever dreamed it to be. From the very beginning, when Stewart took us step-by-step through the wedding day to the very end, when Alyson made sure that every detail was exactly the way we wanted it, every moment was a dream and more beautiful than we could have imagined! I would highly recommend this venue to any bride and groom!

We were very pleased with the support and services provided by EIG. Our guests were very impressed with the food and facilities. I highly recommend EIG for events.

Dan was fantastic throughout our wedding process. He is extremely detail oriented and a pleasure to work with. He covered off on everything leading up to the big day and proved himself to being highly professional and credible. So by the time 9/22 rolled around, I fully trusted him and knew he would handle all the vendors and set up. He truly did a wonderful job. The wedding was perfect and a big part of that was due to his fine work. I would highly recommend anyone getting married to work with him as well as the gorgeous venue. Cannot thank Dan and his team enough for giving us our dream wedding.

Our daughter's wedding was held at Independence Grove in September and we could not have been happier with our choice of venue! The surrounding grounds and the hall are gorgeous. Dan and his staff were incredible! Dan was very organized and on top of every detail. He was always easy to get a hold of and was very accomodating on any changes we made. Dan made our daughter's dream wedding come true and we would highly recommed Independence Grove to anyone who is searching for a venue in the Lake County are.

Last month I had my wedding at Independence grove and I absolutely loved it! It was a day wedding so we had an outdoor ceremony in the native garden. It is truly a stunning spot that is very secluded and full of native, seasonal flowers and a waterfall. We also got some amazing pictures both in the garden and by the lake. Us and our guests then had lunch at Audubon Hall. The food was phenomenal (people still tell me how much they loved the food almost a month later!) and the room was breathtaking. Our wedding planner was Dan Straus and I would recommend his services to my dearest friends. From the moment my husband and I met him, Dan was extremely committed to helping us create the wedding that we envisioned. He carries a very warm and friendly presence while always remaining professional. He always had a way of lighting things up too when I was beginning to feel the wedding stresses coming on and he always had a very calm, relaxed and positive attitude (which rubbed off on me when I was beginning to feel heighten stress the day before the wedding). I can honestly sat that Dan's personality and attitude definitely made the wedding planning process fun and I would hands down recommend him and Independence Grove to anyone and everyone!

Independence Grove was our dream wedding venue. We wanted something in the suburbs, but with a unique feel that you can get with some of the spaces in the city. We didn't want the standard hotel ballroom or country club. IG was perfect! Beautiful setting, high-end reception hall, amazing food (no, really!), and a wonderful staff. We would recommend IG to anyone. Especially if it meant we could go back to a wedding there! We held our ceremony in the Native Garden as well, which was gorgeous.

People are still raving to us about the food, 4 weeks later. Every single app, entree and dessert was perfect. Not your typical wedding food. And the hit of the night was our late-night taco stand. Fresh "street tacos" to go. Just the right touch after a night of drinking and dancing. I'm still getting comments about them - "You're wedding was great, and THOSE TACOS!!"

Lastly the staff! Dan was especially invaluable - making both the rehearsal and the wedding day run as smoothly as possible. People who had nothing to do with the planning commented to me on what a nice guy he was and how attentive he was to them that evening. And he was aligned with every last vision in my head - making everything come to life exactly as I pictured. He made me so glad I didn't hire a day of planner, because his knowledge of the space and his dedication to Independence Grove made my day that much more easy-breezy.

Bottom line - We had high standards but we couldn't have asked for anything better from a wedding venue. I'd do it all again in a heartbeat.

Thanks Events at Independence Grove!!

Alyson was wonderful! Extremely helpful! Went above and beyond for us the week prior as we suffered a family catastrophe! She made the day for us so special! KUDOS Alyson!

Alyson was great to work with, she did an awesome job putting it all together and made us comfortable and put us at ease throughout the whole day! We will highly recommend having a wedding at Independence Grove and working with Alyson as we could not have done it without her!

As well as the quality of the venue and the catering, I'd like to acknowledge the strength of the staff -- from Alison on through the waiters, bartenders, security, etc. First rate, organized, customer-focused, responsive -- they went the extra mile.

The staff at Independence Grove was extremely helpful and attentive in the planning of our wedding. They provided many opportunities to make our wedding exactly what we wanted and managed to keep it all within our budget. We would definitely recommend Independence Grove events to friends and family.

Independence Grove was a wonderful venue for our daughter's wedding reception. Stewart and his staff, especially Alyson were great to work with throughout the entire process. Stewart helped us with the initial planning stages, especially the food, offering many helpful suggestions and ideas. Alyson did a wonderful job on the details for the day to make sure that everything ran smoothly. The food was exceptional. We have had many people tell us that it was the best "wedding food" that they have ever eaten. We would highly recommend Independence Grove for a beautiful venue and great catering for a wedding reception.

Independence Grove was able to give me the wedding of my dreams! The venue was beautiful, the food was beyond delicious, and the service was phenomenal. I worked closely with Alison and Stewart to plan this wedding, and every last detail was perfect. My guests are still talking about our wedding! They loved the cocktail hour outside on the veranda, and the view of the lake was awesome. I highly recommend this venue!