If I could do my wedding over again I would do it over and over again at the Barn at Cottonwood.
We opted for the Giant Slide, Tractor Ride, Photobooth, Bonfire. In Lieu of a wedding cake, we did pumpkin pie and apple cider donuts provided by the venue.
It was beautiful and means a lot to me that this was a family-owned operation. On the day of event, we had several attendants there for us for both the giant slide and tractor ride. Overall, it was a great experience, and I am very happy.

Working with the staff at Cottonwood was a dream. Every request I had was met. The venue site is GORGEOUS. So many great photo ops on the grounds! Packages that can meet most budgets, great add on options like photo kiosk, lawn games, s'mores, donuts, etc. Very pleased! Don't hesitate to reach out to them.

We had my daughters wedding at the Barn at Cottonwood and would highly recommend it. Everything was absolutely beautiful. The whole event was perfect! I would defiantly have another wedding here! ;-D

The Barn at Cottonwood is everything we dreamed of having and more! If you’re looking for a rustic/barn themed wedding, stop looking because you CANNOT beat the Barn at Cottonwood. We looked everywhere for a nice wedding barn but could not find one that we liked until we went to this beautiful Amish built barn. The building, tables, patio, lighting, and everything else looked beautiful! Also, the staff was on top of everything from when we planned our reception all the way to our big day. They made sure that all the bases were covered and that we were completely satisfied. On our wedding day, our stressed disappeared because their organization and professionalism was phenomenal. They had staff inside and out helping with parking, security, cake cutting, and so much more. Honestly I could not thank the Siegels and the Barn at Cottonwood enough. Thank you for making our dream wedding a reality!

The entire level of service, venue preparation, and cleanliness did not match the money paid for this wedding venue.

The venue took advantage of the naivety and vulnerability of a young couple during a stressful time.

Everything was extra, exorbitantly extra. Not $150 to $250, but $400+. The couple accepted it. Okay.
But with the higher cost, you expect a standard of quality that was not received.

For example, we ordered the venue's special apple and pumpkin pies for dessert, which were supposed to be cut and put on one table for guests to take.
There were only a couple of apple pies. The rest were all pumpkin, and when you lifted the tinfoil and peeked underneath, before they were cut, , there were a bunch of tiny flies on them. The venue cut the pies into pieces and put them on one table for everybody to go up and get when we discovered a number of pieces had black tops. Burnt pie served at a wedding is not acceptable. Don't order the pies for your event.
The donut wall, while cute, was not tasty.

When we arrived to decorate the day before the wedding, we found dirty tables and bugs.

Also, when you spend a lot of money on a wedding, you expect their giant planter pots to be filled, with mums at least. Instead, they were empty. That is basic. We supplied all floral decorations, but really couldn't you fill up your porch's empty planter pots for a wedding? I wasn't the only one to comment.

The communication was not good. When a question was asked of the wedding coordinator, she wouldn't get back to us for many days.

On the day of the wedding, the wedding coordinator instructed the groom to turn around and not see the wedding party come down the aisle, nor the flower girls. He had already had the first glimpse of the bride. The first look had been done. The groom was disappointed he did not see everyone come down the aisle.

The information the coordinator supplied for local hotels, plus, was out of date. When we called some of the listed service providers, they said, "No, we don't do any packages of that sort."

I could go on.
So many things, including the wedding coordinator's absence on the day of the event.

She knew the time frames for different activities (example: slides) and did not prompt or ensure schedules were met with service providers. I really have no idea what she "coordinated", except the bride going down the aisle.

Do not pay a lot of money for this venue. They need to step it up.

I could go on, but this should give you an idea of what to look for.

Last, I have to mention, shop for a photographer very carefully. The one recommended by the venue and used was not up to expectations at all. In
fact, the guests at the wedding were snapping away, taking pictures because they saw him standing there, not being proactive. One of the pictures he wanted to take was in front of the parking lot, and the groom said, "Hey, listen, let's move away from the cars in the background when we get this groomsman picture." For the most part he had to be told what to do. And was given a list of photos wanted before the wedding. Did not follow it.

Again, do not pay a lot of money for this venue. They need to step it up. They need to learn.

The caterer was a bright spot. But by the time we paid for surprise extra venue service fees for the caterer you would think we would have had filet mignon.

Shame.
Last, all of this feedback was already verbally given to the venue.
Step it up Barn at Cottonwood Lockport, Illinois !