My husband and I got married at Whispering Woods in August 2024. Choosing WW was by far the best decision that we made!

When we got engaged, we had no idea where to start with wedding planning but knew we wanted a beautiful venue with an outdoor ceremony. We found Whispering Woods on The Knot, and the owner, Bear, got us set up with a tour quickly after reaching out. It was about 2 hours from our home, so we were a bit hesitant, but as soon as we got there, all doubts disappeared! The venue itself is absolutely breathtaking, and we were blown away. I loved that there were multiple gorgeous options for the ceremony to take place! Bear was incredibly kind and easygoing and answered all of our questions. He encouraged us to think about it, but we were totally sold. Within 2 weeks, we had our contract signed. Bear was great, and let us set up multiple additional tours with our families over the course of the year leading up to our wedding.

We were able to set up the day before our actual wedding and able to have our whole wedding party come out to help! Bear helped us set up the tables/ceremony chairs and gave us advice on what would look best and what would be easiest when we had our guests there the next day. I could have put final touches on everything all night, but Bear and his wife Kimber assured me everything was perfect and made sure we didn't stay up the whole night!

The day of our wedding, Bear and Kimber helped to direct our guests and made sure everything was running smoothly. They had a golf cart to help some of our elderly family members, along with myself, to get to the ceremony location. I was visibly nervous and Kimber was so incredibly sweet, she helped ease my mind. She again assured that everything was perfect and I should be excited for everything to come that day and the future for my husband and I. Our ceremony was beautiful and the reception was even better! The whole thing was a dream come true! Our guests are still telling us how gorgeous the venue was and how fantastic Bear was, helping with things throughout the night. Our other vendors were also very appreciative of how easy WW is to work with.

The next day, they helped us organize some of our leftover decorations and even let us leave some for future couples/events! We were happy to add to their closet collection of decor and last-minute wedding essentials! They have an incredible system and use or donate anything left over, so nothing goes to waste! It's another example of how much they really care about their property and the people/events they have. We are forever grateful to Bear, Kimber, and everyone at Whispering Woods! We can never thank you all enough for allowing us to have our dream wedding!

If you're looking for a place to have a wonderful event, please reach out to Whispering Woods. you will not be disappointed!

The property is absolutely incredible and exceeded every single hope and dream I had for it, but Bear and Kimber are truly the ones who stole the show.
Bear and Kimber own this gorgeous property and I don’t think I have ever met anyone as kind hearted as these two. From letting me and my fiancé come see the property countless times, to helping set up and answering/coordinating every single question to Kimber hiding me away on a golf cart before walking down the aisle calming every single nerve I had, these two are truly the best part of this venue.

The venue rental is from Friday to Sunday which was not only a life savior for setting up, but also allowed us to host all of our guests for a very casual party the Friday before our wedding. We spent a few hours being able to actually talk and connect prior to our wedding day. Bear and Kimber stopped by to make sure all was well prior to the party and helped us unload and set everything up, then they stopped by after the party as well.

The chalet on property is a helpful touch, me and my bridesmaids stayed the night prior to allow for a nice night of relaxing and then being on property early in the AM to start hair and makeup on the property as well! They’ve really thought of it all.

There’s plenty of spots on property for the ceremony and you walk through with them where you want the chairs set up, we picked the grove. From the minute me and my now husband saw it, we knew, this was it. They have a grove of trees with enough space to set up chairs and have the most picturesque ceremony, something I kept joking was straight out of a Taylor swift music video.

The wedding hiccups on behalf of our DJ, Bear helped my DOC tackle with grace I had barely any ideas of anything happening until it was all said and done.

A perfect day, with the most perfect location.

Then! When we started cleaning up, I was panicked over my thousands of dollars of florals I was about to throw away when Kimber mentioned she personally takes all leftover florals to a nursing home to donate. Then she continues with ideas for anything that we wanted to leave behind, don’t want to lug cases of water home(we sure didn’t) she’d help donate them to the local sports teams. Extra decorations, they have a full closet to help future brides, and trust me, I sure needed to borrow some last minute things from there!

We saw over 20 venues when we were on the hunt for a space, and I feel so fortunate to find Whispering Woods.

i know I will spend the rest of my days making sure I tell local future brides what a hidden gem this place is. The amount of our guests that complimented the space and mentioned they’ve never seen anything more beautiful has confirmed what we already knew.

Bear and Kimber, thank you from the absolute bottoms of our heart, you exceeded any dream we had for the day!

My husband and I were married at Whispering Woods this past June. Having our wedding at Whispering Woods was, hands down, the best decision that we could have made! The beauty of the property speaks for itself – the land and buildings are meticulously kept, and the flexibility of having many acres at our disposal was something that we truly appreciated. There were countless backdrops for wedding party and family pictures, and simply spending the weekend on the property added to the magic of wedding time! Bear was extremely accommodating and warm from the start and allowed us to visit the property many times for planning purposes. Throughout the entire weekend of the wedding itself, Bear, Kimber, and the team were present to help us with the set up and tear-down, and made sure that we had everything that we needed in order for the event to run smoothly. I can not say enough how much we appreciate the dedication of the team at Whispering Woods, and we (and our wedding party) simply enjoyed their presence, as well! You will not find a better, more gorgeous venue, or better people to work with. We were also able to bring in our own vendors, and decorate to our hearts’ content, which allowed us to create the day and weekend of our dreams, truly. Whispering Woods is a gem in every way, and we are so thankful to have found the venue and to have crossed paths with Bear and Kimber!

We happened across Whispering Woods as it is very literally down the road from our home, and went in for a tour. The property is amazing and we both had a feeling that this could be it. I went back a second time with my mom and sister, and decided we had to book. The property is 40 acres and feels as if someone plucked it from northern WI and dropped it in northern IL. There is the venue building itself which is big and rustic, and a blank slate for whatever you dream up. They also have a ‘get-ready’ building the girls (downstairs) and guys (upstairs) which was perfect for us. And lastly, they have this absolutely charming cabin you can rent, and we used it Saturday for a backdrop of me getting into my dress, and we stayed there Saturday night (super comfy bed!) They only rent the property out for one event per weekend, which meant I was able to be part of the entire process – getting everything set up, and decorated just how I wanted it – and it’s very private with just your guests for the entire weekend. Working with Whispering Woods was exactly what I wanted. Bear and Kimber (and Bear’s brother – although I didn’t catch his name) are such friendly, genuine people, and are willing to work with you on whatever you need or want. They were there from setup on Friday, to takedown on late Saturday night. They offer their advice on what’s worked for past events, but let you make the decision on how you want things to go. I received SO MANY compliments on the venue – people asking me “how I found this place?!” and commenting on the beauty of the property (it really is breathtakingly peaceful). I even received comments on Bear – everyone was saying how friendly he was, and they really enjoyed his company. It’s so hard to put how much this venue meant to me in to a review, but here are the highlights that made our experience with Bear and WW over the top:
- They let us come out as much as we needed to, to show the property and plan. We also did our engagement photos here, and they were AMAZING.
- They have a fully stocked decorations closet at your disposal. We did all our centerpieces with décor they had on-site. They even have table numbers if you want them!
- As it got dark on our wedding day, they brought out tiki-torches that really set an ambiance to the property. They also spray for bugs and for how wooded the property is, there was not one mosquito.
- They help with the setup process, even unloading all the beer/drinks we brought, which made it that much easier.
- They are such friendly nice people – we were there on a random day planning our centerpieces, and my niece was getting fussy and Bear offered to take her while we finished up. It was adorable haha.
- Sunday morning, Bear stopped in at the cabin, told us how he thought everyone had a great time, and handed us back our security deposit right there. He has such a ‘friend’ feeling like you’ve known him for years.
If you’re considering booking Whispering Woods for your big day – please do it. I promise you won’t regret it!!

If you like beautiful scenery, this is the venue for you! I cannot say enough positive things about Whispering Woods! Bear and Kimber were easy to work with, quick to respond, and there if you needed anything. The views on this property are perfect and we got married by one of the ponds. Everyone loved the property and kept asking how we found such a perfect venue! Throughout our planning process, Bear was responsive, helpful, and wonderful to work with! We utilized all aspects of this venue: cabin, reception hall, and bridal suite/man cave. Everything was so clean and ready to go when we got there. Bear helped us with setting up tables and Kimber assisted with clean up which overall made everything easier! When you rent Whispering Woods, you get the venue for the weekend which makes everything way less stressful. You are able to come and set up on Friday and then clean up on Sunday. With this, you are truly able to enjoy your special day. Our day went exceptionally perfect and we have Whispering Woods to thank for that! I would recommend Whispering Woods any day of the week and if I could give them more than 5 stars, I would!

Where to even start... this entire place is absolutely magical. On top of that, the owners are genuinely one of the kindest, most helpful people we’ve ever met.
From the beginning of our wedding planning to the very end, everything was a smooth ride with them. All my questions were answered promptly, Bear was always there with helpful suggestions and the day of the wedding he and his family were there to help move things along. This was the most perfect place and exactly what I had imagined our wedding day to be like. The views are spectacular, the land/water is so peaceful that you don’t have a choice but to feel relaxed, and the venue is a blank slate that any and everyone could put their very own special touches on. You cannot go wrong having your wedding/party/event here! 🌲🌳✨

My fiancé and I just booked with Whispering Woods for our wedding in 2020! Bear has been great to work with so far and we are so excited to get married at this beautiful location!

Beautiful venue. My son was married at WW on October 1, 2016. Barry, the owner, couldn't have been nicer and more accommodating. The grounds are spectacular. My son and his bride were married by one of the 3 ponds on the property. The reception was held on site in their newly renovated reception hall which includes a separate bar area. The chalet adjacent to the reception hall is beautiful; large, rustic, and was perfect for our rehearsal dinner. The bride and groom also spent their wedding night there. I cannot say enough wonderful things about this wedding venue. Wonderful venue; so romantic and rustic.

We used Whispering Woods for our 9/30/2017 wedding. All I can say is this venue absolutely made my wedding magical. Between the beautiful and well-kept forest, the serene ponds and the rustic feel of the reception hall, this place had it all. Bear was absolutely phenomenal to work with. His only rules were 'music stops at 12, no glitter outside and must have a liquor license'. We had complete freedom in decorating, set up, accessibility to the property and Bear was there to help with whatever we needed every step of the way. Whispering Woods is absolutely Harvard's hidden treasure. Planning with Whispering Woods was an absolute breeze and they directly impacted the success of our wedding day. I would, no questions asked, recommend this venue to any bride to be looking for a serene, low-maintenance and elegant day. Book fast and don't sleep on it if they have your date open! I hear it's booking up quite quickly and for good reason. I LOVE WHISPERING WOODS! (my only complaint is that they recommended Sherman's Catering Co., who ended up to be nightmarish to work with. I do not hold it against them though, WW is nothing but sunshine).

Beautiful location, had such an amazing time