Community House Winnetka Reviews

Absolute hidden gem of a wedding venue. Do not hesitate to book this place for your special day. Our photos were so dreamy thanks to the Community House’s stunning brick walls and garden backdrop. Kelsey, the venue manager, was phenomenal and so helpful. You cannot beat this place and especially the price. Loved having a bridal suite to get ready in on-site. Parking was so convenient for our guests. One thing to keep in mind is that it is a fully functional community center, so during your wedding setup time there will likely be other events going on. Absolutely no regrets choosing this venue at all. Highly recommend!

I remember searching, searching, and searching for an outdoor garden venue in Chicago for our wedding and when I found Community House online, I just knew it would be perfect. I had to see the venue without my fiancé but I called him immediately afterward and told him that I had a feeling it would be exactly what we wanted. Kelsey made planning easy and stress free. The gardens are gorgeous and provide the perfect backdrop for a late spring/early summer wedding. Even looking at photos now I feel like I completely lucked out on finding my dream venue. With the scenary, the price, and the staff, you truly can't find better.

What an enchanting evening! This past weekend we had our wedding reception at the Community House Winnetka and it could not have been more beautiful! Due to covid we had to reschedule the date from last year and the Community House proved to be flexible and understanding. Kelsey and the staff worked with us to make our event flawless and memorable. Many amenities were provided, and our guests were complimentary. We had our Renewal of Vows ceremony and cocktail hour in the gorgeous Courtyard, then headed inside to the Garden Room for dinner and dancing. At night the lights outside were on giving the garden a magical glow. I highly recommend the Community House Winnetka for an amazing venue.

When we found this place I knew it was the place I wanted to get married! I envisioned a beautiful summer outdoor wedding and those dreams were almost dashed by COVID but the venue worked with our caterers Catered by Design so seamlessly to make sure everything was done safely! Luckily they were able to open by July that I was able to have my wedding at its new smaller size, but regardless their venue’s landscaping was maintained beautifully. The natural beauty of Winnetka Community House provided for much inspiration for my Florist Luci Floral Designs.

We had our dream wedding at Winnetka Community House. The patio is simply enchanting and the indoor space is beautiful as well. We wanted the vibe of our wedding to *feel* like a backyard wedding yet look polished/cohesive and that's exactly what we acheived with the help of the team at WCH. I will always remember dancing under the patio lights and stars on that warm July evening as our guests mingled between the cooler space inside, the dance floor, and the cozy community tables.

We love working with Winnetka Community House they have always delivered great service and has always accommodated our needs. Looking forward in working in many events to come!

Thanks,
Extreme Sounds Entertainment & Lighting
extremesoundsent.com

We fell in love with the Winnetka Community House the second we visited the location for the first time! It's a big building with lots of activities going on when you pull up to the front - the last thing we thought we'd find attached to the back is a perfect North Shore reception space with a picturesque garden! Almost every guest at our wedding asked us "How did you find this space? We didn't even realize it was here!!!"

They just renovated the indoor space at the end of 2015/early 2016, so everything looks new and fresh (even the chairs are new - no need for seat covers!). We were not looking for an outdoor space originally, but ended up moving up our wedding date to a warmer month just so we could be sure to take advantage of the charming, private garden. The French doors all along the reception space open up into the garden, making it a perfect location for our cocktail hour, additional photos, and just hanging out during the evening. We had 100 people at our wedding, and the space was the perfect size (they put up a fake wall indoors to make the room a tad smaller, so it didn't seem empty).

The Winnetka Community House exclusively works with Catered by Design for their events - which made the entire process so simple and easy. The person who showed us the space and walked through their wedding offerings, Nikee Fellows, actually works for Catered by Design but has her office in the Community House.

Keep in mind that the Community House does host a lot of events throughout the day (they have a gym, art classes, theater, etc.). So there may be some people in the hallway, bathrooms, and general vicinity of the reception room during your event (depending on the time you have it). The building was a bit crowded with kids when we first arrived before cocktail hour at 4pm, but by the time the band started playing and guests began arriving at 5:30pm everyone had emptied out and we had that portion of the building to ourselves - so no complaints on our part! :)

The two people I am in contact with for catering and the ceremony have been wonderful! They get back to me through email promptly, provide ease with advice as well as encouragement throughout this exciting (yet nerve-wracking) time.

People keep telling us how perfect our wedding was, and I absolutely credit that to this beautiful venue and amazing food by Catered by Design, their exclusive caterer. We had our cocktail hour, dinner, and dancing all outside in the Arches Garden, and luckily for us, the weather was perfect and we didn't need to use the tent that we reserved.

I can't imagine a more romantic place for a wedding than the incredibly lush walled garden. The photos were perfect from every angle, and we were able to save on decorations because the garden itself is so beautiful. The venue is the perfect size for about 125 guests with a dance floor, a stage, and and a bar.

Nikee and Mallory from Catered by Design were amazing to work with, and they helped plan a classy and abundant spread as well as giving guidance on venue layouts and decorations. I loved that based on their experience with this venue, they were able to help us avoid spending money on unnecessary decor. [Believe me--this venue is gorgeous on its own! Things like cafe lights (which are likely to cost more than 1k to have installed), are definitely superfluous.] These ladies are so much fun to work with, and they will always give you their honest opinion. And you should listen to them!! They know what they're talking about.

And if you're like us and want to gamble on the weather in order to have a fully outdoors wedding, they are on your side and will keep their fingers crossed for no rain.

Do it. You will not find a more beautiful venue in all of the Chicago area.

Stunning, open, picturesque.

Our evening began in the outdoor Arches Garden, which was THE PERFECT SPACE for our cocktail hour. Everyone loved being able to enjoy conversation and drinks outside in the beautiful atmosphere they created. After the cocktail hour, the french doors to the ballroom were opened and guests filed into the room and into their seats. The room fit our guests perfectly, as well as the bar, our DJ, 2 dessert stations, and our photo booth.

Walking into the room before anyone was in there to see what it looked like was unforgettable - it was beautiful. They did a spectacular job making our vision come to life. The french doors were opened up halfway through the evening to allow for a breeze, fresh air, and overflow into the Arches Garden, and it was absolutely beautiful. Perfect idea and perfect timing. My only complaint is that the evening didn't last longer!!

I'd pick the Winnetka Community House over a generic hotel ANY DAY of the week!!!

I got married at Winnetka Community House in June 2013 and was blown away by the experience. Not only did Gina help us get everything set up, she worked with Catered By Design and their staff to make the entire evening come to life.

Our ceremony was in the Gardens (where my parents got married) and we were supposed to have had the reception out there as well...until the thunderstorms rolled in...

The inside Plan B was just as perfect as it would have been outside, and people have been complimenting us all week on the quick change in setup and how perfectly it worked out.

The Bride's Room is on the second floor, and has a back door to allow the Bride to make her grand entrance without anyone seeing it coming! The gardens themselves are absolutely beautiful, and there are so many places for photography that you really need to get an idea in your head which you want to use before the wedding.

The value for this site is unparalleled. We couldn't find any other venue at the price we paid that was anywhere near as beautiful as WCH. We were overjoyed to get married there, and would highly highly recommend it to anyone that is looking to get married outdoors on the North Shore.

Great place for a wedding. Everything was laid out perfectly, great space. Great people to work with. Would choose it all over again!

We needed a venue that can accomadate a double ceremony (Laotian and Catholic Filipino) I've been here before and was grateful the date was available. We rented out the second floor, bridal room, and the garden banquet. The service was excellent and the setup went without a hitch.

Catered by Design(Nikee) was awesome to work with. The food options were plenty for a sitdown dinner compared to other locations we looked at. During the tasting we fell in love with the food and surprised at the portion size. Our guests were very happy =).

Having our Catholic ceremony in the garden was magical!

WCH was the first place we actually visited, and the last place. It was the perfect environment for our wedding and reception. We absolutely fell in love with the garden area and hoped for no rain. We lucked out. The indoor ceremony room that is reserved in case of rain would have worked fine, but the garden was too gorgeous to not take advantage of. See my other review on Catered By Design (required caterer) and Rolf's Patisserie (referred bakery through contract). Leading up to the big day, Karen (event coordinator) was generally very helpful in answering questions we had, and figuring out problems as they arose. Sometimes it took a while to hear back from her, but I also mainly focused on email as my mode of contact, as she bounced around to the different Catered By Design offices. I came in organized and knew what I needed/wanted and Karen came through on that. The big day - the WCH staff and CBD staff were nothing short of amazing. We truly enjoyed our wedding and have received numerous compliments on the venue, staff, food, etc. etc. etc. Highly recommend.

I love this venue! We were married outside in the garden and loved everything about it. Catered by design (see separate review) was wonderful and took care of everything. I highly recommend this place for anyone getting married - very beautiful yet not too expensive compared to other venues in the Chicagoland area.

Great prices, beautiful venue.

The Arches Garden at the Winnetka Community House is an absolutely beautiful setting for an intimate wedding! Our guests loved the space and it was definitely the atmosphere we were looking for. WCH was excellent to work with when we decided to have our rehearsal dinner there the day before.

We had our son and daughter-in-law's reception on Sunday evening in the serene garden of the Winnetka Community House. The food (hors d'oeurves and desserts) provided by Catered by Design was excellent and the service was wonderful. The staff did everything they could to accommodate our every request. The Maevis Quartet played jazz throughout the evening, creating the low-key celebration ambiance we were seeking for the follow-up to our children's destination wedding in Carmel.

We had our wedding in May 2013. The garden courtyard was a great space for the ceremony. The setting was beautiful. Nikki was extremely helpful leading up to the wedding. She was very responsive during the planning process and was always willing to accommodate our requests. Overall, the day of ran smoothly, and the catering staff was great to work with. We would recommend the venue to anyone looking for an indoor/outdoor wedding space - the wedding was beautiful!

We were married at Winnetka Community House. We were looking for a venue where we could have an outdoor ceremony (but with an indoor backup) and hold the reception at the same place. We definitely found all of that at WCH! We held our ceremony in the beautiful garden and the reception in the Arches rooms overlooking the garden. All around the WCH there are beautiful places to take pictures, so we didn't need to go elsewhere to get beautiful shots. The garden is lit up at night and was beautiful, so beautiful in fact that we snuck out to take pictures in the dark and got some amazing pictures.

We can’t express enough how much we loved having our wedding ceremony at Winnetka Community House! It is such a beautiful, hidden gem! The garden was a perfect setting for our wedding ceremony. It was tucked away and secluded which made it feel more personal. The staff was very accommodating prior to and day-of. The maintenance staff went above and beyond and even provided our guests with iced tea on our hot day. The garden is beautifully kept and the surrounding grounds provided great backdrops for our pictures. Thank you for providing such a beautiful setting for our ceremony!

Catered by Design was awesome! Working with Nikee made us feel so much more at ease. She was very responsive and flexible to work with. There was little to worry about the day of because Catered By Design did a great job of setting up the decorations I dropped of the night before. The food was delicious and we even got to have Lou Malnatis as a late night snack!

The only thing that put me off was that we signed to have our wedding here a couple of weeks before getting notified about renovations, and to my disappointment, the renovations were not what I signed up for. I would have liked to see better customer service when it came to this issue, as weddings are not cheap and the arches were definitely a winning factor to why we chose the place. I will say the renovations are still nice, but the courtyard definitely lost a lot of its elegance without the arches.

The wedding, in general, turned out lovely, and we were happy with how everything turned out!

Overall we highly recommend this venue. Be forewarned - they did renovations in early 2018 and removed the stone arches in the garden - replaced by wood planks that are much less beautiful. They showed us these renovations about 8 weeks before our wedding - too soon for us to change venues. The space is still pretty, but significantly less so.

What really pushes this venue above and beyond is the flexibility of the catering staff. There were so many last minute changes we had to deal with on our wedding day (guests canceling at the last minute, weather issues, etc.) and the point person we were assigned handled it with amazing flexibility and professionalism. We were blown away by their incredible service and desire to make our day truly special - and they did!

We were very pleased with using the Winnetka Community House for our wedding ceremony and reception. We wanted a two-in-one location, so the Arches Garden and the Garden Room were exactly what we wanted. We had our wedding in mid-May and were told that the flowers would be planted in the garden earlier in the month, which didn't end up happening and was a little disappointing (but only a little!). I'm sure the garden would be even more beautiful later in the wedding season with everything in full bloom. There are rooms available on-site to use as alternatives in case of bad weather, which eased our rain worries. Overall, this site was just what we wanted for our wedding. We visted often in the year leading up to our wedding and saw it being used for other festive events as well.