Our First Wedding Adventure And Fail

Since we first got engaged I knew that the venue for our reception would be the first thing we would need to book. As I began the search online, there were a few criteria the place would need to meet.

• no generic banquet facility. I wanted a more person feel that I knew a banquet hall could not provide.
• our wedding would be the only event taking place. I hate the idea of having to share a facility with another wedding. This is Jimmy's and my day, so we should be the only event focused on.
• close proximity to either Lombard or Lockport.
• room to host 200-250 seated guests.
• wedding packages that included much of what we needed to host a wedding reception. Open Bar, site rental included in per person price, catering on-site, etc.
• it looks good on its own. I don't want to have to spend a lot of money trying to pretty the place with chair covers, wall/ceiling linens, large flower arrangements, etc.

One of the first places I knew I wanted to check out was Cantigny Park in Wheaton. It boasted acres and acres of gorgeous gardens and forests, as well as a museum on the home grounds of Colonel Robert McCormick, owner and publisher of the Chicago Tribune.

About 2 weeks ago I contacted the banquet manager inquiring about a meeting to view the facility and grounds. After several failed attempts we finally decided on a date and time. She had a meeting with another couple that night and would be able to meet with us after at 7 PM. I took a last look at the website, noted some questions I wanted to ask, and made sure my camera battery was charged before Jimmy and I set off to Wheaton last night. After a 20 minute drive and a wrong stop at Cantigny Golf Club, we arrived at Cantigny Park.

Entering the park was beautiful. We passed though the gates after telling the guard of our appointment and were directed to the Visitors Center. As we prepared to enter what may be our future reception site, we find ourselves at locked doors. We found a different entrance and again, locked. At this point I was getting antsy. What was going on? We had an appointment! Luckily at our wrong stop at the Golf Course I made sure to get the manager's phone number in case we got lost again. I called the number to see if she could let us in and got her answering machine. After a few minutes I called again with no more luck. I was getting more and more worried. Thank God Jimmy was calm about the whole thing. He noticed how upset I was getting, and took my hand to look around the grounds. This calmed my nerves and I decided to try one more time. This time when the answering machine picked up I left a calm message for her.

I kept going over and over the emails in my head as we walked the gardens. It was this Wednesday, right? Did I read it wrong? Was it really Thursday instead? Jimmy assured me that the manager was the one at fault. We spent another 20 minutes walking around waiting for a return call before we decided to cut our losses and leave for dinner. At least we were able to get some pictures of the grounds.

I was disappointed with the whole thing. I'm ready to find the perfect place and really thought this was it. Part of me wants to try it again, and the other part wants to say screw it she had her chance and blew it. We'll take our business elsewhere. I'll just have to decide what to do after vacation.

The banquet manager did call me back this afternoon. Apparently she had thought by "this week" I meant next week. WTF? She had our appointment written down for next Wednesday. I said it was an understandable mistake, but as we will be on vacation to the Dominican Republic next week, that I will be in touch to set up another time to meet. She was apologetic, but still... isn't she the professional one? Yay for me taking the high road.