Carolyn Gill

Review of Ivy Room

Where do I begin? I was married at the Ivy Room on...

Where do I begin? I was married at the Ivy Room on Sunday, July 8th, 2018. We had a morning ceremony, followed by a cocktail reception and luncheon. It was amazing and I don t even know if there are enough words to sing the praises of the venue, and especially to sing the praises of Leslie Fuller, our event manager. But first, I d like to review a few key important elements of having an event at the Ivy Room.

The food: Everything from start to finish was absolutely delicious. All of our guests, and I mean all of them, complimented how scrumptious the appetizers, lunch and dessert were, not to mention the lovely wines that were standard offerings at the Ivy Room. Several of our guests were in the restaurant business (one who has won a James Beard Award), and they all tipped their hats to quality of the food served. It was delicious! Please note that the kitchen at the Ivy Room is on site and the food is prepared there (this is not an insignificant detail).

The venue: If you are lucky enough to have the beautiful weather we had that day, (80 degrees and sunny with low humidity) the courtyard at the Ivy Room is absolutely delightful and is a hidden gem in the city. Most of my guests had never heard of the Ivy Room, so when they entered from the street, they were amazed at the beauty of the courtyard and were so impressed with its serenity despite being located in the heart of River North. The rest of the Ivy Room s facilities are equally as lovely: the downstairs cocktail area, bathrooms and main banquet room are well-appointed, tasteful and have an air of understated elegance. I can t say enough about the venue as a whole it s a wonderful place to host an event.

The staff: Since the Ivy Room s staff is employed by the Ivy Room (they are not employed by a catering company), they are total professionals and it was clear that the venue is a well-oiled machine. Everything from start to finish flowed very smoothly and it was evident that the experienced staff had a lot to do with the seamless nature of the event. In addition, they are all very nice people and are incredibly attentive.

Leslie Fuller: I can t say enough about Leslie. She was absolutely amazing to work with you and I am so grateful to her that she made our day as special as it was. From the very beginning of our correspondence, she was totally attentive, accommodating and responsive. In addition, she worked with us to make sure that we were within our budget for all aspects of the day. We were very pleased with the final proposal that we signed and a lot had to do with Leslie working hard to meet our budgetary needs.

In the months leading up to the wedding, I probably e-mailed Leslie 100+ times with different questions and not only were her responses incredibly speedy (sometimes she responded within minutes, even on weekends and late at night!), but her correspondence was always thorough and extremely pleasant even when I was asking the most trivial things. She is an expert in customer service and a true pleasure to work with. In fact, now that the wedding is over, I actually miss corresponding with her because she is so lovely! The Ivy Room is so lucky to have her on staff and you will be incredibly fortunate if you have the luck of working with her for your event.

All in all, I can t say enough about the Ivy Room. It s a first-class venue and I highly recommend it for any type of event. You won t be disappointed!