Carleton of Oak Park

The Carleton of Oak Park was the perfect place to have our wedding and celebrate our special day with all our family and friends. The venue is gorgeous and so unique and I love it’s character and history. Katie Fox was amazing to work with, she was always available to answer any of my questions and work with me to create my dream wedding. She also made the day run so smoothly and I was able to completely enjoy myself and have no worries or stress. Gio and the team at La Notte made the most amazing Italian meal- the food, drinks and ambiance were all so memorable! I highly recommend having your wedding here!

I cannot express how grateful I am that we chose the Carleton Hotel as our reception venue and wedding room block hotel. Katie and her team are SO accommodating, responsive, and generous. She answered my questions quickly and with such enthusiasm and did everything in her power to make our day perfect. I feel like Katie was our wedding fairy godmother with everything she took care of, from our initial walk through of the ballroom to working the room the whole night of our wedding (and even getting a group photo of us at the sweaty end)! I can't say enough positive things about our experience at the Carleton. La Notte Catering was so good, the drinks were fantastic, and the hospitality is unmatched!

We cannot speak highly enough about our experience with the Carleton of Oak Park. We were initially drawn to the reception venue because of the proximity to downtown Chicago and the affordability of the venue. But we could have never imagined the way that the venue and the people who worked there would make us feel like family by the end. Katie Fox was the most accommodating, most enthusiastic, most amazing hostess and her "can do" attitude allowed us to together design the most perfect day we could have imagined. The family run feel of the hotel made all of our out of town guests feel at home and the experience of the hotel and the staff in hosting weddings shown through as our wedding reception could not have run more smoothly! Katie and her team made the wedding planning so fun and stress free, and I would recommend this venue to absolutely anyone.

The Carleton was an absolutely beautiful venue that also knew the local vendors we worked with. They were able to seamlessly coordinate logistics with Sugar Fixe & Westgate Flowers, even our DJ team Remix entertainment who were from further out in the suburbs. They made the entire night seamless, free from concern, and accommodated all of our guests. The culinary team provided some of the best food any of our guests had at a wedding (real steak!). We'd also like to thank the bar tenders who nailed our wedding drink down to even the more obscure ingredients and made sure everyone enjoyed it. We highly recommend the hotel not only for its cute, vintage atmosphere & comfy rooms but also for the incredibly personable staff who were there to make our special day one of the easiest & happiest days.

I am so glad to have used The Carleton for my wedding room block. I imagine it is a lovely place to host your wedding as well! We got married in Chicago and The Carleton was a wonderful choice for us to have hotel accommodations for ourselves and our guests. They were incredibly flexible and helpful during the uncertainty of the pandemic and were so accommodating for whatever I needed. We rented a suite for the girls and then used that room for myself and the groom, and rented another room for the guys to get ready in too. They helped me out with my cake problems and all of the staff was very kind to us. The response time for whatever questions or concerns I had over email or over the phone was great too. Katie Fox was so nice to work with and I am very satisfied with the services provided. Everything was clean and the rooms were very nice! There are multiple parking lots nearby too, so even if one lot is full they have plenty of other free lots available. I don’t have any complaints and I would recommend them to anyone in need of hotel accommodations in the area.

As my now husband and I were looking for venues in Chicago we were so overwhelmed. We wanted a venue that had history, felt cozy and romantic but was also able to accommodate our families. When we saw the Carleton in person, we were sold. Maura was fantastic in helping us identify our needs and make our wedding perfect. From cocktail hour in the Columbian Exhibition era library & bar to dinner and dancing in the ballroom, we had a blast and so did our guests. The Carleton made many aspects of getting married so much less stressful for us and for that, we are grateful! Highly recommend!

My husband and I held our wedding at the Carleton of Oak Park hotel and it was amazing!! It was a very beautiful space and working with Maura was an absolute joy! She was always so friendly and provided great recommendations, such as where to purchase flowers (which was also great!) She really eased my stresses working through day of details and answered all of my (silly) questions! Once we got to the rehearsal and day of, it was so seamless thanks to her! All accommodations were amazing and I couldn't have asked for a better venue/coordinator/day!

We chose to look at The Carleton Oak Park initially because it’s location and convenience of it also being a hotel with so many guests coming from out of town. After our first meeting with Maura we knew it was where we needed to hold our reception! The space is absolutely beautiful and (pre covid) having a ballroom, sitting room (two!), a small room for gifts and a beautiful huge bar was so perfect in addition to the fact that their food has amazing reviews (and our tasting proved just that too)! The guest rooms in the hotel are also beautiful and huge. Maura has been so wonderful to work with, answering even our most ridiculous questions. We planned everything pre-Covid for our wedding in October. As the state has made changes, Maura has been transparent regarding the hotels cleaning and sanitation practices as well as the state guidance. While we will not have the wedding of 150 people we imagined, we will still have a beautiful and enjoyable wedding for our 50 guests. At the end of the day, we are just excited we still get to get married in the beautiful historic hotel.

We worked with Maura at the Carleton of Oak Park for my sister's bridal shower. Maura and her team went above and beyond to accommodate us in the planning days and on the day of our event. From room set up to dietary modifications, every request we had was met without question. Our experience at The Carleton was absolutely delightful; a beautiful venue, excellent food, and a friendly staff with top quality service. Thanks Maura and Team, you are outstanding!

This beautiful venue was honestly perfect for us, we were looking for a small affordable venue (they did have bigger rooms) and this venue allowed us to do so! Our coordinator was Maura and she assisted us step by step (we didn’t know what we were doing) she helped us make a flawless night to remember.

Not only is the Carleton a beautiful venue with amazing food, the service was top notch and Maura is a gem. She kept everything running so smoothly on our wedding day, and something I really appreciated about the Carleton was the ability to store things in the week before the wedding. I was able to drop off our favors, guest book, old family photos, etc the day before and so no one had to worry about anything day of. And Maura helped set up everything and make my vision complete. It was also much appreciated that the Carleton staff just gathered up everything in the ballroom after the reception and my husband and I didn't have to think about it until the morning instead of making us clear everything out right away. My guests have been very complimentary about my wedding and I believe in large part it is due to my excellent reception venue. I can't imagine having had my big day anywhere else. Thank you so much for everything!

From the very beginning we loved the Carleton Hotel. Maura, our event manager, was super helpful, flexible, and accommodating. She helped us every step of the way to make our wedding incredibly fun and special to us. If you're looking for a unique, beautiful, and affordable place to have your wedding, you can't go wrong with the Carleton. We couldn't have imagined a better place to celebrate our big day.

Amazing space and great service!

We just had our wedding reception here on 8/10/19. The catering manager Maura is fantastic at her job. Always answered our emails in a timely response when we had questions. She put our minds at ease. She really doubles as a day of coordinator she’s willing to lend a helping hand decorating, she set up the place cards, led the bridal party in the ballroom when to walk in for introductions, brought our cards back up to our hotel room, her and her staff took care of boxing up all our decorations at the end of the evening. She was always present during the evening which we really appreciated! The venue itself is beautiful it’s not just a ballroom like typical venues. So many places to take great photos. There’s a separate seating area and bar area for guests who don’t want to hear loud music later in the evening to relax and chat in. Another small room called the Colombian we set up a photobooth and had a second bar there(both were huge hits). Our wedding was 3 weeks ago but everyone still is complimenting us how awesome their food was and how much they loved the venue!

The Carleton Hotel of Oak Park made our wedding planning easy. They kept us up to date on the room blocks. Calmed our guests when they were confused. Assisted with decorations and in the final week, helped us with a slide show that we wanted to be played during our reception. Special shout out to Maura, she was absolutely amazing. Very responsive and helped us remain calm. We made our wedding a weekend that people are still talking about. It was elegant, intimate and stress free. Plus they just did some upgrades, which looked amazing. For a one stop shop I highly recommend the Carleton Hotel of Oak Park.

The Carleton is an amazing venue for many reasons, but chief among those is the staff. Maura worked extremely hard to make our day perfect and made planning a cinch! The food was fantastic and the price point is something we never could have found in the city. The area around has some great places for pictures and the hotel itself is beautiful and well kept.

Maura was fantastic! My wedding day would not have been the dream I wanted it to be without her. She helped me plan our tables, decorations, food choices, you name it! She is so helpful and kind! The Carleton of Oak Park is so beautiful and I could not think of another place that I would have had my wedding reception at.

The Carleton Hotel was absolutely phenomenal. To be honest, we originally chose it because it was affordable and close to home. But, the 1920s décor and friendly staff took the experience to a new level. Our guests raved about the unique venue. I did very little to decorate - I added lights behind the window curtains in the Grand Ballroom and candles on the tables. The hotel is so beautifully decorated, you really don't need to do much more. And, I love that guests can walk safely to their hotels rooms after a night of (over) indulging. The private bar is designed in a way that created an intimate vibe without feeling overcrowded. Friends and family who had never met were suddenly talking and interacting like they'd known each other. The food was great. We ordered off the menu, but the chefs were open to creating dishes upon request, if we wanted. Maura, the Carleton's event planner, did a wonderful job of making sure the night ran smoothly. We wanted something untraditional, so got married on the dance floor of the reception hall. She totally went with the flow and showed up to the rehearsal with a plan to help us do it. I can't recommend this venue enough!

Ashley & Lauren Wedding 10/20/18. This was such a magical night for my wife and I. We originally worked with Candice who made us fall in love with the venue and the price. I have to say looking at different wedding venues and the high cost can make you want to elope. However, when we stepped into the Carlton of Oak Park we fell in love with the neighborhood and the venue. The price for our wedding was so affordable and we were right in budget. Along the way we heard Candice gave up her position and we were now working with Maura. It was such an easy transition to work with Maura. She worked so hard so that we didn't have to. She was open to our menu and decorating ideas, along with answering a million of our questions. The staff that worked our wedding were amazing they were polite and considerate. We were so happy to hear the wonderful feedback from our guests regarding the staff. Thank you to the Carleton of Oak Park, Maura, and staff for hosting a night we will never forget.

The Carleton of Oak Park Hotel! Remember this hotel as this is the best wedding venue hotel! Food is superb! Our guests all enjoyed the food that was served from the Hors d'oeuvre to the full course dinner. The open bar is amazing, the drinks are mix to perfection. Prices are excellent. Our suite room is very clean and spacious, it got everything that you need. The staffs are very professional, friendly and accomodating most especially Maura. Thank you Maura for all your patience and help in the planning of our wedding. You made us feel at home and comfortable from the beginning of planning until our wedding day. Overall, I give this hotel a 5 star. I'm not kidding! If you want a memorable wedding that won't break your bank with the perfect ambiance, great food, great venue, great staff then you should check The Carleton of Oak Park Hotel! More power to you guys! Hope you get to help other couples achieve their dream wedding like we did.

The Carleton is a beautiful old building with so much charm. There are so many fantastic options for photos on your special day both inside (the bar, the staircase, the fireplace!) and outside on the cobblestone under the twinkle lights. We had both our ceremony and reception there and they were able to quickly flip the space while hosting a beautiful and fun happy hour. Maura was super helpful leading up to the wedding. The food was excellent, we've since had a number of compliments about the salmon and the ribeye. Most of our guests stayed the night and all enjoyed the accommodations. It is also nice that Poor Phil's is there on site, we had fun post-reception there and the next morning for brunch they reserved us a small space to all recap the night together. Highly recommend!

I cannot rave enough about our experience with Maura Wais and the Carleton Hotel event planning staff. From the moment we met Maura, she put my husband, Josh and I, at ease. She was so responsive to every detail we requested and on the actual day executed our vision perfectly. The Carleton staff is equally awesome; they went out of their way to make us, our family, and the rest of our guests have an amazing evening. On a slightly different note, everyone said the food was amazing! I wish I could give the Carleton 10 stars!!!!

Daniella & Sam Czervionke 11.02.2018 Wedding. We were just married there on Friday the second. We had such a wonderful experience with Maura and all the Carleton team that I just wanted say thank you and that I can not recommend this venue more highly. From the food to the service to the atmosphere, this venue delivered on all accounts. We are still receiving compliments from our guests about how much fun they had, how good the food was and how unique the venue was. Maura made us so comfortable and we did not worry about a single thing. Our wedding could’ve not gone smoother and that is all thanks to her.

What an amazing reception venue! Our guests all raved that the food was delicious, the space was gorgeous, and the service was amazing! The Carleton was flexible, accommodating, and everything that was wanted in a reception venue. We are absolutely thrilled with Maura, the events manager, and her incredible staff. We know that other couples will find their accommodations to be wonderful, just like we did!

The staff at the Carleton did anything I asked. They accommodated all requests and were very easy to work with. Communication was always timely. My guests loved the hotel rooms and said they had a wonderful stay. The food at our dinner was fantastic and we got a lot of complements. Overall, the Carleton made planning very easy and fun.

The Carleton of Oak Park was wonderful place for our wedding reception. The venue was beautiful and the wedding coordinator made sure that our night went smoothly without any hiccups. They even helped us get street parking outside the hotel for us to park some old Model A's that drove the wedding party from the church to the hotel. Couldn't be happier with our choice in wedding reception.

The Carleton is a lovely venue for a small wedding! The food is truly excellent. Your out of town guests having the option of staying in the hotel or motor lodge next door is a huge convenience.

Maura Wais made our daughter's wedding reception so special last Saturday. It was great working with her. As we had never hosted a wedding reception before we had lots of questions, which she answered graciously. The bride and groom had a very large king's table and she made sure that it fit. She was professional and flexible when we wanted to make changes to our original plans. Kudos to Maura!

Small, but very charming and historic in the heart of Oak Park (also charming and historic). From beginning to end, the experience with the Carlton was excellent. The head wedding coordinator Maura, was AMAZING - handling every little request - and lightning fast in her responses. On the day of the wedding, she made sure everything went off perfectly. We've all been to the weddings where everything goes according to plan, and all of the guests say, "wow, that was so well put together!" - and we've been to the ones where you say "well, at least the bride and groom had fun!". This was hands-down the former. All that, and they won't break the bank (as so many places do). If you want the complete package, just get it done for me, all-in-one wedding, where all of your vendors all talk to each other, and are all in the same spot, call the Carelton and ask for Maura.

The Carleton was an amazing place to hold my wedding. The minute I saw the lobby area of the wedding wing I was in love! Vintage rooms set the vibe for the wedding. I did the ceremony there too and everything went super smooth even though they had to flip the room for the reception in a short time. All of my guests have complimented me on the venue and the food as well. The wedding planner was super helpful and answered all of my questions. I felt very at home here. Great to have the hotel attached for all of our out of town guests.

Edwin & Amber Garcia, 6.24.218 From the initial meeting to our reception, The Carleton staff was the epitome of professionalism. Our planner, Maura, instinctively got our vision and exceeded expectations. Our ceremony and reception were held at the Carleton, making it very convenient for all guests, including our out-of-towners. Our head count was just under 100. There was not one thing we worried about; we trusted Maura and the team wholeheartedly. The communication was always clear, professional, and upbeat. We chose The Carleton Hotel for the gorgeous decor and its convenient location in beautiful, vintage downtown Oak Park.

The Careleton of Oak Park was the first and only hotel we looked at when deciding where to have our wedding reception. We had out of town guests and knew the location would be a hit. The hotel is centrally located in downtown Oak Park which allowed guest to enjoy local restaurants, bars and a movie theater all within walking distance. The Grand Ballroom was beautiful and the adjoining Colombian room and vintage 1920’s bar allowed sufficient room for our guest to mingle. Hotel staff was very accommodating and made sure my big day was a success. Thanks Carleton of Oak Park for an unforgettable wedding reception!!!

The Carleton was amazing for our wedding, I would have another event here in a minute. In addition to being a beautiful venue, the staff was incredibly helpful and efficient. The event manager went over details with me and took care of the all the communication the day of the wedding!

GET MARRIED HERE!! Our wedding was in December 2017, and the experience we had was amazing! The Carleton of Oak Park was more than accommodating in every aspect we wanted. Our initial conversation with the wedding coordinator, Candice, was relaxing, fun, and extremely informative. Candice is also the Catering manager for the hotel; the knowledge she brings to the process is priceless! Throughout our wedding planning process, Candice and her team were extremely supportive and willing to work with us to make every detail we wanted come true. Our DJ stopped by the Carleton unannounced to check out the venue, and the staff was totally okay with giving our DJ a quick tour for where he would be setting up. We had our rehearsal dinner, ceremony, and reception at the Carleton. This was so convenient! In addition to spending the night after our wedding, we slept over the night before as well. This was an opportunity for myself and bridesmaids to spend one last evening with me being a single woman! My husband stayed the night in another suite with a few groomsman, and we were able to wake up and just begin the day, no traveling required! My girls and I were able to have our hair and makeup done in the suite. There was more than enough room; I strongly recommend doing this. The rooms have an antique feel, but they are very clean and smell fresh. Our entire wedding day went off without a hitch. We feel very blessed to have the experience we did. All of our vendors were fantastic, but each and every one of them came back to us and told us how accommodating and put together Candice and the hotel were. The Carleton is a beautiful place that speaks for itself but the staff is really what made my husband and I thrilled to have our special day here. We even had compliments on the hotel front desk staff. They were extremely polite to our guests and made them laugh. I could go on and on about how great Candice and the Carleton is!!! Please check it out for yourself!!!!

We couldn't have asked for anything better (aside from weather)! The venue was perfect and everything ran very smoothly, thanks to wedding coordinator Candice. The food was excellent, service was great, and the rooms were perfect for all overnight guests. We also held a brunch there the morning after the wedding. Wish we could go back and do it all again!

We just had our wedding ceremony and reception at the Carleton, and the hotel, location and event itself were phenomenal! Since the majority of our guests were traveling it was important for us to make it comfortable and convenient for them. Everyone stayed at the hotel or motor inn next door (which cost a little less, but is very cute and convenient!), and they didn't have to move their car again until they went home after the wedding. It was a huge bonus to have everything in one place! Our ceremony and reception were in the hotel ballroom with cocktails in the bar/library area in between, and it worked out perfectly! Plus the downtown Oak Park area provided shopping and restaurants within a couple of blocks, which made it a great weekend getaway for everyone. My husband and I also stayed in the hotel, and the Hemingway Suite was beautiful and became a great home base for the wedding party on the day of the wedding. With all of that said, the people we worked with to plan our event were all spectacular! Dana and Katie in the Sales office took care of our guest rooms and reservations, and everyone was very happy with their rooms! Meghan was a pleasure to work with on Catering and details for our ceremony and reception. They were all very professional, helpful, knowledgeable and friendly and also very flexible to accommodate our special requests. Meghan made my vision and wedding theme come to life! And best of all...the food served at our reception dinner was AMAZING. We have received many compliments on how good it was, and I had to agree. We chose our menu carefully, and the chef and staff did not disappoint in any way. I highly recommend having an event at the Carleton!

This is a terrific hotel with beautiful accommodations. Our guests really enjoyed their visits.

It was my mom's idea to look at the Carleton for my reception venue. Having grown up in Oak Park I never really thought much of the venue as anything other than a local hotel. After seeing the venue space I knew this was the perfect place for my reception. The bar area is so decorative and has classic charm and the ballroom is a perfect setting for a night of dancing and celebrating. Being able to have the entire back half of the hotel for just our wedding was awesome. I cannot say enough about the staff, especially Meghan and Annie. They were so responsive all of my questions and helped in anyway possible. They even saved the top of my cake without me knowing! I would recommend this venue to anyone looking to have a classic wedding without the downtown price.

When my fiancé and I walked into The Carleton Of Oak Park to meet with Annie we were blown away and in aw of the beauty inside and out. We instantly knew this would be our wedding reception. Annie was amazing to work with and was very accommodating, informative and available! As a nervous bride to be she always found a way to reassure me that it would all be done to my liking. One dreams of what all the bits and pieces of décor that seemed to take forever to pick, would look like on the day of. Annie made sure that we went in before anyone else, to check it out. Needless to say we were left speechless. It was beautiful! And exactly what I had envisioned! The night was amazing and everyone raved about how beautiful the reception/hotel was, how great the food and drinks were and the service was amazing! Not enough thank you's to Annie and the Carleton staff for making our wedding amazing! Thank you! Erika & Jorge

Everything leading up to our wedding and the wedding day itself was absolutely perfect thanks to the Catering Staff at The Carleton of Oak Park! Annie was so great to work with throughout the 18 months of planning! The banquet staff was very professional and accommodating at the Reception. Would definitely recommend to anyone!

I have to say we had the best experience getting married at The Carleton of Oak Park. Annie helps coordinate the weddings and she was amazing! She is incredibly helpful and really helps make the wedding go smoothly. The food for the reception was even better than when we did the tasting. I will also say their location on Pleasant St. allows for some amazing photos.

Anne Parker and her team at the Carleton went above and beyond to make sure that our reception was perfect! I was very worried about having typical "wedding food" and all anyone could say was how amazing the food was! Anne was amazing when it came to the details. My husband and I did a lot of the decorations ourselves and Anne and her team did all the setup just as we requested down to every little detail. She was very prompt in responding to e-mails and never complained if I just popped in for a quick question for her. If I could do it all over, I would I would have our reception at the Carleton again and again!!!!

we had our wedding here and it was amazing! it felt like we had our own private wing of the hotel for the wedding because we had our own bar, a separate sitting room for cocktails, and the ballroom. it was handicap accessible. the food was phenomenal! the wedding coordinator Annie Parker was wonderful and made sure that things went smoothly without having to bug us. would HIGHLY recommend them for your wedding!

I cannot begin to gush about how amazing the staff and especially the event coordinator (Anne) have been to work with. They are patient, attentive, relaxed without seeming disengaged and I always had a sense that they wanted my wedding to be as perfect as possible. With the amount of stress you have to deal with while pulling all of the details together for a wedding, the people at the Carleton put me at ease every time I interacted with them. We stumbled upon the hotel after finding our beautiful park ceremony venue at the Columbus Park Refectory and I feel like it was meant to be. The food is top notch.

My husband and I first came to the Carleton in the middle of a long day of searching for a venue. From the moment we walked inside we loved the place. The event coordinator for the hotel was personable and easy to work with. She was always willing to help us and offer suggestions. She even let us drop off various decor items, like table numbers and favors, and took care of getting everything set up on the day of. The food was amazing and we were able to accommodate all of our guests with vegan and kids' meal options. The only down side was that while we were able to reserve a block of rooms for our guests, the woman in charge of making the group reservations (different from the front desk) was hard to get ahold of. However, as the bride and groom, we received a free stay at the hotel. The room was beautiful and the event coordinator even checked us into our room and made sure our gifts and other items were put in there for us. It was a huge help in the middle of all the chaos of saying hello and talking to our guests.

I got married at The Carleton Hotel in November 2012. They were fabulous to work with and helped out so much during the planning process. Everything I asked them about they said 'yes' to. Use my husband's family wine for the toast? Yes! Bring in a Tardis? Certainly! Vegan friendly food? You bet! Anne was eager to help out and made great suggestions for day-of plans. She was there to let in the DJ and did a fabulous job setting everything up for the ceremony and the dinner. The food was excellent as well. Sure, it isn't IN Chicago, but the green line is two blocks away so it's easy to get in and out for those who don't want to drive. And the value of this place is spectacular. We got appetizers, drinks, dinner, ceremony site, wait/bar staff and a great location for under $15,000. All in all, this place was great.

The Carleton was the perfect place for us to have a wedding. The facilities was more than any wedding party could ask for. Youhave the character of the building with the large ball room, while also having smaller rooms for people to filter out to if they wanted some quiet time. The coordinator (Anne), and her staff was simply amazing. They did everything to make our day special without worrying if things wer going to get done. They went above and beyond what we expected. With the venue being at a hotel, there is certainly the potential to have wedding crashers. We ended up having a few, but the staff removed them so quickly that we were not aware of any crashers until after the fact. Food was amazing!! They provided us with a list of recommended vendors for everything. We did not have to use any of their suggestions, but through our work we ended up using alot of their suggestions and things turned out great. We highly recommend anyone to use the Carleton as their site for a wedding reception.

Everything was absolutely amazing. Annie was so helpful and made my big day beautiful. The food was great. The hotel is beautiful. And very reasonably priced.

We had our wedding rehearsal, ceremony and reception at the Carleton of Oak Park and it was the perfect venue all the way around! The entire staff was very helpful and friendly, but their onsite coordinator, Anne Parker, was really what made our experience so wonderful. She really goes above and beyond to help in the wedding preparations and make sure everything goes smoothly the day of. Anne was very friendly and patient in answering all of our questions throughout the wedding planning process, was always prompt in getting back to us, and her organization and attention to detail allowed us to feel confident that everything was taken care of by our wedding day. The hotel itself is also gorgeous – it provides the convenience of having your wedding at a hotel but instead of a characterless ballroom, it has a ton of personality and charm which we didn’t find in any other reception sites. Not to mention that you get to be the only wedding at the hotel rather than having multiple others in nearby spaces. We loved the cocktail area and were able to take beautiful pictures under the lights on the cobblestone streets. The ceremony was set up perfectly and they were able to flip the room for our reception very quickly. You also can’t beat the convenience of having all of your guests stay onsite and we were able to take a 15 minute drive to downtown Chicago to take all of our pictures. The food was delicious, the cost is very reasonable and the hotel suites are perfect for your entire bridal party to get ready. I highly recommend Anne Parker and the Carleton Hotel – it was easily the best decision we made in our wedding planning!

From the time we got engaged we had our heart set on the Carleton of Oak Park. It was our first choice and, luckily, it all worked out that our date was available. From our initial contact to the Carleton things only got better with planning our wedding there. We received a prompt reply from Annie Parker. She was our absolute wedding pro and made all facets of planning our reception at the Carleton stress free. She made our decision for our venue an easy one. From our tasting, to the final stages of planning, to the actual execution of the reception it was flawless. The Carleton is just gorgeous. It has this classic elegant charm. Since half of our guests were from out of town it was definitely appreciated by them and so many of them told us how stunning the hotel is. Our reception was everything we wanted it to be- unique, great food, spacious, relaxing, enjoyable, and a lot of fun for everyone. We really can't give enough credit to Annie, her staff, and everyone at the Carleton. We couldn't be more grateful. All facets of our reception were a dream come true.

My then fiance and I stumbled upon the Carleton after just having bought a house in Oak Park. We thought we wanted a "cool" loft wedding downtown, but as soon as we met Annie and realized how accommodating, experienced and helpful she was, we quickly changed our minds. What a good decision! Annie worked with us to get just the kind of small-ish, informal party that we wanted. She gave us suggestions but never pushed, and she was always willing to accommodate our requests and help us fulfill our vision. On the days leading up to the wedding and on the day of the wedding itself, she seemed to be in 10 places at once, making sure everything was being taken care of AND calming the nerves of this slightly stressed out, type A bride. The whole day came off perfectly. The hotel staff took care of getting our guests to their rooms, the catering staff fed them and served them drinks, and Annie was there through the whole event, helping to set things up, and generally making sure all of the last minute details were taken care of. The highlight for me was that, on my wedding day, I was actually able to enjoy the wedding and our guests and not worry about anything! Annie and the Carleton staff made certain of that. Can't thank them enough.

We just got married at the Carleton and we had a fantastic experience. Anne is the coordinator there and she really took care of everything. Food was out of this world, best wedding food and had TONS of compliments! I highly suggest having your wedding here! Historic charm with a modern twist!

Where to start???? I cannot say enough amazing things about The Carleton Hotel of Oak Park and Anne Parker the onsite coordinator. I knew living over 700 miles away from Oak Park and wanting to get married in my hometown was going to be difficult, but from my first meeting with Anne things fell right into place. Anne and her staff provided our guests arriving from seven different states an awesome night and a beautiful hotel with tons of amenities. First, Anne and the front desk organized the distribution of 35 welcome bags to people arriving over a time frame of four days...no easy feat! Second, the hotel rooms were immaculate and a variety of sizes from a traditional single to large suites for families. Third, it was a perfect location for out of towners! My guests jumped on the greenline to explore the city and were able to walk right downstairs for breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks. Finally, downtown Oak Park provided my guests with plenty of site seeing and activities. In the days leading up to my wedding Anne checked in daily to make sure I was happy and comfortable in my room. The day of was flawless! All of my vendors (photo booth, photo, video, band, florist, bakery, lighting, valet) had direct access to Anne which means, get this...I didn't have to deal with anyone! Anne coordinated everything and I wasn't even bothered with a phone call as I was getting ready for our big day. The food for the evening was incredible. As we greeted each of our tables everyone was raving even saying "the best wedding food I have ever had." We had a number of vegan guest at our wedding as well and they were so happy with the risotto dish (on a side note, there is a vegan restaurant within a block of the Carleton which was perfect for our guests). Our bartender Phil kept the drinks flowing and guests enjoying themselves. Our server Joanie was so sweet and attentive, she even caught me eating my hubby's cake and brought me another piece without me asking. Truly this was the most amazing day/night of our lives and my husband and I could not be happier with the Carleton as our wedding venue. If you are an out of town bride like me or a local bride trying to give your guests a true Oak Park and Chicago experience this is the place! We have not one complaint except for that it went too quickly. In the days after our parents and us have received numerous phone calls from our guests noting what a great time they had. As you can see I cannot stop raving about what a perfect experience Anne and her staff created for us. Highly recommend!

Annie Parker was such a big help during our wedding planning as well as during our wedding weekend. The food was amazing, all of our guest raved about the food and the service. The hotel itself was romantically beautiful!

My husband and I recently had our wedding reception at The Carleton--what a lovely place! The wedding coordinator, Anne Parker, is fantastic and helped the day-of activities go very smoothly. Plus, our wedding night hotel suite was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! All in all, the staff at The Carleton are very friendly, hard-working, and a joy to do business with--Thank you so much!!