Chestnut Mountain Resort
Chicago, Madison, Quad Cities, many more
Service area
Holds ceremonies and receptions
Overlooking the majestic Mississippi River and surrounded by stunning mountain views, the Chestnut Mountain Resort is a beautiful wedding venue located in Galena, IL. The venue first opened its doors in the late 1950s, offering a sense of timeless elegance and a classical charm. It has welcomed countless couples over the years to celebrate their love story amidst the magic of the mountains. The dedicated team would be honored to help bring your vision to life.
You can exchange vows on the manicured lawns that overlook glistening waters surrounded by lush greenery. Guests can witness you say I do in an outdoor ceremony setup before retreating to the ballroom for a night of dining and dancing. The ballroom is suitable for up to 220 guests and offers a beautiful backdrop to your love story. It features a neutral color palette that will blend seamlessly with the theme of any wedding and large windows that pool natural light throughout the space. For those hoping to host an outdoor reception, you are welcome to set up an event tent and enjoy a magical sunset and breathtaking mountain views. After a night of celebrating, you and your loved ones can enjoy a night's rest in the on-site accommodation.
The event team at Chestnut Mountain Resort would be honored to help bring your vision to life. They offer a range of packages for you to choose from that include tables, napkins, linens, lighting, heaters, and a dance floor. To ensure your day is seamless and perfect, they offer day-of coordination services, so all you have to do is spend quality time with the people you love. The in-house culinary team will be able to whip up some delicious and decadent dishes that will easily be one of the highlights of your wedding day. The team would be delighted to make your wedding dreams come true.
66+ years in business
Speaks English
Medium team (11-20 members)
Amenities + details
Amenities
Ceremony Area
Covered Outdoors Space
Handicap Accessible
Indoor Event Space
On-Site Accommodations
Outdoor Event Space
Reception Area
Wireless Internet
Ceremony Types
Civil Union
Commitment Ceremony
Interfaith Ceremony
Non-Religious Ceremony
Religious Ceremony
Second Wedding
Vow Renewal Ceremony
Guest Capacity
Up to 250
Settings
Beach
Waterfront
Garden
Hotel
Mountain
Tented
Trees
Venue Service Offerings
Bar & Drinks
Food & Catering
Rentals & Equipment
Tents
Service Staff
Any questions?
Reviews
4.8
out of 5.012 reviews
Your trust is our goal. Our community relies on honest reviews to help you make those big decisions with ease.
Review photos
Showing slide number 1 out of 8
Anita S
Highlighted review.
5.0
1/13/2025
Chestnut Mountain exceeded our expectations for our October 2024 wedding. We definitely chose it for the amazing view, but were so pleasantly surprised with everything else along the way. Shera was amazing to work with. She was so flexible and really worked to make any of our ideas happen, which I don't think is the case with some venues. All of the staff - hotel, restaurant, wedding servers - were so friendly and helpful - many of our guests commented on it. We had a Friday night welcome party, Saturday outdoor ceremony at North Point, cocktail hour on the lower deck and reception in the Vista Room. The food was excellent - 80 some steaks cooked to a perfect medium, and the mushroom chicken was great. We had both a bride and groom getting ready room, and the private party room off the bar for the duration. Our guests enjoyed the zipline, some hiking and the alpine slide on Saturday morning - as well as going into Galena. It really couldn't have been more perfect!
Response from Chestnut Mountain Resort on 01/14/2025
Anita,
It was an absolute delight to work with you and Larry throughout the planning proce...
ss. I was so happy that things went so smoothly and a big part of that was your clear vision and the help of Brianne with Stress Free Weddings. I loved all the little ways you personalized the ceremony and reception (and what a fun reception) that complimented you both was impressive and admired. I wish you both the happiest of travels for many years!
All my best,
Shera
Danielle M
5.0
6/14/2025
We had an amazing wedding at Chestnut this May. We rented the Pointe for our ceremony and it was definitely worth it - so beautiful up there. Our reception was back in the tent, and our guests loved the cocktail tables outside since it was a nice day out. Everyone also really liked the food and we were able to do a food tasting a few months before and pick out exactly what we wanted. We also really liked that the ceremony/reception/hotel were all in the same spot - made it easy for our guests.
Shera, their wedding coordinator was great with organizing all our details and answering our questions. Sometimes she wasn't the quickest at responding, but she was a great help. They are pretty laid back on their rules there so they were able to accommodate and get us everything we wanted. It was also really nice that they usually only do one wedding a weekend so we had complete access to the tent and Pointe Friday - Sunday (which meant we didn't have to clean up Saturday night which was a huge plus). We loved our wedding at Chestnut!
Any questions?
Ignasis G
4.0
7/27/2018
My husband and I just married at Chestnut on June 9th and we loved it! We planned our wedding out of state in Colorado for a year and a half and Joan did a wonderful job of communicating and quickly responding to our emails! Since we came from out of town Joan always comp'd us a room to stay the night at the resort when we had meetings with her and even paid for us to go skiing the first time we visited! The views were absolutely breathtaking and what we loved most about Chestnut was it's isolation. We immediately got 50 rooms blocked for our wedding and we used 47 of them! It was literally just our families taking over the resort that weekend and we loved how it was just us and no other events or people were intruding in our special weekend! The staff were wonderful as they helped hand out itineraries, stored 300 cupcake sized cheesecakes, and helped load and set up decorations, linens, chairs, and dinnerware! Even during the rehearsal the night before it started pouring at the ceremony site and they brought us tons of umbrellas to keep us dry! Our guests especially loved the trolley that transported them to and from the gorgeous ceremony site (The Pointe which was SOOOO WORTH IT!) to the reception tent! The reception tent and the tables and decorations were set up perfectly and the staff once again were wonderful serving dinner and alcohol and making sure everyone had a drink and was content! The food was absolutely delicious! However one of our meals was a beef tenderloin with lobster cream sauce but we weren't served the sauce during dinner so my husband had to ask for gravy containers with the sauce to be placed at every table. Also, we had a cheesecake bar during the reception which was awesome but we were told that we couldn't have help handing them out or serving the toppings because it would cost extra even though we were paying a large amount per person. Lastly, we calculated the total based on the cost per person we were given but we forgot to include the 20% gratuity (which was our bad because it was in the contract) until 4 weeks before the wedding which added A LOT so make sure to include that in your calculations! Overall it was fantastic, perfect, gorgeous, fun, and the best wedding ever! I couldn't imagine it being any more perfect and we are so happy!
Lindsay M
5.0
6/29/2018
This venue was perfect and gorgeous! Everyone there was so helpful and nice! I would highly recommend any event being held there. They had the best wedding food I’ve ever had!
Alysha L
5.0
10/10/2017
Chestnut Mountain Resort, and especially Joan Dillon (the events coordinator) were absolutely amazing during the two years that we planned our wedding. Joan went above and beyond to meet with us numerous times throughout the year, and communication was fantastic! She answered all of our questions and was able to accommodate all of our requests. Danielle, who coordinated the food and bar, was also very helpful! My only complaint is that some of the wait staff were a little rude to our guests during breakfast over the weekend, and the manager (Aaron I believe) was rude to my wedding planner when she was trying to pay the final balance/bill. Overall, though, my wedding was wonderful and I feel so blessed. I would definitely recommend Chestnut Mountain as a little destination location for your wedding!
Eric M
5.0
6/14/2016
Wonderful place to have a wedding. The location was beautiful and they were very accommodating. They were quick and easy to get ahold of and answered any questions and were very friendly. They give you the whole day so you don't need to rush and we were even able to setup some things the night before. On the wedding day the seating was not correct. We notified them and they quickly and happily fixed it. Everything else was expected which made it one less thing to worry about. The food and service was excellent. The price seemed steep but it was worth it as it covered drinks, venue, service, seating, and so much more. We were so happy we used them.
Siri H
5.0
2/24/2016
We got married in the Fall and couldn't have been happier with the whole experience. Joan was great to work with and made sure that all of our questions were answered and requests were met in a timely manner. She was very helpful with our special requests and made sure that we could make it work within our budget. The view at the point where the ceremony took place is absolutely gorgeous. The staff at the reception were quick and courteous and took care of all of our guests needs. The food was delicious. The hotel rooms are a bit dated but our guests were comfortable and were happy that the whole event took place at the same location. Keep in mind if you're booking here that there's no elevator which seems to be typical in Galena.
Kelly D
5.0
9/12/2015
Chestnut mountain resort was the perfect venue. The staff was friendly and helpful and went above and beyond to make sure everything was perfect. Joan stayed in communication with us throughout the year and was great to work with. Views were beautiful!
Joann M
5.0
5/11/2015
I just got married here in May 2015 and the wedding was amazing. It could not have been a more beautiful wedding. The weather decided to cooperate and gave us a gorgeous day. The views were just spectacular. I think that was the compliment I received the most from the guests. They could not believe the view and how great the pictures were turning out. Everyone at Chestnut was so wonderful to work with especially Joan. She helped me out so much and made sure things were done as we had discussed.
The price was also a selling point for the money we wanted to spend, we got everything we could have wanted and more. Our wedding was low key with only 80 people and this place was prefect. The food tasted great and was plentiful. We also had them host our rehearsal. It was so nice not having to leave the resort for any reason. They had everything I needed.
I would recommend this venue to anyone thinking about getting married in the Galena area. Even though the drive and location are remote, it was well worth it. But also close enough for people to go and enjoy the downtown area in the morning before the wedding. Thank you to everyone at Chestnut that made our day so special.
stacia r
4.0
10/10/2013
Beautiful outdoor venue. Too small for my guest number though
Angie S
4.0
6/26/2013
The views from this resort are incredible and the pricing was very affordable. We had 150 guests and the staff was very nice to them all night.
The main downside is that they are not very handicap friendly. They have a golf cart nearby to help elderly guests and anyone in a wheelchair get around a little easier.
Also the day of the wedding they were running about an hour behind the time that they told us we could start decorating. It turned out fine because all my aunts pitched in to help get everything done before I had to leave for the salon.
Cara N
5.0
7/01/2012
We had our ceremony and reception here and it was absolutely beautiful. They were wonderful to work with and everything was perfect! I highly recommend it!
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Chestnut Mountain Resort
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