Lake Katherine Nature Center & Botanic Gardens

I really liked having my event at this venue. Chantal was amazing to work with and very informative. This is such a beautiful hidden gem and for such a good price- especially with how expensive this area is! I had my event in the anniversary garden with my reception in the clubhouse behind- it was a dream come true. Chantal really knows how to calm a bride down when panicking about something. Definitely happy with my choice in this venue. The only downfall to this venue is that they are constantly hosting events, and therefore there is a very strict schedule. It was stressful to set up and break down the event in one day. However- I think that's how most venues are. The plus side here is you can buy more time and it's not that expensive. Thanks Lake Katherine!

We recently had our wedding on October 7, 2018 in the Waterfall Garden at Lake Katherine. It was the perfect setting for our small, intimate wedding ceremony. It didn’t need much to create a romantic event that fits our personalities and made the day memorable for everyone. Chantal Karge was our contact and she was incredibly helpful throughout the entire planning process all the way down to the day before. The weather called for rain for the three days prior to and the day of our wedding, so we were very worried about the ground being too muddy for the ceremony. Chantal eased my concerns and was there the day before our wedding raking the wood chips to make sure the ground would be perfect for the ceremony. Luckily the trees in the area provided the perfect coverage in the Waterfall Garden that the ground was not too wet! Chantal was even checking in with our day of staff personnel, Christian, to make sure everything went smoothly. We ended up renting our white garden chairs from Oak Lawn Party Rentals and they were able to do drop-off/set-up and pick-up in the designated times (1 hour before and after our ceremony time). We also hired a guitarist to play before and during the ceremony (Scott Dercks). We had our ceremony right in front of the arch by the waterfall, and I walked in through another arch by the back driveway which had a path all the way to the small parking lot by the back of the clubhouse and nature center. After the ceremony, we took the most beautiful pictures by the stairs in the back walk way, by the waterfall and up the hill by the Waterfall Garden (Kat Haring Photographic Artist). I would highly suggest purchasing an extra hour for your photo permit so that you have all the time you need to take advantage of the beautiful scenery! Overall, we could not have picked a more perfect location to have our wedding ceremony! Thank you Lake Katherine and Chantal Karge for making our wedding day everything we wanted!

I had an outdoor wedding at Lake Katherine's outdoor festival grounds and it was amazing! Chantal was very nice and informative with booking the space and answered all the questions we had. The day of staff person at the Lake was also super nice and really helped us throughout the day a ton! I would highly recommend their spaces for a wedding, whether you are thinking of doing it outdoors or in their indoor spaces. The place is beautiful and you won't be disappointed.

Beautiful venue for a DIY wedding. I had both my reception and ceremony at Lake Katherine. Only 3 stars because it was poorly managed. The event coordinators do not respond to emails and it is extremely hard to get a hold of them on the phone as they are usually not in their office. They were very unorganized as well. When you do get to meet with them they are friendly and knowledgable. In the end, the day was beautiful and the wedding turned out to be fantastic. It was great for the price I paid, very affordable for weddings on a budget. I would recommend this place to those who do not mind having to go through a few hoops to talk to the coordinators.