The Crystal Ballroom & Lounge in Evanston

ca and the whole team made it very easy to make all the decisions needed ahead of the wedding, then arranged everything so the rehearsal and day of were everything we could have hoped. Everything looked absolutely beautiful and they did a great job with the decorations we had brought the day prior. We each were given our own suite (really a small one-bedroom apartment) to get ready, and Jessica had it stocked with drinks and snacks, brought us a steamer and anything else we asked for. We were able to use the rooftop terrace for a lot of photos with the wedding party and family. We also walked less than 10 minutes to the lake with our photographer and did couples photos there, so the location was very convenient for that (we did all the photos before the ceremony). The ceremony was set up beautifully and the team swapped the ballroom to banquet incredibly well during cocktail hour. The bartenders were fast and made fantastic cocktails, including two unique signature cocktails we created. They even went out of the way to track down Ecuadorian aguardiente to use in one of them, which was highly appreciated by his family who had traveled from Ecuador. The food was stellar, with many guests complimenting it. During our tasting the chef gave us some suggestions that ended up changing what we originally were thinking but in such a delicious way. He even did an off menu plantain appetizer for us for cocktail hour. During dinner no one's wine glass was ever close to empty as the staff seemed to be everywhere all the time. The cake (included in the package) was absolutely gorgeous. Overall we would highly recommend the Crystal Ballroom for anyone's wedding. They are just the nicest people (many of our guests commented on how friendly the staff were), and go out of their way to make everything very easy and low-stress. Thank you Jessica and the whole team for an amazing day!

for September 18, 2021 due to COVID. That's when I met Amy who was very helpful with setting up a venue tour and tastings for an out-of-state couple planning a wedding from 2000 miles away. Originally there were some planning details missed in email correspondence, but that all got cleared up by the day of the wedding. Speaking of that, one of the definite perks of the venue is a dressing room for the bride's use all day to get ready. Amy was there bright and early offering coffee and mimosas for myself and bridal party. Amy and the staff did an amazing job decorating the ballroom and lounge-- it fit my vision perfectly. I loved the cocktail hour and dinner--- the food was incredible and the servers and bartenders were very professional and attentive. Crystal Ballroom worked with all of our vendors to make sure my husband and I and all of our wedding guests had an amazing time. We definitely had the best party/wedding ever. Our only complaint is it went by too fast...

om. Meredith and all of the staff members were wonderful; no small detail was over-looked. Planning and communication leading up to our day was timely and efficient. The Ballroom is perfectly situated in downtown Evanston; close to bars, restaurants, shops, etc.. Our guests had to simply walk across the street to the hotel at the end of the evening. Day-of, we utilized the two bridal suites to take our time getting ready on-site. It was so great to have hair and make-up come to us. Stress free prep! Meredith had our fridge stocked with our favorite drinks and plenty of goodies. The ballroom itself is spectacular, we did not feel the need to decorate much beyond flowers. Cocktail hour took place in the stylish lobby & foyer., with two bars. Returning to the Ballroom for dinner and our reception---it was breathtaking! And, the food! So so good. Above and beyond the standard wedding fare. Our guests all really enjoyed their meals. Overall, we received so many compliments on everything :) We truly cannot say enough good things about the Crystal Ballroom and our wedding. We would 100% recommend!

as been very helpful in guiding us through the process and making sure that we are checking off the tasks needed to be done consistently. We find it very easy to work with her and we really like that she is so positive and full of energy. The food is phenomenal! We did the food tasting and we were so impressed both with the presentation and how delicious it is. We cannot wait for our guests to try it and be amazed. The staff here is very friendly and the chef came to meet us during the tasting to ensure that we enjoyed everything. I cannot wait for the wedding day because I know that we are in good hands at this venue. I could not have wished for a better place for a reception and I have and will continue to recommend this hall to anyone getting married!

The cons of this venue are: - Northwestern football games can make getting room blocks challenging if you have guests from out of town - The staffing seems to be in flux which was really stressful (see the asterisk below) *When we selected The Crystal Ballroom, we worked with Liz. She is 100% the reason we picked the venue over some of the others we were looking at. She put us all at ease (including my mother who is very hands on and wanted to be involved/in control of many of the details). At our tasting, a woman named Chelsea was there with Liz. It was a really uncomfortable experience because it seemed like Chelsea was supposed to be running the tasting, but didn't know anything about our wedding or how weddings go at this venue. We came to find out two weeks later that Liz was leaving and that Chelsea would be taking over. In September, my mother reached out trying to pay the deposit and we got no response. She finally called the desk of The Marion and was told that Chelsea no longer worked there. Needless to say there was a significant amount of panic on our end, but Vicky (who is the property director for The Marion) stepped up and with the help of Liz (who came back to help with our event) got everything together. Ultimately the day was perfect and The Crystal Ballroom did an amazing job (THANK YOU SO MUCH TO VICKY AND LIZ - I know it was a ton of work), but because of the staffing issues it was a really stressful experience. I really hope they can workout whatever kinks there are behind the scenes because this a great venue.

ers on that process. She was available whenever, the entire time, to answer any little question that arose throughout the process. Plus, she was just fun to be around. That's not to mention anything about the ballroom itself: it is absolutely stunning and the array of things you can do to customize it and make it your own is incredible. They make everything incredibly easy, their staff was very professional and respectful, and the food and cake were absolutely outstanding. Many people commented on the quality of the various foods. At our tasting, it was sincerely difficult to narrow down the various amazing options into 3 offerings for our guests. You absolutely cannot go wrong at the Crystal Ballroom. They have two spaces: one for the cocktail hour and one for the actual reception. I like that they do this because when the doors are open the guests get to see the actual ballroom for the first time and have a memorable "wow" moment. That's not to say the cocktail space isn't incredible, it is, but the ballroom is something straight out of a movie. Thank you for helping make our wedding day perfect.

redibly smoothly. One of our best decisions was going with the Crystal Ballroom!

She went over each and every detail and even had our party greeted with champagne! The ballroom is a gorgeous indoor space in Evanston, and I would highly recommend working with Chelsea as an expert in wedding planning.

ls. She was always accessible and we always felt that we were a priority We looked at many venues and The Crystal was the most beautiful room we had seen. It's not massive and was just the right size for our event. I love the fact that only one wedding can happen at a time. At some big hotels there are multiple events at once making it feel a bit like a wedding factory. Here you really feel special. It does not look or feel at all like a cookie cutter banquet hall. There are two terrific suites for the bride and groom to get ready. Full kitchen, bath and plenty of room for getting dressed. The food is really amazing. We served salmon which is so difficult to get right at a catered event. The pastry chef is unbelievable. She made additional desserts that we served along with the wedding cake. We cannot say enough good things about The Crystal Ballroom. So many guests said it was the best wedding they had ever attended.

tors and this had not been communicated to us. However, once we started working with Liz, things got much easier. She was helpful, pleasant, and forthright. The venue itself is incredible - they offer two suites for the bride and the groom the day of which was super helpful. The bridal suite is especially nice, with a rooftop as an amenity to hang out and take pictures. The alcohol selections were great, and reasonably priced. The food was excellent - scallops and mushroom gnocchi are great dishes. The cake company (Baking Institute) they work with leaves some room for desire, but that is not the fault of the venue. The ballroom itself is gorgeous, and the staging room - the library - was a favorite. The flow of the day was smooth, and we had to do zero cleaning. They flipped the room from the ceremony to the reception in under an hour, and we appreciate the help and support with holding our belongings until the day after the wedding. Overall, we are glad we were married at ECB and would recommend to couples.

tart to finish - Liz personally brought us appetizers and cocktails to welcome us when we first arrived after a long photo session. We received so many compliments on the food, service, and surroundings. Thank you thank you thank you!

en though we got a bit off the original time schedule, the guests never knew because the staff worked seamlessly to adjust and keep all the elements in place. Thank you Crystal Ballroom for giving us the best day of our lives!!

The food and service is impeccable! We had a great time at our tasting session and received many compliments about the food from our guests :) And Liz is just perfection! She is so easy to work with and thinks of every single detail. She went above and beyond for us and I couldn't be more thankful for all her help. Thank you for everything, Liz!

important. Our guests stayed at the Hyatt House down the street and great location between these two created the best experience for our wedding guests.

n the end, we couldn't have dreamed up a more perfect night. Most of our planning in the year prior to our wedding was done through Matthew, who is no longer with the ballroom. In finding out that he had left, I will admit there was intense fear, panic, and even anger. It was an unfortunate and difficult situation, which may not have been communicated about in the best manner. However, from our very first interaction with Liz, the new ballroom manager, we were put at ease with her professionalism, confidence and knowledge of the event industry-including having been involved with many events at the Crystal Ballroom prior to working there. She was calm in discussing all of our panicked concerns. It became known to us quickly, that our event was a priority; including making sure the transition meant no detail was missed. The staff at Crystal is incredible. From the staff running the bar, the servers and the chef, everyone ensures the night is of 5 star quality. The food choices are wonderful. It was important to us to not have typical "wedding" food, and we were very pleased with what was offered to us. After having our tasting, it came up multiple times how we were most excited 1) about being married and 2) to eat the food at our reception! The Ballroom itself is beautiful, we often talked about how it didn't matter what decor we brought in because it was breathtaking on its own. The neutral tones and mirrors allow for a variety of color palettes to be brought in and highlighted to truly match any taste. One of my favorite moments was when Liz gave us a sneak peak of the room before all the guests entered. To have 3 minutes of "calm" with my new husband and see how flawlessly the room had come together was amazing and unforgettable. I would highly recommend the Crystal Ballroom to anyone getting married. It is beautiful and there is nothing even close to comparable on the North Side of Chicago. It is because of the Crystal Ballroom that we could have our dream wedding reception!

October 2015 -Wedding date: September 24, 2016 -Our event coordinator resigned at the end of July 2016 and the Crystal Ballroom failed to inform my husband and I until September 6, 2016...2 weeks before the wedding -Our emails throughout part of July, August and beginning of September went completely unanswered which included inquiries regarding payment, decor and logistics questions, etc -The new hire contacted us via email on September 6 (she informed us that she had zero experience working with weddings) -The venue misplaced all of our wedding plans and details which resulted in a last minute meeting on September 8th to re-plan our wedding vision. At the end of this meeting, the new hire, Liz, informed us that she was taking a vacation day on the day of our wedding and the FOOD and BEVERAGE manager would now be overseeing our wedding....day-of coordination, decoration set-up, ceremony, room flip, cocktail hour, reception and eod procedures. (After bringing me to tears the new hire cancelled her vacation to be at the wedding) -The rehearsal was unorganized and seemed as if there was noone leading it -An hour before the ceremony, I, the Bride was humiliated as I had to beg Liz to set up the ceremony décor as originally planned. -The head table was missing 2 chairs and place settings -The Maid of Honor was never served a salad -The guests with celiac disease had to request gf bread -The pastry chef had no idea that 16 cakes were being delivered that morning -During the wedding reception, the coordinators approached the Bride and Groom at the head table asking questions regarding how to cut the cake and who to serve it to -The event coordinator left the venue with the keys that unlocked the closet where the DJ's equipment was stored, causing him to have to return the next day. -The event staff used our personal decoration boxes as garbage cans. We had to empty food chunks, beer bottles and garbage out of our personal belongings. This is an overview of the stress we had to deal with in the 2 weeks leading up to our special day. I would not wish this on any Bride and hope this review provides some insight as to what we went through with this venue. What a shame... as mentioned before, this venue is beautiful.