The Eldridge

The Eldridge had a beautiful dining and waiting area, which when combined could work lovely for a wedding party and reception of 250 or below. Since we were looking for a larger area the Eldridge did not meet our needs. Beautiful downstairs area however, as well as the honeymoon suites. Though the scenery from the windows weren't very diverse.

We LOVED having our wedding reception at the Eldridge--it was truly a dream come true to share such a lovely, historic place with our friends and family. We had our reception in the Crystal Ballroom, which has a nice neutral yet sophisticated color palette that worked well with our wedding. It accommodated our group of around 90 guests with a nice dance floor in the center (it seats up to 120, but our number was still intimate feeling with enough roominess to be comfortable). The best part about planning an event at the Eldridge is the staff, particularly the wedding coordinator, Kiley Nottingham. She was so kind, and really strove to meet our needs and wishes in every respect. She and the rest of the staff made the planning, day-of decorating, and event execution outstandingly smooth. The food was excellent, and the chef worked with us to provide a plated menu that fit our budget. We ended up selecting a stuffed chicken breast and beef shoulder steak (after getting to taste 8 of our choices from the full menu), and received no complaints from our guests. They also served an inexpensive child's menu and a vegetarian option for a few guests. The bar service worked well, and they were able to work with us on our service requests. The staff took care of several special requests and all the clean-up was very smooth. We so appreciate all their hard work!

I loved the look and feel of The Eldridge. The room itself was beautiful and we got several compliments on it. Now to the not so great part...I had asked the coordinators to keep the remainder of our cake. I have heard from many people that you don't get a chance to enjoy your dinner or cake on your wedding night, and we really wanted to be able to experience it. They threw it away!! The only bite my husband and I got was the one we fed each other. Also for some reason two of my centerpieces were sitting in a small cubbie in the corner of the room when they should have been on tables. I had two tables with no centerpieces, not exactly the impression I wanted to make on own guests.

There was so confusion day of about the service, but the food was great. We got so many compliments! They worked with us to make sure we ordered the right amount of food, and the drinks were tasty as well.

I held my 160-person reception in the Crystal Ballroom at the Eldridge. Not only is the space beautifully restored and elegant, needing only table centerpieces added for decoration, but the staff was fantastic. I realized about half way through my wedding planning what a blessing it was to have the Eldridge staff helping out. Their catering (which is required) was so tasty, and there were so many options, from more casual to quite fancy. The wedding director, Whitney Webber, was a godsend. She'd only been in the position a month when I got married, but she already had all the answers to my questions and responded very quickly to any email. The bartending and serving staff were friendly and efficient. The best part was the details they took care of so that I didn't have to worry about them: setting up and taking down the few decorations I added, taking gifts up to our hotel room, even delivering a plate of food to us at the end of night so that we could finally eat. We stayed the night in the Eldridge, too, and it's easily the most elegant hotel in Lawrence. I'd highly recommend the Eldridge to anyone!

The Eldridge staff were amazing! Everyone was extremely helpful and went above and beyond my expectations. We held both the ceremony and our reception at The Eldridge and the staff helped out during every step of the way. The food was delicious and the service to our guests outstanding. I cannot recommend The Eldridge highly enough for your special day.

I knew I wanted my reception at The Eldridge and I was not disappointed. We had many out of town guests come and stay in the hotel and at the Eldridge Extended. While the staff changed several times during the year we spent planning our reception, the night turned out perfectly. We had 146 guests, so three tables were in the lobby. While that sounds odd, the hotel opens the 3 sets of French doors and made everyone feel included. The food was delicious at both the cocktail hour and the sit down dinner. We had an open bar (closed during the hour dinner was being served) and the bartenders worked quickly and efficiently for the very thirsty crowd. We hired Red Door Design and they did an amazing job decorating for our black and white wedding. They work VERY well with the Eldridge staff, so it's a great match if you want an event/wedding planner and a place to have your reception. We also hired The Michael Beers Band and they rocked it. We partied until the very last minute! Everything was beautiful. The service went very well -- it helped that I was a super organized bride. Dinner service (sit down) went very quickly and efficiently. I was worried this would take a ton of time out of the dancing part of the reception, but the servers were great. Our guests had nothing but great things to say about staying at the Eldridge. The staff even accommodated my parents by putting welcome chocolates in each person's room before they checked in. The Eldridge also gave each of our guests a "Buy One, Get One Free" appetizer coupon to use at The Jayhawker during their stay over the weekend, which was great. There was a bit of last minute stress dealing with the set up of the room, but everyone we worked with was very willing to put in long hours to figure out a solution. If you want an elegant and classy reception, The Eldridge is the place for you. I would not change one thing about my wedding day.

Overall we were very happy with the Eldridge. They have a person designated to deal with weddings and she was very helpful. The Crystal Ballroom is just beautiful and we didn't decorate a thing. The staff did all the set up and take down of tables and centerpieces. The room can hold about 80 to 90 without feeling crowded. The food has to be catered in by the Eldridge but that it was delicious. The only thing I wish we would have done different was to get a DJ. They had a sound system in the room so we opted to save money and just use our iPhones. We felt that the speakers were the greatest quality so it made it difficult to hear the music at times but our guest didn't seem to notice! Overall we had a good experience!

;The staff was great during planning but disappeared when it came time for the event. Nothing was how it was supposed to be and no one was helpful to fix it. The food sucked and ran out - 1/3 of my wedding party didn't get served!