The Morton Arboretum

We had our August 2024 wedding in the Firefly Pavilion and truly could not have asked for a better day. We got so many compliments about the venue (and still are!!) The Firefly Pavilion is a unique & stunning space, and the mix of indoor/outdoor feel with the open floor plan is perfect on a beautiful summer day. We lucked out big time with our weather (75 & sunny), but appreciated that there was a rain plan built into the venue. We worked with Alison through Morton and Lisa for Gingko catering. They were both SO responsive, helpful, and thoughtful throughout the whole process. They were quick to respond to our emails, met with us multiple times to answer questions, and were so kind & helpful day of. To top it off, the food was delicious (better than the tasting!), the drinks were great, and the bartenders and waitstaff were a highlight for us and our guests — everyone couldn’t stop talking about how great they were!! Highly recommend Morton Arboretum & the Firefly Pavilion!

Great expirence! They truly went above and beyond to make our day special.

This venue was an amazing place to get married! We loved every second of it and our guests truly loved how everything came out. Our coordinator, Kim Wilson, was so helpful with all of our questions and requests for in-person tours of the space. We fell in love with the Thornhill Education Center the minute we saw the ceremony room. The day felt so magical and it wouldn’t have been the same anywhere else. We definitely recommend this space to anyone who loves the outdoors and wants a non-religious space to be married. The only issue we found with this venue is the catering. You are required to work with their catering company, which in our experience left much to be desired. While the food and service day of was wonderful, we did have some earlier issues with communication and pricing. Before signing on and paying the deposit, we were told certain information only to have those statements changed or blatantly disregarded. Multiple times, it was hard to get ahold of our catering coordinator and then to be given new/conflicting information when we were already signed in was just incredibly frustrating. Things worked out in the end but we absolutely would have had a better experience if we would not have had Gingko Catering as our vendor.

Alison was excellent to work with in ironing out all our details. Our wedding had 38 guests. We picked the Fragrance Garden, which was absolutely stunning. For the reception, we booked the Sycamore Room, which includes an outdoor patio and huge windows to the garden. All guests were very happy with the food and drink service. Shout out to Jill at Gingko (onsite caterer) for making it all happen including a special dessert for my husband.

Everything about our day was perfect. Denise and Taylor (from Ginkgo) were so helpful through the entire process and very accommodating with last minute changes we made. Booking the Arboretum made everything easy (no need to worry about extra vendors for food, tables, chairs etc.). The grounds are beautiful (as always). We had our wedding in the firefly pavilion and received nothing but compliments the entire day.

We couldn't have imagined a better place to get married than the Morton Arboretum. We planned our wedding without a wedding planner, and Jennie and Elana were incredibly helpful throughout the entire planning process. They replied promptly to all emails, helped make sure that we were on track leading up to the wedding date, were flexible with changes, and on the day of - made sure that things went smoothly. Not to mention, the venue was absolutely stunning, and the food was fantastic!

We recently had our wedding here and we are GLAD we did! The entire experience was wonderful. From beginning to end, our contact, Paula, at the Arboretum was available and helpful. The food was excellent, the venue was beautiful, and the staff was on point during the event. It did come with a hefty price tag, but we could not recommend this venue enough! (P.S. go with the short rib!)

We got married in the Thornhill Education Center on February 18, using the Founders Room for the ceremony and the Arbor Room for dinner and dancing. Everything about it was a dream! From the very beginning, Jennie was great to work with. It’s clear that she has a lot of experience, and she is also easy to talk to, super helpful, patient, and thoughtful towards our needs/wants. Our catering manager, Elana, was also very thorough and easy to work with, and the food and service were amazing! When you consider everything that is included in the catering package - linens, tableware, open bar, and cake - it really is a great deal, and it saved us a lot of headache trying to coordinate all of that through outside vendors! That said, the vendors that we hired had all worked with the Arboretum before, and it was clear that the Arboretum’s reputation is really respected in the area. And of course, it goes without saying that the setting is beautiful! All of our guests agreed that the evening was perfect. The Thornhill was a perfect, cozy size four our 80ish guests. We highly recommend the Arboretum for any couple who wants a seamless, professional experience with a beautiful setting and a staff who not only understands weddings well and can provide great guidance, but also goes above and beyond to make your day everything you want.

We couldn’t have been happier to have our wedding at The Morton Arboretum. From the start of the planning process, we felt supported by our facility coordinator, Jennie, and Alicia, our catering coordinator. The grounds were absolutely stunning for pictures and guests appreciated the opportunity to visit the arboretum on our wedding day, prior to festivities. The regular communication and updates from Jennie and Alicia were very helpful throughout our planning and helped us prepare for a very smooth day of. Our only surprise was seeing around 200 other people at the group tasting, which made it difficult to get one on one time with the staff. Alicia, Jennie, and the Chef went above and beyond to accommodate our additional requests. We were very happy with the food on our wedding day and our guests have been raving about it too! The partnership with DeEtta’s Bakery worked out perfectly and we were incredibly happy with our cake. The Ginkgo room was the perfect backdrop to our special day. We are so happy with our experience at The Morton Arboretum and look forward to visiting again.

We loved our wedding at the Morton Arboretum. Jennie and Alicia helped us plan the wedding and were very helpful in making sure everything ran smoothly. They were very responsive and receptive to our requests. The food and drinks were great as well with very attentive dinner waitstaff. Advice to any couples getting married at the Thornhill Education center: do your dancing in the Founder's Room, you won't regret the extra space and the vibe of that room!

If I had to re-do my wedding, I would still book it at Morton Arboretum. The venue was GORGEOUS – the Grand Garden was so elegant and romantic for our ceremony, and everything flowed perfectly into the cocktail and reception hour. Everything ran so smoothly and everyone we worked with – from Margaret to the entire staff – was so helpful and kind. We had people continuously complimenting the venue and the food (which they do through their own Ginkgo Catering service) – the whole thing couldn’t have been more perfect.

Where do I even begin! The Morton Arboretum was the first and only venue we toured, and it was pretty much love at first sight. The moment we laid our eyes on The Grand Garden, we knew it was where we wanted our ceremony to be. The scenery is breathtaking with the trees surrounding the garden as well as the water fountains that add a certain level of charm to the space. We worked with Jennie Polloway, and she is honestly the best. We cannot even begin to put into words how grateful we are to have worked with her. From the day we met her on our tour of the arboretum grounds, Jennie has been nothing but kind and accommodating in every way. She had an answer to every single question I had (and I had a lot!) while remaining patient through it all. Although we had our ceremony at The Grand Garden, Jennie went above and beyond in allowing us to use The Fragrance Garden for our Chinese tea ceremony, the Founder's Room at Thornhill for photos, and even obtained permission from the head of security just to allow our dog to be a part of our wedding. She helped us set up all the details for every aspect of the wedding, and we were just blown away by her kindness throughout this whole process. We also worked with Taylor Trompeter in Ginkgo Catering, and she was just as sweet and wonderful of a human being to work with. She was so accommodating even when we wanted to add a bubble tea table during cocktail hour and a ramen bar for late night snacks. She made sure that we had everything that we needed. I can't say enough amazing things about Jennie and Taylor (as well as all of the kind staff at Morton Arboretum) who made our wedding such a dream. The whole day went so smoothly, and it was literally a perfect day. The Grand Garden was stunning that day, and one of our guests even commented on how it felt like she was walking into a movie set. We received so many compliments about how beautiful the venue is and how delicious the food was, and we cannot express our appreciation for the staff at Morton enough. Everybody worked so hard, and they truly made our day so special. We cannot be happier with our choice to have our wedding at Morton. Highly highly recommend!

Morton arboretum was a perfect venue! All of the coordinators were so helpful, from setting up our venue to the way that we wanted- down to the detail, to making sure our food and drink was just as we envisioned. The food was delicious and our venue had stunning greenery in every shot- what more could you want!

We held our reception in the Ginko Room at the Morton Arboretum and couldn't be happier. They made the planning process smooth and easy. On the day of the wedding, everything was perfect! Our guests are still raving about the service, the food, the grounds, and the space!

Morton was the absolute perfect place to get married. It is about as scenic as it gets close to Chicago. Our ceremony location was at the pond and everything we hoped it would be. Jennie, our day of coordinator, was incredibly accommodating to all of my needs. She allowed us to come to the site as many times as we needed to prepare for our special day. The staff were all professional and friendly. Would 10/10 recommend this venue.

From the first time we visited Morton Arboretum, we knew that we wanted to have our wedding there. Not just because the grounds were beautiful, but because Jennie Polloway was so easy to work with! She made the entire process so easy, and was patient and flexible with all of my questions throughout the process. She worked with all of our vendors to make sure that the flowers, decor, etc. were all set up accordingly for us. We had our ceremony at Meadow Lake Point and our reception at the White Pine Pavilion, and it was absolutely wonderful! On the day of the wedding, there were some issues with the lights inside of the tent, and Jennie called up one of our vendors to have them set up some uplighting for us to make up for the faulty lights. It was such a great idea, and I am grateful she did that. Jennie definitely goes above and beyond for all of her weddings, and I would highly recommend getting married here just so you can work with her!

We had a fabulous time with our smaller wedding at the Thornhill Education building. Jennie and Alicia (and all the staff) were superb. It had rained the morning of our wedding and had cooled some but the staff ensured that we were able to have an indoor-outdoor cocktail hour so all guests were comfortable. The food was fantastic--so many compliments from guests. On top of the wonderful staff and food, the history of the building and its beautiful grounds truly made for a memorable evening.

I can't say enough about how perfect my daughter's wedding was at the Arboretum last week. Of course, the Arboretum itself is a remarkable treasure. The natural beauty of this sanctuary is unsurpassed in the Chicago area. Our loves of trees made it make perfect sense and because it's spring, the blooming trees and bulbs made everything EXTRA EXTRA. So, setting: FIVE STAR! ***** The staff there both for the Arboretum space and the Gingko Catering teams are SUPERIOR PROFESSIONALS. The team of Jennie Polloway and Taylor Trompeter managed everything along the way, kept me on track (me and my unique bride), kept me on budget, provided suggestions, were patient and KIND. We had FUN making this all happen. The day of my girl's wedding was frought with major weather challenges and Jennie and the Arboretum venue staff helped and allowed us to manage our decision in real time. We did have to move the ceremony indoors at the last minute but it came off beautifully - the Founders' Room was glorious . The venue team were efficient and flexible in how we wanted things and made changes that met our requests without any problem. It was so great. Gingko Catering did a spectacular job. From what I heard ;), the food was delicious (I didn't eat much from the excitement). Service was excellent and joyful. The staff from catering helped make the day and evening fun. I want to do it all over - and with this team at this location. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE MORTON ARBORETUM for your event. Let's play two!

If I could give ten stars I would! Denise and Alicia were both a pleasure to work with and made our wedding day go smoothly! We just had our wedding at the Thornhill Education Center with our ceremony in the Founder’s room and photos do not do justice to how beautiful the space is! Our guests kept coming up to us all night to comment on how beautiful the location of the ceremony was and how beautiful the surrounding grounds are. And the food provided by Ginkgo Catering was delicious, the Filet Mignon in particular was a huge hit with our guests! But the biggest thing that stood out to me was how kind and accommodating The Morton Arboretum Team was throughout this process. We had some unfortunate changes to our guest count last minute and Denise helped us find a solution to our issue and was so understanding and kind and made a stressful situation seem manageable. We are so happy that we chose The Morton Arboretum for our special day!

The Morton Arboretum was not only stunning and beautiful, their entire staff made the whole process so much easier. Denise helped me with my event planning, and her attitude plus knowledge made her a pleasure to work with. Taylor was helpful and thorough for the catering planning. Both were always responsive and didn't mind all my last-minute questions! I appreciated Denise's honesty with some of the tougher questions I had. During my wedding day, we had the outside ceremony set up and a small shower blew through. Staff was outside right away wiping off chairs and making sure everything was ready for the ceremony. Having in-house Ginkgo Catering make the planning process much easier, and their food is better than any wedding food I've ever had! Everyone raved about the service staff, Wayne and Kim were so pleasant to work with during the actual reception, and overall, the service of the Arboretum is above and beyond other venues I have been a guest at. My guests greatly enjoyed the use of the tram and the admission to the grounds that day, and the experience we had at the Arboretum defined our wedding. We're so thankful that we were able to have our wedding there, it should be #1 on everyone's list in the Chicagoland area!

Our wedding was perfect and beautiful, and the arboretum was more than half the reason. the ceremony can be held inside or outside depending on weather, which was a relief as an October bride. The coordinators were so easy to work with, and very helpful and understanding. I never felt any regret. The food is INCREDIBLE, it's one of the things our guests continue to talk about. An absolute dream of a venue!!!!

Denise, Jill, and their staff were amazing! Even in our first visit in the middle of winter, Morton Arboretum looked like a magical place to get married. Both Denise and Jill were so helpful to work with during the course of preparing for our wedding. We had a daytime wedding and chose the brunch menu. All of our guests commented on how beautiful everything was and of course about the tasty food!! When I wasn’t totally sure about tablecloth colors and menu items both Denise and Jill were able to offer up suggestions from their expertise. Thank you so much! Our day was made extra special because of Denise and Jill.

We loved having our wedding at the Morton Arboretum and got so many compliments about the venue! We ended up booking the arboretum for our wedding just 9 months before our planned June date after finding out our original venue was going out of business. It was such a stressful scramble to get everything back on track after the venue shift, but Denise was an absolute pleasure to work with. My husband and I both agree we are so glad that we ended up changing venues (even if it obviously wasn't our original plan)! She was so patient with my many questions and was super prompt in responding. Not only that, but she was so much more flexible than our original venue to accommodate our vision and the preferences of the other vendors. There ended up being severe weather (including lightning!) on our wedding day and Denise worked with our wedding planner through several different iterations of plans as the weather forecast kept changing in order to make sure our guests were safe and that we could execute our original vision as closely as possible. It was a huge success! We also enjoyed working with Alicia in Gingko Catering who was also very accommodating through the food selection process. Thank you so much to the whole arboretum team for all of your hard work and for helping make our day so beautiful and special.

Not only do you have the stunning background of this beautiful Arboretum, but the staff and event managers were so well coordinated and professional for our wedding. And our guests are still talking about the food 2 months later!

The Morton Arboretum was the perfect venue for my husband and I. We booked Meadow Lake Point and the Ginkgo Room for our ceremony and reception and both locations were beautiful. The staff was very friendly and helpful throughout the whole process, and on the day of the wedding, keeping our stress levels low. The food at the reception was amazing as well! Overall, we loved our experience there and would definitely recommend it to other couples.

We had a 100 person wedding at the Thornhill Education Center at Morton Arboretum and it was absolutely perfect. Margaret from Morton and from Ginkgo Catering were both terrific to work with -- incredibly responsive and helpful. All of the staff during the wedding event were kind and attentive. Had a terrific bartender, too, who people absolutely loved. Great experience!

My husband and I wanted a small, intimate, outdoor ceremony. We had a very tight budget, but the Fragrance Garden met all of our needs at a more than reasonable price in a beautiful setting. Jennie was such a wonderful coordinator. Even though our event was small, she was so accommodating and an absolute pleasure to work with. I cannot recommend the venue enough.

The Morton Arboretum was the perfect venue for our wedding. While we had hoped for an outdoor ceremony, Chicago weather would not cooperate. But our back up ceremony site, the Ginkgo Ballroom provided a gorgeous back drop. Rachel was an incredible coordinator- quick to answer all our questions & concerns as we tried to plan the wedding from across the country. Thank you so much to the whole staff for making it such a perfect day for us!

The Morton Arboretum was a perfect place to have a wedding. We had our ceremony at Meadow Lake Point and the reception in the Ginkgo Room. The Ginkgo Room staff were amazing during the reception and repeatedly helped us coordinate timing from our seats to keep the speeches and dances running smoothly without any of the guests knowing. The dinner was amazing and we received compliments regarding the food and the location all night. Our guests were blown away by the Morton Arboretum and yours will be too.

We loved the Morton Arboretum as a venue for far more reasons than we can review here! The entire staff worked with our vision for the wedding and communicated with us flawlessly when we working through infection prevention during COVID-19. Jennie is a superior wedding coordinator with invaluable experience, and Jill, our catering director, fielded all of our questions. We love that the bar worked with us for a fun signature drink. It rained during our wedding day and I didn't worry whatsoever about transitioning our ceremony inside because Jennie is the best. We were taken care of the entire day and we cannot speak highly enough about every staff member who was kind and tentative. From asking my husband and I if we needed anything throughout the night to beautifully packaging all of our wedding decor and momentos, the Morton Arboretum went above and beyond at every step. Thanks so much, Jennie, Jill, and the whole staff!

The Morton Arboretum was the only venue my husband & I visited when planning our wedding back in 2/19. We were sure it was the venue for us after meeting with Kim Wilson, coordinator, and, oh my gosh, was it meant to be... Our original wedding date was 3/21/20 and we had to reschedule multiple times due to COVID safety concerns/mitigations. Each & every time, Kim made clear we would get the SAFE, beautiful wedding we were hoping for when we booked; she & her team followed through on that promise and our wedding was more perfect than I could've even dreamed of. First, let me say that Kim is an absolute angel & one of the hardest working people I've ever known. I was a very worried bride BEFORE the pandemic, and that was amplified with everything going on... but Kim treated me with only kindness, respect, empathy, & patience each time we spoke. She always took the time to write me thoughtful, thorough responses to my millions of questions and concerns, & called me to ease my mind if my emails were especially frantic :) It was a long and stressful process for us to have our wedding, but the stress had nothing to do with the Arboretum- they were on top of everything and consistently calmed my nerves. On our wedding day, the coordinators were on top of everything. They communicated well with all of our vendors & everything was seamless. I am a very anxious person by nature, and because of the tireless work of the Arb staff, I had NO anxiety on the day of our wedding (a few guests/wedding party members even commented on how calm and happy I was). I had so much trust in Kim & her team, I was able to be in the moment & worry about nothing. The bartenders were totally amazing too. Heather was a JOY & Anthony was hilarious. They made sure my husband and I were always taken care of. My family was extremely impressed because they asked that my nephews bring their dad over for the official OK before serving them soda :) Everything was done with such care. The drinks were delicious & there was never a line. I noticed almost all people had drinks in their hands/in front of them throughout the night. It was such a testament to how great the service was. Each and every server was extremely kind & hardworking . They were very intentional about checking in with my husband & me too. Additionally, they were very on top of getting empty and unattended glasses. I didn’t see a single random cup all night. We also had the best experience with catering. First we worked with a lovely individual, who personally called me before our wedding to let me know she had a job change, but she would make sure our new catering contact, Jill, knew every detail - SHE DID & she didn't miss a beat. We know she was insanely busy, but she really took the time to make sure we were happy, satisfied, and taken care of. The food was outstanding. My dad, who is insanely picky, couldn't get over how perfectly the filet was cooked. We had Jim the tram driver for our pictures, and he was so knowledgeable, kind, and flexible. He was a lot of fun to have with our crew. I give all of these details because I want to highlight how personable and caring the staff was at the Arboretum. It was an amazing experience working with them. They have hundreds of weddings a year & made us feel special and valued every step of the way. I would recommend the Arboretum a million times over. Thank you to all who helped make our long-awaited day more perfect than we ever could've imagined.

We visited the Morton Arboretum first as a venue in January 2020, and fell in love with Meadow Lake Point (even in the frost!) as a wedding venue. We initially planned to have our wedding in the Gingko Room, but were able to work with the Arboretum to switch to the White Pine Pavillion when concerns about eating indoors prompted us to make alternative plans. We can’t say enough about how terrific the Arboretum were to work with through the whole process, and how much we will cherish being able to come back here for years and decades to come. We worked with Jennie Polloway from start to finish, and with Caryn Adams on catering in the last few months. Jennie was a true star, a seasoned veteran, who made sure everything worked out perfectly and just as we wanted it. Caryn was enormously attentive and kind, and made us feel like really special clients. They both delivered a perfect event on the day of, with seamless service and delicious food. They were even able to make possible our signature cocktails, a gin-gin and an aperol spritz! We didn’t add any additional lights or decorations to the tent beyond florals, but the strings of lights they have and the included tablecloths are bright and cheery enough to make the space delightful. Guests told us, and keep telling us months later, how much fun they had at our wedding and how perfect the location was. It’s a great place, the Morton Arb. We couldn’t recommend it more.

The Arboretum was a beautiful venue to get married at. As a bride going through a national pandemic, we had to postpone our wedding & change venues and we wouldn’t have wanted it any other way by selecting the Arboretum for our wedding day. The venue is perfect — it has so many beautiful areas of greenery & photo opportunities that kept us in one location (which were easily accessible and numbered!). We had our wedding in the West Lawn adjacent to the Sycamore room. The weather was in the upper 80s and we had no issues with the temperature inside. There are a variety of options within the Arboretum and the prices are affordable. That is why we chose the Arboretum! There is so much that the arboretum has to offer & one being a complimentary venue coordinator. THANK YOU RACHEL. Rachel, was not only an amazing coordinator but gave me different perspectives on ideas I had and also allowed me to work things out the way I had it imagined. She seriously is so flexible & responsive via emails and phone and super sweet! She is excellent at her job! Thank you for letting me change my floor plan 10+ times until I was happy with it and letting us view the facilities as needed. I would highly recommend Rachel Martenson if you are looking into having your wedding at the arboretum. My guests really enjoyed and raved about the food (Thank you Elana + catering staff) that was catered from the Arboretum. The food selection process was easy and we worked with an outside bakery for our wedding cake. Both venue and catering coordinators were present on the day of which was a plus in our book! It was a wonderful experience for both of us & our guests who were able to enjoy it as much as we did.

We had the absolute best wedding day at The Morton Arboretum! We were supposed to get married in 2020, but due to Covid had to change our date 2x. We are so thankful the arboretum was so flexible with us in allowing us to move our date, it was a tough year for everyone, but SO appreciated them working with us. We ended up getting married at the white pine pavilion and it was so perfect. Rachel was so detail oriented and was never too busy to answer our questions. The set up on the day of was perfect- it brought me to tears. The service was perfect- the wait staff was so polite and we even had a specific waiter for my husband and me. The food was great and all our guests kept telling us how great the food was. In the beginning, we did have a little trouble working out some of the details with catering that we wanted on our wedding day that were outside the norm, we ultimately worked it out, but it wasn’t without a little bit of negotiating. My only small piece of feedback is to continue to allow couples to do unique additions to their day- that’s what it’s all about right? Who wants to have a wedding that’s the same as everyone else. Otherwise, it was the perfect day thanks to the arboretum.

The absolute best decision! The Arboretum is the PERFECT venue - from the setting, to the customer service, and the delicious food, there is no better place than this! Planning during a pandemic was stressful, but Rachel helped us navigate the process with ease- always communicative, available, and reassuring even with 2 reschedules due to Covid. Elana in catering helped us create the perfect menu for our guests. Everything from the appetizers, to the dinner, and late night snacks were delicious! Guests have still not stopped talking about how fabulous the food was. Rachel and Elana always had suggestions, options, and helpful tips to make the day absolutely perfect! I couldn't imagine a better experience than the one we had. It was honestly, THE BEST DAY EVER! I cannot thank The Arboretum enough for all their hard work and dedication in making this happen. You can tell this is a team that puts their heart into what they do and it shows!

The Morton Arboretum was the only venue we toured because we knew that it would be beautiful and perfect, and we were not disappointed. Rachel was so easy to work with and answered all of my questions immediately even though she was out of the office on vacation, so you know she cares about her couples! Caryn with catering was also great at answering questions I had about anything at all, and thanks to her suggestions our linens were magnificent. Everyone was so flexible about changing our date due to COVID, and made the situation so much easier to handle. The scenery and venue were beautiful, and our guests also loved being able to explore before the wedding. We basically had the wedding of our dreams!

My husband and I are so, SO glad we booked the Morton Arboretum as our wedding venue. The staff are so incredibly kind, patient, and responsive. Also, the venue itself is GOREGOUS. So many beautiful spots for pictures, and the wedding guests loved having the day to explore the grounds before the ceremony. Plus, the food was incredible! If I could give it higher than five stars, I would. Shout out to Rachel for all of her help coordinating, and then rescheduling, our big day with the pandemic. We are so grateful for all of your help and assistance!

So happy that we picked Morton Arboretum for our wedding! Beautiful venue. Very helpful and responsive staff all around. The food provided by their catering service was delicious as well.

We got married at the Morton Arboretum and it was the perfect place. We fell in love with the Thornhill Building the first moment we stepped foot in it! We had our ceremony in the Founder's Room, cocktails on the steps in front of the building, and the reception in the Arbor Room. We are so thankful to Rachel, our coordinator, for all of her hard work. I was definitely a bit stressed having to trust someone else to set up the decorations for us (we had to drop everything off a few days prior) but it turned out even better than I could have imagined. We enjoyed working with Ginkgo catering and got lots of compliments on the food. It was great to have the choice of a combo plate so our guests could try more than one entree! The wait staff took very good care of us and all of our guests. Overall, we had an amazing wedding and I would recommend the Arboretum to anyone! My experience was better than I could have imagined!

The Morton Arboretum was the absolute best venue for our wedding. I've always wanted to get married there, and the venue did not disappoint! We got married on the West Side in the Thornhill Education Center. The library is absolutely stunning and was perfect for our 90-guest ceremony. It's so beautiful as-is that you really don't need decor. We used the outdoor terrace for dancing and mingling. Given Covid, we appreciated all of the indoor and outdoor options available to us at Thornhill. I should add that the catering staff were amazing too -- they handled all of the logistics on the day of the wedding. The food was fantastic - we got many complements! Rachel was the best venue coordinator ever!! We had so many questions pop up during the planning process and she was extremely prompt and responsive. We asked to tour the venue several times and she always available to meet us if needed. On the wedding day, she made sure everyone was where they needed to be -- I felt like we didn't even need a day-of coordinator. Highly recommend Rachel!!

I was a Day of Coordinator for a wedding over Labor Day weekend and Caryn, Margaret and their respective staffs where amazing. The catering staff was extremely attentive and checked in on guests and vendors numerous times. If there was anything that was needed, we had it in an instant. The facilities are gorgeous and well kept. Through the planning process everyone was over communicative and ensured all tasks were completed in a timely matter. I can't express the gratitude I have for the staff to make the day go off without a hitch. Can't wait to collaborate with The Morton Arboretum again.

My husband and I were one of the unlucky couples that planned our wedding during covid. Throughout all the pre-covid wedding planning, rescheduling, and having our dream wedding ceremony, Rachel went above and beyond to support us. She remained in consistent communication with us about changes, answered all our questions, and always responded with professionalism and empathy. While our wedding planning experience was far from what we expected, we are so happy that we chose vendors that cared for us during the unprecedented pandemic. We highly recommend the Morton Arboretum for anyone looking to have both beautiful indoor and outdoor wedding aesthetics.

The Morton Arboretum is a perfect wedding ceremony and reception location! The property is absolutely beautiful, especially in the summer time. We had our ceremony at Meadow Lake point which could not of been more picturesque with the pond and trees behind us! The ceremony rolled right into the cocktail hour in Orientation hall, which is huge and plenty comfortable for a large wedding. Lastly our reception was in the Ginkgo room... WOW! Jaw dropping how amazing this night was for us. Rachel with the Facility Rental Team and Jill with Gingko Catering were both great to work with. They knew their stuff, they were accommodating with our requests and they help run a smooth day and night! They were awesome. Thank you again Rachel and Jill!

Kim is AMAZING. From start to finish trying to plan a wedding during a pandemic, she was so accommodating. We chose to have our wedding in the Fragrance Garden which is gorgeous. There was inclement weather that weekend, and Kim went the extra mile to set up a backup option for us that really wasn’t included in our original package. She will make you feel calm & prepared, while you get married in the most breathtaking venue. Highly recommend!!

The Morton Arboretum gave us our dream wedding, even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic! I worked with Jennie, our day of coordinator and Caryn, the Ginko catering director. Both ladies were amazing and worked with me to make sure my day went smooth sailing. Both ladies communicated with me back and forth throughout the whole planning process. Both ladies really helped me with my decor and Caryn gave me even more ideas such as amazing napkin and table cloth suggests to fit with my whimsical fairytale theme. Caryn was also very helpful in helping us alter our timeline to make the most of our big day with the guidelines set in place, so that we could use the outdoor space while the weather cooperated. Jennie was so helpful, understanding, and supportive when it came to helping me navigate the changes that came to our wedding. She helped us best use our space and did a really great job of creating a wonderful seating design that allowed our guest to social distance, be comfortable, and still enjoy our wedding. She was very responsive every step of the way and always gave me great advice and solutions for all of the wedding questions I asked her. Thank you so much Morton Arboretum! Y’all are amazing! I couldn’t be happier with our decision to choose you for our venue 🙂.

While I was not able to host my event at the Morton Arboretum due to complications with the COVID-19 pandemic, I still wanted to mention how wonderful they were as we navigated our wedding plans during these challenging times. Kim was so responsive to any questions I had, and was so sympathetic as our wedding was unfortunately unraveling due to the pandemic. My husband and I opted for a much more intimate ceremony elsewhere for personal reasons, however, I am confident that even during such challenging times, The Morton Arboretum would work with couples to create the perfect day! Thank you again Kim for your unwavering kindness, patience and flexibility, and while we are sad that we were not able to utilize the Arboretum for our wedding, we intend to continue to visit, and recommend them as a venue to future couples!

We had the most beatiful intimate ceremony at the Arboretum in the Fragrance Garden. Rachel was great to work with in helping us set up this ceremony in just about 2 months after our original plans fell through because of the virus. The garden was just absolutely beautiful. We are so happy with how everything turned out!

We had our ceremony & reception at Morton Arboretum in the Thornhill Education Building and it was beautiful! Rachel(venue) and Caryn(Ginkgo catering) were so helpful in all of the planning for the event and so quick in responding to our numerous questions & requests. Both were there on the wedding day to make sure everything ran smoothly and help wherever needed. The food was delicious and our server(one just assigned to us) saved us a few of each of the hors d'oeuvres and had them on our sweetheart table waiting for us. We had just under 120 guests, which was a perfect size for the venue without feeling like everyone was on top of each other. There are so many great spots for photos both in & around Thornhill and the Arboretum itself, even in the winter. We highly recommend having your wedding here. You will not be disappointed! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

Super disappointed. Planning a wedding can be pretty stressful and I was really hoping Morton Arboretum would be the perfect venue. I had a similar experience as Sara, below. The only difference was after the initial response passing me on to a coordinator...crickets! When I checked back to see if I could be assigned to someone else...crickets!