The Woman's Club of Evanston

We had our wedding at the WCOE this past December and the venue was perfect. The remodel is stunning and means less decorations are necessary since the venue speaks for itself. It's also nice that the tables and chairs are included, as are the dishes, so there's no need to worry about anything extra like that. We had our ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception all there, which was perfect for a December wedding since guests didn't have to travel. We did add extra time since the base time was not enough. Trust me, it's your one day and you should add extra time. Gretchen, the manager, is wonderful. She was kind, caring, and helpful from the very first message to the weeks after the wedding when we had to resolve some things. It feels Gretchen truly cares and wants your day to be successful. I would trust her with any event! She answers questions efficiently and patiently. Unfortunately the end of our reception didn't end as smoothly as we had hoped. Again, the Woman's Club of Evanston was perfect. They did everything they promised. In hindsight, our advice, and recommendation is that you are very confident in your choice of catering company. The catering company is the one who's really running the "show" at that point . Have thorough discussions with that company, making certain to get everything in writing if they make promises that you want to see upheld on and throughout your special day. Also, out of the approved security companies, only one responded back to us consistently. They were a great hire! But a larger list of approved vendors would help in this case. Overall, I would highly recommend this venue.

Woman's Club of Evanson was everything we were looking for! The venue is absolutely stunning. It felt so elegant and classy yet very comfortable and warm. Most importantly, Gretchen and her team were absolutely wonderful to work with from day one. They were so accommodating of all of our requests/questions and were extremely available and communicative throughout the process. Their warm hospitality was evident from the start, and they overall made the planning process seamless and fun!

We held my daughter’s wedding reception at Woman’s Club of Evanston this past Saturday and it was truly amazing! When we first started exploring venues, we were immediately impressed with how lovely the WCE space was and knew that it would be the ideal venue. However, we also realized how important the management would be in the nearly year-long planning process. WCE did not disappoint in any way! From booking through the reception, Gretchen and her staff were super organized, professional, timely and kind! Gretchen makes you feel like you are the only client she is working with! Her warm and friendly personality is so calming amidst all the details of the wedding planning process. The venue itself has recently been renovated with modern touches, but in keeping with its classic charm. Our planner and florist really enjoyed working in the space and incorporating the venue’s charming details and décor into their floral/décor plans for the cocktail area and ballroom. Another key selling point is the WCE location – walking distance to hotels, restaurants and all that downtown Evanston has to offer. Our out-of-town guests were so glad that they could easily walk back to their hotels at the end of the night! All in all, WCE is a winner – I would give it more than 5 stars if I could. Thank you Gretchen and WCE for making our daughter’s wedding reception a most memorable evening!

Gretchen at the Woman's Club of Evanston was nothing but AMAZING! She listened to my concerns, questions, and simple wonderings. She was able to help reassure that she would do she could to make sure everything was executed flawlessly. The Woman's Club of Evanston does have a list of preferred vendors for catering and security. Catering options had a range of prices and cuisine. She explained that they had preferred catering and security since those vendors are extremely well equipped to help in everyday. Overall, my day was fantastic and the spaces that the Woman's Club of Evanston have are unmatched.

My daughter and her now husband had their wedding last Saturday night. The Woman’s Club was the first and only venue we looked at. From the moment we stepped in we knew it was the perfect for us. Gretchen the manager was so helpful through the whole process, she was never too busy to answer any questions we had and helped with recommendations and even ideas for our event. The venue is beautiful and has a classic charm. My guests were so impressed with how beautiful it was. We had a cocktail reception on the first floor and reception on the second. Being able to use the entire club is a bonus. Centrally located in downtown Evanston my guests were able to choose from a few different hotels and it’s a quick Uber in to the city for other guests that stayed downtown. Highly recommend.

My wife and I just had our wedding at The Woman's Club, and we could not have been happier with our decision. The venue is absolutely beautiful, perfectly maintained with historic charm & character. We were able to host both our ceremony and reception in the upstairs ballroom, and the downstairs was used for our cocktail hour while the ballroom was changed over. This was very convenient and worked wonderfully for us and our guests. Gretchen, the venue manager, was so incredibly kind, helpful, and accommodating...it was truly a pleasure working with her. She also connected us with a caterer from their approved list, J&L Catering, who knew the room very well and did an amazing job on all fronts. We would recommend The Woman's Club to anyone looking to plan a wedding or throw an event. It is a very special place.

As a fellow vendor, the team at The Woman’s Club of Evanston is a dream to work with! Gretchen is so responsive, easy to work with, and so kind! In addition, this venue is beautiful and is well designed for weddings. Such a great time working with here!

We absolutely loved working with the Woman's Club of Evanston. The venue for both the cocktail hour and reception was gorgeous, surprisingly affordable, and Gretchen couldn't have been more friendly or easy to work with. We highly recommend it!

We hosted a wedding reception in July 2023 at The Woman’s Club and were very pleased with every aspect of the evening. Gretchen and her staff are very professional and responsive and answered every question we had promptly. The facility itself is lovely and allows various options for personalizing the space. You will not go wrong with an event at The Woman’s Club.

We loved hosting our wedding at the Woman's Club of Evanston! The staff was extremely responsive to our questions, planning process, and visits to the venue. Many of our vendors also told us how helpful the staff was and how much they enjoyed the space. We had 115 people at our wedding and it felt like plenty of space, and we loved using both floors to break up cocktail hour and our reception. Probably our favorite thing about the venue is how well-decorated it is on its own, which let us pare back our decoration budget by a huge amount. We also worked with one of the venue's preferred caterers (J&L Catering), who was extremely familiar with the space and the staff, and gave us so many helpful tips and tricks for making the most of our event. The venue is also very public transit accessible and close to two hotels, as well as a number of bars and restaurants, making it convenient for our local and out of town guests.

The Woman's Club was the perfect venue for our wedding! Gretchen was really helpful throughout the whole process, letting us tour multiple times before we settled on it. After we started planning, the WCE approved vendor list made the process so smooth as they had plenty of options all of which were vetted and great! Everyone loved working at the venue and was familiar with it. Having the whole place to ourselves was so wonderful for our guests and they loved the beautiful details in both the Tea Room where we had our cocktail hour and the ballroom where we held our ceremony and reception. The building is so elegant that it required very little decoration beyond florals and spoke for itself. The ballroom had just been refinished and was beautiful for the event. We had 150 guests and tables and the dance floor fit comfortably without feeling too crowded or spread out. We are so happy to have spent our special night at the WCE!

We held our wedding at the Woman's Club in August 2022 and couldn't have asked for a better venue! The Woman's Club has a beautiful, charming ambiance and is beautifully decorated, recently restored but keeping true to the early 20th century architecture and styling. The upstairs ballroom was perfectly suited for both our ceremony and reception dinner, where the downstairs parlor was used for an intimate cocktail hour during ballroom flip. Gretchen at the Woman's Club was a joy to work with from beginning to end. Gretchen communicated clearly and was kind enough to give us a virtual walk through of the venue while we were living abroad; after seeing the venue and speaking with Gretchen, booking the Woman's Club was an easy choice! The Woman's Club does have a list of approved catering vendors, but we were very happy with the caterer we chose from that list. If you're looking for a charming ambiance and a contact who is professional and easy to work with, look no further than the Woman's Club!

We had a wonderful experience working with the Woman’s Club of Evanston on our April 2022 wedding. Staring from the beginning when we first looked at the space, Gretchen was helpful and thoughtful, in particular considering the unexpected changes as the pandemic continued throughout our planning process. Gretchen was conscientious and kind, and kept the safety of our guests, vendors and staff at the forefront during the entire process. We felt confident we were in capable hands throughout our time working with Gretchen. The venue itself was the perfect place to host our ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception, and we really liked that it was all in one building, with parking across the street, a hotel down the block, and nearby public transit, which made it easy on our guests. The historic building is beautiful, great for photos, and does not really require much decoration, while also being modernized to be very accessible for people with disabilities, all the technology we needed for a slideshow and DJ, and all-gender bathrooms for our guests. We also appreciated the affordability of the venue, and the opportunity to choose our vendors and personalize our event.

the WCE is a GEM of a venue! THANK YOU GRETCHEN! We signed the contract right before COVID, and 2.5 years later, we finally had our dream day. The WCE was with us every step of the way during our entire engagement period - explaining everything, coordinating with all our vendors, and answering questions in a timely response. Plus, the venue is gorgeous and we have some wonderful photos. Highly recommend hiring a piano player to play their baby grand piano during cocktail hour.

The Woman's Club of Evanston was a dream venue! The location is great, especially for out of town guests. The building is gorgeous and it's so nice having the entire building to use for photos, ceremony, cocktail hour and reception. Gretchen was a wonderful partner as we navigated planning our wedding, balancing vendors, dealing with COVID and changing regulations. She was quick to respond, always so kind and gracious. The building is simply beautiful and it was very reasonably priced for the value (including the chairs, tables, dinnerware, etc.) The addition of the new up lights made the space look spectacular. Our guests loved the venue. We highly recommend the Woman's Club of Evanston for your wedding!

Absolutely beautiful venue. The venue managers are incredibly helpful and kind, and made sure the day went smoothly. All the guests complimented how incredible the venue was.

The Woman's Club of Evanston was an amazing space for our recent wedding! They have a gorgeous space, incredible and helpful staff (Gretchen!), and are an affordable option as the space is so beautiful even with very little decoration.

We absolutely LOVED our wedding at the Woman's Club! It is simply gorgeous--everywhere you turn is a new location for beautiful wedding photos, with so many windows making even our indoor winter wedding day photos turn out looking sunny and perfect. The historic space is simply so elegant and well-maintained, you can't go wrong! We already thought it was the perfect space for our wedding when we toured it in June 2020, but some recent cosmetic updates made it even better by the time our big day rolled around on 1/15/22. It was so convenient to be able to have our ceremony in the ballroom, cocktail hour downstairs while the caterer and our coordinator flipped the space, and then the reception back upstairs in the ballroom. Not only did it save everyone travel time, no one had to venture back out into the January cold until the party was well and truly over! We also barely brought in any decor because the space was already so gorgeous on its own; a few glass-enclosed candles, some table runners, and wireless battery-operated uplights to set the mood for the dance floor later in the night was really the extent of it. The ceremony and the reception looked absolutely magical simply because the ballroom itself is so beautiful. Working with the Woman's Club and all their vendors was great. Gretchen was the venue coordinator, and she responded promptly to all our emails and stayed on top of all necessary communication, especially regarding any updated COVID regulations. Working within the Club's recommended caterers list was also very easy, and we highly recommend Catered by Design, who did a fantastic job. The on-site kitchen for catering was really great for making sure our food was delicious and didn't get cold before it could make it out to the tables! The Club's BYOB policy with no corkage fee also made it super easy for us to save a little by going through Binny's and getting a refund on the unopened bottles. On top of ALL of that, it was so great to know that our money was going toward such a wonderful, active philanthropic organization that makes a difference within the community. So not only did we find the Woman's Club 100x more beautiful and historic than any Hilton, we got to feel good about supporting a wonderful group! We really can't recommend this beautiful venue highly enough!!

The Woman's Club of Evanston was a wonderful wedding venue for us. The physical space is simple and elegant enough that it can be left as-is, or easily decorated. There are also several side rooms that can be utilized or shut off depending on party size. They also have a large kitchen available for caterers and a large amount of equipment (tables of various sizes, chairs, dinnerware) available for use. Every staff member we interacted with was very helpful, responsive, and great to work with.

Could not have been happier with our wedding at the Woman's Club of Evanston. The gorgeous architecture, the convenience of the two floors, literally everything. I have no words; all I can do is offer up these photos.

We held our wedding reception at the Woman’s Club of Evanston, and we had an excellent experience. Dana was easy to work with and helped us throughout the entire planning process. They were a wonderful host and were very accommodating. We highly recommend them for your event!

Dana and her team are fantastic! They made our “micro-wedding” the best day ever! As two healthcare workers reeling from a canceled destination wedding and exhausted by working on the frontlines, they offered an affordable package of local vendors ready to go! We we’re able to swap out mostly anything to customize our special day. They all stepped in and took the reigns so that we could relax and truly be present in the moment. We will cherish these memories for a lifetime!

I’m so happy we selected the clubhouse of The Woman’s Club of Evanston as our venue for our wedding and reception. Dana was wonderful to work with and was able to help guide us in the details of planning our big day. The space provided separate spaces for our cocktail hour, ceremony and reception, with a stage for our band, which is what attracted us in the first place. I love the history and the architectural beauty of the Clubhouse, which provides a beautiful backdrop to your wedding photos. And when my wife and I understood that our rental fees enable The Woman’s Club of Evanston to focus on charitable giving in the community, we ended up being very proud to have selected this as our venue.

The Woman's Club was a beautiful venue and so easy to work with. The team recommended phenomenal vendors and helped make the day of our wedding go so smoothly. They were even very understanding and helpful when we had to make a last minute change to our ceremony. We are so happy we chose the Woman's Club and so thankful for how they helped make wedding planning such a stress free process. Would highly recommend them.

We are so delighted that we found the Woman's Club of Evanston for our wedding reception! Dana was an amazing support throughout the whole year leading up to our big day. She was organized and professional, answering our questions (and calls from our parents!) It was the perfect size venue for our guest count of 170. There are adorable side rooms, which we used for photos and during the cocktail hour. The upstairs stage was perfect for our DJ. Everyone felt comfortable in the space, which was our main priority!

My husband and I got married here in August and while the venue is beautiful and speaks for itself. We both did not find the staff that helpful. Elizabeth was out initial contact and was not responsive in the beginning stages. It took a long time to get a contract. She left, then we were a folder passed along and forgotten. Then we worked with Dana (who on site ended up spending most of her time by our security guard), she never introduced herself in person until the end of the wedding. Michelle was very accommodating, however, at times during our site visit did not hide her judgements on our wedding. She was the best part of the experience. Overall, loved the venue and do not regret getting married here. But, I wish the planning experience up to the event was easier with the staff.

Gorgeous, historic venue in a beautiful neighborhood. Lots of space and a very responsive staff. They have several catering options (We went with Froggy's and are really glad we did) and we were able to supply our own alcohol, which is a huge cost saver. They made sure everything went smoothly and we didn't have to worry about anyting.

I recently got married at the Woman’s Club of Evanston and I cannot express how pleased I was with the entire experience! Michelle and Elizabeth were great to work with and always available and willing to help us with any of our needs. The space in absolutely stunning and I would recommend this space to anyone who wants to get married at a venue with a vintage feel!

When my husband and I first got engaged we thought we would want to have our wedding in my parent’s backyard. We both have huge Chicago Irish families, and my mother’s response was: “there is no way I am letting that many people use my bathroom” Thus began our search for a place that could fit all of us, while still feeling comfortable and personal. We looked into the Chicago park district which has so many beautiful options, but for us it was too expensive considering what is (or isn’t) included while having to use their vendors. A friend suggested we check out the Woman’s Club, and I knew as soon as I looked at their website that I would love it. I called immediately to inquire about Memorial Day weekend where I was connected with Elizabeth Anderson, WCOE’s Event Coordinator. Elizabeth generously put a slightly extended hold on the day for us so that my parents, then fiancee and I could find a time we were all available to come in together an see the space. It is big, gorgeous and so reasonable considering everything that is available for use such as the entire space, tables, chairs…. Elizabeth was incredible to work with and super kind and helpful. All night our friends and family raved about the gorgeous space which was in walking distance to our hotel - the Hilton Orrington - which was another highlight to our weekend. It was great to be in a hotel so close to the WCOE and the beach. Another benefit to having a wedding at the WCOE is that the money we spent on the venue went directly to such an amazing organization and group of people. The women involved in WCOE do so much for their community and reading through the long list of volunteer work, grants and community outreach programs on their website is very inspiring. We could not have asked for a better venue, location or total experience for our wedding.

Classically beautiful, elegant, spacious, historic space. There is not one corner of this venue that is not a beautiful backdrop for photos. We used the upstairs ballroom for both the ceremony and reception, and the downstairs space for cocktail hour. It was the perfect amount of space for our 130-person wedding, including a dance floor with a live band. The rental rates are reasonable, especially considering that dining tables, chairs and dishes are included. They also have many other miscellaneous items you can borrow, such as easels, votive candles, a music stand, etc. They allow you to purchase your own alcohol for the event, which can save you a ton of money by allowing you to return any unopened bottles. For Jewish weddings, they do allow for kosher catering. Elizabeth, their event coordinator, was very friendly, professional and knowledgable. She answered our questions promptly and offered useful suggestions.

Holy cow, do I love this place. We just had our wedding here (July 2016) and everything went great. Well, except for the fact that a storm took down the power. As the bride, I was doing my fair share of freaking out. But hats off to Michelle at the Woman's Club. She kept us informed, letting us know every few minutes what she'd heard from ComEd. She even ran out in the pouring rain to chase down the ComEd truck and tell them they had to restore our power first. I couldn't ask for anything more from a venue. Because of the storms, we didn't get to take pictures outside, but the gardens are beautiful. The inside is so beautiful that I didn't feel like we were missing out. It's such a unique space, you don't need any more decorations. The staff was great and answered any questions we had. We loved the space, and everyone went above and beyond to make sure we had a great experience.

Beautiful space with unique details and amazing architecture! We used the second floor Ballroom with attached Sun Room (where our dinner buffet was set up - perfect spot for it!) as our reception venue and it was perfect, even for our small destination wedding of only 75 guests. The location of WCE to Northwestern University's campus, restaurants, hotels, shops, public transportation (Metra/El train) is all in walking distance - no need to have a car if you are from out of town! Caitlin, the Event Coordinator with WCE, was a breeze to work with as well. She is so sweet and very organized :) Would highly recommend this venue for anyone looking to hold a wedding in beautiful Evanston, IL!

We held our ceremony in the Grand Ballroom on the 2nd floor of the Woman's Club of Evanston. The staff is great--especially Michelle the manager. They were so accommodating and allowed us to visit the venue to take measurements/see the space a few times. We did have some complaints from guests that the wedding seating setup had lots of blind spots--something I would have hoped they could have warned us about as they recommended the setup. Also, make sure to have a sound guy--they have limited resources. Overall a great experience and a good price. they do require a hefty damage deposit but return it within a week of the event.

I just got married at the Woman's Club of Evanston in September of 2014, and I'm so glad we picked this venue. The space is classic and romantic—we had both our ceremony and reception in the ballroom, and it worked perfectly for both parts of the event. Everyone on the staff was so helpful, kind and extremely easy to work with. The Club is also a relatively affordable spot for the pricey Chicago area—and you get to bring your own booze, which helps cut down on costs quite a bit.

I was recently involved with my good friend's wedding at the Women's Club of Evanston (WCE). The bride loves being crafty, and so had enlisted me to be her florist for the big day. As part of her wedding team, I was sent an email from Lisa, the facilities manager of WCE, to go over details about unloading, parking, and set up for her reception. One of the details I did not appreciate was that we were not able to get into the venue until the day of the wedding, to be specific 3 hours prior to the reception. I found that very inconvenient that we could not access the site the evening prior to begin set up of various decorations. I understand though that this may just be their own policy, and was very willing to work with them. What I found the most disconcerting was Lisa's attitude. I found her to be abrasive, rude, and not pleasant to work with. When we got to the venue promptly 3 hours prior to the reception to begin set up, we briefly parked our car in the front. We were extremely early, there was no other vendor or car in site, and we were parked outside for a total of 25-30 min before I got an abrupt phone call from Lisa. This was the first time I had talked to her, and I assumed she was calling to make sure we had arrived there OK and to see if we needed any help. Well I was wrong. Without so much as a welcome, she demanded that we move our car immediately, stating we were blocking a fire lane, and in so many words, reprimanded me for not remembering that point in the email she had previously sent out. We rushed back to move the car, and as were trying to figure out where to park the car, Lisa (who I still had not personally met) stuck her head out of the door to again berate us about moving our car immediately! At this point I was shocked by the abrasiveness of this lady! This was not the only moment that was stressful. Every single conversation afterwards with her she continued to be curt and unpleasant to work with. She snarkily reminded me more than once that any questions I had were noted in the email she had previously sent out. Although I was there only as the bride's florist, she came up to me to inform me about various details, including clean up, disregarding the Bride's request that another lady was actually the point person for the evening. Overall, the venue itself was beautiful, and a wonderfully historic building to have a wedding reception at. The caterer was amazing (and my life saver that night)! I would just beware of the facilities manager when considering this place!

The Woman's Club is an absolutely beautiful venue. I was looking for something different than the normal square room without any windows. This place has a "vintage" look to it which also fit my theme. Carol, the hall manager, was very helpful in the planning process, so thank you Carol! She always responded to me, gave advice, and answered any questions possible. It is a little on the pricey end, but totally worth it for the scene. The ballroom is on the second floor and the cocktail area is amazing!

My experience with the Woman's Club could not have been better. Looking for a place in Chicago was proving to be rather difficult as many places were just too far out of my price range. At the Woman's Club, we were allowed to bring in our own caterer (they have a list of suggested caterers that already have a liquor license on file with the Club) and alcohol which really made us feel like we had more control over the wedding celebration and costs. Working with Carol was fantastic. She is very sweet and very knowledgable when it comes to event planning. She had so many helpful ideas! On top of all that, the Club is very pretty inside and out. I would recommend the Woman's Club to any would be Chicago brides!

We booked the Woman's Club of Evanston for both our ceremony and reception. Carol Short, the facilities manager, was wonderful to work with. She was always happy to answer any questions we had and was also able to give us some recommendations for vendors who had worked at the club before. Our ceremony was upstairs in the ballroom, followed by a cocktail hour downstairs in the tea room. The ballroom was then flipped for our dinner reception. It is a truly beautiful venue and we are so happy we booked it.

I love the history of it (it just became a UNESCO or World Heritage site). The charity work they do went along with our theme of no gifts (instead we asked for donations to charities). The wedding and reception could be held in the same place. We did wedding downstairs and reception upstairs in the beautiful grand ballroom. It's private. There is nothing else (no other events) going on so your guests can roam as they wish. There is a lovely sunroom for coctail hour. It was just a great space.;If you are there in the summer, have them turn the air conditioner on early in the morning as it takes awhile to cool such a large area.