Events at Independence Grove

16400 Buckley Rd, Libertyville, IL 60048, USA

Address:	16400 Buckley Rd, Libertyville, IL 60048, USA
Phone:	+1 847-247-1111
Site:	eventsatindependencegrove.com
Rating:	3.9

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 4

Daniella Ambrosino

We were married 9/24/16, and had our reception at Independence Grove. This venue is absolutely gorgeous. It is truly a one of a kind location! It is rustic and elegant all at the same time. I could not have dreamed up a better venue for our wedding day. The grounds of Independence Grove provided the most gorgeous backdrop for our fall wedding. The staff on the day of the wedding was superb. If something did not go as plan I certainly was not aware, and the staff handled any issues swiftly and tactfully. They were rock stars getting the room set up perfectly, being very attentive and accommodating during the dinner service. Being in the service industry myself I was extremely impressed. The wedding day was flawless thanks to them. I could not say more good things about the in house caterer "Catering By Michaels". The food was simply sublime. It is not your average wedding banquet hall fare. As someone who really enjoys culinary experiences I can assure you that this catering company has something for every palette. They provide you with extensive lists to customize your meal service from the appetizers, salads, food stations, entrees, additional courses, desserts to the late night snacks! It was so hard to narrow down what to choose for our meal! We ended up serving a dual entree of filet and Parmesan crusted whitefish with veggies and rosettes of sweet potato mash & wasabi mashed potatoes. It was beautifully prepared and delicious!!!! Guests were raving about the quality of the food to us, and I could not have been happier with the quality and uniqueness of our food service. Everything was perfect and delicious from cocktail hour to the late night snack. You will not be disappointed with this venues in house caterer!! The entire evening was absolutely perfect! I wish we could do it all over again! Guests have been raving about how it was one of the best weddings they have ever attended, which makes me so extremely happy! Our Sales Manager, Alyson, was a saint. I knew from day one that she was extremely overworked and had way too much on her plate. She tried her absolute best to make sure everything was perfect, and thankfully because of her hard work the day of was just that. The only reason I am not giving this location 5 stars (and it is really paining me to do so) is because the sales office is poorly run. This is no fault of Alysons because she is only one person. But, they need to consider hiring a few more professionals of her caliber to assist with the workload. Deadlines were way off, and 2 weeks before the wedding I had not received the lay out of the room, or the final BEO to review. It is safe to say at that point I was getting extremely nervous. Luckily, at the end of the day everything turned out absolutely amazing so in the grand scheme of things everything worked out. But, the planning process was a bumpy road because of their lack of staff. Overall, I would recommend this place to anyone for a wedding, or any event for that matter. Even though the planning process did not run as smoothly as I had hoped the day of out shined all of those issues. They really know how to put together a fabulous event

Kevin Gartley

Pretty location, terrible management. My fiancée and I were extremely interested in using Independence Grove for our wedding and reception until we took a tour. We scheduled a meeting at 11am and arrived at 10:45. The manager we were meeting with was in a prior meeting so we made sure he saw us and sat to wait our turn. At 11:10 his assistant told us he would be right out. At 11:20 the assistant started the tour for us. At noon, when our tour was done, the manager was still in the other meeting. Why schedule a time with us if you won’t commit to it? We could have met some other day. The grounds are very nice and we were told that our date was free. The assistant looked in the datebook to confirm and the other couple in the meeting were not on our date. They would hold it for us for up to 2 weeks unless someone else wanted it. If that happened, we would have 24 hours to decide. We mentioned that it was the first place that we toured and we would let them know. The next day we emailed and asked if we could sample the food anyplace (you have to use their caterer and it is not cheap). They called us and said that the date we wanted was actually being held by someone else but if we would commit to the down payment, the other couple would only have 24 hours to decide. Essentially they tried to give us the hard sell. We said no thanks. My belief is that they were lying. 2 weeks later we received an email letting us know that we can sample the food after we pay the minimum cost for the party (several thousand dollars). At that point we couldn’t have canceled. They didn’t know that we had turned them down and they got back to our email after the 2 week hold would have been over.

Caitlyn Neel

The wedding was absolutely beautiful and went off without a hitch! We received great feedback about how wonderful Independence Grove was. The location was beautiful, the service was great, and if there were any issues, I never saw them because they were dealt with wonderfully. However, the planning up to the event was more stressful than necessary. Alyson was great to work with in person, though flustered at times, but trying to get things done through email or phone call was very difficult. I understand there were some issues in the office regarding other things at the time, but the deadlines they set for themselves were not fulfilled. For example, I was supposed to receive all sorts of paperwork by a certain date, but I didnt receive any of it until an entire month later. Over the period of time we were planning the wedding, I probably had to send an email about once a week to check in on the progress of things. We also had to read through our contract very carefully because some of the numbers would be inserted incorrectly and needed to be adjusted. It was an honest mistake. As a person who appreciates organization and meeting deadlines, I was frustrated by the lack of promptness and following through. Other than that, Independence Grove was great! I had a lot of fun with my sister-in-law taste testing, and it was a joy to spend time with Alyson in person. She was always excited to see us and wanted to make sure we had what we wanted and not push extra expenses on us. The location had a homey feel to it and was a perfect fit for us!

Cortney Kaiser

I just had my wedding at Independence Grove, in Audubon Hall to be exact. I could not have picked a better location for it. The view through the window of the sun setting as my bridal party made their way down the aisle was breathtaking. It is a forest preserve, so photo opportunities galore! The food was to die for! Many guests commented on how delicious it was. The staff were awesome! I worked mainly with Marta and she was the best! She was very helpful, ready to answer any questions and do anything she could to accommodate us. They offer such all-encompassing service that it really takes the stress out of the equation. We just got to sit back and enjoy our day. Thank you to everyone involved for making the day as special and as perfect as it was!