Had such a great experience with Concept Effects for our wedding. Bryan was great and made things…read moreso easy. The lighting added such an elegant feel to the ballroom. We got so many compliments on the first dance on the clouds! Everything they did for us was absolutely beautiful. Our DJ Chad was awesome, we left the playlist up to him and he killed it. The dance floor was full the entire night. So happy with every detail they put together. I will definitely recommend them to all our friends and family.

I just used Concept Effects for lighting at my wedding last week and they did a fantastic job! I…read morewas in contact with Bryan who was always very helpful and responsive to my e mails. He gave us a great deal on lighting which was only half as much as the company our wedding venue wanted us to use. They did an amazing job and I could not be happier with how everything looked. It was more beautiful than I could have imagined and really made the entire room. I can't thank Bryan and concept effects enough for their work in making my special day extra special.

The Strategy Loft recently hosted a training session for me and it was an impeccable experience…read more 1. The space is beautiful - there are plenty of types of spaces for different types of interactions, and you can see the city skyline 2. Ted and the crew are great hosts - attentive, thoughtful 3. The food and drink isn't generic office food - it's tasty 4. The amenities are clean and comfortable 5. The technology worked seamlessly I would live here if I could.

We were introduced to Cork Catering at an open-house event at The Grove, and right away we were…read moreimpressed. The professionalism and enthusiasm of the staff, the quality and inventiveness of the food, and the tasteful artistry of their presentation made Cork stand out above all the other caterers we were looking into for our upcoming wedding. We hired them, and while discussing all the details, they were incredibly helpful and flexible in planning a terrific menu for us. Jennifer Anderson, whom we worked with, was always responsive to questions we had, and had great advice and ideas for presentation of the hors d'oeuvres and food stations for our guests. They were also helpful in accommodating our budget without sacrificing the quality of the event. Our wedding reception went off without a hitch. We received so many compliments from our guests about the unique menu and the excellent service. Many said it was the best food they'd ever had at a wedding. Bottom Line: choosing Cork Catering was one of the best decisions we made.

I used Cork Catering for my event for Jenny Yoo Collection. They were great to work with…read more Jennifer is so organized and accommodating to changes. Natalie was there on the day of and was on target with everything and made sure things went smoothly. Of all the vendors at the event I did not have to worry or have any concerns for Cork. They made my day less stressful definitely. The presentation for the guests at the event was impeccable. I was very impressed. Not to mention, the feedback I received from the guests was all positive and how great the food was. I even sampled a few pieces and they weren't kidding! The staff was also very friendly and approachable during the event. GREAT JOB CORK! I will definitely use you again and recommend you to others! :)

Bires Friedler (now known as Black Rooster Catering http://www.blackroostercatering.com/) catered…read moremy wedding and I could just rave and rave and rave about them all day. They are also the owners of Jerry's Sandwich Shop (which don't get the wrong idea, it's SO much more than just some lunchmeat between slices of bread) and know how to serve up some amazing food - both in their shop and at a wedding. I caught word of them on Daily Candy and decided on a whim to give them a try. The tasting was BY FAR the best food we had - rich, fresh, nicely prepared and seasoned, comforting (read not too fancy but by no means boring) and delicious food. Plus, they have one chef (who is a super nice guy) so you know the person who makes the food at the tasting will be the one working your wedding...a comforting thought. What was so amazing about them though, is that the food at the tasting actually tasted BETTER at the wedding! We could not believe it. My now-husband and I had actually prepped ourselves that it wouldn't taste as good. Everyone knows that the tasting is the best it'll ever be - I mean, they're only cooking for 2 versus 100 or 200 or so. So we had prepared for that. But when we sat down to have our meal, we each took a bite and then looked at each other in shock. I said, "It tastes wonderful! Really, really, really wonderful!" And all of our guests agreed. Nearly EVERYONE went back for seconds and complimented us on the food. But wait, there's more. Not only was the food delish, but they were great to work with, professional and friendly all at once, they were always willing to work within our budget (which we tried to keep low and they were more than accommodating) and all of the staff were friendly. Several people from our wedding commented on how friendly the bar staff was. When do you ever hear that at a wedding? But they were! They were laughing and joking with guests, coming up with fun drinks on the spot, just great to work with. I can honestly say that they made the most important day of our lives (thus far) better by being there. I have nothing but good things to say about them.

I rarely leave negative reviews, but after spending thousands of dollars to host my baby shower at…read moreLincoln Park Zoo, I feel other families deserve to know what our experience was like. We chose Lincoln Park Zoo because we believed we were investing in a professional venue for one of the most important celebrations of our lives before welcoming our son. Unfortunately, from the planning process through the day of the event, the experience was filled with unnecessary stress and disappointment. The planning process was frustrating from the start. We communicated our budget, discussed exactly what we wanted, and were assured everything would work within those expectations. As planning continued, however, pricing kept changing and new charges were added that had never been discussed initially. The contract was vague in several areas, making it difficult to understand what was actually included. Instead of feeling excited about our first baby shower, we felt like we were constantly trying to keep up with changing expectations and costs. The day of the event was even more disappointing. Our décor company was delayed because they could not get into the venue. They were unable to reach anyone by phone, and my sister and I also tried calling without success. As a result, our decorators lost valuable setup time, and guests arrived while they were still decorating. On top of that: -We were given the wrong chairs despite confirming wooden chairs beforehand. -A table was missing. -The room was not set up according to the floor plan we had submitted, forcing my sister to move tables and chairs herself before guests arrived. -The caricature artist my sister hired started late because no one communicated the scheduled start time, even though it had been provided in advance. -My custom $400 cake was left sitting outside despite confirming ahead of time that refrigeration would be available. -The projector we planned to use couldn't be used because no one on site knew how to operate the ClickShare system or provide the required password, despite this also being discussed in advance. Perhaps the most frustrating part was being told we needed to pay for servers. Throughout the event, they were difficult to find and often appeared to be standing around talking instead of assisting guests. -The bartender, however, was fantastic. He was attentive, professional, and the only staff member who consistently exceeded expectations. After the event, I reached out to leadership hoping they would genuinely address our concerns. While they acknowledged that our experience "fell short," the response largely focused on accommodations they had made before the event, such as allowing us to store items early and bring in outside food even though we were told early on we could do that it wasn't our idea to do so, they said everyone does this, rather than addressing many of the specific issues we raised, including the wrong chairs, the unanswered phone calls, the projector issues, my cake being left outside, and the overall lack of coordination. We spent a significant amount of money expecting a seamless experience. Instead, we spent much of our baby shower solving problems that should have been handled by the venue. For a once-in-a-lifetime event, that was incredibly disappointing. The food was very good, and the bartender was excellent. Unfortunately, those positives were overshadowed by poor communication, disorganization, and an event execution that simply did not reflect the level of service we expected from a venue with Lincoln Park Zoo's reputation. I want to be clear that my issues were not with Lincoln Park Zoo itself. The zoo is beautiful, and that's exactly why we chose it for our baby shower. Unfortunately, our experience with the catering/events team that manages private events at the zoo was incredibly disappointing from the planning process through the day of our event. I truly hope Lincoln Park Zoo reevaluates this partnership because the service we received did not reflect the reputation of the zoo itself. I sincerely hope future families have a better experience than we did.

The food and wait staff for Tiger Lily was amazing. I highly recommend them for your wedding. The…read morecoordinator went above and beyond to make things work for our wedding.

I met with Marcia from An Urban Affair about 6 weeks before my wedding. At this point I had…read moremajority of the planning completled. Or at least I knew what I wanted. I knew I needed somebody the day of my wedding to tell us where we had to be when and if I didn't this job would fall upon our parents, which we did not want. Upon my meeting with Marcia, she already had a tentative schedule set up. She asked about our family and really tried to understand us as a couple. While working with Marcia she took so much stress iff of my shoulders I began to enjoy the process. She was always available to answer questions no matter what time of night or day of the week. The week f the wedding she was there to coordinate all my vendors and make sure everything was running smoothly. She gave me checklists and made sure I did them so nothing would be forgotten and I didn't have a worry the day of. She comes with 4 people the day of. One with the groom, one with the bride, one at the venue(s) and then she floats. Her assistants were all so nice and helpful. Ellen was with me at my parents house and she had a solution to a problem before my bridesmaids could finish their sentences telling her what was wrong. They told my bridal party when to line up and what to do when. I didn't look at a clock all day. It was amazing. They made me feel at ease. It was pouring the day of, and they showed up with a trunk full of golf size umbrellas. I got mud on my dress, they pulled out chalk. They are unbelievable. So caring. The amount of hours, and time put in by An Urban Affair was worth every dollar. They are so reasonable. My husband and I were amazed at the quality service for the price. It's hard to describe what they really do until it's your wedding week. Every bride needs An Urban Affair.

Marcia at An Urban Affair is Awesome! She has a great attention to detail and makes sure you are…read morecomfortable and on task with all of your wedding plans. Her team for the day of service really makes you relax and gives brides a sense that everything is "taken care of." I am very happy with her work and I would recommend her time and time again.

An amazing person who is on time and CLEAN. Everything she makes is but her Gumbo is by far the…read morebest I have ever had.

We hired Nique's Soul Catering because she came highly recommended. We asked her to prepare food…read morefor 65 people. We came together via email and customized the menu. I also asked her to bake a cake and cupcakes. We instructed Dominique to arrive at 5pm. The guests would arrive at 6 pm where they were to be given appetizers between 6 and 7pm. At 7pm dinner was to be served. I arrived at 7pm and the appetizers were not finished nor was the dinner. I asked Dominique what time she arrived to the venue and she stated after 5:30pm. Dominique and her crew arrived late to the venue and were not prepared. By guests received appetizers at 7:40 (not 6pm as discussed) thrown onto a tray and served by my own father despite paying for servers through Dominique. The guests received dinner at 7:45. That means that Dominiques service was an hour and 40 minutes later than agreed upon which is unacceptable and unprofessional. The guests were starving. Dominique's unpreparedness and tardiness truly affected a party I spent thousands on and I was not given an apology. I also paid for her to prepare a cake and cupcakes. I noticed the cupcakes were store bought as I watched her crew take them out of the grocery store casing. Wish I could comment on the taste of the food but I never got a chance to eat anything due to being stressed upon arrival as my guests haven't eaten despite the schedule we agreed upon. Upon emailing Dominique about the issues, she stated the guests enjoyed the food. I now see that her expertise is solely cooking and not the other aspects that go along with proper execution (timeliness, preparedness, etc.). I nor my family will ever be using her again.

My colleagues and I worked with Jim at our health fair in early November and the experience with…read morehim was nothing short of wonderful. Jim was a joy to work with and the healthy and delicious creations he came up with suited our fair perfectly. He understood our needs for that day and the type of cuisine we wanted to serve to those in attendance. If you are looking to cater an event and want to hire someone who is easy to work with, creative and has a vast knowledge of food then I highly recommend working with Jim. You and your guests will be so pleased that you did!

I've had the pleasure of eating Jim's cooking on several occassions, and am always delighted. His…read morespecialty is smoked and barbequed meats, but is very versatile and can always come up with creative and tasty dishes. He's also an expert on wines and can help find the ideal pairings for his wonderful food.