We hosted a wedding reception at the Artisans Building and were extremely pleased with the staff…read morefor non-fair events at the Illinois State Fairgrounds and with the facility itself. Having a function at the Artisans Building is a lot of work, but serves well for DIYs like us. There are so many options for room set-up to accommodate the number of guests. The reception we hosted was for about 150, but the room could have handled many more. The wood floor is great for dancing, and the grand structure leaves an awe-struck impression.

Where do I begin except Chris and Jessica are truly living out God's calling for them! The way they…read morecaptured my Husband and I's love is unreal. They aren't afraid to take little risks that may seem silly or scary in the moment to snap that perfect picture. They made us newbies behind the camera feel at ease from the moment we met. The pictures turned out even better than I could have imagined and my family and friends can not stop talking about all the little details they captured in both our engagement and wedding day photos!! Highly highly recommend them for any of your photography needs!! Thank you again Chris and Jessica for everything!!

Chris and his wife Jessica are my new best friends!! I can't say enough about our amazing…read moreexperience with these two! Their professionalism, attentiveness, and their overall energy is what you need to have a successful wedding shoot! My guests even pointed out how nice our photographers were. It's SO IMPORTANT that you have a photographer that you are comfortable with and one you can relate to. They really know how to keep the energy up, and Chris has a great eye for a good photo opportunity! Don't even second guess yourself... BOOK WITH THEM!

Classy place, so historic. (since 1913). I was there for an event in the Fireside Room. Walked…read morepast a door that said "Fur Coats Only". Wow. They sure don't make em like they used to. The soup & sandwich spread was pretty good too... wonderful cream of broccoli. It's a nice, nice place. I think if you planned to have something there, it's pretty unlikely you'd be disappointed.

This family and staff are awesome! Food is always delicious! Splurge for the prime rib.read more

A very good and free stop before walking around the Lincoln Home area. Since they maintain…read moreexcellent information online, and give you a free map, with a little extra research ahead of time that's all you really need. The tours are informative and well run, but this place is a victim of it's own popularity, it is uncomfortably crowded and busy. Reservations for tours take a couple of hours to get to on a good day, so make them ahead of time. Expect herds of school children, and yes, it's important for them to learn American history, but children annoy me in groups larger than two. Georg Simmel would call a group of two a dyad. So, in Simmelian terms, triads or larger of children irritate me. I digress. This is one of those places you just have to come to visit if you're a citizen or want to become one. Good gift shop.

This was a fantastic experience!! We were guided by Ranger Luke…read more He gave us the pre-tour talk and took us through the house. It was very nice for a 150-year-old home. Lincoln's son gave it to the state, asked them to maintain it and keep admission free. And so it was. The kitchen stove and his desk upstairs are a couple of the original pieces. Very impressive place. Thankfully it now has A/C. :)

Nelson's recently catered an event for our family. I had not been to a catered event in years so I…read morewas pretty clueless of who to trust for a memorable celebration. My SIL used Nelson's in the past and called Nelson's for pricing and availability. We served salad, grilled chicken, roasted red potatoes, green beans, rigatoni and the assorted dessert tray. Every dish was flavored to perfection! They were the most reasonably priced and the food was complimented by many. Thank you for delivering a delicious meal for our guests. We would highly recommend Josh and his team at Nelson's.

I have had food from here a couple of times. It plain just not good…read more Food is very simple and lacks any flavor. Much better catering elsewhere. I Would not recommend.

Studio 131 is just 5 minutes from Washington Park. After studio head shots we drove to the park's…read moreBotanical Garden for environmental photos. My session was easy to schedule and went smoothly throughout. I am very pleased and give my highest recommendation.

Went here over the weekend for my buddy's wedding. From the outside, it looks a bit strange;…read moresandwiched between a drive-in theater and a water park. However, inside felt like any other wedding hall - great table settings and clean bathrooms. Cons: I asked for a J&B on the rocks and a corona*, but sadly they were out of corona even though it was on the beer list. Drinks were slightly pricey for downstate IL. Another minor gripe is that it seemed that the people working there seemed to be pushing everyone out as the night was ending. Advice to the management - move the dumpster away from the main entrance to the rear lot if possible. Otherwise, a solid 4 stars. *some of you may get the reference

Stopped in for a work related event…read more Convenient clean and employees were so helpful. Easy to get around. I was here for an Italian related event and the place was packed but from what I saw everything ran smoothly. Excellent venue for an event as far as I'm concerned

We went two weeks ago to attend my daughter's IWCOA wrestling event. Everything was very well…read moreorganized and signage was very clear so even though I had never been there before I knew where to go for everything I needed. It was also very clean - even the bathrooms!