The Venue CU — Attraction in Champaign

This was a destination wedding. The Bride and Groom were from out-of-town, and they wanted to get married where they met at the U of I. The Venue was rented for the entire day. Miranda was very nice to the Bride, Groom, and Parents. She was rude to the guests when we were not present. Dan was just rude to everyone, but the bride and groom. We were allowed into the Venue at 8am to decorate and they had a couple of rooms for the wedding party to get ready in. Once everyone left for the wedding. Dan and Miranda lock the doors and would not reopen until 5:00 when the social hour was supposed to begin. The wedding cake had to be delivered to the church. After the mass, the wedding party went around town to have pictures taken and different locations. The Venue still would not let anyone in. We had to redirect the out-of-town guests, and most were elderly, to the restaurant next door. Of course, they all ate there and then not so much for the meal that was at the Venue. The wedding party’s dates or spouses were also denied entry into the venue during this time. Unfortunately, they still had their stuff in the dressing rooms provided. The bride’s parents were allowed back in. We brought in the cake and a stand with a poster of the bride’s brother. He was unable to attend the wedding. He is a decorated Marine who was on deployment at the time. Upon looking at the poster of the decorated Marine and with a disgusted sound in the voice, Dan said, “What is This?” Yep, Dan insulted my son. We gathered our stuff from the ready rooms and went to go check into the hotel. We returned to welcome our guest when Dan and Miranda would allow them in. (since the place rented all day.) Right before the meal was served Miranda was telling the guest that the open bar was closed. It was not and guests did not have a drink with their meal or for the toast. The Venue had a security guard, whose job was to keep the homeless out and look after the parking lot. The security guard was not concerned with his duties. He was dressed in full tactical gear and inside the building more than outside. He harassed several guests. He was walking through and around the dance floor. He walked amongst and in the middle of the groups dancing. We had female guests leave and go to the hotel to get away from him. Toward the end of the evening, I requested from Dan one last song to be played for my daughter. He ignored my request 5 times and walked away from me. Dan said, “I do not care about the people in the **ing...

It’s hard to put into words how amazing our wedding day was and it’s because of the employees at the Venue CU! It was better than I could have ever envisioned. My husband and I had our hearts set on another venue for years… until we walked into an unfinished Venue CU back in August of 2020. Dan who toured us around telling us to put our creative caps on and his wife Miranda in the lounge space scraping paint off the walls! They truly put so much time and love into this place. We loved the venue under full construction but loved it so much more on our big day. A few things that helped make our decision easy The time Miranda and Dan took answering questions, from multiple zoom meetings and hundreds of emails. Your time did not go unnoticed and we felt so confident about our wedding day because of this. They really thought of everything, from the spacious closet in the bridal suite for all your stuff to having three bars so no one has to wait in line. The details matter people and this team knows how to throw an event flawlessly. I never felt penny pinched for every little “extra” thing. We looked at a handful of venues and this was really the only one that didn’t even need all the extras because it’s such a beautiful space all on its own. Another positive was not having to clean up after the wedding. The Venue CU team packs everything up for you and it is a game changer. You can truly enjoy your day from start to finish and feel relaxed. Miranda! Everyone needs a Miranda on their wedding day! I’ve been in plenty of weddings to learn what a good day of coordinator does and what an excellent day of coordinator does. Our day was unbelievably perfect because of her! Brides, don’t stress because Miranda has your back and will make your day perfect in every way! From the bottom of our hearts thank you Venue CU! Our day was unforgettable and so so special. We are very happy that we chose you. Thank...

The Venue CU was a dream come true wedding venue! The entire staff was so kind and helpful throughout the process.

Our amazing coordinator Rylee was so helpful and paid attention to every detail to make sure our wedding day was perfectly smooth. She took so much stress off of our plate by being so prepared and coordinating with every vendor to make sure they were all set and we were taken care of.

Dan was phenomenal coordinating the music for the evening and was so helpful installing a couple of custom decorations the night before.

Casey and the bar staff were also great to work with throughout the process and Casey had some fun ideas for signature cocktails.

Miranda helped make sure everything was ready for pickup and conveniently located by the front door the next morning and we were all packed up and out of there in 20 minutes.

Their whole team is such a joy to work with and they do so as highly engaged, flexible and incredibly nice people.

All of our guests had such a great time and were very complimentary of the space and staff. We could not recommend The Venue CU...