Avante Banquets - Fox River Grove, IL — Attraction in Fox River Grove

Double booked a FUNERAL and a WEDDING on the same night Let me set the scene: We walk in the afternoon before the wedding for setup and rehearsal. Instead of seeing both rooms opened up with the ceremony on the left side and the reception on the right side as was previously discussed right up until the week prior, we see a big wall in between both rooms with a family touring the other side. Immediately thinking, “This is not how Tracy told us it would look,” we start asking questions only for Tracy to tell us, “Oh yeah, last minute change of plans everyone! We recently scheduled a ‘celebration of life’ in the adjoining room.”

Now, calling a funeral, a “Celebration of Life” in this case is like calling a prison a “Gated Community.” You are not fooling anyone.

I cannot even begin to imagine how the individuals who booked these two events for the same night justified this.

You know what always drowns out the sounds of grief? The Cha Cha Slide.

You know what would make their vows even more special? Hearing a eulogy through a sound system set to the level ‘sonic boom’ in the other room.

How do we make wedding guests and funeral guests feel welcome simultaneously? You make them play “pick a door” and watch as unsuspecting husbands come into the room looking about as lost as last year’s Easter egg, scan the room looking for their wives only to see funeral sprays and concerned looks from funeral guests who have to re-direct yet another confused, white, man out of their intimate family gathering.

AND TRACY…. What can we say about Tracy? Well not only was she incredibly condescending, uncommunicative, hostile and combative, but she was about as helpful as an accordion player on a deer hunt. She was there alright but she only seemed to make things harder and she managed to piss everyone else off in the process.

While we knew there was a possibility of their being another event on the same day and we did not have a guarantee to both rooms, we assumed that IF they did book another event, it would be communicated to the bride so that she would be able to plan accordingly. Tracy never called us. She lied and said she contacted all of our vendors which she did not. Instead we were left scrambling and shocked at the lack of empathy and foresight displayed by management at Avante Banquets.

Heidi, our head server for the night was the ONLY saving grace for this weekend. She was everything Tracy and her manager were not. Kind, compassionate, empathetic, attentive and gracious. She should be running the show and has more class in her pinky than the few people who sit in the front office...

This shout out goes out to Missy Konopka, MVP of avante. Missy is the reason my brother's wedding was EPIC. We had hired Yanni design studio to do the decor for his wedding, but as good as yanni is.. MISSY is the reason why the wedding was a success. For Months, Missy went WELL ABOVE and beyond her call of duty... She was the one who found out that the wedding decor by yanni's design wouldn't fit in the space (Yup, you would think the high end designer that we paid an arm and foot to would tell us that, but nope) she was the one who took the extra time to fix all the "loose ends" that yanni design studio forgot to tell us!! The design studio forgot to inform us about a sweetheart table linen and placement 24 hours before the reception!! Missy comes to The rescue to help us with a solution in lightning fashion. She found extra stage pieces to make my brother's reception decor stunning. Who does that?!!!! She's the reason that the wedding hall looked amazing. She should be hired by top wedding designers in chicago land!! let me tell you- there was a lot that Yanni should have done- and yet missy was the one to pull it all together. She really cared, like it was her own family's wedding. I am so touched by her dedication to my 700 phone calls, the constant changes, the constant ability to troubleshoot every curve ball that came hee way. She is sooooooo fantastic. I have seen other banquet coordinators- they just do their work and call it a day. missy stands out. And that's why avante stands out. She will Work hard to get you the best price; the best food; the best of everything. She was so dedicated to us. She always stayed within our budget as well.. what a dream to work with We are soo grateful. I will post pics of the decor. But, as I said- MISSY IS THE REASON why every guest said the wedding was EPIC. Please-if you are looking for a wedding venue. This is it. The room was "jaw dropping" per our guests. People literally walked in and wanted to get married again. We love avante. Food was great as well!!! Thank you so much avante, YOU ALLL are soo incredible!! Thank you, missy!!! you are not just a salesgirl!!! you Are...

We had the wonderful experience of having our daughter Kristin Meyer marry Sean Pelka on 9.30.2017! It was the very 1st wedding at AVANTE BANQUET HALL! It could not have been more beautiful! The facility is absolutely gorgeous!! From the lobby and it's classy decorating, to the Bride's Room and then into the room where we had the ceremony which was set up like a chapel and it was so beautiful! We then moved into the gorgeous lobby with high-top tables a bar and butler served hot appetizers. It was then time to move back into the room which was then converted into the room where the dinner reception would take place. The room was so breath-taking and beautiful from the gorgeous set tables, the beautiful wall lighting and decorations to the gorgeous chandeliers! It could not have been more PERFECT!! Dinner was out of this world, everything is fresh because the food is prepared there. Where as many places the is brought in. We offered Salmon, Chicken Marsala and Chateaubriand. All 3 dishes were absolutely delicious!! All were served with cream of chicken soup, salad and rolls. There were also hot cloths given before dinner. The service was wonderful. Missy the bridal coordinator was fabulous to work with! George and Maggie Kalkounos, who also is the owner of Chicago Prime. These are two of the most wonderful people we''ve ever met! They strive for perfection in everything they do! They will do whatever they can to make your wedding or whatever type of party you may be having! We wish them much luck with their new business! We also want to thank everyone there in making Kristin & Sean's wedding so beautiful and special and a day that will live on in our hearts forerer! But bottom line is that we would 100% recommend AVANTE! It was...