Having the reception at the Civic Center was great. Sara works with you just like a wedding planner would for your reception details, and in the end you get a layout preview and final meeting where everything comes together for you. I thought prices were really reasonable from the other places that I had looked throughout Peoria. They have their own catering, you can't bring in your own, but it tasted delicious and the presentation of the food was like out of a magazine! I never stressed about whether or not something was going to get done, and Sara was great at getting back to me for all of my questions or concerns.

We used an older room, but they have a new addition with beautiful new rooms. And with all of the hotels nearby, you can have your pick of the litter with where you and your guests stay the night!

The price we ended up paying was for the room itself, all of the food (for about 150 guests), a partial open bar (beer, wine, soda and tea), and appetizers during a cocktail hour. It was the best price that I had found for all of that. Everywhere else I had found was around 5K or more with everything.

The Peoria Civic Center was the perfect venue for our reception as it is located downtown close to the church we were married in and hotels within walking distance (the Pere Marquette even has a skywalk to the Civic Center). The ballrooms are on the 4th floor and give a beautiful view of the city. While this is not the cheapest venue, the quality of the food and service is well worth the cost. We received many compliments from guests on the food and the staff helped keep our reception moving on schedule. Since this is a larger venue we were also only required to pay for the alcohol that was actually served and meal costs were a la carte. For a bonus, book during baseball season and you can see fireworks at the Chiefs stadium from the balcony!