Café Brauer Reviews
Reviews
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4.2 out of 5 rating
4.2 out of 5 rating
21 reviews
85% recommend it
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Katie Sent on 12/08/2022
Stunning venue!
I knew as soon as I walked into the venue that this was where I wanted to have our wedding. The architecture alone is beautiful, and when decorated and lit for a wedding turns into a magical place. Our coordinator Molly Finn was the absolute best. She also coordinated our catering through Tigerlily Events. Everyone raves about the food and the venue, and Molly helped make the process as seamless as possible. Highly recommend especially in fall/winter when it is dark outside early on, it adds an extra glow and ambience. -
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Kristi R. Sent on 12/31/2021
Classic Chicago venue
We are so happy we chose to get married here for our August 2021 wedding. This is a classic Chicago venue with absolutely stunning architecture and views of the skyline. I particularly appreciated that the outdoor space was covered so you never had to worry about inclement weather. It was the perfect size for our 150 guest count with a sizable dance floor and 5-person band. You have to choose from an approved list of vendors for catering, floral, live music, etc. which was honestly kind of nice since it narrowed the searching. The only thing is that you do have to use Brauer for your beverages, which ends up being quite expensive if you want to serve wine with dinner (it’s an additional cost above the bar package that you use for the rest of the night). Overall excellent choice if it’s in your price range! Our guests are still raving about how beautiful it was.
(Photo credit to Pen & Lens Photography) -
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![Julie]()
Julie Sent on 06/10/2016We had our wedding here in December 2014. We fell in love with the vent space, and it was a gorgeous backdrop to our wedding. We worked closely with Jennifer, who was phenomenal at customer service, communication, and planning. Everything was executed to perfection. We also highly recommend the on-site catering service: Tigerlily Catering- they were great and an affordable option! Highly recommend this space- we are glad we selected it and our guests haven't forgotten it!
One note is that if it's really cold out: be sure to ask for extra heaters for the side porch areas!
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Kristie Sent on 04/10/2019Dream Venue
Cafe Brauer was my dream venue. It is naturally beautiful, and the perfect size for my guest count of 150. The staff did a wonderful job, and I was even able to get into the venue a little early to take first look photos with all of my ceremony decor set up. It was probably my favorite memory of the day.
I got countless compliments from my guests about how good the food was. Shannon was my main contact once we were closer to the wedding, and was very responsive, and even made sure I had a glass of champagne right after the ceremony.
My only complaint would be that the bar is priced pretty high, and the minimums can be frustrating with a lower guest count. Also, communication around the event contract could have been a bit more clear. -
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![Rachel W.]()
Rachel Sent on 07/13/2012The perfect venue for our wedding reception. Cafe Brauer is an absolutely stunning building with an amazing view of the Chicago skyline from the North Loggia. Our contact at Cafe Brauer was very helpful and responded very quickly to any questions we had. Amazing venue although the liquor packages were VERY pricey. All in all it was a dream wedding and I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful setting. -
Heather Sent on 08/08/2018We LOVED getting married at Cafe Brauer! So many people have complimented our venue's beauty and how perfect it was! We worked with Christine and Cassandra. They held some of our self-provided decor for us and even set some of it up, which was really helpful!
It is quite expensive, especially because of the bar minimums, and you can only use vendors off of the approved vendor list. We loved our vendors, though, so that ended up being just fine!!
Overall, so happy we got married here and would choose it again in a heartbeat! -
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User1120611 Sent on 03/28/2013The most beautiful venue in Chicago! We had the most amazing wedding there! If you are looking for a truly unique and Chicago wedding venue, this is the place! -
User1262021 Sent on 07/29/2013I LOVE this venue! It is, in my opinion, the most beautiful in Chicago due to its history, gorgeous look, serene location yet still right in the city, and perfect skyline views. It is pricey for sure (worth it) but tax deductible. One thing that was both a plus and minus is they give a list of pre-approved vendors to choose from. Loses some flexibility there, but also makes the job a bit easier and there are many vendors to choose from. (Also offer various price ranges for caterers, florist, DJs or Bands, etc.) I personally loved ALL my vendors. The only reason I did not love this was I had to plan ALL the major vendors at once right when booking Café Brauer, to be sure they were available on my date. A lot of work at once but then I could relax. LOVE CAFE BRAUER -- everything was amazing! -
User865056 Sent on 07/16/2012Great venue. We had our reception at Cafe Brauer. The room was amazing and the open balconies were perfect. A bit pricey and bar prices were ridiculous. I must say that I couldn't imagine the wedding anywhere else. If you like the rustic feel the place is perfect. Don't expect any flexibility with the bar they are a bit overboard because the security from cafe brauer is right on top of them I mean no warning to anyone at all that the bar will be closing. Other than that the venue is lovely and the bar setup is just right because you don't have to walk across the dance floor to get a drink (when the bar is open) -
User855984 Sent on 07/08/2012Cafe Brauer is the most beautiful wedding venue I've ever seen. I'm so glad it was available for us for our wedding. We got so many compliments and it is stunning in photos (at least the photos taken when it's still light out). If you want a truly "Chicago" wedding, this is the place for you. A few things to be cautious about:
--they have a pretty strict list of approved vendors you are allowed to use so it gets a little pricey
--you'll save quite a bit on rental if you have a Friday or Sunday wedding. (and alo have more flexibility since Saturdays get filled up way in advance)
--I recommend having a really great day of coordinator since there's very little set-up time. Everyone there is a pro so it will look great and be ready for you, but if you are a DYI bride, you'll want to have someone there to set things up for you.
--you won't be able to have a rehearsal the day before so make sure you keep the ceremony simply (we had a 'scene change' in ours so I was a bit stressed tyring to do a quick run-through 20 minutes before the ceremony started).
--when the sun goes down, the space gets pretty dark so photos are not the best. Not a big deal, especially in the summer, but it's good to have important events (cake cutting, first dance, etc) while the sun is still up.
It really is a beautiful, perfect venue. I think it was the best choice we made in the planning process. -
User2267347 Sent on 08/12/2015Cafe Brauer speaks for itself as a venue. It was perfect for us and we couldn't have imagined having our wedding anywhere else. We had both our ceremony and reception there which was convenient for guests. The room was beautiful both in the daylight and at night. They are not overly accommodating and don't have to be as the venue is in such high demand. They are also not at all flexible on the approved vendor list, but for us this was worth dealing with.
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User1036792 Sent on 12/05/2012I LOVED our venue, considering this is where we spent our anniversaries and where he proposed. Everything looked beautiful the day of, the only part I did not enjoy was working with the sales manager who had told me we would receive a $1,000 discount off the venue if we selected the in house caterer (who was AMAZING) then when it came time to pay the final bill she pulled up old emails from before the contract was signed stating that I was incorrect and misunderstood.
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Walder F. Sent on 03/21/2019Terrible predatory vendor. Don't get married there.
Terrible predatory vendor. Don't get married there.
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