Hotel Baker

I loved having my wedding at Hotel Baker. The staff was so accommodating and attentive the entire day. Julie, one of the hotel's day-of coordinators, thought of everything. She made sure that our rehearsal and wedding day ran without a hitch. She went absolutely above and beyond (including successfully removing both footprints AND red wine out of my wedding dress). Our outdoor ceremony right on the Fox River, as well as our outdoor reception in the hotel's rose garden, were both exceptionally beautiful. The hotel allowed us to do our private vows in their outdoor gazebo. The Rainbow Room was a gorgeous place to have our reception-- I highly recommend adding the starry skies decoration to the ceiling. It made for such an elegant ambience. The light-up ballroom floor was a great touch, and the staff even let us change the floor color between dinner and dancing. We got so many compliments from guests on the beauty and history of the venue, as well as the delicious dinner! The filet was cooked perfectly, and the chicken was great as well! I think it is rare to have truly delicious wedding food, but the chef at Hotel Baker nailed it. The bartenders were attentive, friendly, and made a mean gin fizz. The gelato bar and late-night Wahlburgers sliders were a hit too! The staff at the Baker thought of every detail and executed the night flawlessly. The only hard part of the process was planning with the hotel beforehand. Do not expect the hotel to reach out for every step in the planning process; I had to reach out to request a rehearsal, final meeting, final payment details, etc. They will reach out for a tasting, however. If you choose the Baker for your venue, be sure to stay on top of things. The hotel has a lot of weddings to keep track of, especially in the fall. Although we met with the sales manager to finalize our details on 9/14, we did not receive a definitive plan with a timeline, approved signature drinks, and final payment number until 10/3 (one week before the wedding). This made planning, name card/sign making, and attempting to finalize details with other vendors a bit stressful for me. I understand that autumn is the hotel's busy wedding season, and that the sales manager had many other weddings to worry about. However, this was my only wedding, and finalizing important details at the last minute added unnecessary stress. Although planning and communication beforehand was a tad inconsistent, I really would not have booked any other venue. The actual day was the wedding of my dreams, and I have Hotel Baker, Tiffany, and Julie to thank for that. I did not have to worry about anything, and everything I had envisioned for the wedding was taken care of by the wonderful Hotel Baker staff. The beautiful venue speaks for itself, and I had many guests tell me it was the best wedding they had been to in a long time. I really couldn't ask for more! I highly recommend the hotel as a wedding venue, just make sure you are on top of communication, planning, and keeping track of your own timeline. One other quick note—if you book your wedding during St. Charles's Scarecrow Fest (as I inadvertently did,) be sure to suggest that guests who choose not to book a room at the hotel take Ubers. Parking in town was limited, and a few guests missed the ceremony despite being warned about the fest beforehand. This was small potatoes compared to the great day we had, but I thought I would include the advice anyway!

My wife and I would like to thank the Hotel Baker team for making our day so special and magical. Our wedding was virtually stress free because of the superb planning and execution by Hotel Baker. We couldn't have asked for more. We had originally planned on having our ceremony and cocktail hour in the rose garden with the reception in the Rainbow Room, however weather made us switch plans. We used the Rainbow Room for the ceremony and reception, with the room being flipped while we had cocktail hour upstairs. It went so flawlessly no one could tell it wasn’t our original plan! Our families and friends had a wonderful time and many said it was the best wedding they have been to and that the food and service were the best they've ever experienced! The only hiccup we experienced was that the stands that we brought couldn't hold our flower pieces for the altar. But the staff at Hotel Baker were one step ahead and found stands for the flowers. This quick thinking and excellent service shows how dedicated Hotel Baker is to making your day very special. The staff was superb, both during the rehearsal and throughout the actual wedding. We worked with Tiffany on planning and she made the process smooth, easy to understand, and fun throughout. The details and logistics could've been a chore in other hands, but she made the process enjoyable. You really don’t need a separate day-of person with her and her staff on-hand. We especially want to shout out Julie who we worked with the day before and day-of. She was phenomenal and anticipated our every need. Her encouragement and clarity were deeply felt by us and really contributed to the ease and comfort of the day. She actively made the day better. She even wrote a kind note for us in our guestbook! If you are looking for an all inclusive wedding package- venue, food, drinks, cake, etc- AND excellent service, look no further than Hotel Baker!