Metropolis Ballroom of Arlington Heights

s comfortable with everything along the way! The venue and Anita helped make our wedding absolutely perfect!

e other venues, you have the entire second floor to yourself. It was nice that they kept the bridal suite and cocktail lounge open all night for guests who wanted a quieter place to sit. Since there was nice weather on our Big Day, guests were also able to take advantage of the outdoor veranda. Everyone enjoyed the versatility and uniqueness of the space! Additionally, there are endless photo ops both inside and outside of the venue. My bridesmaids and I loved getting ready in the gorgeous bridal suite-- it was roomy and comfortable! The service on our wedding day was friendly and efficient. Mauricio did a fantastic job as Event Captain and worked very hard to make sure everything was in order! The food was good. We highly recommend the carrot-ginger soup, tarragon salad, and the Italian grilled sea bass. Our wedding coordinator, Anita, provided excellent customer service, going above and beyond to make our day extra special! She was kind, professional, efficient, and communicative. We will always look back fondly on our memories from our wedding day at the Metropolis!

e thoroughly impressed with how organized, easy to work with, and cheerful she was. From agreeing to terms on the wedding contract to our meal, we were impressed with Metropolis Ballroom. The hall was absolutely beautiful for our reception, and a number of our guests thought the food was among the best they've ever had at a wedding.

der was top notch. Having access to the veranda topped off a great evening. Anita, the Event Producer, was easy to work with before and during the event, and Tom Manetti, owner of the Venue, was very accommodating with our requests.

good suggestions when asked. Servers were very helpful before and after the event. Food was delicious!

f was extremely caring and nice. I was able to enjoy my day without any worry. Anita, Diego and the entire staff really took care of everything and made our day that much more special. 10/10 would recommend having your wedding or next event here!!

othly thanks to the staff. The simplicity of the ballroom is beautiful making it a great choice for a venue!

s we planned this special day. The staff were warm and welcoming, making sure we had everything we needed and were also so friendly with our guests. It was a BEAUTIFUL day and already we are recommending this venue to our friends and family. Delicious food. Perfection! We can’t thank you enough for making this special occasion a dream come true for our daughter.

y person we interacted with truly seemed to care a lot about making sure we had an incredible wedding. Jessiy and Rachel did an incredible job getting us to and through the wedding day and anyone would be lucky to work with them for their big day.

e was quick to answer my (seemingly never-ending list of) questions, she was on top of every little detail I threw her way, and she was so kind and pleasant to work with the entire time! As for the wedding itself, the day was quite literally perfect. We had both our ceremony and reception in the ballroom, and it was just so lovely. Everything ran smooth as could be. We got SO many compliments on the food - like so, so many. I’m biased, but it was some of the best wedding food I’ve ever had. The space is beautiful, it’s in such a convenient location, and our day went exactly as we pictured it and planned for. Kate, our event captain for the evening was incredible; she was so quick to any of my night-of requests and she really helped make the reception run without a single hitch. My husband and I absolutely loved our experience with the Metropolis Ballroom, and we would 100% recommend it to anybody searching for an event venue in the northwest Chicago suburbs.

re is a parking lot located right next door. From the moment I began to look at venues for my baby shower Metropolis Ballroom was at the top of my list. Jillian my event producer was so sweet and did such a wonderful job capturing all the small details that mattered to me the day of my event. She made the planning process seamless. The day of the event the staff was so wonderful and several servers came up to personally congratulate me. I loved the personal feel and warm welcome they provided. The event staff also did a wonderful job communicating and sticking to the buffet timeline to make sure all the guests were fed. The food was also phenomenal!! I was blown away by how fresh and tasty everything was and best of all so were my guests. I received several compliments about how great the food was. Jillian worked with a local Bakery to make my dessert selection absolutely perfect and to match my Winnie the Pooh theme. Not to mention that everything was super delicious. I highly recommend the Metropolis Ballroom and am looking forward to finding future events to host there!

t. The venue was beautiful, the staff was amazing, and the food was incredible. The disconnect happened after the reception. The event specialist was not on site and it didn't seem like a lot of communication was done between her and the banquet servers. The banquet servers were extremely helpful with helping my parents load everything into the car, but they failed to mention that we could bring our cake home & also did not ensure that everything on our inventory list was packed. My parents did not leave the venue until about 1:30am so they did not even think to ask about the cake, and weren't aware of everything on our inventory sheet. Two weeks later, after returning from our honeymoon, I went back to pick up a few things that were left behind. One of those things were our extra favors, which were lottery tickets. Somehow, the box was "missing" and the event specialist did not take any accountability for it not being there. They also let me know that they threw our entire cake away because we did not pick it up in time. How were we supposed to know that? Why wasn't the cake given to us the night of the wedding? To top it off, they also threw out our cake topper, which was supposed to be a keepsake of ours. This could have easily been prevented had there been communication between the event specialist and the banquet team, or, if the event specialist had actually stayed through the end of the reception. I understand that it is a long day for them, but that is their JOB. What is sad to me is that despite the wedding being an absolute hit, is that I will never forget how mis-managed the end of the event was. I am also sad that my husband and I won't get to enjoy the top of our wedding cake on our first anniversary, and how our personalized cake topper was carelessly thrown away. People spend so much time and money to plan weddings and the venue and events specialists should make it their goal for everything to go as close to perfect as possible, from start to finish. Like I said before, we had an overall great experience with planning everything and the wedding itself. The events specialist we ended with was not who we signed our contract with and was still relatively new to her position. I am hoping she learned from her mistakes with us and can ensure that this doesn't happen with any future couples.

ception was. Jillian was so kind, patient, and understanding throughout the entire process. I was a very anxious bride, and Jillian handled every call, question, email, and meeting with such grace, kindness, and understanding. After every planning meeting, we left with such joy and comfort knowing that our wedding was in such talented hands. The Campbell room was beautiful for cocktail hour, and the ballroom was absolutely stunning for the reception. We wanted a very modern, clean, romantic feeling for the wedding and the metropolis encompassed all of that and more. It ended up snowing and raining for our reception, so we didn’t use the veranda, but our guest made so many comments about how beautiful the space was and the windows overlooking downtown Arlington heights. They said it was like being inside a beautiful snow globe! Our guests loved our food from Metropolis so much that our Pastor, who was a guest at the reception, actually reached out to Metropolis after the wedding to ask if they bottled their chimichurri sauce, he loved it that much! We have not heard a single complaint from any of our 110+ guests. We also had a lot of dietary restrictions from guests (gluten free, dairy free, allergies) and metropolis was able to accommodate every single person. The cake was also DIVINE, and Jillian did an excellent job of navigating a stressful cake situation for us. The wait staff was BEYOND attentive! They all deserve raises. They made us feel so loved! We never had to go searching for staff to help. Our head table waitresses constantly refilled our waters, checked in with us about our meals, cracked jokes and consistently complimented us, and made sure that me and my husband constantly had our favorite drinks in our hands! They even went as far as filling vases with water for our bridal bouquets, because they were starting to get wilty at the table. We received this exact message from one of our reception guests: “I had a chance to talk to the wait staff and thank them for their wonderful service and the delicious food. I have never experienced such outstanding service and delicious food like that before at a reception!“. The bartenders were AMAZING! Everytime I interacted with the bartender, she gave me a different compliment, and was having so much fun behind the bar, even dancing to our music! The day of coordinator, Marta, was such a joy! If we asked for something, she made sure we had it within 30 seconds. She made sure our bridal party was fed while they waited in the bridal suite as we were taking photos, that we constantly had water and drinks, and stayed on top of managing our presents and card box so they were never in danger of going missing. At the end of the night, I was a crying mess (I was so sad the wedding was over) and Marta gave me the biggest hug, and said “wait right here I will be back”. She came back in a flash with a glass of tequila and a glass of water, and told me to drink both to feel better. It was honestly the most genuine, heartfelt, and funny way to end our night. I am so thrilled that we got to have our wedding reception at Metropolis. It was perfect, from the planning process down to the amazing and enthusiastic staff. We 1000% recommend having your wedding at the metropolis, you will not regret it!

king with Jill halfway through the wedding planning process, and she was so caring and very easy to communicate with. Their wedding package is not only affordable for everything they include, but the team there is absolutely amazing. I’m the type who planned and detailed every aspect of my wedding, and I was 100% at ease on my wedding day because I was fully confident in Jill and the Metropolis staff’s ability to get things done. The food was amazing, and the night was seamless. Our guests keep telling us how great the night was! We would 1000% recommend hosting your wedding here :)

hem. Jill was so consistent and accommodating to anything that we needed and was always willing to go above and beyond to make our special day a dream come true! The venue itself is beautiful with the lofted ceilings and floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the veranda. The wait staff was also top notch and Kate (catering manager I believe) could not have been more attentive the night of! Over all, if you are looking for a beautiful venue to hold your next event, you should definitely consider The Metropolis and ask for Jill! Thank you again :)

y had worked with a different coordinator at first, but then after her departure, Jillian stepped in and was our primary contact. Jillian is very kind and helpful. I always appreciated how quickly she responded to emails. Our wedding night was amazing and huge thanks to Jillian and all the staff at the Metropolis who made it a great night. Food was also delicious.

absolutely wonderful with helping us and she made the experience, which otherwise could've been terrible because of covid, really fun and enjoyable. 5 stars all around. From the professionalism to response time, Shawna was fantastic. The day of our wedding everything went perfectly. Everything we discussed was taken care of and the only thing we needed to do was enjoy our perfect day. Thank you, Shawna, Tom and the whole Metropolis staff for making our wedding day wonderful. I would absolutely recommend this venue and use them again in the future for more events.

. The food is amazing, the staff is friendly, and want nothing but the best for you. Brides, if you book this venue, getting ready in the bridal suite is a must!

was a somewhat last-minute venue change for the couple (I think they moved venues a couple of months out). They are very quick to respond, which we appreciated!

t me the package options in an email and said she’d be out of town for my showing, but she referred me to the owner, Tom. I was told he had multiple appointments that day and would be happy to show us the grand ballroom. On the day of our appointment, we arrived 5 minutes early and were immediately greeted by another couple who asked us if we had an appointment with Tom. We confirmed and asked who they were. They said they too had an appointment with Tom scheduled 30 minutes prior to our arrival. The entire place was dark, everything was locked, and the couple said they couldn’t get a hold of anyone. I immediately replied to Shawna’s email I received the day prior that Tom was cc’d on to ask if there was a miscommunication or generally what the situation was. No one reached out to us, but we waited for 15 more minutes before leaving. To this day (over 2 weeks later), neither Shawna nor Tom have reached out regarding the appointment or to apologize for their incredibly unprofessional behavior. We were lucky enough to book another hall, ironically the one we went to see immediately after being blown off by Metropolis, one week later. However, I’m wondering about the couple we ran into because they were looking for an emergency venue this summer. While I understand employees have the right to vacation time and emergencies may happen, the lack of communication, follow up and utter disregard for potential business left a very bitter taste in my mouth.

as perfect that night and throughout the entire planning process. They worked hard to make sure your vision of the day came through perfectly. I can not say enough wonderful things about the Metropolis Ballroom and the staff!!

ally Shawna, the wedding director. She led us through the entire process and was honest, friendly, and calm, which is so appreciated especially during the last few stressful months of planning. Shawna and the staff went above and beyond in making sure every detail of our big day was taken care of, so that on the day of, all we had to do was show up! It was completely stress-free and allowed us to truly enjoy the day. The venue itself is absolutely gorgeous and EXACTLY what I envisioned for our October wedding. The ballroom is elegant, romantic, and timeless and everyone kept talking about what a beautiful wedding it was. It was well worth the investment. Thank you so much to everyone at Metropolis for making our wedding a day that we will never forget!

I asked. Shawna, the wedding coordinator, is great to work with. She knows her stuff and made great suggestions when I was at a loss. Food was unbelievably good, venue is beautiful, and it's so conveniently located! So glad we picked the Metropolis!

reception looked straight from a fairy tale and I could not have hoped for more. One piece of feedback I received from the guests was that the food was cleared away too quickly. Some of my guests went up to dance with us (we requested everyone to join us on the floor for 1 dance) and came back to see that their cake was already cleared away. Some guests didn't even get a bite in! I would recommend that the staff give guests a bit of time to finish their meal. Other than that, the venue was ideal. There is a Metra station close by, a parking garage just a few steps away. the downtown area is super cute and we ended up taking our photos there.

bsolutely stunning!

helpful through the entire planning process and worked with us to make sure every detail we envisioned happened. The day of wedding, everything was setup and went just as we wanted! Shawna and our photographer even went above and beyond and asked for a soundcheck for a concert in the park across the street to be postponed until after the ceremony was over. Luckily they obliged! It was the little things that really made a difference in making out day perfect!

ow great our venue was.

ds regarding the pre-ceremony set up, traditions, and working with our planner and Kosher Caterer. Our wedding day was seamless and all the extra details Shawna and her staff added in made it so magical!

nt of feedback - wine was quoted at one price, but charged at a 25% markup. Although we were disappointed by this, we still feel that overall our wedding was fairly priced. We have, and will continue, to recommend Shawna and the Metropolis Ballroom to family and friends. Thank you to the team for helping us create the wedding of our dreams!

s bring our vision to life with custom draping, lighting, and more. Shawna always promptly responded to our phone calls and emails, and we certainly got lucky as far as venue planners go. We highly recommend this venue, and are still daydreaming about our perfect day!

out the process, upfront regarding costs, and happily keeps you informed (and comfortable) as your big day gets closer. We were impressed with every aspect of the Metropolis, and they were so flexible to our needs (including letting us have access to the bridal suite an hour early so we could take pictures in downtown AH before it got dark). Since we were doing a winter wedding, we also had a surprise of Christmas decorations throughout the venue (free decorations!) I would strongly recommend this venue to anyone!

dinator through Metropolis, guided us through all of our planning. She was organized, kept us on track, and she was constant and timely in all of her communication with us throughout the process. We were able to enjoy our wedding celebration because we knew every detail was being taken care of by this amazing staff. They naturally handled every responsibility from start to finish without even being asked. I cannot say enough good things about our experience. I highly recommend this venue for your special event!

lace is it! Shawna was so easy to work with and really helped us create our vision within our budget. She had a to do list for each meeting that really kept us on track. The venue was gorgeous,the food was great, and the staff really made you feel special. So happy we chose this venue for such a special day!

etails, meetings, and deadlines. She had an amazing ability to work with my large family that all wanted a say in wedding planning and allow us to still have fun in the process! The day of, Shawna and her staff set up the ballroom to look like it was straight out of a bridal magazine. My jaw literally dropped when I first waked in the room! I wouldn’t trust anyone more with all the details of my big day, Shawna is a blessing and her team creates memories to last a lifetime at Metropolis!

d my son, who have food allergies and we were able to customize food just for them so that they could enjoy their meals with everyone else. Most venues cannot accommodate those types of requests. Shawna was meticulous in the planning, attention to detail, and suggestions. The day of, some things did not go according to plan (not their fault-- just us forgetting things or not having time for things), and the staff just went with it. We couldn't be happier. The space was beautiful- lots of wood and exposed brick. We were even able to use the heated veranda overlooking the fountain (60 degree day in January!!) One thing we loved was the use of the entire 2nd floor-- bride's room, groom's room, cocktail room and the ballroom-all ours, all night. Pricing is competitive for the area, and we felt that it was worth every penny when compared to other similar options. So glad we chose the Metropolis!

answer all of my questions and make this time as stress free as she possibly could. I cannot thank Shawna enough for everything she did for us!

ess. The tasting was so much fun with SO much food. They are willing to make the menu very customized which was awesome! You can essentially make a suggestion and they will make it happen (we had a shot of tequila and a mini taco as our appetizer). On the day of our wedding, my husband and I walked into the ballroom and were blown away by the beauty of the set-up. The lights, linens, and arrangement were perfect. The staff was amazing and were pretty much willing to do anything for the entire wedding party(ie more food, wine, etc) as well as all the guests. I would highly recommend the Metropolis Ballroom. It gives a modern and city feel but with the convenience and modesty of the suburbs.

wn Arlington Heights, the modern main ballroom design, the separate cocktail hour rooms, and the outdoor terrace. The food was fine, not great. What really made us upset, though, was the whole planning process. There were a lot of things that were not pleasant, and they all happened because the main wedding coordinator there, Shawna, did not know what she was doing. She was horrible with communication, unaccommodating, rude, and apathetic. Often times, we’d send her emails updating her on rentals, guest lists, menu choices, etc. but wouldn’t receive a response/confirmation for weeks and usually only after we reminded her to get back to us. Along the same lines, when we would send her these updates, we’d ask that she update the proposal and send it back. Most of the time, the proposal was never updated, and when it was, it was updated incorrectly. At the onsite planning meetings, we would typically just go over the details that we had previously communicated in our emails, which made them pointless. It was frustrating because we kept being told we needed to have these pointless planning meetings, but she was never able to meet when we were available. We always had to leave work early or take time off work to accommodate her schedule. The tasting was another particularly bad experience. Shawna didn’t know anything about the menu. We found bones in our fish. The dirty dishes never got cleared. We were given a very rude response when we started to ask questions about our rentals, being told we’ll have to schedule another day to discuss that because this wasn’t a planning meeting. On our actual wedding day the wait staff was nice, but as the bride (and the one that was paying for the event) I was served last. I’m pretty sure that wasn’t supposed to happen, and it was pretty disrespectful. The only way our event ended up alright is because our planner was phenomenal. At the end of it all our wedding turned out well, but because of all the other vendors that did their job well. Looking back our wedding definitely was not worth all the disrespect and poor planning by Metropolis. We felt like they cared about our money more than they care about us. I do not recommend using the Metropolis Ballroom for your venue.

es to last minute details. The food was delicious and all of our guests were very complimentary.

was one of the many factors that made our wedding such a fairy-tale come true! We loved it the second we walked in. Has a classy, comfortable, lofty feel in the quaint downtown area. During planning and even on our big day we were nervous and skeptical of how the day would pan out and trying to guess what would go wrong! (not because of anything that had happened or because of any staff, but because we are type A control freaks who like to do everything ourselves to make sure it's done right). Michael, Danielle, and all the staff far surpassed our expectations! We are a husband and wife that can say that not a thing went wrong at our wedding or reception!! Any little detail or plan that we were worried about went better than we could have imagined! We had read in reviews about Metropolis that Michael Raymond was a "jack of all trades"...that was an understatement! He is more than perfect at his job and literally has a great knack for being able to bring a brides dream to life! Can't even begin to count all the times during and after our wedding that our parents and bridal party ranted and raved about how "Michael was such a blessing to this experience and helped it be pulled off flawlessly!" Making food decisions was hard because there were far to many great options and all tasted great! When we weren't crazy about one if the chicken dishes, Michael and the chef quickly gave us more options and wouldn't settle until we were excited about the dish. At the dinner, everything was just as good as at the tasting. Michael also was so great at making sure we were able to eat some of every course since as the hosts of the party you easily get distracted and before you know it, you didn't eat or drink a thing! That was thankfully not our situation thanks to the waitstaff and Michael. A few things that we weren't thrilled about but were not deal breakers: 1. You must get every consumable good from Metropolis and pay the expensive price for it. My husband wanted him, groomsmen, and fathers to drink his favorite whiskey while getting ready. We were not allowed to bring this in, we would have had to get it overpriced through Metropolis. They did give us a beer and champagne toast though for the bridal party and parents before the ceremony. 2. Very limited beer selections even on the upgraded bar package. Great top shelf alcohols but no craft beers. Very pricey if you want to get it through them. 3. Underage people not getting kids meals get charged bar package. We fought this many times but Michael wouldn't compromise. 4. Pricier than a lot of other venues in the area. Some Quotes from our family/guests: "the wait staff was amazing and so attentive!" "There was never a line at the bar. The bartenders were so efficient, cool,and friendly" "bartenders took such good care of the bridal party and parents!" "The food was awesome" and lastly, I'm sure a lot of guests tell any bride and groom this but we still are hearing from so many people that "it was the best classy and fun wedding they've ever been too!" (We of course think it was too!) This review cannot begin to capture how truly happy and grateful we are to have had our wedding at Metropolis! Happiest day of our lives this far. Most expensive party we'll ever throw but honestly was worth it!