Pear Tree Estate

Pear Tree’s catering division, LA Gourmet, catered our wedding on 4÷23÷2016. The reception was at another venue, but Pear Tree /​LA Gourmet took care of the food. Simply put, it was the best food I’ve ever had at a wedding — and I’ve probably attended 30 – 40 weddings in my lifetime. We had filet mignon, salmon, au gratin potatoes, asparagus, an incredible salad, and a variety of awesome dinner rolls/​breads. Our guests were blown away and talked about the food all night. We’ll be doing my daughter’s wedding at the Pear Tree and, of course, having them take care of all the food. The owners, Lauren and Annie, are professional, classy, and very charming ladies. If you’re looking for a super-​nice venue, Pear Tree is a great choice. If you’re looking for catering, LA Gourmet is the best I’ve ever experienced, hands down.

I was a guest at a wedding at Pear Tree in November 2014. Yeah, I’m a little late on the review! I’ve never reviewed a wedding venue before, so just know I was quite motivated to give this place props.
In the last 3 years, I have been to an average of 3 weddings per year and the wedding at Pear Tree definitely stands out not only because of the beautiful location, but because the staff and food were excellent as well. Absolutely, without a doubt, the BEST wedding food I have ever had. I work in event planning and I have had a lot of catered food — this blows everything else out of the water!
Compared to other venues at this level in the area, I believe Pear Tree has the best amenities. Maybe not the best location, as it was HARD to get a cab to pick us up (however Über is now in Champaign so that probably helps!), but in all other ways it goes above and beyond. If you are looking for a venue that is not stuffy like a country club or overdone like a hotel, Pear Tree is for you.
The couple also stayed in the house that can be rented on the property and I was able to see that was a lovely space as well. Very convenient for getting ready and of course beautiful location around the property for photos.
My only slight complaint about it is because the room is SO big, you really need a TON of people to make it feel full. If you’re looking to have a smaller wedding/​event, I don’t think this is the space for you. The setup of the wedding I attended had two bars on each end, with the dance floor and head table in the middle. While it was nice that the couple didn’t have to have the head table broken down for room to dance as I have seen a lot, this meant that people crowded around the bars all night rather than danced on the dance floor. Yes, we were dancing by the bar, but I felt bad for the DJ and the wedding party — it looked like no one was dancing. I think this could be fixed just by reorganizing the floor plan. Overall it was a great experience and I would definitely recommend Pear Tree Estate.

Amazing!!! Can’t say enough great things about this beautiful place & their amazing staff!!!

Landmark Review:
We had our department christmas party here and it was not what I expected in the middle of the country. The only major negative thing to speak of is the poorly lit sign on the country road where traffic is moving at 60 mph. People are tailing you as you are trying to find the entrance to this venue. In addition the parking lot is poorly lit and very hard to figure out where the parking spots are, however once you are inside you are greeted with a very large christmas tree and fire place. They spent a lot of time and detail furnishing the place to look like a first class hotel in Chicago. The staff was pleasant and the food they served for the event was great. The sliced apple, blue cheese, walnut salad was simply divine. We also had a honey glazed salmon and grilled chicken along with a few sides. Food was cooked well, flavorful and not overdone which is often the problem with large venues. The open bar was not bad. If you want to plan a wedding or an event this is the place to visit!

My cousin just got married and the reception was at Pear Tree Estate.
As of June, 2014, this place is only a few months old. It’s a really excellent venue. Very large with high wood beam ceilings and lots of room to dine and dance.
The servers were very quick to swoop in and pick up any used glasses and plates. (They did hijack my knife, which would have come in handy when the meat arrived.)
The wedding feast included pork tenderloin and chicken breasts. Both were good, if not outstanding. My girlfriend raved about the salad, with its strawberries, goat cheese, candied pecans and white balsamic dressing. You can see their wedding catering menu here —
Bartenders were fast and friendly.
If you’re having an event here, make sure to get the grilled cheese hors d’ oeuvres. Maybe the best thing I’ve ever tasted at a wedding.
The venue is beautiful but I have two criticisms.
1) The walls are all white, which makes for a very boring background for photos. There’s a cool fireplace, but other than that, you may as well be taking passport photos.
2) The venue’s big, flat, empty walls create something of an echo chamber. It was really hard to understand anything that was being said into the microphones.
That said, if I knew someone getting hitched and having their reception at Pear Tree Estate, I’d be jazzed to go back.