CD and Me

Attended an outdoor wedding event there Sunday June 12 beautiful place nice people working there. Very helpful crew. I want to go there now for dinner.

If you have a food allergy, triple check and call ahead to make sure they have your food. I figured the bride turning in a list with your name on it was enough, but I ate green beans and a piece of sausage and ended up going home early sick. I don’t even think the waitress checked to see if I was even on the list– didn’t ask for my name, just came back a few minutes later saying they didn’t have any other gluten free plates even though they had gluten free options. Waitress was very unpleasant and did not help at all. Such a bummer. Beautiful facility otherwise.

Beautiful facility! The staff at CD and ME is the best. No cookie cutter weddings here. They have two facilities in the summer, The Loft and the Mica (tent). If you are looking for an indoor/​outdoor facility, this is the place!

Went for the first time last night, though my husband has been before, The comedian was great, drinks were priced fairly, and the people are very friendly. One of the owners greeted everyone at the door. NIce touch. The atmosphere was great and the grounds are beautiful We can’t wait to go back for a summer concert!

I had my wedding at CD&ME on July 11^th, 2015, and my husband and I had a truly wonderful experience.
From the moment we walked in, we fell in love with the rustic-​yet-​elegant feel of the Loft location. I especially loved that we could use the outdoor gazebo for the ceremony and then be steps away from the indoor-​outdoor reception area. The glass garage doors are beautiful, and all of the landscaping is professional and well-​maintained. It was visually a stunning location.
We really enjoyed working with Catherine for the planning. She was very professional, organized, and made us feel comfortable. My favorite part was how flexible everything was and how much they supported my slightly non-​traditional requests. They also kept me on top of things, which was very helpful!
When it came to the day of the wedding, we worked with the hostess Marni, who I adored. We had some drizzle right before the ceremony, but Marni watched the radar and we ended up being able to start right on time with no rain. She made sure the staff dried off the chairs and that everything was ready to go. During the reception, she made sure the vendors were being handled properly and that we stayed on time. I didn’t hear any complaints!
Overall, I had a really incredible wedding at CD&ME. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a unique venue in the Chicagoland area.

CD&ME is a beautiful facility with top notch employees. They do a wonderful job of providing a comfortable, classy venue for their guests. I’ve been to some of the absolute BEST weddings at CD&ME — memorable times. Their event planning covers every detail and they work very hard to ensure that their guests are satisfied.
I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it for any special event (Weddings/​Corporate/​Social/​Birthdays/​Anniversaries).

We hosted our wedding here this past weekend, and overall, I am extremely pleased with my experience.
The planning process was excellent. They worked with us, and we were able to negotiate on a few items — particularly the ceremony fee. Catherine was super helpful and supportive. She was incredibly responsive from the very beginning, and answered all my questions in a timely manner. She was also full of great ideas for us. She suggested we do the ceremony outside in front of the firepit. It was definitely chilly, but it was so pretty. And when I felt like I was getting some flak at the rehearsal for deciding to do the ceremony outside, she and Kathy took us aside and reminded us this was our day and our decision. It was exactly what I needed.
The venue itself is absolutely gorgeous — very rustic chic! Tons of gorgeous stone work, gorgeous patios, waterfalls (though being December, they were frozen over), a gazebo, trellises outside. Lots of fun, electic décor inside including lights strung from the ceiling. Since we had a wedding it was also very beautifully, and tastfully, decorated for the holidays. The holiday decorations didn’t draw a lot of attention to themselves, but added to the overall décor very nicely. The firepit out on the patio is awesome!
A few other random pluses of having our wedding there:
+ open bar through dinner for no additional charge
+ DJ service is included in the cost, and Matt, the house DJ we worked with, was fantastic!
+ not a nickel and dime kind of place. The per person cost included all the «premium» booze that other places we looked at wanted additional $$ to include.
Day of, Kathy handled most of the coordinating, and she was fantastic. I had complete confidence. She was very on top of making sure I had what I needed.
We did have the same situation Suzanne mentioned with regard to tables having to be taken down to create the dance floor, but we were warned well in advance that this would need to be done so that we could a) plan our seating arrangement so guests who wouldn’t mind losing their table were seated in these spots and b) let those guests know in advance. I sat my friends there, and let them all know weeks before hand what would be happening. I haven’t heard any compliants from them.
Overall, they were great to work with, flexibly and accomodating, and I’d definitely recommend this venue! However, the was one larger issue and two minor issues that resulted in the 4 star review instead of 5:
The first, and largest, issue was there were a few issues with dinner service that I think were a combination of caterer and venue error, but I’m not really sure as I was pretty busy that day. However, CD & ME does require you to use one of three approved caterer so even if the issues were 100% the caterer’s fault, some amount of responsibility still falls to venue. The venue suggested we change the layout for the buffet and omelet statiosn (We served breakfast for dinner.) at the last minute which I think ulitmately created more problems than it solved. Dinner service took an extremely long time, and by the time the final two tables were served, the buffet was nearly empty (This will be address more thoroughly in my review of the caterer.) It wasn’t a nightmare situation, but it wasn’t a perfect experience either.
The next problem, which is pretty minor, but worth mentioning as a few other reviewers have mentioned it as well, was the temperature. It was extremely warm inside. I’m sure they could have opened a door, but since it was winter, I was concerned about the guests close to the doors being too cold.
The final issue was the head DJ was less than responsive. Matt the DJ we ultimately worked with was great. I can’t say enough good things about him. But my expirience with the head DJ was frustrating.

I was just here for a wedding this last weekend, and I can honestly say this is one of the prettiest wedding venues I’ve ever seen. The wedding was in a gazebo, and the aisle was a brick paved patio. There were nice white chairs, as well as a back row of silver bar stools for people to sit at.
Once the wedding was finished, we were directed into the reception area which was so «country chic» in my opinion. Draped lights hung from the cieling, the walls offered lots of natural light, but were also opening garage doors to let in air. We were at a table right by the big entrance in, so when it cooled down during dinner, the staff was more than willing to close the door down for our comfort.
I don’t know if this was an extra fee our couple paid for, but there were two bars, one inside and one out, and they both stayed open during dinner. A wedding first, for many of us!
The food was family style, and everything was good. Lasagna, chicken parm, a lemon fish, green beans, and mashed potatoes. Everything came out steaming hot. Portions weren’t huge, but the servers offered second helpings of whatever we wanted, and the second round came out just as hot. I was impressed!
I thought the service was great through out the appetizers (we had to turn them away because they came by so frequently!) and dinner.
I’m deducting a star because our table was right by the DJ booth, so it be became one of the tables moved to open up a dance floor. My friends were mid bite of dessert when they were told «we are moving this table now», so that part was kind of abrupt and unappreciated. We were all left without a place to store our purses too, which was inconvenient.
Other than that, I had a wonderful time. Props on the giant bon fire too. That was awesome! And apparently there was another wedding being held at the venue, which you’d never know. It felt like it just belonged to us. Great experience!

I had my wedding here and it was incredible! Catherine, Kathy, and Eva were beyond accommodating in planning the event and making sure everything went perfect… including allowing my dog in the ceremony. :) Our family and friends were absolutely blown away with how beautiful the loft was and how perfect everything was. I was over the moon that day and would pick CDandME again in a heartbeat!!!

I attended a wedding at this venue last night and it pains me to give only three stars. I will start with the pluses: 1. Beautiful setting-​we were in the indoor venue but they opened up the walls and the party spread to the gorgeous, landscaped grounds which included fire pits, waterfall, gazebo, trellis. I imagine the bride has some amazing photos.
If it had rained, I am not sure what would have happened but luckily the weather cooperated for us
2. Food-it’s catered, not sure where bride had ours catered from but our meal was outstanding
3. Valet – free valet is super convenient, especially if you have older people with you like I did –(it’s dark in the back lot where you can self park) and nice, convenient, clean bathrooms!
Minuses-​1. Temperature – it was uncomfortably hot for the first couple of hours. I see from other reviewers this is an issue. While it was a warm humid day, it felt as if there was no a/​c. I heard the brides father complain, and they brought out fans which helped. But until the sun went down and they opened the walls to the patio, it was uncomfortable. Had it rained, I don’t know what they would do but I would have had to leave earlier because I hate being hot
2. Lines for the bar were long, it wasn’t terrible but the line expanded into the tables, so it just felt crowded. This is very minor but if I were to advise someone planning an event, perhaps having bottles of wine at the tables may help cut the lines down a bit.
Overall, I would recommend this venue to anyone planning a special event –it truly was a beautiful, memorable event. I would just recommend being prepared in advance to have fans or something to keep the temperature comfortable.

I wish I could give this place no stars! I was invited there by friends that are regulars at this place. When I parked and walk to the door by myself I was told by the bouncers the only way I’m getting in is if I’m VIP. There was no line and people were walking in and out to their cars. I said to the bouncer «how do you become VIP»? He said come back in the morning and they tell me how much I have to pay. NO THANKS!!! I wouldn’t spend a dime at this place. My friend even came outside with two drinks and the bouncer said I could drink by the entrance. I’ve been in business since I was 18 and that’s no way to run a business. Total waste of time!!!

I recently attended my good friend’s wedding at cd & me and I have to say I was very impressed. The facility was beautiful and the bartenders quick and funny; but the level of detail they took in decorating the place was amazing! Then I find out that they have concerts and comedy shows at this place. I’m always looking for something new to do for a date night so I’ll be sure to send my review of how the concerts are. But for now, I have nothing but good things to say about the place and my friend’s wedding went off without a hitch.

I see there aren’t any current reviews of CD & ME so I’ll throw one up here and give folks an update on conditions and amenities.
I attended a family wedding reception in the tent and it was quite nice. I’d feared the worst with the 90-​degree heat but they’ve outfitted the tent with air conditioners so it was very comfortable. The venue is tastefully decorated with lights and the «floor» is actually a nicely designed patio (brick and stone pavers), reinforcing the «outdoor» aspect of the space. The grounds surrounding the tent are beautiful and include a huge outdoor fireplace and a gazebo. The plantings are well-​maintained and designed to highlight the grounds. It made for quite the setting, whether in the tent or outside enjoying the evening breeze.
Parking was ample for two wedding receptions (the other being held in the indoor space) and staff directed guests to the appropriate area. There are two bars serving the event and plenty of space for things like a band, a sweets table, gifts table, etc. The bathrooms are small, but they’re clean and well maintained. I can’t imagine hosting a large party; seems critical mass is about 150 guests.
This venue doesn’t provide food, instead offering four catering services from which to choose. It seems they’ve created a good setup for caterers to be able to deliver sit-​down and buffet meals so the quality of the meal is really up to the caterers. (The food was average, but I’ll write a separate review since it is a caterer, not the venue, providing the food.)
A note about the liquor service: they do use top shelf liquor and pour proper cocktails. They also served a nice Merlot blend. I didn’t sample the white wine.
I’m not sure who provides the tables and seating, but one significant miss was the chairs. They’re higher quality folding chairs but they’re small and «short» if that makes any sense, resulting in a pretty uncomfortable experience. I felt like I was tipped forward whenever I sat down.
Other small misses: appropriate glassware at the bars was in short supply, resulting in getting martinis in standard beverage glasses. The dishware looked a bit ragged (if you’re going to provide plates with gold accents and the gold is wearing away, it’s going to look cheap rather than luxe.) The AC vents come in from the sides of the tents and when on, blast guests within 20 feet of the vents. There has to be some way to redirect or reposition them so they don’t ice out guests seated near them. Sort of defeats the purpose if you have to turn them off because they’re blasting people!
Overall a great experience if you’re willing to drive out there. A lot of guests left early (relatively speaking compared to other family weddings held at conventional banquet halls) simply because of the lengthy drive home. Not the best outcome for the bride and groom (who wants a half-​empty reception by 10 PM?) but then again, they chose the place for the setting, not proximity to guests.

We went to CD & ME for a wedding reception and found it to be a really beautiful venue. It was well organized and 2 bartenders were available for serving drinks so lines were short. I was prepared to really dislike the food as the only thing available was a hamburger and pork chop buffet line but I was pleasantly surprised by the pork chop. It was nicely smoked and wasn’t cooked to death. The roasted potatoes were pretty good too.
I would have given CD & ME a higher rating but we were really kind of miserable between about 6p and 9p when it cooled off enough to stop sweating. Come on. It’s an outdoor venue in Chicago in July. There was no where near enough fans. If the management reads this, check out
. A 10 – 15 foot ceiling fan would make a world of difference to your guests.

Yes it’s beautiful. I just miss the days when they sold a limited amount of tickets for bands, parties, etc. Now they cram 500 people in there and still only have 4 toilets and slow bartenders. Other than private events I’ll pass on this place from now on.

I will preface this review with the fact that I had a massively disappointing breakup there, the only time I went there. That doesn’t really affect my opinion of the place, one would think. Let me start with the fact that it might be the most visually interesting band venue I’ve ever seen. I would seriously contemplate getting married or having some sort of important group gathering there, it’s that damn pretty and very cool. The bad … and there is alot. There is no stage area, it was not built as a band venue. The bars were too few and the wait was a ridiculous 25 minutes for drinks. There were far too few bathroom amenities, and a third of them are port o potties. Parking wasn’t bad because we got there early, but as I left there was parking all up the road, which is pretty far to have to walk to get there. If this place would correct these problems, they have potential to be someplace really great.

If this were a movie it would be called «The Good, The Bad & The Ugly»
The Good: Some of the coolest, visually pleasing landscaped outdoors. It is unlike any other drinking establishment type place you have been to. It is only open to the public on Thursday evenings in the summer & fall.
The Bad: This place is in the middle of nowhere. If your not there early, you will be parking out in a field ½ a mile away. Welcome to Unincorporated Frankfort baby! Cover Charge — C’mon, are you mot making enough money on the over priced beers?
Bathroom lines & Bar lines seem to be better than previous years.
The bands are the same ol, same ol’ but they always pack em in so why change.
The ugly: For every one good looking person, there is two… you guessed it (well we are out in the sticks here).
It’s worth at least checking out once or every week if you live close, have a Harley & are single.
* They also do weddings here and do them pretty well. None of the negatives (parking, cover, over priced beer, long lines) at a reception.

BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD
I recently attended the CD and ME Halloween party. For $ 35 a ticket you were supposed to have unlimited beer/​wine/​food. It was about 40 degrees out that night, and the line for beer and horrible white zinfandel was OUTSIDE. Sometimes the wait was almost 20 minutes to get a beer. The food was mediocre at best, but at least this was in a separate warm tent.
The bathroom situation: don’t get me started on this one. 4 yes FOUR porto potties with long lines outside, and 2 inside bathrooms. there were about 400 or so people at this event, and there was unlimited beer. SERIOUSLY are you kidding me??? Although it does slightly entertain me to see girls in their sexy nurse outfit shiver for 15 minutes waiting to pee, it also sucks because I’m freezing too.
I can’t recommend this event/​venue to anyone.

My boyfriend and I attended last nights Halloween’s Bash and walked away very disappointed. We do not know if we will attend any future events.
I would assume about 400 – 500 people attended the party. I felt there were not enough bathroom accommodations. There were 4 port-o-potty’s outside and 4 inside (male and female). I can’t tell you how many people I saw peeing in the bushes, behind the tent, and in the trees. For spending $ 70 on tickets, I thought you wouldn’t see this like you would at a college keg party. I spent over an hour and a half in line (total) waiting for the bathroom. Also, let’s not forgot about 1 hour waiting in line (total) for drinks inside and outside). So for a 5 hour party, about 3 hours were spent waiting in lines. Any event with the cost of this should have been more well planned in my opinion.
Next, in my opinion the costume contest was a joke! How were the contestants judged? How did the crowd favorites not even place in the contest? You could VERY clearly hear the majority of the crowd boo the first and second place winners. I’m not saying that their costumes were not creative, but clearly everyone was disappointed with the event results. It is even more disturbing to hear that the winner wore the same costume in a previous contest from several attendees. Many questioned if he had a relationship with the event planners.
Lastly, I’m amazed that there was no mention or marketing to not drink and drive. With the amount of UNLIMITED alcohol (if you were willing to wait in line) where you could get more 1 beer at a time/​per person. I left the bar at 12:45am and did not see one taxi cab. I had a desinated driver drop me off and take me home. Everyone we saw leaving the bar, drank. It bothers me that people attending that may have had drink, did not have an option at the end of the night to be safe.

This place has something for almost everyone. The inside is a bar/​wedding reception-​party/​traffic court venue. In the winter I’ve been here for private parties, as well as traffic court. Obviously the 4 star revue relates to the former and not the latter. They also have a comedy series in the winter, but I have never been. They have a summer concert series on Thursdays (or pre-​Friday as I like to call it) that are so much fun. They have a live band, 3 outdoor bars and a fire pit. A good mix of people. On the down side the parking situation is a little nuts, but hey, that just means the place is happening. Everything is pretty reasonably priced, and starting at 11 they have a DJ take over and go until about 2.