Now Everyone Wants to Have Their Party Here — An Eventective User from Northbrook, IL

I recently hosted cocktails and dinner with music and dancing for 75 at The Birchstone. What an amazing party! For 75 people, this venue is on the large size. I originally planned cocktails on the patio, a plan that was thwarted by the threat of thunderstorms. Moving cocktails inside, though, was no problem. My problem was moving the guests from the entrance down a wide hallway to the bar and then getting them around the corner from the bar to the grazing station. Two directional signs, one pointing straight ahead to the bar and then a right directional arrow to the grazing station would have helped. Those who found the grazing station were greeted by the odor of pickle brine from the pickle fountain, which was the talk of the town. The venue comprises a very large ballroom where dinner was served, a wide hallway with foyers at either end (the bar was in the back foyer) and two large rooms on the opposite side of the hallway from the ballroom. There is circular flow through all the rooms. The rooms opposite the ballroom were great for my 9 guests under the age of 13, who spent 4 hours hiding, seeking, and tagging each other, without being underfoot in the ballroom. The food was outstanding. The only two glitches both related to timing: the grazing station and bar were not ready when my earliest guests arrived (admittedly, they were almost 15 minutes early), and a problem with the salad preparation had dinner unexpectedly served European style, with salads following the entrees. Working with Shelly Saletta, who is both the venue manager for The Birchstone and the general manager of their exclusive catering company, Pear Tree, was a dream. Without her, I would have needed a party planner. Shelly made everything simple. The Birchstone is located within 10 miles of the homes of the majority of my guests, but none of them was aware of it prior to my party. It must be the best kept secret on Chicago's North Shore. Well, not anymore. The secret is out.