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Starved Rock Lodge & Conference Center Reviews

Starved Rock Lodge & Conference Center

Starved Rock Lodge & Conference Center

Oglesby, IL
4.9 out of 5 rating, 80 Reviews
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Reviews

4.9 out of 5 rating
80 Reviews
  • Quality of service
    4.9 out of 5 rating
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    4.9 out of 5 rating
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95% Recommended by couples

Awards

80
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2020 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2018 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2017 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2016 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2015 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2014 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2011 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2010 Winner
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    Kristen S. Sent on 01/03/2024
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    Enchanting and professional!

    Our experience with Starved Rock Lodge was absolutely incredible, from start to finish. The picturesque and nature filled outdoor area and cozy indoor lodge provided the perfect backdrop to have our dream wedding, creating an ambiance that was both enchanting and romantic. The venue is well maintained and the staff was not only professional and accommodating, but also went above and beyond to ensure every aspect of our day ran smoothly. Jenny was our contact and I cannot say enough good things about the work she put in and kept straight for our wedding, and was extremely responsive to all the questions we had along the way in our 1.5 years leading up to the wedding. Being an all inclusive venue was a major plus as well and really made the entire process so easy to have our wedding there. We had an alternative wedding as well and felt more than welcome that it is an accepting venue for whatever you want or need for your wedding. Working with the preferred vendors as well made everything so easy, as Starved Rock has great communication and rapport with them, so it was even less to worry about. The food was also outstanding and we also had guests comment on how it was the best wedding food they've had. Our guests (and us) are also still raving about the incredible atmosphere and beauty of Starved Rock, making it a truly unforgettable and perfect choice for our day!
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    Rebecca F. Sent on 12/15/2022
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    Beautiful wedding venue and awesome food!

    Starved Rock was such a beautiful venue! Although we did bring some of our own decorations, we really didn't need much as the natural setting of the lodge was beautiful in and of itself. The scenery provided for the most beautiful pictures that we will cherish for the rest of our lives. Everyone worries about how their wedding food is going to come out in such large portions, but I guarantee you will not need to worry about that with this venue! Every comment we received about our food at the wedding was extremely positive and everyone absolutely LOVED the food! Hannah really helped us make sure everything ran according to plan and ensured that we had the most perfect and memorable day! She was so willing to answer every question myself or my mom had about their venue, and they were a great help. Thank you, Hannah and Starved Rock, for hosting the most perfect wedding! - Rebecca and Jordan Royal
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  • Allison
    Allison M. Sent on 11/03/2021
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    The Dream Venue

    Starved Rock Lodge was the absolute dream wedding venue for us. Not only is it gorgeous, but it has everything you need in a venue—included catering, a rain-day option, PLENTY of reception space, lodging, and more. We worked with Hannah for about two years and she was so amazing. I must say I emailed her A LOT with questions and she always had a quick response and expert advice. We felt so taken care of the entire process and everything was just so easy with Starved Rock. It was a huge bonus for us that they set up/took down the tables, chairs, ceremony area, and flatware for us as well. Not to mention us and our guests RAVED about how good the food was! Our wedding was the most magical day and Starved Rock provided the absolute perfect backdrop for it.
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    Lauren B. Sent on 10/03/2021
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    A Wonderful Experience

    Working with Starved Rock for our wedding celebration was a wonderful experience in a time of uncertainty. We first booked our wedding with Starved Rock at a wedding expo they hosted in 2019. Back then we thought we’d be getting married in 2020, but as the pandemic would have it, we ended up pushing our larger celebration at Starved Rock out to September 2021. Everyone we worked with was incredibly flexible and responsive when working with us to confirm availability for our new date, and help make that transition go super smoothly. They even automatically rescheduled the hotel bookings for people in our block!

    The days leading up to the wedding, and the Big Day itself, were wonderfully handled –– Jenny and Hannah helped keep us on track and organized, fielding many questions from both myself and my mom along the way.

    All in all the venue was beautiful, and the food was so good! Staff were courteous and respectful – everything went so smoothly. We got so many compliments from our guests – many of which had never been to Starved Rock previously. We had a lovely time.

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    Lindsay C. Sent on 07/21/2021
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    Most perfect wedding venue!

    A quote from my dad, “people ask me how the wedding was and I tell them exquisite. It was exquisite. I can’t stop thinking about it.” Starved Rock in the summer…there is nothing more beautiful. It was the best weekend of our lives and we could not have picked a better venue or a better person (Jenny) to work with. The ceremony space is breathtaking and we didn’t even add anything but chairs! The room for dinner was so romantic and gorgeous and even the dancing room, with the help of SueZ’s linens was so romantic and beautiful. It’s so reasonably priced. You can’t beat the views, food, or service!
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    Edi G. Sent on 02/06/2019
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    Very Responsive

    We booked Starved Rock Lodge for our September 2020 wedding. To date, every question has been answered timely. They are a great value and it's such a beautiful place for a wedding. Can't wait to say I DO there.
  • Sarah
    Sarah R. Sent on 07/11/2019
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    Beautiful location

    Starved Rock was an absolutely beautiful reception venue. We have always loved hiking around the park and it was truly special to be able to have our wedding here. The Starved Rock sales team was a pleasure to work with, they were flexible and very knowledgeable and made my wedding day go as smoothly as possible.
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    Ann G. Sent on 04/05/2019
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    Excellent very professional

    Service was excellent, very professional staff food was perfect and sweet table was fantastic everything was just perfect hotel was very clean and attended to all my guests needs promptly I would recommend this venue to everyone!!
  • Jenelle
    Jenelle Sent on 03/03/2019
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    Amazing place to celebrate love!

    I recently got married at Starved Rock in January of 2019 and all I can say is WOW, I will NEVER forget it! Such a memorable place to celebrate love. All of our guests are still talking about how good the food was and what a wonderful location it was to have our wedding. All of the staff were very easy to work with and very accomodating to our needs/wants. Anything that we asked about on our wedding day it was immediately addressed and the day ran very smoothly! I would highly recommend Starved Rock Lodge to anyone thinking about getting married! It is also very very reasonable for what you get!
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    Jeanne Sent on 07/30/2018
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    Starved Rock was class act from beginning to end. They provided excellent communication, were on the ball with every detail that we requested. The food was exceptional, beautifully presented and enjoyed by all. The set up was complete, as requested and timely. The ambiance was perfect! The pricing was right where we needed it to be. We also reserved the Utica Room for the morning after to unwrap some gifts and say goodbye to our out of town guests. It was set up very nicely and was the perfect place for people to gather one last time before departing.
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    Marsha Sent on 06/13/2018
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    We just had our wedding at Starved Rock on Friday, June 8th, 2018. We were one of five weddings that had that weekend. Ours was the big one in the Starved Rock room with 88 guests. We had originally planned for the ceremony to take place outside but due to the rain we opted for inside. It was PERFECT, even with the rain, everything was perfect and everything went smoothly. Jenny and her staff went above and beyond! We had been gifted chair covers and Jenny and her staff helped us steam then and set them up on the chairs for the reception on the night before. The food was fantastic! My only complaint was I didn't get one of the mini beef wellingtons at the cocktail hour, they were such a hit they were all gone before I could find one. For the dinner we opted for the grand buffet, our entrees were the fried chicken and pot roast. Everyone was raving about how great the pot roast was. It was so tender and flavorful. It was well talked about all night and even the next day. Starved Rock really out did themselves! I highly recommend Starved Rock!
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    Alayna Sent on 06/11/2018
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    My husband and I had our wedding at Starved Rock on June 1st. It was nothing short of amazing! We had Jennie Laio as our coordinator, she was so sweet and so responsive to any and everything we needed. The outdoor ceremony was absolutely beautiful, our guests could not stop talking about how enjoyable it was and how nice it was to be able to head right inside to the lodge for cocktail hour and the reception. The food and bar service was top notch as well. We loved every second of our wedding day at Starved Rock Lodge. Highly recommend!!
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    Lindsay Sent on 12/22/2020
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    Wonderful location for a Ceremony - Wedding Planner Review

    I am a Wedding Planner with MODE Events and I am based in Chicago. Due to Covid, one of my couples had their original wedding venue close. They chose Starved Rock as their new location, and it was TRULY meant to be! The team at Starved Rock was very accommodating , easy to work with, and quick to respond to our questions. I really hope to do another wedding there - it was SO stunning! Highly recommend working with their team and having your wedding here.
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    Shannon Sent on 12/18/2017
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    We had an intimate, outdoor, winter wedding at Starved Rock and then rented one of their conference rooms to have dinner. It was absolutely perfect. Working with Peggy in the sales department was so easy and she was great! The lodge was decorated beautifully for Christmas which just added to the overall atmosphere. We got so many compliments on the food, decor, and location.
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    Penelope Sent on 12/05/2017
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    Peggy was THE BEST! Service was amazing!
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    Ellen Sent on 09/08/2017
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    Starved Rock was so affordable and very responsive. They worked closely with me and always were available to calm my nervous bride nerves. I would highly recommend using them; your day will be everything you dream of!
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    Hilary Sent on 12/14/2014
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    First off, let me be clear - I am NOT the bride. I was a bridesmaid! However, this is my 6th wedding as party of a bridal party, so I have LOTS to compare this one to!

    Starved Rock's Lodge is a gorgeous space, with a homey, rustic feel - it is perfect for those in love with the outdoors, but can also be decorated to appeal to those with a more traditional taste. In short, the space is flexible & functional.

    Throughout the day, the staff was incredible helpful, available, and ready to roll with anything that came up or that we unexpectedly needed. NO ONE, not a SINGLE person, rolled an eye or made us feel like we were putting them out. THAT, in and of itself, is KEY to this review. This was the FIRST time I have been part of a wedding in which I did not experience even one person acting rude or inconvenienced by a paying couple's requests or contracted rights. No joke, everyone was kind. EVERYONE. That just does NOT happen. It made the day that much more beautiful, easy-going, and enjoyable.

    On to food & drink - I always say that "As long as the food isn't terrible, people won't care to complain. It just has to be acceptable - especially if the bar is open." Well, Starved Rock delivered again. The bartender & bartendress were friendly & warm, had no problem pouring doubles or giving you more than one drink at dinner call or last call, and were even willing to go grab the groom's favorite liquor from the main bar. For dinner, I had the Chicken Tuscany, and I was expecting average at best, but no - there was flavor! The meat was tender! The green beans were crisp! Twice-baked potato? Gorgeously piped AND yummy! The only downside? I ate EVERYTHING, so there wasn't as much room as I would like for booze. (Don't fret, I managed).

    I cannot say enough about this venue, especially the staff. You will not regret your decision to celebrate your marriage, or any event for that matter, at Starved Rock.
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    Ashley Sent on 12/06/2017
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    It is a state park so consider the time of the year when picking a day. Summers are usually swarmed with people. Whereas fall/winter months you’d have more privacy
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    Becky Sent on 03/17/2017
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    I cannot express how wonderful it was to work with the staff in the Sales office at Starved Rock! They were absolutely AMAZING!! Whenever you have a question, you can always shoot them an email (or give them a call), and they get back to you within 24 hours. They completely take the worry out of your wedding day too! Someone is always there in case you have a question, or if one of your other vendors is running late, they will make a phone call so that you don't have to. The location is absolutely beautiful as well. I highly recommend this location! Oh, and the food is pretty amazing too!
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    Corinne Sent on 12/25/2016
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    We are thrilled with our experience at Starved Rock Lodge! From day one, they had great communication! I am a worrier, and whenever I had a question I almost always had a response within a day. Everything went as planned on the day of the wedding, and it helped me to be a relaxed bride. So happy with our choice! Our guests all loved the venue.
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    Lauren Sent on 08/25/2016
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    First, and foremost I would like to say that Starved Rock and Tiffany completely went above and beyond our expectations! She was an absolute treat to work with, and she ensured that everything went as smoothly as humanly possible during our amazing wedding day. She even allowed my husband to have his fantasy football draft the day before our wedding!
    Everything was just perfect, we received countless compliments on the food (which we both agreed was absolutely amazing!). The service and bar tenders were personable, kind, and overall fantastic.
    Let's talk about the cake for a moment. We used Mo, who is the in house pastry chef. We were blown away with the end result which was way better than we could even imagine. THANK YOU!
    Every aspect of the wedding seemed to flow seamlessly throughout the entirety of the day. With the fantastic ambiance, perfect scenery, and outdoor ceremony, we simply could not have asked for a better result.
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    Jordan Sent on 05/27/2016
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    My now husband and I got married here on May 22nd. All I can say is wow! We worked closely with Jenny who from the very start was so quick to respond to even the tiniest question. Very friendly staff (props to the bartenders that night who were so great!) We even had a server that made sure to come by the head table during dinner to get us all a drink even though the bar was closed at that time. Being from a suburb of Chicago, the price of everything was super reasonable, and you cannot put a value on the scenery that is inside and outside the lodge! Highly recommend!
  • Janine
    Janine Sent on 04/13/2016
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    My advice would be to visit the expo, it was a lot of fun and very informational. I used their preferred vendor list too. this being said it made everything so much easier. The sales office staff was so helpful and patient with all my questions, that on the day of the wedding i had no worries knowing that they were doing an amazing job.
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    Tiffany Sent on 10/07/2015
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    We were running behind and so much was going on but Tiffany Sigala kept me sane and positive when booking Starved Rock Lodge ask for Tiffany Sigala she's the best!
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