Hickory Hall Crystal Lake

"I wasn’t going to write a negative review, but after thinking about it for a long time, there were just too many things that rubbed me the wrong way. I have to say something. The venue was beautiful, and the manager, Jim, did a good job serving during our wedding. But, as a manager, Jim did many things that, in my opinion, were unacceptable. Most notably, he wore my wedding ring before I put it on my finger. This is totally unacceptable and a major violation of privacy, an inexcusable boundary issue. My family didn’t do it, nobody attending the ceremony did, I have never seen anybody try on one of the rings during the ring warming at any wedding ceremony I have attended. What would make the manager of the venue, somebody neither of us know intimately, think he had the right to wear one of our wedding rings? In addition to this, he read the wedding vows my wife and I wrote to each other to place inside our wedding time capsule. Also, prior to the wedding, Jim told us not to worry about the music, no need to hire a DJ, he takes care of the music. We weren’t allowed to create a playlist, hire a DJ, anything. Okay, would have liked to pick the music, but no problem. It’s a rule of the venue due to the speaker situation, he said, I can understand that. Then, during the ceremony, he had an issue getting my wife’s song to play as she walked down the aisle, then another issue during our first dance song. That’s okay, mistakes happen. But then, after the ceremony, he made a comment to my mother that “that’s why you hire a DJ.” Dude, you told us not to and now you’re going to make a comment to my mother about it? This was one of many times Jim talked down to my wife and I, calling us “kids” repeatedly, commenting on our choice not to include alcohol at our wedding due to members of my family and me being in recovery from alcoholism and addiction, but he still thought it was necessary to comment on “you kids and your root beer” and offer us cocktails after we signed the marriage license, despite knowing that we have people in recovery and wanted a dry wedding. In addition to all of these, he double booked us during the time we were supposed to meet with the flower person. I can get over being double booked, it happens, that was just a premonition of things to come. Jim was super nice during the venue showcase and booking process but, once we made our down payment, his demeanor and behavior towards us totally changed. Unprofessional, bad customer service, and, unfortunately, a buildup of negative events that impacted our wedding day and the memories we have of it."

"I had my daughters wedding there in September. Jim the banquet coordinator was the absolute best!!! He took the time to make sure every little detail was done to perfection. The grounds were so beautiful for pictures. We had the ceremony outside on the grounds. The white columns with the green ivy growing on the building made for a fairytale wedding. The food was delicious, and plentiful. If your looking for somewhere unique to have your event look no further than Hickory Hall."

"I recently had my wedding here and Jimmy went above and beyond to make it absolutely amazing. All the guests loved the food, so many compliments on the venue, friendly staff and just everything you would want in a wedding venue and so much more. Jimmy was easily reachable for any questions, knowledgeable and helpful. So many different options for packages to fit anyones budget. This was seriously the most magical venue and I’m over the moon with how everything went! Thank you Jimmy for being my fairy godfather for my special day and extra thank you for going above and beyond!"

"I was at an event at Hickory Hall recently and WOW! This place has been remolded so awesome. I own A DJ company, Moving N Grooving DJs and the last time I was in this venue it did not look like this! AMAZING! The vibe is that of an upscale place with a more of an intimate feel. It's not small but it's not a massive ballroom either. It a prefect size. The staff is pleasant and the is a ton of parking. Defiantly check this place out for your next event needs."

"We had our original wedding sheduled at Hickory Hall on 10/10/20 and due to the pandemic we were not able to have our big wedding. They did help us move on to getting maried that day with small group of family and friends. It was sweet and intimate and it was beautiful. This year things opened up, and was able to have our big day this past Saturday 6/5/21 with all our family and friends. It was absolutely PERFECT!! Hickory Hall made my dearms come true and more than i can ever hope for. The decor was absolutely beautiful, the cake and food was excellent (and we are huge foodies), the staff are all very friendly and made our guests well taken care of. From start to finish, they took care of all our needs. Jimmy who is the manager and event coordinator is amazing! He took care of everything for us. He is such a hard worker and made sure that i did not have to worry about anything. I highly recommend this place for all your event needs. They will not dissapoint you! We are forever grateful to them for helping us make not just one wedding but two wedding possible for us to afford and made both of them absolutely beautiful and we all had a blast! Thank you Hickory Hall!!"