This place is great. George and El was simply amazing. They truly do care about their guest. Very accommodating, very clean venue, staff was amazing I hosted my son and daughter-in-law's baby shower event there yesterday. They both were very thrilled with the venue and especially the events planner. I will definitely use this venue in the future. read more

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I had my wedding reception at Michelle's several weeks ago. I made sure to wait until I received the deposit before writing a review (see negatives #3). Here's my synopsis... Positives - 1. It is inexpensive. 2. It is public trans/cab/parking friendly. 3. The ballroom is mostly attractive and has a large dance floor. The building could use some new paint, though. 4. You bring everything in, except for chairs and tables. (also kind of a negative if you get easily overwhelmed and it involves a lot of research to get good prices). It also allows you a lot of flexibility with food and beverages. 5. The bridal suite is rather large, though it does not have a bathroom nearby. Negatives - 1. See above #4. It was kind of a nightmare to buy and transport all of the extra things we had to bring. No one told us that we could bring anything earlier than 4 hours before the start time. 2. The bartender that I was forced to hire through the ballroom was not a bartender. He didn't know the difference between the red and white wines; he couldn't make a bloody mary with bloody mary mix and forget about my request for a dirty martini. My friends had to walk him through a bloody mary and the dirty martini. I wasted money on a lot of standard bar stuff that was not used at all - like simple syrup; Rose's lime juice; pickles for the bloody marys, etc. 3. Our group allegedly cause damage to one of the bathroom walls. The wedding was on a Friday and Michelle's had 3 events posted to their online calendar after our wedding. I did not receive a call until Monday morning regarding the damage. I am not saying that it is impossible that our group did not cause the damage, but I wish that someone had called us on Saturday or emailed pictures of the damage. Basically, we lost a chunk of our deposit for something that I am not sure happened during our reception. 4. Binny's said that they had problems delivering to that specific location and wanted a 4 hour window for delivery. They weren't really clear what problems they had in the past. We had to use a courier for the alcohol to ensure that it was delivered on time. Long story short, I would probably recommend having an event at Michelle's if you are on a tight budget. Just don't expect a real bartender and take pictures of the ballroom before you leave! read more

A small cute space in a rustic building. Perfect for small events. My gripe is with the men's room which has no lock on it and no warming that it doesn't. Michelle, please spend $50 and add a lock. Accidentally seeing someone doing their duty was scarring. read more

I had my wedding reception here in December of '07. It is really beautiful inside, with a vaulted ceiling and huge dance floor. The place can accommodate up to 250 people, although for my reception we had far fewer people. The caterers setup the ballroom, so it looked stunning. It was one of the most reasonably priced options available, while still having a really nice event. They don't have an exclusive catering list, so it is much easier to find a reasonably priced caterer if you have an event at Michelle's. They even allowed us to bring our own liquor as long as a bartender served it. You can use their stereo system if you want, but we had a live band. They provide all the tables, chairs, a kitchen facility, a bar area, and a childcare room is available (but this was quite pricey). The ballroom does limit the amount of kids under 12 years of age to 10 unless you also rent out the kid's room. read more

We were married here Jan. 2011. We utilized the hall for both the ceremony and the reception and everything was great. Jorge was easy to work with. They let us bring some items the day before and if they don't have a booked afternoon event, you can have stuff delivered anytime. We had our ceremony start at 6:00 and we booked the room until 12:00. It's a beautiful venue. It says it holds 250 people, but I think that would be too many. Their tables fit 8 comfortably, so I think 200 would be the max. We had about 175. We used their new caterer...Cucina Fusion for most of our food and they were great as well. They supplied all the tableware, plates, glassware, tableclothes and napkins. We did our own appetizers (shrimp and smoked salmon) and they helped with that as well. We were going to cater the whole event ourselves, but Cucina Fusion's food was so good and their pricing was so reasonable, that we dedcided to go with them. The package mandates that you use his bartender. The only glitch with that was we ran out of vodka and he didn't tell us. There was an Osco close by so we were out for only a short time. They have parking for about 80 cars. 1 lot holds about 60 which is a block away and the other holds around 20 which is directly behind the ballroom. It's close (5 minutes) to the Kennedy and there's a Day's Inn (Rock and Roll Day's Inn) about 3 miles east. All of our friends and family had a great time and we received many compliments for our choice. read more

This weekend my company, 3rd Coast Concierge, helped a bride set up some last minute details while she was in hair & makeup :) We arrived as the linen company was finishing up. Our task was to set up the placecards, centerpieces, table numbers, and accessory tables (cake-, gift-, cocktail-, and head- tables) once the linens were complete. My take on the place is this: 1) From what I understand this is marketed as a "do it yourself" place, which the hall clearly accommodates by allowing vendors/ family to access the hall for HOURS before the event occurs. The manager on duty (Victor) was helpful and offered suggestions when I ran into a hiccup. 2) The hiccup was that there were fewer accessory tables in the hall than the bride had included in her layout map. The plan was to have a small round for the cake, and two small rounds for the place cards. No sweat, since the bride was flexible, the linen company had extra linens, and I was thinking on my feet. We switched up the tables, and everything was just fine. If you are a bridezilla and/or control freak type, you will want to be VERY sure you understand what equipment is available. 3) The place has a bar area, at which you can serve your own drinks - It was a cute little nook. I'm not sure of the specifics, but the couple had stocked up on cases of beer/ wine/ etc - which I would guess is an awesome budget saver. 4) The hall also has a kitchen from which your own food can be served. All food would have to be prepped offsite as this was not a full kitchen (no stoves, ovens). There are prep tables, refrigerators and freezers, however. I can see how buffet would be an easy way to go, though depending on the caterer/ chef, you might be able to prep plated meals (not sure). 5) The space has beautiful crown molding, ceiling and pillar finishes. I think it used to be a bank? No curb appeal FYI. Some of the other finishes weren't exactly to my taste, but each individual has different taste, so that's not a ding in my opinion. Note that the hall's floral arrangements can easily be tucked away. You'd have to otherwise go check it out yourself. My client had her tables and chairs covered beautifully, and with the addition of personal decor, the place was totally transformed. 6) The hall is located at Belmont and California. Apparently there was a complimentary parking lot for vendors/guests, but I couldn't find it. I was able to easily park on the street for set-up. If you are going to utilize the parking lots, make certain you advise your guests on their locale! At the end of the day, watching any wedding venue transform into a memory is a pretty cool experience - and this place delivered the same read more

This ballroom is affordably priced and marketed as a do it yourself venue. They allow you to bring in any vendor however you have to use their secuirty and bartender. They are in the maybe pile. read more

We had a destination wedding in St. Thomas, but we wanted to have a reception in Chicago to celebrate with friends. We are also having 2 more receptions in our home towns. So you can understand the need for an "affordable" place to rent for this event. I did a lot of searching online and getting quotes from other places, and Michelle's popped up through a yelp talk thread and I just had to check it out. The prices are extremely reasonable and even more so if you do it in the off season times and on a Sunday! Jorge was a delight to work with and his staff is friendly and helpful. Our reception was last night and it couldn't have been better. Important things to note: 1. Free parking for up to 80 cars....FREE PARKING in the city? Yeah, definitely something you don't get with some of the other venues in the city. 2. You can bring in your own booze. You just have to hire a bartender. Another great savings! 3. They supply tables and chairs. You have to rent linens. We went with Cucina Fusion (someone they recommended) and Juliana was amazing to work with. So helpful and really made the room look great! 4. The rental price is for 5 hours and you get the place 3 hours before to set up. ****While the space is really nice, the owner was a delight to work with until our deposit never made it to us. He said he sent it and 3 weeks later it wasn't there, then he said he got us mixed up with another couple and that he hadn't sent it, then he came back again and said he had. He tried to charge us a cancelled check fee, which we fought...and he removed the fee. In the end we got our deposit back, but the way Jorge handled it was not great. read more

Be careful. My fiance & I put down $500 as a deposit for our May 2010 wedding reception. Unfortunately, we had a change of plans only hours after placing this deposit. The contract provides a 7-day grace period for a full refund starting the day of deposit. We went to get our deposit back the next day only to find out we had to wait for our check to clear before they can refund us. The staff responsible for reserving the ballroom (in the nearby insurance office) said they would have our refund as soon as our check clears - OK we thought, this is understandible & not a problem... Soooo, our check cleared 2 days later and when we contacted Mr. Jorge Rodriguez regarding our refund, he insisted on making us wait 2 weeks from the day we initially placed our deposit before he would issue our refund. Why? Who knows. Mr. Rodriguez's decision to make us wait 2-weeks after our check cleared was never explained to us by the staff, nor by Mr. Rodriguez himself. Such a stipulation was also excluded from the contract. Basically, this wasn't the end of the world, but it was extremely frustrating. So be very careful, ask a lot of questions, and be absolutely sure you plan on renting Michelle's Ballroom. read more

Had our reception here in 2008. Really pleasant experience, affordable choice with plenty of flexibility (which allows you to be as extravagant or economical as you like). It's not high-end, it's location is fine but not super-popular, so temper your expectations accordingly. There is a back room that, at least 5 years ago, made for some great photos - the one I posted is from that room - it's hard to describe. read more

Michelle's Ballroom - photo inside Michelle's Ballroom - not the main room - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Where do I begin?! Not only were the staff at Michelle's very curtious, patient, and professional, but they are also affordable. What sold me on choosing this venue for our event is the childcare room! It was nice being able to have a child friendly event without people worrying if they were going to be able to find a babysitter or not! Setting things up with the staff was no problem at all, and we were able to have our vow renewal AND reception there. The hall itself is BEAUTIFUL!! Even without it being decorated! I can't thank them enough for their services :) read more

Don't waste your time. This guy is only in this for the money. He doesn't care to address your concerns without giving a non refundable deposit. Sorry but I don't do business like that. read more

My coworkers and I were throwing a banquet to celebrate the end of the year and we had the date booked since the beginning of the summer and the day before our event the owner called us and told us they could no longer hold our event. They are very unreliable and we had to rearrange our whole banquet. read more

I stand by every word I said. Clearly, they are trying to save face with the response but I have no reason to lie about our experience. The issue about sexual harassment can be verified and remember these girls were very underage, the lies he is telling about the parking situation is laughable and my husband values his time and frankly fighting with you was not worth his time. If you look you will see more reviews like mine and you will know who is telling the truth. *Original post FYI ( We got married here Oct 10th 2014. Terrible experience. We had 180 guests. They say it fits 250 no 180 is the max believe me. I will start with the big problems first. He has a lot he told me my guest could park in. At the end of the event, they started to tow all the cars mine included and my rental truck. He refused to pay for it.The towing company he works with charges 520 for the tow then 140 per day. Then he told us that the caterer would come get the food warmers at the end of the night which was a complete lie! They told him no they were not doing that now he won't give us the warmers unless we pay another 150 when he still owes us 500 for the deposit. We had a whole crew there cleaning and everything was exactly how we found it but he won't return our deposit. He would not turn on the air conditioner all night. The middle-aged security guards, who were mandatory we had to pay them 250 each, were hitting on my underage cousins being very lude towards these little 15 year old girls. Then had the nerve to talk about my guest. I am Mexican and my hubby is Polish, our wedding was very multicultural Black, White, Asian, Lebanese and my LGBTQ folks all kinds of amazing people. But the guards were saying racist homophobic stuff in Spanish and talking about me and my husband. I called them out on it and they said: "o I thought you were white, is your husband white?"..me yes..."o that must be why your theme was strange love" wow I just can't say enough about how unprofessional they were So now on to the little stuff, the carpets are dirty, when we first went there we did not notice stains on the wall but they must not have cleaned properly after the last wedding bc they were there. We paid for an extra bartender who was almost 2 hours late and Jorge says the table fits ten comfortably that is false very false. 8 maximum. So when we first got the place I was pleased bc i thought jorge was a sweet old man but do not be fooled by his demeanor he is a thief! He ruined my wedding night and i had to cancel my honeymoon to deal with all this. So do not book this place unless you want a headache! :( ) read more

Very Beautiful Venue! Just attended a wedding here over the weekend. From the outside it looks like a old bank nothing fancy or pretty, but the inside is GORGEOUS!!! I was plesantly surprised when we stepped into a beautiful banquet hall. The colums, lighting and decorations really made this place come alive. I will definitely consider this location for any upcoming parties I may host. read more

My partner and I had our commitment ceremony here. We actually live in Seattle, but making arrangements with the people here was not a problem at all. We were looking for a place where we could have our ceremony AND reception. It was also important to us that we be able to have children there, as I have a very big family with lots of kids. We loved that they actually have a "kids room" there. For an additional charge we were able to hire someone-the ballroom provided-to watch up to 30 kids. I thought this was pretty awesome. Definitely a huge plus for me. They have a very nice sized kitchen, dance floor and "bride's room". My partner commented that the pictures on the website didn't do the ballroom justice. I thought the pics were fine, but she was very much taken with it when she actually walked into the place. It has no curb appeal, but it is quite lovely inside. They have lots of parking space available as well. We had both a band and a DJ and they had no trouble with being able to get in early enough to set up. I also asked Jorge for a recommendation of service people. They recommended Cocina Fusion. I figured we would go with them since they were familiar with the ballroom and worked there before. That turned out to be the right decision. I called them a couple of weeks after our event to inquire about the deposit. I was a bit unnerved to find that they had not mailed a check, but it wasn't a problem. Jorge refunded our deposit and all is well. Overall, I loved this place. Now all I need is another excuse to throw a party there ;-) read more

I attended a wedding reception here. A male security guard entered the women's bathroom as I was using one of the stalls. My sister asked him to leave and he refused to leave the women's bathroom. When asked to leave he said to "take it up with management" because he was told to monitor the women's bathroom. When I exited the stall I noticed him standing next to my sister, inside the bathroom. I felt extremely uncomfortable that a man was watching a stall that I had just been in. He watched me exit the stall as I was adjusting my dress. I felt even more uncomfortable after I exited because he continued to watch me through the mirror as I washed my hands.He only left the bathroom when my sister and I exited. I have never experienced anything like this and felt extremenly violated. read more

My fiance` and I are a hispanic american couple. We were looking for a reception hall and came across Michelle's Ballroom. The reviews on Yelp were too good to be true The place is nice, but Jorge is racist and a bias. He shows us around the hall and tells us " If you bring kids I will shut party down and keep your deposit" We thought he just might have had a bad experience with kids. We tried to work with him and showed interest in renting this hall. He tells us " I rent my place to plenty of AMERICANOS (Americans) I don't need your $... I have plenty" "Gueros no me traen ninos" (Whites people don't bring me kids) My fiance` and I were flabbergasted. We looked at each other and walked out. Worst experience ever. DO NOT RENT AT MICHELLE'S BALLROOM PLEASE read more

Michelle's Ballroom is a decent hall for a party. It has a nice entrance, decent size dance floor, and can be set up very nicely. There is a room behind the stage where catering can be set up. The only drawback for me was that there is no parking other than street parking. We were able to find parking on Elston Ave. read more

Anyone that has anything negative to say about this place is just a complainer. These people are sweet, generous, and incredibly helpful. We had our wedding there last night and it was absolutely outstanding. They helped us load in and out, returned our deposit, and were an absolute pleasure to work with. We couldn't have been happier. The space speaks for itself and they were also accommodating with parking, security, and pretty much everything else. I can't speak highly enough about this place, their owner, and their staff. Thank you guys for everything. Eric and Katie read more

Me and my husband spents three days searching for a venue to only get prices such as $38-$41 a plate. I looked at Michelle's Ballroom and Iliked it the first time I saw it on the internet as well as in person. My weding planner suggested that I not use it because I had to do everything myself. Great!! myu husband and I wanted to do everything from scratch and this was the best place to do it yourself and have the FOOD THAT YOU PREFER AND LIKE. I totally believe a wedding should be unique and that food plays a significant factor in the reception plannning. Michelles Ballroom allows you to be as creative as you would like it and not be the next couple to have the same wedding in some of the other ballrooms priced at 5,000 or more. Our wedding took place August 13, 2010 and we had an awesome time and we loved it. WE will definetly use Michelles Ballroom again. read more

Our wedding was March of 2013. Pros We were able to use outside vendors, and provide our own alcohol. We were able to shop around for the best deals and provide alcohol that wasn't over-inflated in price. Per previous reviews, a couple stated that they did not receive their deposit back because of damage that was done to the bathrooms. They suggested that pictures be taken before and after the reception just in case. I did this, but had no problems receiving my deposit back. Cons The staff that you are required to pay for in order for your event to be at Michelle's (security & bar tender) did not introduce themselves and I thought that was very rude. Me being the control freak that I am, I was running around helping to set up when this guy said that I couldn't hold the back door open for the DJ (who was trying to bring in his equipment). He was very rude (Tony) and gave me attitude when I tried to explain why I had the door open. I informed him that I was the bride and he responded nonchalantly. This guy literally just showed up out of nowhere and gave me lip on an already stressful day. I did not appreciate that. The bartender was pleasant as I introduced myself. However, we had leftover alcohol and my mother went to put the excess in the car. She said the bartender was hiding the leftover liquor (maybe for himself or another event?). Not cool. Overall I was glad everything worked out. Jorge (the owner) was very pleasant and I would recommend this place providing you watch out for the above issues. I would advise having family members watch out for the staff to make sure you are not taken advantage of. read more

My wife and I fell in love with Michelle's Ballroom right when we walked in to view it. The outside looks like an old bank (it actually use to be one before it became a ballroom) It is very beautiful (aside from the For Rent sign in the upstairs window). I was never a big fan of gold and maroon but it does look very beautiful within the ballroom. We decided to have a semi-small dessert/cocktail reception with 100-150 people. We had about 80-100 actually come, there was more than enough room. There is a "Brides Room" that we used to our advantage when we needed quiet time. Large dance floor in center of room, plenty of tables (round and rectangle), chairs, coat closet, we had access to the chandler lights and ballroom lighting (ceremony we had the lights up and during dancing we dimmed the lights), there is a small stage where our DJ set-up, they have 2 parking lots, CTA friendly, a downstairs area which had bathrooms and we put games down there for our "non-dancing" friends, they also have a "kids" room but we did not have kids invited. We were allowed to bring in our own food and alcohol (family made desserts and Binny's delivered our alcohol.) The ballroom was very affordable. Our reception was August 29, 2013 from 8pm-12:30am. Friends were able to get to the ballroom at 4pm to set up and people were able to keep desserts in kitchen until time to bring them out. Last call was at 12am and DJ stopped at 12:30am. We had the ballroom booked until 1am. The staff cleaned and we just took personal items to car to bring home. Overall, it was a great experience and I would recommend Michelle's Ballroom. SideNote: other reviews said that they had a problem getting their full deposit back, my wife called once we got back from Honeymoon and we received our full deposit within a week. read more

I had my small wedding of 100 or so people here and it was beautiful. Needless to say my decorator did an amazing job and the space is awesome. The whole ballroom team was cooperative and willing to help at every turn. They were very clear on booking stipulations and answered every call made to them. The lighting is perfect for a night wedding and there is room to cover any aspects you decide you don't like. The color scheme of their curtains didn't go well with my wedding theme but there was enough room and I was able to previously run in and do measurement for curtain coverup. The bartender was awesome and friendly and I had my own caterer. This place is definitely a gem and the best part....ITS AFFORDABLE! Living in the city, the location of this place is perfect. There was a parking lot for all my driving guests and public transit for all my commuters. The restrooms were clean and the place smelled great. read more

Great spot! My husband and I had our wedding reception here, and we can't speak highly enough about our decision to do so. We got married outside at Humboldt Park, and it was a quick and easy drive to this location for our guests. The hall is beautiful, and was a beautiful venue for our night. It was BEYOND fantastic that we were able to bring in our alcohol, food, decorations, etc.... They were more than helpful offering up suggestions for vendors that often work with the building (Millenium decorations did a great job too!), but not pushy in the least bit. They were one of the easiest vendors for us to work with. We had about 200 guests, and the space was just fine. We had room for a buffet table, DJ, and dance floor. I only wish we could do it all over again.... it was a fantastic night all around! read more

Worst experience ever dealing with a hall and I work in the wedding industry...Don't know where to start but I recently went to a wedding there and they would not turn on the air conditioning!!! we know the pictures are not going to be so nice because we were constantly sweating! The owner is a joke and came in to say we would have to pay an extra 250 dollars because people came early....the bartender was late, the security guards were rude, inappropriate and couldn't accept responsibility for any problems...Apparently they have an agreement with the place next door for parking and my niece was told they could park their moving truck there that it wouldn't be a problem...It was Towed!!! and a few other vehicles were also towed...Just what someone wants to deal with on their wedding night...he ruined there wedding!! I thought we were being punked or something....This place had potential but the owner is rude and the staff are rude.....The owner ended up coming to pay for the tows after we refused to leave the place. Now he is refusing to return some catering stuff and not returning deposit.....Screw that place!! Do yourself and guests a favor go somewhere else! read more