Ask people what they remember from a wedding five years later.
They may not remember the centerpieces. They probably won’t remember the exact color of the linens. They might even forget what song played during the cake cutting.
But they’ll remember if the food was incredible.
Food is one of the biggest parts of your wedding reception, and it’s one of the few parts of the celebration that almost every single guest experiences. That’s why choosing a Chicago-area wedding venue with an experienced in-house culinary team can make such a difference.
At Abbington Distinctive Banquets, food isn’t something that arrives in catering trays from somewhere else in the city. It’s prepared right here, on-site, by a culinary team that works alongside the same banquet and service professionals responsible for your wedding.
For couples, that means fewer moving pieces. For guests, it means a better dining experience. And for us, it means we can take responsibility for one of the most important parts of your celebration from beginning to end.
Your Wedding Dinner Shouldn’t Have to Travel to Your Wedding
There’s an important difference between food that’s prepared at your wedding venue and food that’s prepared somewhere else, packed for transportation, driven to the venue, unloaded, held and eventually served.
At Abbington, all food is prepared on-site and served in-house.
That gives our culinary and banquet teams much more control over the entire experience — from preparation and timing to presentation and service.
When hundreds of guests are waiting for dinner, timing matters.
We don’t have to wonder when the catering truck is going to arrive.
The kitchen is already here.
The Kitchen and the Ballroom Are Working Together
This is one of the biggest advantages of having food and beverage handled by your wedding venue, and it’s something couples may not immediately consider.
Your wedding dinner doesn’t happen independently from the rest of your reception.
The kitchen needs to know when introductions are finished. The service team needs to know when speeches are happening. Your coordinator needs to understand when dinner should begin. The DJ or band may need to hold off on the next part of the evening until a course has been served.
At Abbington, these aren’t separate companies trying to coordinate with one another for the first time.
They’re one team.
Our planners, culinary staff, banquet captains, servers and bartenders work within the same operation. That familiarity helps the entire reception move naturally from cocktail hour to dinner, speeches, dessert and dancing.
Serving 200 People Is Very Different From Cooking for 200 People
Plenty of restaurants can prepare an amazing dinner for a table of four.
A wedding is different.
Imagine preparing hundreds of entrées and getting them out of the kitchen, across a ballroom and in front of guests while they’re still beautifully presented and at the temperature they’re supposed to be.
Now do it while accommodating special meals, coordinating speeches, clearing previous courses, refilling beverages and keeping the entire reception on schedule.
That’s banquet service.
And it’s a specialized skill.
Abbington has been hosting weddings and large celebrations in Glen Ellyn since 2002. Our culinary and service teams understand what it takes to execute dinner for a large room because that’s what this facility was built to do.
Special Dietary Needs Are Part of Modern Wedding Planning
Take a guest list of a few hundred people and there’s a good chance someone will have a dietary restriction.
Probably several people.
Food allergies, intolerances, vegetarian diets and vegan preferences are increasingly common considerations when planning a wedding menu.
Abbington’s culinary team has experience accommodating individual guests and larger groups with special dietary needs. Our kitchen and service teams work together to carefully handle those requests from preparation through ballroom service.
That’s another reason communication between the kitchen and service staff matters.
A special meal isn’t very helpful if nobody knows which guest is supposed to receive it.
Great Ingredients Still Matter at a Large Wedding
Cooking for hundreds of people shouldn’t mean lowering the standard for what goes onto the plate.
Abbington’s menus use fresh produce, quality meats and spices purchased from local suppliers. Our culinary team can also modify house recipes and menus based on the needs and preferences of the celebration.
It’s one of the reasons we prefer having direct responsibility for the food we serve.
Our name is on the wedding.
We want our name behind the meal too.
Don’t Forget About the Bar
Food gets most of the attention when couples think about catering, but beverage service is another major part of the guest experience.
Cocktail hour may be the first impression guests have of your reception. Then the bar needs to continue operating alongside dinner, speeches and dancing for the rest of the celebration.
When food and beverage service are both handled through the venue, those pieces can be planned together instead of treated as separate operations.
Your bartenders, banquet team and coordinators understand the same timeline and are working toward the same goal: keeping your guests happy and keeping the evening moving.
One Less Major Vendor to Find
Wedding planning already involves a lot of emails.
Photographer. Florist. DJ. Videographer. Transportation. Hair. Makeup. Hotel arrangements. Invitations. Décor.
Do you really want to add researching caterers, arranging kitchen logistics, coordinating rentals and managing another major contract if you don’t have to?
Choosing a full-service wedding venue with an established culinary operation removes one of the largest pieces from your vendor search.
Instead of finding a venue and then figuring out how you’re going to feed everyone inside it, those two decisions are already connected.
That can make the entire planning process considerably simpler.
And for the vendors you do still need, Abbington maintains relationships with experienced wedding professionals who already know our venue and team.
There Are Fewer Surprises When One Team Owns the Experience
This might be the biggest reason of all.
If your venue is one company, your caterer is another, your bar service is another and your rentals come from somewhere else, there are more handoffs between companies.
And every handoff creates another place where communication matters.
- Who is providing the glassware?
- When can the caterer access the kitchen?
- Who handles cleanup?
- Who manages dietary requests?
- Who decides when dinner begins if the wedding is running 20 minutes late?
- Who fixes the problem if something isn’t right?
With an experienced full-service wedding venue, there is much more accountability under one roof.
For couples, that’s valuable.
Good Service Is Part of Good Food
You can prepare the greatest entrée in Chicago and still deliver a disappointing dining experience if the service isn’t there.
The two belong together.
Your guests notice when servers are attentive. They notice when courses arrive smoothly, plates are cleared efficiently, drinks are refreshed and special requests are handled graciously.
And your wedding party notices when the banquet team is paying attention to them instead of making them hunt someone down every time they need something.
Our couples frequently mention Abbington’s service alongside the food when they share their wedding experiences. We’re proud of that because great hospitality isn’t just what comes out of the kitchen. It’s what happens all around the table.
Ask These Questions When Comparing Wedding Venue Food
If you’re touring wedding venues in Chicago or the western suburbs, don’t just ask to see a menu.
Ask how the food actually gets to your guests.
- Is the food prepared on-site?
- Does the venue have its own culinary team?
- Who provides the servers and banquet staff?
- Is beverage service handled in-house?
- Can the menu be customized?
- How are allergies and dietary restrictions handled?
- What service styles are available?
- How does the kitchen coordinate with the wedding timeline?
- How many weddings and large events does the culinary team regularly serve?
- Can you read recent reviews specifically mentioning the food and service?
The answers tell you much more than a beautiful photograph of an entrée ever could.
Your Guests Came to Celebrate. Feed Them Like It.
Your wedding meal is one of the rare moments during the reception when nearly everyone you love is sitting together at the same time.
That’s worth doing well.
For more than two decades, the Fabbri family and the Abbington team have welcomed couples from Chicago, Glen Ellyn, Naperville, Downers Grove and throughout the western suburbs. During that time, we’ve learned that spectacular weddings aren’t created by one thing. They’re the result of hundreds of details working together.
Food is a pretty important one.
When you trust Abbington with your wedding, you’re not hiring a ballroom and then figuring out dinner later. You’re choosing an experienced planning, culinary, beverage and service team that already knows how to work together.
Explore Abbington’s food and beverage options and wedding packages, or schedule a tour of our Glen Ellyn wedding venue and start planning a meal your guests will actually remember.
