Best Local Weekend Getaway in Gurnee, IL | The Ten Hotel
April 30, 2026
Spring is warming up Lake County, and for couples who got engaged over the holidays, May is the month when real wedding planning begins. If a spring 2027 wedding sounds perfect to you, there is one thing you need to know right now: the best Saturday dates are already going fast.
Book your wedding venue 12 to 18 months before your date. Spring Saturdays in April, May, and June are always the first to sell out. If you wait until autumn to start looking, the dates you actually want will already be gone.
When you start planning a wedding, the venue is the very first piece of the puzzle. You cannot book a photographer, a florist, or a DJ until you have a confirmed date and a confirmed location. Every other vendor waits on that one decision.
If you wait too long, you quickly discover that all the good Saturday dates have disappeared. You end up choosing between a Sunday in November or pushing your entire wedding back by a full year. Neither is the spring wedding you pictured. Couples in Gurnee, Waukegan, Libertyville, Grayslake, and across northern Lake County are already reaching out to venues right now. The smart move is to get ahead of them.
Many brides start planning with the idea that a barn or rental hall wedding will feel personal and save money. A few months in, they realize the hidden workload is enormous. Here is what that comparison actually looks like.
| What You Need | DIY Barn or Rental Hall | The Ten Hotel Gurnee |
|---|---|---|
| Catering | Hire a separate company | Included |
| Bar service | Buy alcohol, hire staff separately | Included |
| Tables, chairs, linens | Rent and transport separately | Included |
| Setup and cleanup | Coordinate yourself | Full staff handles it |
| Guest accommodations | Find a separate hotel nearby | On-site from $99/night |
| Rehearsal dinner space | Drive to a restaurant | Limoncello Café on-site |
| Bridal party entertainment | Not available | Golf simulators on-site |
Instead of enjoying your engagement, a DIY wedding turns you into a stressed-out project manager answering emails from ten different vendors every weekend. More and more Lake County couples are skipping that entirely and choosing a venue that handles all of it for them.
When we rebuilt and updated The Ten Hotel, we set out to create the most complete wedding destination in the northern suburbs. Not just a big room to rent, but a full team and full building that makes your wedding day genuinely stress-free.
Our 10,000-square-foot Grand Ballroom is the largest private event space in Lake County. It is elegant, open, and built to hold everyone you love in one place. And it is backed by all-inclusive bridal packages that take the guesswork out of every detail.
The Grand Ballroom at The Ten Hotel. Lake County’s largest private wedding event space at 10,000 square feet.
The local community already knows how serious we are about weddings. In March 2026 we hosted our very first Bridal Expo right here in the hotel and gave away a $50,000 wedding package to one lucky couple. That event proved that The Ten Hotel is the main hub for major, beautiful weddings in Lake County.
When you invite 150 people to a wedding, you are asking them to spend real time and money to be there. Family is driving in from Wisconsin. Friends are flying into Chicago. Guests are coming from Grayslake, Antioch, and all across the northern suburbs. The last thing they should have to worry about is driving to a separate hotel late at night after a full evening of celebrating.
At The Ten Hotel, your guests can walk straight from the dance floor to their room. We offer clean, comfortable boutique rooms and suites starting at $99 a night, so your guests can dance as long as they want and simply take the elevator up when they are ready.
For close family members who are staying a few days or need extra space to get ready, The Ten Residences are full apartment-style suites inside the hotel. Plenty of space for the bridal party to get their hair and makeup done, for the mother of the bride to get dressed in peace, and for the whole family to gather before the ceremony without crowding a single standard room.
One of the biggest advantages of booking a hotel venue is turning a single event into a full, relaxed weekend. Here is exactly what your 2027 spring wedding weekend looks like at The Ten Hotel.
Your wedding party arrives and checks in. After a quick rehearsal, nobody has to drive anywhere for dinner. Walk straight to Limoncello Café for your rehearsal dinner. Adults can finish the evening with a drink at Twyla’s Lounge before a good night’s sleep.
While the bride and bridesmaids get hair and makeup done upstairs in a spacious suite, the groomsmen head down to The Fore Golf Simulators for a round of virtual golf and a drink. No awkward waiting around, no one leaving the building.
The main event. The Grand Ballroom is set up perfectly. The food is hot, the bar is open, and the music is loud. Your guests dance all night knowing their room is just an elevator ride away.
Before everyone drives home, gather the whole group downstairs at Limoncello Café for a final morning meal together. One last moment with everyone you love, in the same building, before the weekend ends.
Everything your bridal party needs is in one building. No driving, no logistics, no stress.
You want a beautiful, stress-free wedding day where everything is handled for you. The Ten Hotel’s all-inclusive packages let you show up and enjoy every moment without managing vendors all morning.
Family flying in from out of state or driving up from the city can stay right in the building. No separate hotel research, no late-night Ubers, and no driving after an open bar.
With 10,000 square feet and the capacity to hold hundreds of guests, the Grand Ballroom is the only space in Lake County that can comfortably fit a truly large wedding without feeling cramped.
If coordinating twelve separate vendors sounds like your worst nightmare, our all-inclusive packages are exactly what you need. One venue, one team, one invoice. That is it.
We know that modern brides do almost all their wedding research on their phones. That is why we partnered with Brimesh at Seven Seas Web Design to rebuild our website from the ground up with fast, clean code and no heavy plugins. You can pull up our Grand Ballroom photos, browse our bridal packages, and submit your event inquiry in just a few seconds from any device. No waiting, no broken pages, no frustration.
How far in advance should I book a spring wedding venue?
The standard rule is 12 to 18 months before your wedding date. For spring Saturdays in April, May, or June, you should book even earlier. The most popular dates in Lake County fill up fast, and 2027 spring Saturdays at The Ten Hotel are already being reserved.
What is included in The Ten Hotel wedding packages?
Our all-inclusive bridal packages cover catering, bar service, tables, linens, setup, staffing, and cleanup. View our full package details on the bridal packages page.
Can wedding guests stay overnight at The Ten Hotel?
Yes. We offer boutique guest rooms and suites starting at $99 per night, right inside the hotel. Guests can walk directly from the reception to their room, which is perfect for late-night weddings and open-bar events.
How many guests can the Grand Ballroom hold?
The Grand Ballroom at The Ten Hotel is 10,000 square feet, making it the largest private event space in Lake County. It is designed to comfortably seat large wedding parties. Contact us directly for specific capacity layouts and floor plan options.
Did The Ten Hotel really give away a $50,000 wedding package?
Yes. In March 2026 we hosted our first Bridal Expo at the hotel and gave one lucky couple a full $50,000 wedding package. You can learn more on our wedding giveaway page.
Is The Ten Hotel a good wedding venue for large weddings near Chicago?
Absolutely. Located at 6161 W Grand Avenue in Gurnee, IL, The Ten Hotel is one of the top all-inclusive wedding venues in the Chicago north suburbs. The Grand Ballroom, on-site accommodations, in-house dining, and dedicated event team make it the most complete wedding destination in Lake County.
The best Saturdays in April, May, and June fill up fast. Stop juggling vendors and start planning the easiest, most beautiful wedding in Lake County. The Ten Hotel Gurnee has everything you need in one building.
Our Address
6161 W Grand Ave, Gurnee,
IL 60031
Tel: (847) 336-6300
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