Riverside Reception & Conference Center

We had our wedding here in the summer of 2014 and it was beautiful in every way. We had an outdoor ceremony on a sunny day in the courtyard, and it was so charming and perfect. Our indoor reception room overlooked the river and everyone kept commenting how beautiful the view was. I loved the exposed brick walls, floor-​to-​ceiling windows, and overall charm of this venue. My husband was really picky about where we would have our wedding, and he immediately loved Riverside Receptions.
The staff was also extremely easy to work with during the wedding planning process, and the food was delicious. Frances was our coordinator and she was so helpful and accommodating. I can’t think of one thing that went wrong or didn’t meet or exceed our expectations. To this day, people tell us how beautiful the setting was for our wedding. Definitely recommended!

Just had my wedding on New Years Eve receptions and it was fantastic! I primarily worked with Frances through the planning process and she was always so helpful. On the day of, the place looked beautiful – Christmas trees were still up and were stunning. I got so many compliments on the food as well. Amazing filet! Overall it was a night we will never forget and a lot of that is because of the venue we chose!

Great view. Good layout. Good atmosphere and great place to have a wedding or special event.

I highly recommend Riverside Receptions for a small or medium sized wedding. We had our reception at Riverside in early November and received lots of compliments on the beautiful view of the river and the hearty portions of delicious food (including a lovely cake from The Cakery).
Most importantly, their approach to customer service is stellar. Frances and Tina always quickly responded to phone calls and emails, no matter how little the detail and how far away the day. Thanks to the steady communication throughout planning, my wedding was a breeze (at least when it came to the reception). I dropped off my contributions to the wedding décor in advance and they set everything up for us. On our wedding day, the coordinator checked in with us just enough to ensure everything was running smoothly without distracting us from the important moments and our guests. She was back again at the end of the reception to help me box up all of the items we brought into the reception as well as our gifts to make sure nothing was left behind. This easily stressed bride really appreciated their attention to detail and efforts to streamline planning.

Attended a fall wedding here. It was beautiful, we looked out on the river during the ceremony. The bar/​cocktail hour area are spread out to give guests room to walk around and mingle. The reception area was also beautiful and simple. I would definitely recommend this space for a small/​medium sized wedding.

We had our wedding ceremony and reception at Riverside Receptions and it was amazing. This was the one & only venue we actually looked at, but we loved it and we didn’t want to look anywhere else. We liked the brick walls, the floor to ceiling windows, the Fox River being in the background, just everything about it. We chose the lower level because of the access to the outdoor patio overlooking the river, which our guests used a lot. We worked with a few different people throughout the planning process and everyone was so helpful and easy to work with. We worked with Tina & Norma on the actual day and we can’t thank them enough for everything they did. They made sure everything would work out and that we wouldn’t have to worry about a thing on the day of our wedding. All of the staff that night was wonderful and so friendly. Also, there was another wedding on the upper level and we didn’t even notice! It was the perfect day. We are so grateful to have had such great vendors. We would love to come back and have another party here.

We were married at Riverside in October 2014 and were so happy with everything. From our first look at the venue to our initial meeting to the planning process to the day itself, everything ran smoothly and went off so well. We mostly worked with Frances who was so friendly and easy to communicate with and had so many great ideas while also being very open to our suggestions. Everyone we ever spoke to was so accommodating and friendly from the little requests and changes to the big ones. Norma, who ran our wedding in the evening, did such a great job too.
The venue itself is gorgeous — the lower level has a great classic feel and the upper level has floor to ceiling windows with an amazing view of the river outside. The dance floor is right by the window creating a great atmosphere. We had a two long tables in front of the window for the bridal party and then my bride and I had a circle table in the center, but there were a few options. It was a great setup. We got married outside which looked beautiful too. It’s just a very classy looking place. The view and setup were a big part of our decision, so we were pleased with how easy the staff was to work with too.
There’s plenty of parking and having a hotel across the street was really convenient. There’s also a bar close by which was perfect for after-​party festivities. The food was delicious too, from the appetizers all the way up to the main course. They also do this great presentation as the food comes out for the bridal party — I felt like we were at Downton Abbey or something.
There are plenty of great photo options outside too. Everyone we spoke with had a blast and specifically complemented the venue — the setting, the staff, and the food especially. I can’t say enough good things; this wedding wasn’t very stressful to plan and having a responsive, professional, beautiful venue played a big part in that.

This venue is gorgeous, Unilocalers! If you can get over the fab view, you’ll find the food and service pretty excellent as well. I’m not sure there is a better option for a wedding or shower in the suburbs.

2 family weddings here so far. Could not complain about anything. Amazing food amazing staff and perfect venue

I had my sisters baby shower here and everything was perfect. We had the room that overlooked the river. So pretty. The staff was super helpful and the price was competitive with others! I received many compliments!

I got married at the Riverside in October 2013 and I highly recommend this venue! Our coordinator, Frances, was very sweet, understanding, and easy to work with (and we sent her a gabillion questions via email too).
We wanted an outdoor ceremony at their venue. It rained the majority of the day… up to a ½ hour before the ceremony. Typically they would already «call it» and do the set up inside if it’s raining a couple hours before the ceremony… but the Riverside carefully watched the weather and HAULED ASS to get our outdoor ceremony set up on time!!!
The food is amazing too, we got a lot of compliments on it! During their food tasting you can sample a few meals, but they are really good about mixing and matching things (within reason) to your liking.
Our cake (from the Cakery which was included in our Riverside package) nailed our cake! The good kind of nailed… not the adult sexy time nailed. They even let us do a more customized cake!
Anyway, the staff was very friendly, the space was totally unique, and we couldn’t have had a better time.
Note…we had one small issue with the venue. But I don’t judge a situation by the mistake, I judge a situation on how it’s handled, and Frances was amazing. Her correspondence with us to ensure we were OK was so sweet.
Really a cool space guys/​gals. I recommend it!

We had our wedding at Riverside Receptions, and we couldn’t have imagined a better place! The staff was so nice, and accommodating throughout the entire process. On the day of our wedding, they took great care of all of our guests, and gave my husband and I special attention. We looked into a lot of venues, and Riverside Receptions offers a beautiful view with great food and options at prices that can’t be beat.

Our wedding reception at Riverside was everything we dreamed of– the service and venue were perfect. We chose Riverside because the food is delicious, and the view is fantastic (I enjoy the natural light here when many reception halls have no windows). Riverside is fairly pricey, but I believe you get what you pay for. The gentlemen who was in charge the evening of our event was great– frequently checking in and personally bringing us and our parents beverages and letting us know of the events. We did decide to do a split menu, and there is an extra charge for that, which is a bummer– but I think most reception halls do that now. We also got married on a Friday evening which gave us a bit of a discount. They were great at answering questions via e-​mail or phone throughout the process, and really worked with our time table (we made our own placecards and favors so we needed a couple extra days to get them ready).
The only thing I really don’t like is the level of bar packages– I think it should just be top shelf for how much people are paying, not tons of extra money per person for higher levels of liquor. But that is my only complaint, and it is not enough to take away a star.
Our wedding was fabulous and memorable, and I would highly recommend this location to anyone!

My daughter had her bridal shower here June 2013.
The staff could not have been more professional and accommodating! We had the tea luncheon. The food was delicious! The views are stunning!
I would highly recommend this venue to anyone planning a shower, wedding, meeting, or other group event.

We are having my mother in laws 60^th Birthday party there this Saturday Feb. 2^nd 2013. I will make a full review after the event but I just had to say that so far this place has already exceeded our expectations. Each person we have talked with, met with or emailed with have been very friendly and extremely personable. They are great to respond to my emails (the easiest form of communication for me). So far, we are very happy with everything and after reading all of the other comments I’m sure this will be a night to remember! I will add more to this post once we have thrown the party=)
*i just realized I never came back and updated. Our night here was amazing! It was beautiful and people were very happy with the service here. The workers here were very polite and asked us numerous times if we needed anything at all. Also, I mis counted the amount of tables we would need and we needed an extra two. I had only bought enough center pieces for my original count and had two tables with no center pieces. Without me saying anything at all they provided two additional center pieces for the tables! That is excellent service in my opinion! Highly recommended

I attended a wedding here in October 2012. Let me just say this place gets 5 Stars for their excellent food! Normally, when I think of wedding food, I think «Meh, I’m hungry so I’ll eat it». This place easily cleared my already low expectations and went above and beyond!
Their appetizer cheese spread was so delicious with a nice glass of wine. I was almost full when they started handing out the warm appetizers (I still ate some of them though since they were equally as tasty). So by the time I sat down to eat my meal I was not extremely hungry. I had gotten the vegetarian meal which was a butternut squash ravioli. This was THE BEST wedding meal I have ever eaten. Let’s just say I needed to let out my dress by the end of the night. Several people around me also raved about the filet and chicken meal.
The rest of the reception area seemed quaint and clean. It had a spectacular view of the river and had a nice size dance floor. It did seem a little claustrophobic since the ceiling was lower than I’m used to and had many load bearing beams that cut off view of the whole room. If you like a more old-​school and antique kind of place with a homey atmosphere, I would suggest this place.

I came here for a friend’s wedding on a Saturday night in November. We had a great time, and this is a great venue.
I loved that the reception hall was right on the river. It is really pretty to look outside and see the river and the historic little town. So charming. There is an outside area that I imagine would be really pretty in the summer, but it was cold out, so we couldn’t enjoy it.
This couple had both their ceremony and reception here, which can sometimes make for a long wait time and guests pushed into small spaces while they ready the next room, but this was done flawlessly here. There is a separate bar area outside of the reception room and the ceremony room, so that’s where everyone stayed as the chairs were moved. I actually really liked the separate cocktail hour area.
The food was delicious. We had soup, salad, and a chicken dish. I was full by the end! the appetizers during cocktail hour were really good too. My favorite had to be the bacon-​wrapped date — yum!
The only knock against this place was the dancing area. They had to remove 3 tables (mine included) to create the dance floor. Also, as the room is long and narrow, there isn’t a great place for the DJ to set up. We sat near the DJ, and for him to get the music loud enough for people on the opposite side of the room to hear, the music was REALLY loud during dinner. So loud that I couldn’t hear the person sitting across from me when they talked. A person from our table actually went up to the DJ to ask him to turn it down a little, but that didn’t really work.
Oh, I almost forgot. About an hour before the end of the reception, the reception hall set up a coffee, biscotti, and ice cream bar. I was so impressed by the different gourmet coffees, tea packets, flavor syrups, and tons of delicious biscotti! What a great treat to end the night!

I’ve been here for receptions for several events. The wait staff is helpful and the food is generally very good. Last go around, my husband got a delicious-​looking steak and I received a tasty butternut squash ravioli in cream sauce with primavera-​style summer vegetables. The lemon sorbet was also a nice touch and there was a sweet table that was just divine.
I do have a few issues with this place, which may or may not be a concern, depending on the type of event you are hosting.
1. The bar leaves out a tip jar. I find this tacky and greedy. I’m sure the people who rent the facilities have gratuities built in to their bill, yet the bartenders expect even more from guests?
2. The room where they host the receptions that overlooks the river is gorgeous. The view is fantastic, but the drawback is it can be quite cold.
3. The brides room is super tiny, more of a nicely decoration broom closet. If your guests not seeing you before the ceremony is a big issue for you, you’ll want to wait in the car that brought you there.
4, The layout of the bar makes it pretty easy for guests to hang out there rather than forcing them back into the reception room where the DJ and dancing takes place. This can encourage people to just linger around for drinks rather than dance.

We were invited to a wedding ceremony and reception at Riverside. Now the bride’s a bit of a partier and on the edgy side with her humor. The groom is an ex-​Marine with a number of his fellow soldiers attending. They all love beer in abundant quantities. Another invitee posted online that he would be wearing a tuxedo t-​shirt. Without having been to this place before and without personally knowing the groom, we anticipated a rowdy, drunken, free-​for-​all till the police shut it down.
Boy were we wrong. The couple’s got some serious class. So does Riverside. Simply put, the scenery is amazing. Located on the Fox River, beside Rt. 38’s scenic bridge, decorated with hanging planters, Riverside brings a vintage European style to what is already a splendid downtown Geneva.
You can’t appreciate it from the entrance, which is like a courtyard between a bar and another building, leading to an open space. Riverside is unassuming and seems small, but much more spacious inside.
Riverside is right on the Fox River, with the back door leading you to a boardwalk along the edge of the river, overlooking a small dam and a short trail leading to a nearby park. Riverside’s reception took place on the enclosed deck, with splendid panoramic views of the river it faces. The reception had about 100 people, which is about the capacity of the enclosed deck. The deck has bare brick walls adorned with trellises and garden-​style décor, very European looking as well. There were more open tables at Riverside, but they were left open for guests to mingle away from the music on the deck.
The reception began with platters of cheese, crackers and fruit appetizers. My favorite was crisp flatbread studded with all sorts of grains. When it was time for dinner, they began with a deliciously creamy chicken soup and a colorful salad. I could have downed a few bowls of each. The salad in particular had fancy young greens, dried cranberries, mandarin orange wedges, and my favorite — brown sugar encased walnut pieces, all topped with a balsamic vinegar dressing for a palate-​pleasing array of texture, color, and sweet and sour flavors. Attention to detail was certainly there, like the creamy herb butter and sweetened butter displayed in perfect swirls on separate dishes to accompany the bread baskets.
The main course consisted of chicken breast and red potatoes, also excellent. Service at each table was prompt and efficient. We were blown away by the beauty of the enclosed deck, the view, and of course the food.
After dinner, it’s nice to come out and get a look at the river at night, the street and bridge studded in lights, take a stroll on a warm summer night and come back to Riverside for a few more drinks and some cheerful company. Definitely a great place to have a reception for a wedding or other formal occasion.

I had my wedding shower here back in 2009, and it was FABULOUS! It literally is show stopping, the views are amazing, and staff was super friendly, it was the best wedding shower ever. Non-​bias, of course!
To eat we ordered the sandwich buffet, it may sound lame but everyone raved about it!