weddings
6 Lindsay Rathert and Beau Kruk were married outside at Cuneo Mansion and Gardens on Oct. 7, 2012. Photo by Olivia Leigh Photographie
Cuneo Mansion Creates Wedding Bliss For Brides
By STEPHANIE N. GRIMOLDBY
Though Lindsay Rathert hails from Chicago, when it came time to plan her wedding with her then fiancé, Beau Kruk, the couple chose Cuneo Mansion and Gardens in Vernon Hills as their “destination” venue. “There are so many interesting, unique [venues] in the city, but Cuneo is very different than that,” 26-year-old Rathert says. “Costwise, it’s similar to the city, but the value is so
much more. They really take care of you from head to toe.” She and Kruk were wed Oct. 7, 2012, at the mansion with 125 guests in attendance. The bridal colors and themes — Champagne pinks, grays and golds that brought on a refined and slightly vintage look and feel — were chosen purposely to blend with Cuneo’s own decor, Rathert says.
3 Year-round pavilion. Photo by Zuzi Williams
“We had such a great experience,” Rathert says. “I couldn’t be happier.”
6 Rathert and Kruk had a cocktail hour inside the Great Hall of Cuneo Mansion during their wedding celebration. Photo by Olivia Leigh Photographie
As Rathert found, Cuneo Mansion and Gardens truly is a unique — and deeply historic — venue, says Kevin Ginty, General Manager of Cuneo, which is now owned by Loyola University Chicago. Samuel Insull, founder of Commonwealth Edison, originally built the mansion, and at its peak, the mansion and its grounds spanned 4,000 acres. But Insull fell into financial woes during the Great Depression, and in 1937, John Cuneo Sr. bought the home for $752,000. Cuneo Sr. — founder of the Cuneo Press and owner of Hawthorn Mellody Dairy Farm — lived there with his family until his death in 1977. When his wife, Julia, passed away in 1990, the mansion became a public