Anyone getting married in Chicago?

[peonygirl]

If so, where are you getting married? I''m trying to stay away from hotels, but it seems like all the really pretty/historical places are very expensive (like the Cultural Center and the Botanical Gardens). How did you start looking for venues?

 

[flutterby]

I''m not getting married in Chicago. But I live here and am in the food service industry. I can honestly say my favorite wedding site in chicago is Cafe Brauer, in Lincoln park. It is such an amazing wedding space, old ballroom space with gorgeous stain glass ceilings and a view of the skyline. I wanted to get married there, but we are moving to LA in March and it seems silly to come back here for our wedding. Levy restaurants does catering there as well as a few other places. I have worked with Carol Drew at Levy and she would be a great resource. You can have a meeting with her and find out where they cater and what the venue prices are. Another great space in New Leaf, except you have to get all your flowers and decorations from them (which are GORGEOUS, just pricey). Each historical location has contracats with specific caterers, levy or wolfgang etc.

Happy planning!

 

[monarch64]

Msflutter: I got married in Oakbrook, IL, I don''t know if you''re familiar with the area but it''s not too far from Chicago...about 15 miles west of downtown. Our site for the ceremony and reception was the Oakbrook Bath and Tennis Club on 31st street. I don''t know if they have a website or not. Two years ago this September we got married there on a Sunday at 12:30 p.m., we had an open bar for 5 hours, full dinner (only $18.50 a plate), we brought our own cake, and did not have any passed h''ors duerves. I think we had about 120 guests, and the total was right around $5,000. On a Friday or Saturday the minimum was $8,000, so we saved $3k by having it on a Sunday. It was a beautiful day, we had the ceremony outside (there is a huge pond with a fountain in it right behind the clubhouse, which is all big glass windows with a huge fieldstone fireplace inside. It was absolutely beautiful, and we got so many compliments. The weather helped, of course. The lady I went through there was Debbie Jeros, she and all the other employees there were so, so nice, and really worked with my husband and I and our families to put together a lovely, pretty lavish wedding that didn''t cost megabucks. I''m from the south where weddings are usually alcohol free and receptions are held in the basements of churches, so I couldn''t even begin to ask my father for a very high cost wedding. If you''re still wanting to get married downtown no matter what, have you thought about just serving cocktails (maybe a theme) and dessert instead of a full sit-down dinner? I also found Modern Brides guide to venues to be very helpful. When I was looking for a site, they had a full listing of Chicagoland venues and price ranges. Good luck in your search for the perfect site! Just stay away from any building that''s painted pink on the outside--too cheesy (imo)!!!

 

[monarch64]

Ooops, I meant to address my post to peonygirl, sorry!

 

[glaucomflecken]

you girls are so lucky to get married in Chicago! i miss my hometown!!!

 

[monarch64]

punchnpie. it misses you too!

 

[eks6426]

I''m not in Chicago, but nearby. Most of my relatives are in Chicagoland. One of them got married at the Historical Society downtown. They had the entire museum to their wedding. It was really a great venue. Just a suggestion.

 

[glaucomflecken]

Date: 11/14/2005 10:55:06 AM
Author: IslandDreams
I''m not in Chicago, but nearby. Most of my relatives are in Chicagoland. One of them got married at the Historical Society downtown. They had the entire museum to their wedding. It was really a great venue. Just a suggestion.

The Historical Society building is beautiful. We had our graduation banquet there and it was a great atmosphere for a formal event!

 

[Blue824]

I haven''t been to a local wedding in forever! My coworkers have recently attended weddings at the Womens Club of Evanston, Womens Club of Wilmette and Newberry Library, and they had only nice things to say. Don''t know anything about how easy or expensive they are to work wtih.

Something I''ve always found appealing is to have something more than just a generic ballroom. I love the idea of a museums or restaurants like the signature room with an awesome view. Especially since almost half the people would be coming in from out of town, if I have mine in Chicago, I''d definitely want something to show off the city. I love the space at the Adler...entire walls of glass overlooking the lake and the skyline and then you can also see the Saturday night fireworks they set off from Navy Pier. They only have one choice for a caterer though. The Chicago Historical Society is almost completely under renovation right now, including their new event space. The old/current one is beautiful, but the new one will overlook Lincoln Park and open Spring 2006. The nice thing is, you''re not restricted to one caterer like a lot of the other museums. Part of my job works with weddings and I''ve just sort of concluded that while a lot of the cultural spots have rental fees in addition to everything else, I feel like it evens out between the hotels, because a lot have minimums to spend.

I would just start visiting, you''re not going to be able to find out everything from their websites anyway.
Have you definitely decided to hold yours in Chicago? Or just exploring options?

 

[abradabra]

Another former Chicagoan of sorts here, I grew up in Evanston....

I am pretty sure that you have to know someone on the board to even rent the Women''s Club of Evanston, but I could be wrong. And for all I know, you do know someone! However, I would recommend looking into it. It''s a beautiful space (I took ballroom dancing lessons there as a "pre-teen" and the annual Cotillion party was held there as well in high school) and very convenient to hotels, bars, etc.

If you are looking at the suburbs, the Orrington Hotel is nice and Northwestern would have a number of venues you could look into. Often going through a not for profit, like a University, will give you cheaper rates than a more traditional venue.

I''d also look into renting out a restaurant for the evening. Depending on how large your wedding is shaping up to be, it can be a lot more economical. I think Jacky''s Bistro in Evanston has a great space for this sort of event (if you aren''t having a large wedding) and the food and service are both outstanding. If you are having an out and out small wedding, Les Nomades is my absolute favorite restaurant in the city.

 

[caligal]

A former IL native, I''ve attended a Chicago wedding or two! I too miss my homeland.... Anyway- I just went to a fabulous wedding over Labor Day weekend at the restaurant Cite on the 72nd floor of Lake Tower. Gorgeous!

Only 50 or so attended, so I''d say it would max out at 75.

 

[YMA]

The Abbington in Glen Ellyn, is a nice place. It''s about 35mins from Chicago.