Chicago Wedding Venues
Brace yourselves: This is a LONG post. But there are pictures. Scroll to the end if you just want to see what venue we picked.
After we picked a date, I told myself I wouldn’t sweat planning. I’d relax, enjoy being engaged, and take my time.
Then I had a panic dream—I was standing in the middle of downtown Chicago, in a gown (an ugly gown, might I add) with no CLUE where my wedding was taking place. And with that one dream, my “wait to plan” went flying RIGHT out the window…but there’s a silver lining.
We’re about seven months from the big day, and I’m mostly done with wedding planning, and FULLY embracing engaged life.

But when I woke from that dream, I started a frenzy of Google searching and wedding-board browsing in an attempt to find a Chicago wedding venue that:
Was within the city of Chicago proper
Didn’t break the bank (less than $6k for the venue—which in Chicago seems to be asking a lot)
Wasn’t ugly, which I know is subjective
Was well located for our 75% out-of-towner guest list
Had space for a ceremony and a reception—both indoors, since Chicago weather is an adventure

Now, to be fair, I was at a bit of an advantage—I grew up in Chicago, and I’ve seen most of the places on our list before. But writing a research paper in the Winter Garden at the library and actually having a wedding there are definitely not the same.
So once we narrowed it down to...