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Welcome! We live in Chicago and we're having our wedding here as well. :) I can't help you with the capacity, etc, but we went there for FFIL's MBA graduation dinner, and it was really nice... are you planning on having the ceremony at Navy Pier or somewhere in the area?
We haven't figured out the ceremony location yet. I'm kind of lost, honestly. Any suggestions about nearby sites that would be easy on the pocketbook would be amazing!
Also, we dont' HAVE to have any part of the wedding in downtown Chicago, we just thought it might be easier for guests to have things to do and places to stay.
Oh, I agree, it's fun! You might want to look into other neighborhoods as well, just to cut down on costs. We're having our wedding in West Town, which means there is plenty of parking since it's a warehouse district and we'll be getting married on Saturday.
What general feel are you going for? How do you imagine your wedding? I've done a lot of research on Chicago venues, because we wanted somewhere unique. There are so many amazing one of a kind venues here!
Thanks for replying! I'd love my reception to be somewhere kind of original, not your standard hotel ballroom. I keep picturing exposed brick, floor-to-ceiling windows, wood floors, etc. I'd love for it to feel special and kind of casual all at the same time. If that makes any sense.
I'm so new to this arena, it's hard to put it all together. The one thing we have agreed upon though is no hotel ballroom. It'd have to be amazing for us to go that route (i.e. the Swissotel Penthouse room).
I should probably add that we're on a budget, probably less than $10K for the reception. I'm still figuring out what things cost though so that could change.
Hmm, not sure how many affordable venues you'll find... definitely check out the Chicago park district for more reasonable rates, Promontory Point is gorgeous, although it was a little small for our wedding, which will be about 175 people, so it may not work for you, either.
A New Leaf was my first choice, but it's also too small, boo. :( It's drop dead gorgeous, the lofty event space of a floral shop, and I was so sad when I gave up on it.
Cafe Brauer at the Lincoln Park Zoo is gorgeous and big, but way too expensive! The initial fee doesn't seem bad, but they get you because you have to use their alcohol packages, which are ridiculous, and there are a lot of little fees.
Ivy Room is also gorgeous, and also way out of the price range.
The Newberry Library is beautiful and reasonable when you account for the fact that they let you bring your own alcohol and are in a great Gold Coast location, but they're more marble than loft.
Which brings us to Salvage One, our venue - I hope, and Architectural Artifacts! We haven't had an official tour yet, but they're similar concepts with different spaces. They're both architectural artifact retail shops with huge spaces. You get to use the furniture and items in your decor, and it's really great and unique. AA ended up being out of our price range because they have this really exorbitant security fee. Salvage One is on the pricy end of what we can afford, but it's a splurge we're willing to make.
If you really want to bang your head against a wall after looking at the breakdowns from these places, you might want to look outside of the city... I hate to say that, because I love Chicago so much, but I sometimes wonder if I'm crazy for being so adamant that we get married here. You can have the same wedding for 1/2 the price in the suburbs, but your venues aren't going to be as unique. Hope this helped! I've compiled so much research on each venue, and talked to so many brides - it's been a great resource for me. :)
fulton's is nice. i actually live right across the street. if it is a summer wedding, they will open the doors from the ballroom and you can utilize the walkway next to the river. beautiful. it is a bit of an industrial space. ideal for a big wedding, but was too big for us. you will need to personalize the space, but it's definitely better than the standard ballroom.
Thanks Lily!! Your info is SO helpful!
We did some looking at the Parks - The Columbus Refrectory looked amazing too!
I'm fine with being outside the city if we can find something great, but I don't even know where to start looking. Looks like I'll be doing a little more research.
Thanks again!
The Chicago History Museum has a beautiful event space too. I remember walking in there when I visited the museum and thinking I'd love to have a reception in that room. No idea about price though unfortunately, it might be $$$.
@bethesdabride - yeah, there's no way (in my opinion) you could do a wedding under $50,000 at the Chicago History Museum! It's gorgeous though.
Glad I could help! Let me know if you have any other questions.
@jgibso27 Where in SoCal do you live?? Me and my fi just moved from Chicago to Studio City (LA)- and are planning our wedding back in Chicago too.
I just spent a week in Chicago looking at pretty much every venue under the sun INCLUDING Fulton's. I can send you all of the info they emailed me- the food is awesome, and by far, the most exciting part of the restaurant is the outdoor area- which you can only rent out if you commit to a certain capacity/$ spend.
We JUST decided on our venue- the Chicago yacht club (YAY!!), but I was a little anti-ballroom too. PM me your email and I can send you whatever ya need- I've got tons of info I don't know what to do with now. ^_^
Info/pricing/stufff I have on:
Germania Place
Sutton Place
A New Leaf
Fulton's
Drake Hotel
Cafe Brauer
Palmer House
Wit Hotel
W Lakeshore
hmm, and a few more but I can't think now!
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Hi Brides!
FI and I are planning a Spring 2011 wedding in Chicago, but we both currently live in SoCal! Our families and friends are scattered around the midwest and we think Chicago makes the most sense as a central location (between MN, OH, and MI).
I've been looking at venues online and am VERY impressed with Fulton's on the River in downtown Chicago but I was wondering if anyone had more details about this venue.
Just wondering about things like cost, parking, # of guests (we're trying to keep it to around 150-180), responsiveness, etc.
Any info would be SUPER helpful!
Thanks Bees!