Planning a wedding in Chicago can be a stressful thing to do but don’t worry we will do our best to help you out. Everything we can think of will be covered right here in one post to hopefully save you some time and maybe even a little money.
Our first section will try to assist with planning this on your own by sharing a list of local wedding and reception venues. Some may want to get married in the church they went to as a kid, others will prefer to rent a different venue that can be a great place to host the ceremony or the reception.
Up next we will discuss the best bridal shops near you to buy a dress and many of the other things you will need. Shops that sell wedding invitations, florists, photographers, videographers, bands, and DJ’s will garner our next few sections.
Then we will get into some of the top wedding hair and makeup stylists and shops to rent a tuxedo so you can make sure everyone involved is looking their best. Our last few lists will be all about the food as we mention where to buy wedding cakes, caterers, and some great restaurants to host your rehearsal dinner at.
The final section will share the best wedding planners in Chicago for anyone who wants to hand all of this work off to someone else. Most wedding planners in your area will have different packages available ranging from a little bit of assistance all the way up to doing it all for you.
You can also expect to find a map towards the end that has all of these various venues pinned on it so that you can figure out which is closest to your current area. And if you wanted to compare what is available here to some other cities in the Midwest you can check out that link.
Chicago Wedding & Reception Venues
Choosing the right location for a wedding and reception in Chicago is a huge key to the whole process:
There are indoor and outdoor spaces at Café Brauer that can hold up to 250 people.
Loft on Lake can handle a maximum of 150 people for a seated dinner with a dance floor or 175 people for a cocktail-style setting.
The Langham offers three bridal venues near you with capacities ranging from 130 to 260.
180 people can be seated in total and 250 people can be seated cocktail style at the Ravenswood Event Center.
Loyola University’s Lake Shore Campus offers versatile indoor and outdoor venue rentals for banquets and wedding receptions in your area of any size with a total capacity of up to 1,000.
Indoor and outdoor spaces can be found at Belle Salle Banquets in Aurora which can accommodate more than 350 guests.
The Jacob Henry Mansion in Joliet can meet the needs of up to 200 people for a seated dinner and they also have room for 350 people in their outdoor courtyard area.
Elements features a spacious 4,200 square foot hall for 230 guests along with a pre-reception lounge providing beautiful views of the Riverwalk in Naperville.
With a capacity of up to 220 seated guests and a dance floor The Haight in Elgin provides a local outdoor wedding ceremony option on its 3,600 square foot rooftop terrace that can host 140 guests.
Danada House in Wheaton provides brides, grooms, and 250 guests or less with a stunning historic house, an all-weather atrium, and several outdoor areas.
For seated dining and cocktail reception events Crystal Ballroom and Lounge in Evanston can serve 200 people.
Elizabeth F. Cheney Mansion and grounds in Oak Park has room for 150 people for a sit-down dinner and up to 175 for a buffet.
Bridal Shops
Buy your dress and all of the other important items you need at one of the best bridal shops near you:
Hopefully after reading about all of the above you feel a lot more confident about planning your wedding in Chicago. You got linked to some of the best planners near you if you want to go that route, or you can save some money and do a lot of this on your own.
We tried to cover it all from local wedding and reception venues, bridal shops, invitations, florists, photographers, videographers, bands, DJ’s, hair and makeup stylists, tuxedo rentals, caterers, the cake, and of course some good restaurants for a rehearsal dinner in your area.
At this point you should be fully informed and ready to plan a great wedding in Chicago and we wish you all the luck in the world!
