Chicago Wedding Venue: Farm

I suppose this post should be entitled, Chicagoland Wedding Venue VII, as this next venue is in Glenview, but I'm a fan of consistency, so the title shall remain...

I've been helping my oldest and dearest friend, Charlotte, find a venue for her August 2009 wedding (yes, yes, the date is creeping up on her, but this former Chicago bride, and guest blogger, once told me that all one actually needs is 6 months to really plan a wedding) and bless Charlotte's heart, all she has requested is that it be an affordable and outdoor venue. Wonderful! There should be plenty venues like that within 20 miles of Chicago, right? Well, not as many as I had imagined...

But, finally, after sifting through 85 golf courses and 10 junky farms, I think I have found a venue that may be perfect for her: Historic Wagner Farms! It's 50% rustic and 50% manicured and 100% adorable! And, what's more, it's seemingly affordable, with only a variety of nominal site fees ($500 site fee for Saturdays and only $350 for Fridays...and they have some really laid back (read: affordable) meal options!!!!). Almost too good to be true...hmmmm.... I'll be sure to keep you posted.

Chicago Wedding Venue: Catholic Church

Typically I write about amazing (and somewhat affordable) reception venues in Chicago, because, let's face it, nearly every venue in and around this city, hotel or otherwise, is either way generic (can we say Double Tree on Skokie Blvd?) or so unique and amazing that it's nearly unaffordable for the everyday bride. (I say nearly because somehow we find a way to pay over 7k on a site fee, or meet a 20k food and beverage minimum...)

Don't worry; for now, I'll get off my soap box, because today I'm not talking about reception venues. Nay, today I'd like to show you one of the most beautiful ceremony venues in the city...Loyola University's Madonna della Strada! Granted, I hear it's a bit of a hassle to get married there because it's not part of the Archdiocese, and thus you have to do a bunch of paperwork and whatnot... But, it may be worth it to get married in this Art Deco restored masterpiece!

PS, the main doors open on to a patio overlooking the lake...seriously, it's breathtaking!

photo credit: Loyola University Chicago

Chicago Wedding Venue: Indoor/Outdoor & Beach

You'd think I was a Southsider by these last two venue posts - but I just couldn't pass up promoting this beautiful outdoor/beach venue! It, too, is a Chicago Park District location, albeit pricier than the last venue.

I pulled these shots of The 63rd Street Beach House from wikipedia of all places! These were really the only ones that show its colossal size! Seriously, it's HUGE!

Below are a couple shots from theknot.com; Shannon and Bobby had a beautiful, seemingly intimate, wedding. This is quite an accomplishment when you consider the size (Promenade alone equalling nearly 12,000 sq ft!).



Promenade
M-Thu $1,200Fri-Sun $2,800

Fountain Courtyard
M-Thu $1,200Fri-Sun $1,800

Serenity Courtyard
M-Thu $1,200Fri-Sun $1,800

Entire site
M-Thu $4,000Fri-Sun $5,000

Chicago Wedding Venue: Indoor/Outdoor & Lakefront

Ah, to have an outdoor summer wedding... If I had to do it all over again - I might actually go that route - and, Promontory Point would be the perfect location for our summer fête. It has a wonderful patio with stunning views of Lake Michigan, perfect for an outdoor reception. Rain, no worries, the Point's field house is the crowning glory of this historic South Shore masterpiece...

Update Cost: you will never guess how cheap this place is!

Field House
$650-8hrs
$350-4hrs

Lakefront Patio
$75-flat rate

Front Patio
$75-flat rate

photo credit: Rosalind Weddings

Chicago Wedding Venue: Fabulous and Eclectic

“We salvage. We recycle. We save architectural elements from the wrecking ball. We work to preserve and pass on our history. We have been helping our customers breathe new life into salvaged materials for nearly 30 years.”

Salvage One is a super amazing (and super expensive) architectural thrift shop*. It really does have some pretty amazing stuff. But, more importantly, it has a pretty amazing event space! You and your guests party among the menagerie of recovered architectural elements. It’s so eye catching, I can hardly stand it!

As it turns out, the site fee is 5K, which is at the top of my site fee scale. But, this space is absolutely fabulous, the perfect locatoin for an artistic, urban fête. So if you're down, I am too.


*by my thrift shop, I mean, not-so-thrifty-shop

photo credit: Salvage One Events

Chicago Wedding Venue: Library

Finally, the unveiling of our wedding venue! Feast your eyes on this unknown masterpiece they call The Library!!!! It's a law library, but the firm has long since moved out of the building, so its library has been converted in to an event space!

It is the most charming, well maintained library I've ever seen! With exposed stacks, wrought iron spiral stairs, and views of the Board of Trade, the Sears Tower, and the lake, it is A-MAZ-ING! Three words, that's how amazing it is!

I can not explain how excited I am about our venue! Seriously, after 6 weeks of looking for unique venues, crying over site fees, putting deposits on two different venues and then cancelling, we finally arrived at The Library...almost entirely by accident! One thing that I must mention, however, is the site fee; it's HUGE ($4,000)! Thankfully, I was able to call in a favor and get the "tenant rate" ($1,200), but unless we had gotten that rate, I don't know if we would have gone with it.

Anyway, here is the only picture I have of The Library. When I get more, I will post them.

Chicago Wedding Venue: Fabulous but Expensive

The newest, most amazing wedding venue in Chicago has got to be The Ivy Room at Tree Studios...bar none! Venue-wise, it's Chicago's best kept secret; but not for long. I've recently seen it advertised on theknot.com and in a number of Chicago wedding mags.

Nestled between Chicago's famed Medina Temple, the once-shady Artist Quarters, and River North's new-ish State Street shops, you'll find the gem they call the The Ivy Room at Tree Studios. Its courtyard (see above) sets this space apart from nearly every other venue in the city (other than A New Leaf, of course)! The site fee runs upwards of 9k on a Saturday night, and if we were having a 100k wedding, I could attempt to justify spending nearly 10% of my budget on a site fee - a site fee; but alas, I cannot.

If you'd like to drool over more photos of this magnificent venue go to The Ivy Room at Tree Studios. Enjoy.

Photo: The Ivy Room at Tree Studios