Everything You Need to Plan the Perfect Wedding in Chicago

Chicagoans are as passionate about their hometown as they are their home team, The Cubs. Perhaps it’s the combination of Midwestern manners with urban chic, the beaches of Lake Michigan, the Loop, the impressive theater credentials, or wind that creeps up and through the streets like a pulse. Weddings in Chicago are family affairs; people don’t move here to become famous or elite—although some leave as Presidents—and celebrations reflect that homespun feeling.
   
As for that wind and that cold, it’s pure myth that Chicago is windier than other metropolitan cities (New York and Boston are also built around water and also just as breezy). The “cold” part is true. Like much of the Midwest, Chicago temperatures in wintertime dip well below zero, and Chicago weddings from December through April are most likely going to held indoors. Spring, summer, and fall are seasonal, and pose no more challenges, planning-wise, than any other big city. Being the “City of Big Shoulders” (a nickname for the many skyscrapers), Chicago wedding planners know how to use the indoor space to get the most romance for your buck. Should you marry during the cold season, transportation will have to be provided to every location, and the wedding photographs will most likely have to be taken indoors.

Maybe it’s because of that cold that Chicago is so hot about romance. The music is all-that-jazz passionate, old-time restaurants like Charlie Trotter’s invite lovers from all over the world, and that sensation that you’re at one of the biggest transportation hubs in the United States gets everyone’s pulse racing. Wherever you wed, you’ll find that love is serious business here.

Narrowing down your search, Chicago’s unique geography means that, weather permitting, you can get married along the Lake or at a beach resort. Blues clubs make for more intimate gatherings, spread all over the city, and the north shore has some of the more funky restaurants. Whether exchanging rings in a pizza parlor or 5 star hotel, you’ll be a beautiful bride and a sophisticated urbanite on your wedding day in Chicago.