nica and affordable place to have a wedding

[Intergalactic]

Originally Posted by Mamama Mia

Sadly, it closed last year. It had been a large part of my family's life down through the years. Very sad.

Yeah, that is sad, the place was interesting inside.

[kramer1]

We had our wedding reception at the Chicago Historical Society (now Chicago History museum). They have since reomdeled it, but it is still a great location. We also considered venues like the Chicago Cultural Center, Harold Washington Library, the Symphony Center, Cafe Brauer, etc, and didn't want a hotel wedding. None of these places come cheap. The booking price typically only covers getting you into the space, and sometimes some standard tables and chairs. Anything beyond that has to be arranged and paid for separately (catering, table linens, etc). One of the many advantages to getting married in your mid to late 30s (for us anyway) is that we could actually afford it.

[ajolotl]

Ida Noyes at the University of Chicago. Beautiful building, great area, reasonably priced.

[Costa Rica Chica]

Did you see the RedEye newspaper today? The main story is about your op.

[GoCUBS1]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

If you want a reception on the real cheap and plain do it at a park district field house or a VFW hall.

Spoken like a guy (though I'm still not sure if you are a guy)... Not sure if these would qualify as "nice" IMO (though they are affordable)...

A friend of mine had a wedding at the Newberry Library awhile back. It was nice and I think affordable. Price highly depends on the catering/bar/entertainment options you choose. There may also be "non-primetime" discounts (e.g. Sunday evening) as well...

[JanuaryGirl]

If you want something outdoors and aren't having an enormous wedding, I remember from my own planning that there were some spots for ceremonies at Millenium Park that were reasonable (such as the Wrigley Fountain). We ended up going to Mexico instead, but the original plan was to do the ceremony and photos at the park and then do a reception at a restaurant. However, if you want a traditional reception with dancing, etc. then a restaurant won't really work or you'll have to reserve a larger private room ($$$).

The park district also has some buildings/areas along the lake (I remember one on the southside near Science & Industry possibly??). These can be rented for pretty cheap, if you spend some time & money on decor they could be gorgeous! If you go this route though, remember you will have to rent everything (tables, linens, etc.) that normally would be included in a hotel-type wedding.

A New Leaf has a REALLY cool space, again it's pretty plain but can be dressed up in whatever style you prefer. They're in a nice area by Lincoln Park which would make for good photos too.

[Carantini]

thanks everyone.