One of the first tasks of wedding planning after getting engaged is to figure out where your event will be held. Location is incredibly important, not just in real estate. If you plan to have your wedding in the city of Chicago, your guests can enjoy several attractions, food and nightlife when they are not participating in your festivities. However, there are some important factors to keep in mind.  

Parking

Keep in mind what the parking (and rideshare drop off/pick up) situation is when choosing a venue in Chicago. If your venue has parking onsite, that’s amazing. However, most Chicago venues will not, so find out if your venue has any relationships with nearby garages or hotels in regard to parking. It’s always a plus to offer transportation, like guest shuttles, at certain times of the day or a rideshare discount code with your guests so they can safely and easily travel around for your event. 

Traffic

Chicago weddings require extra planning when it comes to logistics versus their suburban counterparts, so make sure to allot extra time in the wedding timeline, particularly for traffic. Is your venue near the highway? Is there construction around the area of the venue? Traffic is inevitable, whether it’s rush hour or not, so be prepared to consider traffic while planning your wedding in the city. 

Noise

Chicago weddings generally mean spectacular views of the Windy City but keep noise levels in mind if you’re thinking about having any part of your wedding outdoors. Overflow noise from cars, nearby businesses and crowds is a real possibility. 

Hotel Blocks

Whether your guests are out of towners or locals, plan to book a hotel block in Chicago for your wedding because it gives your guests a place to go to after the wedding or in between wedding events. Also, the drop off and pick up points between the hotel and your wedding venue will make booking guest transportation easy if you end up offering it for your event.  

Shared Venue

Chicago is a huge city in the US, so don’t be surprised if you must share your wedding space. Depending on where the event is held, you may have to share your venue with other events at the same time as your event, or at the very least, over your wedding weekend. You’ll have to keep this in mind when thinking through the logistics as well as storing items (programs, signage, card box, guest book, place cards, menus, table numbers, etc.) for the wedding day. For example, if you choose a hotel, it may have several events going on at the same as yours if they have multiple spaces. Or if you choose a loft space, you may be the only wedding there, but they may have events the day before or the day after your wedding. 

Chicago weddings are beautiful, lively and fun celebrations, but don’t forget to consider these five factors to make your event a seamless one. 

Sunday, March 31, 2024