Comments on Unique Chicago wedding venues coveted by Offbeat Bride readers

1. Redmoon Theater Event Space is the perfect alternative wedding space. The staff is incredible and the location is awesome.

2. Lincoln Park Zoo and Promontory Point should be on this list, too.

   I’m happy to see my reception location, DANK Haus, made the list.
   My tiny ceremony took place in front of US Cellular Field. They do rent out parts of the ballpark and have on-field weddings, but it was out of our budget. But, the nice employees let us go onto the warning track for some photos anyway!

   • Also the Columbus Park Refectory, it’s gorgeous.

3. The Herrington Inn, in Geneva (suburbs). If we had decided to have the wedding in the city, it was definitely going to be the Newberry, but we have a LOT of people coming in from out of town, so it was important to have lots of rooms close by with a range of prices. The Herrington’s event staff have been so lovely to work with, it has all seemed so easy, and the food is FANTASTIC. And our ceremony will be overlooking the Fox River.

   http://www.herringtoninn.com/

4. I got legalled at the Cultural Center for $10, then had a big family picnic in Grant Park. Then the “official” reception was on the Spirit of Chicago Fireworks Cruise that night.

   Securing the park permit was extremely stressful, and it was the most basic permit they offer. As was signing up for the Cultural Center thing. Conversely, the coordinator for Spirit was super easy to work with and treated my teeny group with the same care I’d expect for groups of hundreds.

   I had a cousin who had hers at Salvage One, and it’s a really cool space.

5. I’d petition to add Northwest Indiana to the Chicago Area considerations. We may be across state lines, but we’re close enough that we count as suburbs too!

   That said, our venue is Vermillion Farm & Prairie in Valparaiso, IN. We’re still over a year out, but so far the owners have been great to work with!

6. My ceremony is going to be at Naper Settlement (an outdoor historical museum) and our reception is at Two Brothers Roundhouse (brewery). I can’t believe neither of them made this list!

7. We had ours at the Nineteenth Century Club. It was fabulous, and their on site contact is incredibly helpful.
   http://www.nineteenthcentury.org/

8. We’re getting married in the fall at Copernicus Center and I must say it is a great option for the budget conscious who love the rustic exposed brick look. The building was originally a 1930’s movie palace that has now been converted into a Polish community center, and it is beautiful! The staff has been really attentive and great so far, and seriously I cannot emphasize the price enough – nothing else in the city even came close to the price.

   http://copernicuscenter.org/

9. We’re looking at having it at the speakeasy-style theatre that just opened in Uptown, the Uptown Underground. SO pretty!

   http://www.uptownunderground.net/

10. Woohoo, psyched to see the DANK Haus here! We had a great experience there and I really recommend it.

11. I would add to this list Architectural Artifacts at 4325 N Ravenswood Ave – http://www.architecturalartifacts.com/. It is an antiques shop but they have events here all the time. It’s a great setting.

12. Just had our wedding at the Highland Park Community House (http://www.highlandparkcommunityhouse.org/). Beautiful old (1920s) house in Highland Park, IL with a huge ballroom with lots of big windows for lots of natural light. Everyone there is super-easy to work with as well, and their rates are very affordable. They’re also very accommodating; they have no “preferred vendors,” so we were able to customize our wedding to our exact specifications. I can’t recommend this place highly enough!

13. We got legaled at the courthouse and then renewed our vows a year and a half later, surrounded by family and friends, inside the labyrinth at Womanspace in Rockford, IL. I highly recommend Womanspace to anyone looking for a unique, outdoor, woodsy venue. They are so kind and accommodating, the space is lovely, and you’d be supporting a wonderful organization too!

    http://www.womanspace-rockford.org/pages/facilities/labyrinthprairie/labyrinth.htm

14. Lincoln Park Zoo should definitely be on this list. Cafe Brauer literally gave me goosebumps when we viewed it.
    http://www.lpzoo.org/events/host-private-event/cafe-brauer

    Another great suburban venue is Two Brothers Roundhouse (formerly Walter Payton’s Roundhouse) in Aurora, IL. It’s affordable, they double as the caterer (and their food is DELICIOUS), plus they have great beer all in a unique and historic building.
    http://www.twobrothersbrewing.com/roundhouse/banquets/

15. Loft on Lake in the West Loop is where we got married – exposed brick and a huge skylight! The Cultural Center is also beautiful!

16. As much as I love Chicago and a lot of these sites, being in central Illinois has basically made looking at venues maddening because the second you go “Illinois wedding” everything is in the Chicagoland area. There’s a whole hunk of state attached to it XD I guess I just wish I could find offbeat venues outside the major metro areas… I may have lived here too long XD [Honesty moment: the most frustrating venue problem is that I still don’t know WHERE to look for venues, with FH’s fam in Seattle [who want to be SUPER involved and controlling and yet can travel SUPER easy], my immediate family in central Illinois and my extended family [with ill grandparents] in easternshore MD. OH, and my brother & SIL is in Japan].

    • I found this place in central IL when looking for venues…and I was so upset that it was NOT in Chicagoland!
      http://www.spruceststudios.com
      Maybe you’ll love it just as much as I did 🙂

17. I’d like to add the Norwood Park Historical Society to this list. I’m getting married there next March and it is SO inexpensive and beautiful, and no approved vendors!

    http://www.norwoodparkhistoricalsociety.org/

18. Viper Alley in Lincolnshire! It used to be a concert venue, complete with bowling lanes. I’m getting married here next year and it is amazing!

19. The event space at Terra & Vine! It’s in Evanston, but that just means that parking is easier, haha. It’s cozy, great food, great service, and to top it all off you can work with a super famous master sommelier. I’m a wine girl myself, so imagine my excitement!!

20. This is a good list but it has a lot of places I didn’t think were venues.

    Has anyone had any experiences at the Shapiro Ballroom in Chicago? I’m looking into them for our wedding but they don’t have many reviews on Yelp….looks like they’re a renovated theater, they have a couple pics on their website:
    http://shapiroballroom.com

    I’m going to see about setting up a tour there and if anyone’s interested I’ll report back. Looks like a cool / cheap space. We’re getting married in May 2018, need to lock something down.

Comments are closed.