16 Stunning Chicago Wedding Venues
Are you engaged + dreaming of a wedding in one of the most beautiful cities in the world—Chicago? If you have started to research wedding venues in Chicago, you have probably noticed that there are A LOT to choose from, so it may be very overwhelming! Our team of Chicago wedding planners have listed below some of the most stunning Chicago wedding venues to help you with this big decision—including downtown, hotels, industrial, ballrooms, lakefront, rooftop, and more.
We are here to make this process easier for you! As experienced Chicago wedding planners who have planned events all around the windy city for almost 10 years, we’re here to help you plan the day you have always dreamt about!
(You can even skip the venue search and just contact us! Our full-service wedding planners can guide you to the perfect venue for you!)
Our picks for best Chicago Wedding Venues of all different styles:
- Bridgeport Art Center – Skyline Lofts + The Sculpture Garden
- The Rookery Building
- The Intercontinental Chicago Magnificent Mile
- Galleria Marchetti | Chicago Indoor/Outdoor Wedding Venue
- Morgan Manufacturing | Industrial Wedding Venue in Chicago
- Adler Planetarium | Unique Chicago Wedding Venue
- Artifact Events Chicago
- Theater on the Lake | Chicago Waterfront Wedding Venue
- Cafe’ Brauer | Classic Chicago Wedding Venue
- The Chicago History Museum | Museum Wedding Venue
- The Art Institute Chicago | Downtown Chicago Wedding Venue
- Crystal Gardens – Navy Pier | Chicago Greenhouse Wedding Venue
- Lacuna Lofts | Chicago Rooftop Wedding Venue
- University Club Chicago | Historic Wedding Venue
- City View Loft / Kitchen Chicago
- The Drake Hotel Chicago | Chicago Hotel Wedding Venue
Bridgeport Art Center – Skyline Lofts + The Sculpture Garden
The Bridgeport Art Center is a premier wedding venue in Chicago. Whether your wedding is hosted in the Skyline Loft space with sweeping skyline views, or in their beautiful ground floor Sculpture Garden event space, you will find it’s one of Chicago’s most incredible + unique wedding venues that has A LOT to offer!
See some of our favorite Bridgeport Art Center weddings.
The Rookery Building
This historic Chicago landmark, The Rookery, offers an unforgettable wedding experience surrounded by iconic Chicago architecture. With its stunning Light Court ballroom, epic staircase, and cool catwalks, this venue is sure to wow your guests. Originally built in 1888 and redesigned by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1905, The Rookery boasts a classic and historic atmosphere, filled with modern amenities and technology. Centrally located in the heart of the Chicago Loop, it’s perfect for couples looking for a downtown Chicago wedding with easy access to landmarks and photo opportunities.
Get all our insider tips in our Rookery Building wedding venue spotlight.
The Intercontinental Chicago Magnificent Mile
The InterContinental Chicago Hotel provides a luxurious atmosphere and experience for all weddings hosted at this gorgeous hotel wedding venue. Say “I Do” in one of their glamorous ballrooms, or off-site if you choose, then gather your guests for a glitzy reception, and gaze out over the city lights as you dance the night away in their grand ballroom.
Hear more as to why The InterContinental Chicago Hotel is one of our favorite Chicago venues!
Galleria Marchetti | Indoor/Outdoor Wedding Venue
This family-owned space in Chicago’s River West neighborhood knows how to throw an unforgettable wedding! The facility allows couples to choose from multiple indoor and outdoor areas, including a four-season tented pavilion and courtyards with Tuscan-inspired landscaping perfect for a romantic ceremony + cocktail hour. We absolutely love this gorgeous venue and working with their amazing team, who always ensure our clients’ weddings are perfection.
Love this venue too? Don’t miss Ashlee + Paul’s Galleria Marchetti wedding!
Yes, you really can afford to hire a wedding planner! With the Simply Elegant Group’s Preferred Vendor Program, we could save you more money than you spend with us. Contact us for more details.
Morgan Manufacturing | Industrial Wedding Venue in Chicago
This West Town Chicago wedding venue is the definition of “industrial elegance”! The multi-level, loft-like space is a blank canvas flanked by exposed brickwork, overhead timber beams and skylights, and polished concrete floors. This venue has hosted some of our favorite weddings, and will definitely impress every guest that steps foot in this space!
Want to see a past wedding we did in this space? Check out Sara + Greg’s Morgan Manufacturing wedding.
Adler Planetarium | Unique Chicago Wedding Venue
It’s no surprise that one of the best wedding venues in Chicago right now is the Adler Planetarium! This museum venue option has up to 60,000 square feet of exhibits, which makes it a great pick for couples wanting a versatile and spacious venue. The venue is located on the water, and in what has been rated the number one spot for the best view of the city skyline. This gorgeous view can be the backdrop of your Ceremony/Cocktail hour in their outdoor space, and/or the backdrop of your reception since 2 of the 4 walls are completely made of glass!
For even more reasons as to why we love this stunning wedding venue, check out our Adler Planetarium venue spotlight.
Artifact Events Chicago
A loft with exposed beams and plenty of natural light sounds totally dreamy, right? Well, this venue has all that, and a lot more! This Ravenswood venue has plenty of blank space options with plenty of character to choose from, including a loft space, a gorgeous courtyard, a spectacular underground space with a staircase perfect for those reception entrances and/or ceremony processional, and much more.
We have planned many weddings at Artifact Events Chicago, and our clients have loved their experience every single time! Check out Sarah + Benny’s Artifact events Chicago wedding to view one of our past weddings at this beautiful venue!
Theater on the Lake | Chicago Waterfront Wedding Venue
Designed in 1913, this unique wedding venue adds Chicago historical value to classic elegance. The event space sits on the waterfront, which provides stunning views year-round and a gorgeous view South to the skyline. Bonus fact: for those of you who want to hire a band, this venue has an epic stage to highlight them! So once dinner has concluded, your guests will feel like they’re at a concert and will dance the night away.
Wedding planning would be more fun if you had a wedding planner doing this research for you. Here at the Simply Elegant Group, our Chicago wedding planners are ready to help you choose the right venue for your style and budget. Send us a quick email for more details.
Cafe’ Brauer | Classic Chicago Wedding Venue
Café Brauer offers some of the most timeless architecture the city of Chicago is so famous for! With a mix of outdoor and indoor venues, there’s something here for every wedding!
This gorgeous venue is located in the heart of Lincoln Park, so it offers endless views of the skyline, the beautiful pond (+ honeycomb) everyone takes photos of, and is located right next door to the zoo – how fun is that?! Romantic is the perfect word to describe this Chicago wedding venue, and could be the perfect venue for you!
The Chicago History Museum | Museum Wedding Venue
Surrounded by the greenery of Lincoln Park and only feet away from Lake Michigan, the Chicago History Museum offers some of the most incredible options for your Wedding Ceremony + Reception! Imagine getting married and mingling with your guests in their outdoor plaza (that staircase makes an EPIC entrance for your processional), and dancing the night away on their black + white tiled floor in their Chicago Ballroom! This venue offers it all, and is one we absolutely adore!
The Art Institute Chicago | Downtown Chicago Wedding Venue
This modern + unique wedding venue located in the heart of Downtown Chicago is one that is hard to beat! This venue offers many different options for where your event can be held, so it has something for everyone.
For those looking for a more modern wedding, you can host your ceremony out in the outdoor Pritzker Garden space, then have your guests inside Passerelle, where guests mingle during cocktail hour, and lastly, they will head down that glass staircase for Dinner Reception in Griffin Court! These spaces all have very clean lines, so any color scheme can work to make any vision come true.
For those wanting a more romantic/”old world” feel for your wedding, these options will blow you away! You can first say “I Do” at the Women’s Board Grand Staircase, then ask your guests to head up to the second floor where they will enjoy cocktail hour and take a tour of the art exhibit. After cocktail hour concludes your guests will be directed to The Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room for eating, drinking + dancing in this romantic + grand space!
Interested in seeing more? We loved planning Daphne & Bridget’s Art Institute Chicago Wedding.
Crystal Gardens – Navy Pier | Chicago Greenhouse Wedding Venue
The weather is never predictable here in Chicago, but it’s alway fair weather in Navy Pier’s Crystal Gardens! This one-acre greenhouse wedding venue is covered in lush tropical paradise, beneath a 50-foot glass ceiling covered in sparkling string lights.
This Chicago venue can accommodate anywhere from 80 to 500 people, and is perfect for those that do not want to do a lot of decor in their space – this venue already is a wow-factor on its own.
Lacuna Lofts | Chicago Rooftop Wedding Venue
Your big kiss will be magical no matter where it happens. But having it overlooking the Chicago skyline takes it to another level! With their new glass railing, your guests will get a complete 360 view of the gorgeous city of Chicago. Then for those art lovers out there, your guests will head downstairs to their Reception space, where guests will completely be captured by the uniqueness + beauty that Lacuna Lofts has to offer!
More inspiration: Alida & Ben’s Lacuna Lofts Chicago wedding.
University Club Chicago | Historic Wedding Venue
Now this venue is perfect for every couple who loves an “Old World” feel (some call it Chicago’s own personal Hogwarts)! The highlights of this 12-story, Neo-Gothic structure are, Cathedral Hall—a Hogwarts-like dining and event space lined with stained glass, or their grand Fireplace, which is the perfect location to say “I Do”. They also added a terrace, which like our clients used at their University Club Chicago wedding, is the perfect place for those gorgeous + personal photos that overlook Michigan Avenue + Grant Park!
City View Loft / Kitchen Chicago
Kitchen Chicago:
Located on the 1st floor, directly below City View Loft, Kitchen Chicago offers a sunlit event space complete with a loft area, a bridal suite, and cocktail area. Kitchen Chicago is perfect for intimate events and large gatherings alike, and is simply designed so it can be transformed into a venue that will both warmly welcome and thrill your guests.
City View Loft:
Located on the 2nd floor and featuring tall ceilings, picturesque skyline views, and an open floorplan, City View Loft provides each client with the unique opportunity to transform their industrial loft into their own space! Sunlight fills the space during the day for a warm and welcoming ceremony, and the twinkle of the city’s lights at night are the perfect urban backdrop for dinner and dancing.
The two spaces are perfect when used in conjunction with each other! Many clients opt to host their ceremony and cocktail reception in Kitchen Chicago and their reception in City View Loft – just like Alyssa and Anthony did for their Kitchen Chicago and City View Loft wedding.
The Drake Hotel Chicago | Hotel Wedding Venue
This Chicago hotel wedding venue absolutely sells itself with how gorgeous it is and where it is located! This hotel is right at the intersection of Lake Shore Drive + Michigan Ave, which means it has breathtaking views of the lake, the skyline, and The John Hancock building (located right next door).
Then let’s talk about their ballroom selections (hint: they are spectacular), one of which is one of our favorites in the entire city! The second you step into the Gold Coast Ballroom, your jaw immediately drops to the floor. From the grand pillars and the gold touches, to the amount of detail put into every square inch of this space, it all combined will instantly capture you! Trust us, this hotel is a showstopper, and will be a wedding your guests will rave about for years to come!
Need help choosing a Chicago wedding venue?
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Learn more about our affordable Chicago Wedding Planners + Wedding Planning Packages
and contact us today! xo
Nationwide wedding planning service The Simply Elegant Group® creates joyful celebrations of love for engaged couples, while saving them money through a simple + stress-free experience. Our Team has collectively planned over 4,500 events nationwide, making our team some of the most experienced wedding planners in the US.
