Between the Offbeat Bride Tribe, our archive of real weddings, and our Vendor Guide, we've seen a LOT of vendor recommendations. So we decided to start rounding up these nuggets of info sourced directly from our readers for a series of reader recommended vendor list posts. We're starting right in the middle of the country with one of our largest markets: venues in and around Chicago and the Chicago suburbs (near and dear to my Chicago-native heart). Let's take a look at who our readers have recommended, where they are located, and how you can contact them to get your Chicago venue search started. Note that these are for ALL budgets, so no guarantees that they'll all fit into yours.
Chicago wedding venue resources:
Offbeat Bride's Illinois vendor guide
Offbeat Bride's archive of Chicago real weddings
Offbeat Bride's archive of Illinois real weddings
City of Chicago Wedding Venues
DePaul-Courtlou Commons
2324 N. Fremont St., Chicago, IL 60614
depaul.edu
Art institute of Chicago
111 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60603
artic.edu
Catalyst Ranch
656 W. Randolph, Suite 3W, Chicago, IL 60661
catalystranch.com
Dank Haus German Cultural Center
4740 N. Western Avenue, Chicago, IL 60625
dankhaus.com
Field Museum
1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605
fieldmuseum.org
Adler Planetarium
1300 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605
adlerplanetarium.org
Shedd Aquarium
1200 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605
sheddaquarium.org
Portage Theater
4050 N. Milwaukee Ave. Chicago, IL
theportagetheater.com
Bridgeport Art Center, Skyline Loft
1200 W. 35th Chicago, IL 60609
skylineloft.com
VenueOne
1034 W. Randolph St. Chicago, IL 60607
venueonechicago.com
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago Warehouse
220 East Chicago Avenue Chicago IL 60611
mcachicago.org
Stan Mansion
2408 North Kedzie, Chicago, IL 60647
stanmansion.com
Illuminating Co.
19 E. 21 Street, Chicago, Il 60616
chicagoilluminatingcompany.com
The Ivy Room
12 E. Ohio Street Chicago 6061
ivyroomchicago.com
Salvage One
1840 W. Hubbard, Chicago, IL 60622
salvageone.com
Carmichael’s Warehouse
1052 W. Monroe Street, Chicago, Illinois 60607
carmichaelsteakhouse.com
Hotel Monaco
225 N. Wabash Avenue, Chicago, IL 60601
monaco-chicago.com
The Newberry, Independent Research Library
60 W. Walton Street, Chicago, IL 60610
newberry.org
The Blackstone Hotel
636 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60605
marriott.com
The Rookery
209 S. LaSalle Street Chicago, Illinois 60604
therookerybuilding.com
Salvatore’s
525 W. Arlington Pl., Chicago, IL 60614
salvatores-chicago.com
Chicago History Museum
1601 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60614
chicagohistory.org
The Palmer House
17 East Monroe Street Chicago, IL 60603
palmerhousehiltonhotel.com
Revel Downtown, Revel Fulton Market, Revel Motor Row
440 W Randolph Street, Chicago, IL
1215 W Fulton Street, Chicago, IL
2400 S Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL
revelspace.com
Schubas
3159 N. Southport Ave., Chicago, IL 60657
lh-st.com
Lincoln Hall
2424 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago, IL 60614
lh-st.com
Mars Gallery
1139 W. Fulton Market St., Chicago, IL 60607
marsgallery.com
Kitchen Chicago
324 N. Leavitt, Chicago IL, 60612
kitchenchicago.com
Alhambra Palace
1240 W Randolph St., Chicago, IL
alhambrapalacerestaurant.com
Carnivale
702 W Fulton St, Chicago, IL 60661
carnivalechicago.com
Haymarket Brewery
737 W. Randolph, Chicago, IL 60661
haymarketbrewing.com
International Museum of Surgical Science
1524 N. Lake Shore Dr., Chicago, IL 60610
imss.org
Room 1520
1520 W Fulton St., Chicago, IL 60607
room1520.com
Green House Loft
2545 W. Diversey Ave., Chicago, IL 60647
greenhouseloft.com
Floating Gallery
1925 N. Halsted St., Chicago, IL 60614
floatingworld.com
Loyola University
1032 W. Sheridan Rd. Chicago, IL 60660
luc.edu
Irish American Heritage Center
4626 N Knox Ave., Chicago, IL 60630
irish-american.org
Ravenswood Event Center
4011 North Ravenswood Ave., Chicago, IL 60613
ravenswoodeventcenter.com
Gallery 400 at UIC
College of Architecture and the Arts, University of Illinois at Chicago
400 South Peoria Street (MC 034), Chicago, IL 60607
gallery400.uic.edu
Zhou B Gallery
1029 W 35th St., Chicago, IL 60609
zhoubartcenter.com
Prairie Productions
1314 W. Randolph St., Chicago, IL 60607
prairieproduction.net
Glessner House
1800 S. Prairie Avenue, Chicago, IL 60616
glessnerhouse.org
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Center
220 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago 60604
cso.org
Keith House
1900 S. Prairie Ave., Chicago, IL
prairieavenuegallery.com
VOLO
2008 W. Roscoe St. Chicago, IL
volorestaurant.com
Swedish American Museum
5211 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL 60640
swedishamericanmuseum.org
Michelle's Ballroom
2800 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, IL 60618
michellesballroom.com
Revolution Brewing
2323 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60647
revbrew.com
Chicago Urban Art Society
3636 S. Iron St., Chicago, IL 60609
chicagourbanartsociety.com
Birchwood Kitchen
2211 W. North Ave., Chicago, IL
birchwoodkitchen.com
Lightology
215 W. Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL 60654
lightology.com
The Bottom Lounge
1375 W. Lake St. Chicago, IL 60607
bottomlounge.com
Gaelic Park
6119 W. 147th St. Oak Forest, Illinios 60452
chicagogaelicpark.org
Chicago Cultural Center
78 E. Washington St., Chicago, IL 60602
cityofchicago.org
Chicago Park District wedding venues:
Douglas Park Field House
1401 S. Sacramento Dr., Chicago, IL 60623
Humboldt Park Field House
1400 N. Sacramento Ave., Chicago, IL 60622
Garfield Park Conservatory
300 N. Central Park Ave., Chicago, IL 60624
Chicago Suburbs Wedding Venues
Green Garden Christmas Tree farm
11615 W. Pauling Rd, Manhattan, IL 60442
greengardenchristmastreefarm.com
Morton Arboretum
4100 Illinois Rte 53, Lisle, IL 60532
mortonarb.org
Carleton Hotel
1110 Pleasant St., Oak Park, IL 60302
carletonhotel.com
The Abbington
3 South 002 IL Route 53 Glen Ellyn, IL 60137
abbingtonbanquets.com
Rialto Square Theater
15 E. Van Buren St. Joliet, IL 60432
rialtosquare.com
19th Century Club
178 Forest Avenue Oak Park, IL 60301
19thcenturyclub.com
Mayslake Peabody
1717 W. 31st St., Oak Brook, IL 60523
mayslakepeabody.com
Oscar Swan
1800 West State St., Geneva, IL 60134
3351 N Elizabeth Scales Mound Rd., Galena, IL 60136
oscarswanweddings.com
The Barn
6526 Clarendon Hills Rd, Willowbrook, IL 60527
akfentertainment.com
Kenilworth Club
410 Kenilworth Avenue, Kenilworth, IL 60043
kenilworthclub.org
Blackberry Creek Camp and Conference Center
10701 River Road Plano, IL 60545
blackberrycreekcenter.com
Burpee Museum
737 North Main St., Rockford, IL 61103
burpee.org
Brookfield Zoo
8400 31st St., Brookfield, IL 60513
czs.org/Brookfield-Zoo
Lake Katherine Nature Center and Botanic Gardens
7402 W. Lake Katherine Dr., Palos Heights, IL 60463
lakekatherine.org
Royalty West Banquet Hall
8675 Archer Avenue, Willow Springs, IL 60480
royaltywestbanquets.com
Woman’s Club of Wilmette
930 Greenleaf Ave., Wilmette, IL 60091
womansclubofwilmette.org
Genesee Theater
203 N Genesee St., Waukegan, IL 60085
geneseetheatre.com
Independence Grove
16400 W. Buckley Rd., Libertyville, IL
eventsatindependencegrove.com
Kemper Lakes Golf Club
24000 N.Old McHenry Rd., Kildeer,IL 60047
kemperlakesgolf.com
Chicago Botanic Garden
1000 Lake Cook Rd., Glencoe, IL 60022
chicagobotanic.org
Starved Rock Lodge
2668 East 873 Road Oglesby, IL 61348
starvedrocklodge.com
What favorite Chicago wedding venue should we add to this list? Where are you having your Illinois wedding?