
Depending on who you ask, there might be "too many" hotels in Chicago, but if you're planning a wedding at a hotel in the city, this is great news. The selection is fantastic, with hotel options in Downtown Chicago that are sure to wow with their history and fanciness. Wedding planners can also easily find hotels near major Chicago landmarks like Millennium Park, the Chicago River, and Lake Michigan for impressive views and photo ops.
With Giggster's help, you don't need to rely exclusively on strict hotel wedding packages. You can search for the right location and build your dream Chicago wedding effortlessly. And once you download the app, it's useful to find affordable venues for every part of the wedding, from rehearsal dinners to bridal showers to high-energy after-parties.
From the famous Magnificent Mile to Michigan Avenue and the Chicago Loop, Giggster's locations have your hotel wedding needs covered. Find a prime location with all the amenities you want, and everything else should fall into place.
A grand ballroom is the perfect setting for a fairy tale-themed wedding day, and when that ballroom is attached to a Chicago hotel, you get added benefits, like menus from an executive chef and the ability to room block for all your guests.
Chicago hotel wedding venue options can also have spectacular views of the city skyline and lakefront. This will impress the guest list and be convenient as a photo backdrop.
A hotel in Chicago can also be appropriate as an intimate gathering space for a wedding. They will typically have a bunch of different rooms to suit your needs.
Hotel venues can range from modern marvels to historic treasures and everything in between. Regardless of your style, there's sure to be a hotel available.
Exceptional Variety & Quality: Giggster's 12 lovely hotel wedding venues will please even the most discerning bride. Love a bit of rustic charm? No problem? How about clean lines and modern furniture? The app has that, too. We curate all the top Chicago spots so that you can find your venue in one quick search.
Hassle-Free Booking: Filter within the app for the most appropriate results and take a virtual tour through the high-quality images. Check the availability, price, and property features, and book quickly with 100% confidence. Any questions can easily be answered by messaging the hosts directly.
24-Hour Free Cancellation Policy: If something goes wrong, you're not stuck with a place you won't use. Take advantage of our free cancellations for bookings canceled within 24 hours of confirmation, provided the booking is made at least 48 hours before your big day.
Platform Protections: To keep any worry at bay when renting a hotel wedding venue like Buckingham Ballroom or other event spaces, add optional cancellation, liability, and damage protection to your booking to cover all the bases. You'll be fully protected and free to enjoy the wedding.
Every decision has its pros and cons, so evaluate whether or not Chicago is the best place to hold your nuptials:
Advantages
As a cosmopolitan city, Chicago's hotels run the full spectrum and have high-end facilities and services. You can have everything from valet services to in-house wedding specialists all in a single place.
Choosing a hotel in Chicago allows you to prolong the festivities in an exciting city with lots of things to do. Guests can easily stay at the hotel before or after the wedding and get a lot of bang for their buck by sightseeing from a central location.
With a nickname like "The Windy City," a hotel in Chicago offers a fabulous all-weather plan that shields guests from the elements.
Disadvantages
Certain hotels in Chicago will charge a premium for the convenience they provide. Access to chefs, nice decor, and facilities for out-of-town guests generally means you have to pay a bit more.
It's unlikely that you'll be renting the entire hotel, so the staff have to think of the other guests' comfort. They could impose stringent noise and time restrictions. You might need to halt the celebration almost as soon as it gets going if other things run late.
Hotels have fees that other venues generally don't, so beware. This can include things like corkage fees, cake-cutting fees, and forced gratuities.
Hotels and hotel facilities come in all shapes and sizes in Chicago. From our 12 options in the city, you can choose any of the following:
Ballrooms – Let the Dancing Begin! Picture ornate floor-to-ceiling windows with lots of natural light, lush draperies and carpets, a large open area to dance, and intricate chandeliers dropping down from the high ceilings. A hotel ballroom in Chicago has all the grandeur you need (and a little more).
Event Rooms – Flexible Space. Similar to a ballroom but usually a little less grand, hotel event space options are great for more casual wedding celebrations. Plan for lovely fabrics and lots of room to dance, mingle, and perform the ceremony.
Residences – All the Amenities. Residence hotels in Chicago offer many of the comforts of homes with an inherent elegance suitable for a memorable wedding. Polished wood floors, bespoke dining areas, and lots of space for the bridal party to get ready are just some of the benefits of this location type.
Conference Rooms – Not Your Average Meeting. Somewhat unconventional, conference rooms typically have enough space for smaller weddings and will have existing tables you can use, large TVs for slide shows, and microphones and podiums for speeches.
Galleries – Revel in Creativity. Some hotels will have gallery spaces, and what better places to tie the knot than in a room filled with memorable art? Choose your favorite gallery and add decor to match the theme of the room.
A seamless wedding day is the dream, and one of the best ways to achieve this is to put in the work ahead of time with some planning. Don't forget to put any of these items on your special day to-do list:
Confirm the Guest Count – The number of people attending the wedding will have a big impact on everything from venue to food, so get a firm idea of the total as soon as possible.
Drill Down on Music – Music and other entertainment are big (and fun) components of a wedding. Decide whether you'll slap together a playlist full of Frank Sinatra tunes, hire an upbeat DJ, or just have your favorite local band play a few sets. Also, decide on the music to walk down the aisle!
Get Photo Ready – It's assumed that most weddings will hire photographers, so make sure you get the perfect shots by scouring both the venue and the city itself for photo ops. Mix urban backdrops with historic and modern ones, and you'll have a variety of pics to choose from.
As an expensive city, anywhere you can save money in Chicago is a good thing, and of course, this includes your big day.
Get married in the winter.
In Chicago, September and October are the most popular wedding months, and the summer sees an influx of tourists (hence higher hotel prices). If you can schedule your ceremony and reception for winter months like January and February, which avoid the peak Christmas season prices, you can save on most aspects of the event.
Don't worry about views.
Don't pick a venue that offers stunning views of the waterfront or skyline, as those hotels will charge a premium. Pick a place with less "flash" like this and take a field trip with the wedding party around the city for photos with breathtaking views behind you. It's free!
Have guests pay their own way.
Don't try to cover the cost of everyone's hotel rooms or suites because that's a definite budget-buster. Just work out a discount plan in detail with the venue and pass the savings on to anyone who wants to book their own accommodations for the occasion.
A wedding is such a memorable event in your life that you really want to get things right, and that absolutely starts with choosing a fantastic venue. Luckily, with the Giggster app as your platform, you can peruse all spots available for the hotel wedding of your dreams in a single place and make an informed decision you won't regret!