We got married at Promontory Point at Hyde Park and it turned out beautifully! To be honest, my fiance and I were a little nervous to have our wedding at a park district location, but the venue, location, for the rental price were too good to pass up. There really isn't a more affordable lakeside wedding location in Chicago. We actually had our ceremony on the grassy area by the lakeside, and had the Chicago skyline and Lake Michigan as our beautiful backdrop. We also loved that Promontory Point is a historic building - and we decorated the space beautifully with market string lights and candle light to set a romantic mood for our reception. The park service staff was also very responsive and accommodating to answering our questions and setting time out for walkthroughs! On the day of the wedding - there were park representatives available, and security on site as well. We have no regrets having our wedding at Promontory Point!

The staff was wonderful to work with they went above and beyond to ensure that our event was just the way we wanted it to be,

I had my wedding in the North Rose Garden. There is lots of red tape, deadlines, permit's, insurance, etc. but they are really helpful with questions, which I had a ton, and I was late getting my payment in by a month, and they were totally fine with it, helped me get the insurance, and they always emailed me back. Kind of hassle, but worth it for a great chicago ceremony setting. Our ceremony was beautiful, and the park looked amazing. Plus since you have to do it so far in advance it's not that bad, but do make sure you go through there lists of approved vendors before hand, as they are not as responsive.

We booked the 63rd Street Beach House for our July wedding. Although it's a risk to plan an event at this outdoor (covered) venue, this is one of the most gorgeous places in Chicago. When the Park District informed us that the Dave Matthews Caravan concert and another music festival across the street threatened to cause considerable impediments during our wedding day, the special events staff (specifically Diane Hren) worked tirelessly with us to ensure that the event went smoothly. Chicago Park District venues are an excellent value. We're so glad we chose to work with the city for our wedding!

We had our reception at the Boathouse in Humboldt Park. The location was stunning and affordable! The staff cleaned the area and set up the tables and chairs. The location is a true diamond in the rough. It was a warm fall evening, and my guests enjoyed dancing on the veranda looking over the lagoon. Our formal pictures were taken at the formal garden, just south of the boathouse. It was a beautiful, and romantic setting which we and our guests will never forget!

We had our wedding at Promontory Point. Before starting the venue search, we had never heard of Promontory Point but, wow, is it an incredible find. It is a great value for a venue situated on the lake and has both indoor and outdoor sections (great for inclement weather contingency plans, which thankfully we did not have to use).
We had 60 guests and Promontory Point was the perfect size for that count. You could go as high as 80 but it would start feeling crowded.
Because it is a city park, there is a good deal of bureaucracy throughout the process and a bit of paperwork in order to secure the needed permit (e.g., site plan, vendor invoices, proof of insurance). The requirements are relatively well laid-out (made easier if you are used to navigating government processes) but you are likely to have questions for the Chicago Park District staff along the way. It sometimes took a few tries to connect with him but Joshua was very helpful answering the questions that we had. If you stay on top of the requirements, things will go smoothly. We had the final permit and parking permits in hand a few weeks before our event, which was very helpful.
The venue is rustic and barebones but absolutely beautiful. We did not add any decorations to the building itself and we thought that worked out just fine. If you do choose to decorate we suggest keeping things simple as the natural views, wood trim, and sandstone interiors really stand on their own. Since it is a public city park, the restrooms for the venue remain available to the public – this was not an issue for us but just something to be aware of. Security and additional CPD staff are included in the cost of the rental.
We looked at a number of Chicago Park District sites during our venue search and many of them were unique and would have been great options.

We had our ceremony in the Rose Garden just north of the Fountain. A big stress in the beginning to be very honest getting the permit. It involved my now husband standing out in the cold for several hours the first business day in January, several weeks of waiting to hear back from the city, and then our 1st choice had construction but we could still use it which is why they booked our 2nd so we took our 3rd, too nervous about the potential for bulldoozers with our 1st choice. All of that being said, the park was just beautiful. If you aren't scared about risking the weather element, I would recommend it. With it being the park you do have to fool with more equipment but in the end it was totally worth it.

We had our ceremony and cocktail hour at the Lincoln Park Conservatory. It was a beautiful location, but the Park District offices did not have/could not provide details about the conservatory that would have been helpful in planning, such as how hot/humid the conservatory would be and the lighting situation. When we would send a list of questions to our contact at the Park District, she would only answer some of the questions, ignoring the rest. Also, since our wedding close to Halloween, a friend of mine had to ensure that all the Halloween decorations (which we were also not informed about) were taken down shortly before the ceremony started! Overall it was a beautiful location but a little difficult to plan and deal with the park district.

Overall it was nice. We were told a few things that never came true. It was difficult to get a hold of them sometimes

It is VERY difficult to get a hold of anyone at CPD - I recommend just hitting up their offices downtown if you really need to speak to someone. However, you can't beat the price for venue rental in the city.