We were married at Columbus Park Refectory this August and I can wholeheartedly say that it was the greatest day of my life and that my absolute favorite part of the entire event was this beautiful venue. We were able to have our ceremony, pictures, and reception all in one location. Every aspect of the building and the grounds of the park are stunningly beautiful. Merril is excellent to work with and the price to rent the entire building was completely reasonable for how much you're getting. Tables and chairs are included. Parking is free and plentiful. There are three outdoor terraces, one which is covered where we had our ceremony. There is an indoor dining hall and an indoor dance hall.
Please note that when you rent Columbus Park Refectory for your event you are only getting the building and not a planner, catering, linens, etc. I feel that a lot of the negative reviews I read are because these things were not included. The Park District will provide you with a preferred vendor list and Merril is an excellent resource for seeking out recommendations.
The event time only runs until 10:00 so I paid roughly $400 for an extra hour. The City of Chicago also requires that you purchase liquor liability insurance which I paid under $300 for.
The only negative experience working with CPR was that the city planned construction on the building which ran longer than expected. Because of this we were unable to use the entire front of the building which is a beautiful setting that we were looking forward to using for pictures and for our sparkler send off. Regardless of this, we had the most beautiful, amazing wedding. I cannot even count the amount of compliments we received on the venue alone. Again, CPR was, without a doubt, my favorite aspect of my favorite day.

Absolutely beautiful venue! The building is so stunning that it requires very little additional decoration which is nice. It's got indoor and outdoor options and it is spacious and affordable! Couldn't be happier with it for our wedding!

Merril is AMAZING. She went out of her way to make our wedding a dream come true. She is a true professional and a joy to work with, and so is her staff. She put her all into solving any issues that came up and we could not be more thankful. Columbus Park Refectory is unbelievably beautiful and special, with lush green space, gorgeous landscaping, and lovingly restored interiors from the 1930s. While we were wedding planning we came across multiple reviews on various websites mentioning how hard the Chicago Park Service is to work with -- Do not book a public park building if you want to be treated like you're booking a 5 star hotel. Do not book this venue if you're going to insult the neighborhood it's in, or if you're going to complain about people walking around the park. This is a venue surrounded by public space. If you have reasonable expectations and want the joy of having your wedding in a historic venue that's been given so much love by the people that care for it, including Merril and her wonderful staff -- then you can't go wrong.