Our December 2019 wedding at The Drake was above and beyond anything we could have imagined. While the beauty of this iconic Chicago hotel speaks for itself, the staff is what sealed our decision to book our wedding reception here – we cannot thank or recommend them enough!

Our coordinator, Antoinette Cahill, is truly the best of the best. From the very beginning of the planning process, she helped to ensure that our entire wedding weekend was as special and flawless as possible. From the food, to the décor, hotel accommodations, logistics, and everything in between, her attention to detail and expertise made our planning process easy and enjoyable. Not to mention the actual wedding reception was perfect – we could not have been happier with how the night turned out, and are still receiving compliments from our friends and family on how beautiful the ballroom was; how incredible the staff was; how delicious the food was; how well run the event was; how fun the party was…all thanks to Antoinette and her team! I also want to mention that Antoinette is very connected to other reliable and talented wedding vendors in the Chicago area, and was instrumental in helping us put together an amazing vendor team (super helpful to us since we did not have an outside wedding planner)!

Antoinette and her team (Bryce, Jose, Mark, and the banquet captains) are kind, patient, and easy to work with. They were also incredibly accommodating – they provided complimentary suites to my husband and I, as well as our parents; helped us stay within our wedding budget; and customized an incredible wedding menu for the cocktail hour, reception, and farewell brunch that fit all of our (many) detailed requests. One of the things that was most important to us was the food, and The Drake did not disappoint! Mark, the head chef, did an amazing job creating a menu that was primarily gluten free since myself and 20 other of our guests have severe food allergies. We were completely blown away with what he prepared at the food tasting, and were of course thrilled with what was served the night of our wedding. Everything was perfect! Gluten free (and even some dairy free options) were created for almost all of the hors d'oeuvres, soup, salad, main courses, dessert, and late night snacks.

It sounds cheesy, but our entire wedding weekend was a dream thanks to The Drake. From the minute we checked into the hotel until the end of our post-wedding brunch, we felt so special and cared for. We didn’t have to stress or worry about a thing! We would recommend Antoinette and The Drake without hesitation to any newly engaged couple looking at Chicago wedding venues :)

Five stars is not high enough for The Drake Hotel Chicago! Every aspect of my daughter’s wedding planning and celebration was truly extraordinary. Within minutes of meeting our main contact, Sydney Waclawik, we knew we were in the best hands. From the first planning meeting to the final moments of the wedding day, Sydney was a steady, knowledgeable, and reassuring presence. Her professionalism, organization, and attention to detail were unmatched. Her fabulous support team of Sonya Ward and Shalinee Abraham assisted in seeing that all of our needs were met and executed flawlessly.

Sydney and her team truly listened to my daughter’s vision and brought it to life with care and precision. They worked seamlessly with our vendors, ensuring everything went smoothly. Sharon Johnson, the Director of Reservations, made the guest room block process effortless, with prompt responses, clear communication, and kindness.

The historic French Room set a stunning stage for the cocktail hour, and the timeless beauty of The Gold Coast Room wowed our guests as the reception venue. Unique traditions like The Drake’s renowned Bookbinders soup and the celebratory champagne parade added memorable wow factors that our guests are still talking about.

The cuisine was extraordinary—every dish was delicious, artfully presented, and served with impeccable care. Under the direction of Georges, the Director of Banquets who oversaw the setup, the Banquet Captains Jorge and Lino delivered a dining experience that exceeded all expectations, making every guest feel celebrated.

The guest rooms were spacious, immaculate, and luxurious. Floyd, the bellhop, was always on hand with a friendly smile and efficient service, further enhancing our experience.

From start to finish, the entire team at The Drake Hotel was impeccable. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect venue or team to host this special occasion. Thank you for making our daughter’s wedding a dream come true!

There is no better hotel ballroom than the Gold Coast Room. The staff at the Drake makes the entire experience. Ali was fantastic!

My daughter had her wedding in the Gold Coast room and every little detail was perfect. Service and food both impeccable. She was treated like royalty. We worked with Ali as the catering director and she was friendly and so helpful. The evening went off smoothly and we had to worry about nothing. The champagne parade was delightful and a wonderful addition to the festivities. The hotel rooms provided for Bride, groom and parents were amazing and my daughter couldn't get over being able to stay in the Princess Diana suite. I am so happy we chose this venue and the night could not have gone better. We also had the rehearsal dinner here in the Camille room and the food was incredible.

There are not enough words to describe how wonderful our 200 person wedding was at the Drake Hotel in Chicago a few weeks ago. It had always been a dream of mine to get married in the Gold Coast room and Antoinette and her team made that come true! Not only was the venue itself absolutely stunning, but the staff made the wedding process easy and day of they were truly a well-oiled machine. They were there for everything we needed, whether it be room deliveries, vendors, security, etc. they were phenomenal. I want to get a personal shoutout specifically to Antoinette - with all of the covid weddings getting pushed into 2022 I don’t think I’ve ever seen a business person and she somehow managed to stay on top of everything for us. She was readily available by text/call whenever I had questions over the course of the last year. She was able to get us everything we needed and handled our wedding craziness with ease. She even was able to set up some time to allow us to take some pics on the roof in front of the famous Drake sign! Thank you Antoinette you truly are amazing at what you do! And also shoutout to our captains - Jorge, Lino, and Andy! You guys were top notch!

All in all, if you’re debating booking the drake for your wedding venue I would highly recommend you do so ASAP! Could not have asked for a better day! Thank you Drake team!!

We got married on February 22, 2020 at The Drake Hotel in the Gold Coast Room and our wedding was beyond perfect! I had the absolute pleasure of working with Shaun and from day one he was incredible. No matter what time I emailed him, he always has a response for me within minutes (seriously!!!). He was so attentive and truly made us feel like our wedding was just as important to him as it was too us.
Shaun made my crazy dream of a 35 person head table come to life and made sure our wedding day went off without a hitch. His incredible team including Holly, Jose and Sarah were all so helpful, patient, and responsive. I felt so comfortable putting my wedding in their hands!
Sarah worked closely with my father-in-law to plan our Friday night welcome party in the Palm Court. She closed off a space for our 80 guests to kick off our wedding weekend and it was absolutely perfect!
Chris was an absolute all-star helping unload our cars, transporting various items between all of our rooms, and making sure we were always taken care of.
I cannot say enough wonderful things about Shaun, his team and everyone else at the Drake who made our wedding weekend and absolute dream!! It was more incredible than I ever could have imagined! Thank you!!!!!

From the minute we walked into the Drake when looking at venues for our January wedding, we knew the Drake was for us. Every member of the staff was excellent, especially our catering director, Shaun. Our guests LOVED the venue and said our wedding was the most beautiful, organized, and fun wedding they had been to. The weather was terrible our wedding weekend but you wouldn't have known because guests had everything they needed from a bar, cafe, coffee shop, even a florist, inside the Drake. Also, getting to use the Princess Diana suite *complimentary* was an absolute treat! It was magic and I highly recommend it to anyone looking at Chicago wedding venues!

Everything about our wedding was near perfection from the very start of the process. Shaun was our coordinator and he is truly the reason everything was so special for our entire wedding weekend. We had our rehearsal and a welcome reception on Friday night, our wedding on Saturday and a brunch in on Sunday. To say that we are happy with our events at The Drake is an understatement! 10/10 recommend getting married here! You will not regret it :)

The team at The Drake is number one in Chicago for weddings and they deserve every bit of that praise. Our coordinators Antoinette and Bryce are the most knowledgeable people in the industry. Their attention to detail is immaculate. Antoinette went above and beyond for our wedding, advising us and giving us unique ideas every step of the way! And on the actual day, everything went without a hiccup, ran on-time, and our guests were completely stunned with our events. We dreamt about getting married at The Drake, but they made our wedding even better than what we could dream about. If you're looking for a venue and a team that is the absolute best, get married at The Drake - Chicago, and work with Antoinette!

Literally our experience at The Drake was incredible! Their entire team was so incredibly friendly and accommodating. We were so lucky they had a date available for our big day. Everything from the service, to the food, to the bridal suite, to the customer service was exceptional. They went above and beyond to make sure we had everything we needed!