Ideas for 10k wedding in Chicago?

So this January, my fiancé and I are getting married and we live in Manhattan. We are having a similar problem with trying to find cheap venues. We decided to have the ceremony in central park and use the views of the city as our decor. It's perfect for us because it commemorates our first big move together, and we are only expecting 30 people. Maybe there's a spot in the park of millennia that has views you're searching for

I went to a wedding at Loyola University once - I am not sure which room it was in but it was really nice! You are at $100 per person in a pricey city - any chance of trimming the guest list? Perhaps moving it to a Sunday afternoon and doing brunch and no dance?

Are you looking for just Chicago or the suburbs too? You will probably have more luck the further west you go.

View Quoted Comment Unfortunately at this time, my fiancé is unwilling to trim the guest list We’ve managed to agree on a couple thousand bucks in wiggle room, but he isn’t being very compromising.

View Quoted Comment My family is originally from Chicago, but I’m willing to look into the suburbs as well.

Katherine Legge Memorial Lodge in Hinsdale

Lilacia Park in Lombard

Graue Mill in Oakbrook

View Quoted Comment Hopefully your fiance will do what mine did and cut back when he realizes it's not that realistic and it's more expensive than what he has in mind as far as budget to do what he really wants

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I will definitely look into these today! Thanks so much!

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This happened with us too, as I straight up asked him: "Would you invite this person and a guest out to dinner and drop $150? Cause that is what we will be doing."

That helped, lol!

Hi Victoria! Welcome to the WeddingWire Community! Have you tried searching through our Venues Section? Here is a list of venues near Chicago that could work:

- Venues Near Chicago, IL

You will have to contact some venues directly for pricing, but it's worth a try! You can filter the results further by availability, distance, type, and the specifics!

Additionally, you should look into:

- Loyola University

- Keith House

- Pinstripes

- Shapiro Ballroom

Good luck!

View Quoted Comment Actually reading my FH posts on WW and about etiquette helped too. He started to realize it was okay to not invite everyone that invited you to their wedding and that if you're going to spend so much money on a party, you should invite the people you can't imagine doing it without. Skip the people you haven't seen or talked to in a year or more.

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I think one of the biggest issues here is that I have a really large family, and he's more social with a larger group of friends. Currently, it may be more likely for our budget to increase than it is to decrease the size of the guest list.

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Loyola will give you a great discount if you're an alum! I looked at it because I LOVED a couple of their buildings when I was going to school there.

What does your 10K budget cover? Are you married to the city or willing to move to the burbs? If willing to go to the burbs, what direction?

Try Seville. It’s beautiful there and they have great deals for Friday and Sunday weddings. If $10k includes your dress and FH suits then 100 people may be too much to meet that budget but try Seville.

View Quoted Comment Yep, too many people have this even stevens attitude, meant with love, but you just cant invite everyone you have ever known!
Guest lists are notoriously hard!!

I know it’s a bit of a stretch, but I would even consider looking at venues in Wisconsin or Michigan. We are from Chicago but booked a venue 1.5 hours away that’s in Michigan. It was cheaper than the venues we looked at in the city/burbs. It’s a doable distance for his family that’s local and it’s actually a shorter trip for all of my family from Ohio. If it’s not too far for your guests, it could be something to consider.

I'm getting married in the Northwest side of Chicago and there are great venues in the area that don't cost an arm and a leg. Some of the ones I looked at where: Garden Terrace Banquets, Porretta's, Jolly Inn, Elmcrest Banquets, and Biagio. Anything in downtown will be expensive so I would look in the surrounding areas or suburbs to save.

A sister of a friend spent $9,000 on her entire wedding. They got married at a church and has the reception at a restaurant called Mama Luigi’s in bridgeview. I’d look into them and similar places. Lake Katherine is also a good place to look into!

View Quoted Comment January in Central Oark sounds frigid - what’s your back up?

A good friend of mine used Meridian Banquets in Rolling Meadows and spent under 10K with around 100 people