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You mean to tell me I have to look at more than 4 wedding venues?

My quest to find the perfect venue.



Now that I have an estimated wedding budget, I have moved on to the next critical step in wedding planning--finding a venue. I had no idea that living in such a big city would make finding and selecting a venue so difficult. There are so many factors to consider.


Do I want to get married in downtown Chicago in one of those beautiful historical buildings by the lake?
If so, how will my guests deal with the fast pace of the 3rd largest city in the U.S.? Will they be willing to sit in traffic and push through a group of rude tourists? And how will those inflated "downtown" prices affect my budget?


Do I want to get married in one of the suburbs, where parking is plentiful and the prices might be more reasonable?
If so, do I chose a suburb closer to O'Hare Airport (Northwest suburbs) or Midway Airport (southside of Chicago)? Do I have it in a hotel (so that it's convenient for the travelers), at a golf course (for the beautiful scenery), or at a banquet space? Will there be enough attractions in the suburbs to entertain my guests?


Trying to please every guest is impossible. I am learning this lesson. I now know that I first must decide what's best for me and my fiancé. Then once we agree on our "non-negotiables," we can figure out what makes the most sense for our guests (both those who live in Chicago and those who are traveling from out of town).


I have toured 3 venues so far and have 1 more scheduled for this upcoming Saturday. Two have been at hotels and one was at a beautiful event space. The one I'm visiting next week is on a golf course. My fiancé toured these venues with an open mind and didn't really have an idea of things we did not want. Now that we are 3 tours in, we have started to realize that there are things we do not want to compromise on. Therefore, I started jotting down a list of non-negotiables (once I've picked my venue and date, I'll share a copy of this document).


Based on this list, I have realized that 2 of the 3 venues I toured will not work for me. One is a high maybe. Because of this, I have come to terms with the fact that touring 4 venues might not be enough. I have now added 2 more tours to the schedule. By the end of next week, I will have toured 6 venues. I'm still waiting on information for one more venue, so that number might go up to 7.


I am optimistic that one of these 6 (or 7) venues will work for us. But if not, I'm okay with going back to the drawing board.



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  1. Wenni DonnaJuly 23, 2018 at 3:07 AM

    Ah! I can relate so much to this post. My fiancé shortlisted 10 Chicago wedding venues and I had to pick one. It was difficult because I found more than 5 just amazing. I wanted to kill him that time but I love him a lot so I didn’t. It was my best friend who finally helped in picking up one. I owe her for this.

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