I don’t even know where to begin for ring shopping. Is it reasonable to get a 3 carat radiant cut ring lab grown with plain gold band for under 7k? Please send recs as I’m overwhelmed! Pictures of yours would help too :)
I don’t even know where to begin for ring shopping. Is it reasonable to get a 3 carat radiant cut ring lab grown with plain gold band for under 7k? Please send recs as I’m overwhelmed! Pictures of yours would help too :)
I am just starting my venue search for a Chicago wedding. One of my biggest pet peeves at a wedding is having to wait in line for a long time at the bar to get a drink. Does anyone have positive/negative experiences they can share at downtown venues in Chicago on the bar experience? Also, any advice on what questions to ask when talking to venues/caterers to feel this out?
Any alternative brides here? Anyone has opted for a mico, intimate wedding celebration? Dinner instead of a big party? I’m newly engaged and completely lost. We want a small wedding celebration (around 30-40 guests). I would love to here your experience and recommendations. Any good restaurants, breweries worth considering? Budget is a major factor and also our personalities. I don’t see myself as a typical bride. Is it doable to organize something under $10k in the Chicagoland area? It will be a church wedding so I just need a venue/restaurant for the reception.
Hi there! We are having a pretty small wedding next year and instead of a normal reception we are looking to just have a dinner/dessert/drinks kind of vibe. Our familes aren't big dancers and we'd prefer a relaxed restaurant but also somewhere that will allow us to have a first dance.
Looking for a bakery, preferably in Lincoln park/Lakeview area so it’s close by for pickup. Our venue serves tiramisu for guests, so we only need a small round cake for the cake cutting photos! I just want something simple with the “vintage” style piping that it trendy right now. Realistically it only needs to be 6-8 inches. Any good recs? Not wanting to spend a lot since we’re mainly doing it for the photo opp. Honestly not opposed to Whole Foods/jewel but also want to be sure we trust the decorator to do it well so open to a bakery as well!
I had my wedding this past Sunday and it was fantastic! I wanted to share our budget breakdown - ours might be a touch different than others because we did minimal DIY, skipped certain things and splurged on others.
Location: Chicago, so HCOL.
Guest count: 32. Originally invited 36 but had a few who couldn’t make it. We're both older, have small immediate families, aren't super close to our extended families, and have a small circle of friends, so the guest list didn’t need much editing. Everyone is right: guest count is what drives budget priorities. Nobody cared that it was on a Sunday.
Budget: ~$15k, half parents and in-laws, half us.
Planner: free. We did most of the planning and venue booking, and one of my besties and my sister insisted on helping so we let them take on a little bit. Type A bestie did a lot of day-of coordinating and LOVED it, and sister picked up my cake and dropped it off at the reception venue.
Dress: $2100. I worked with a local designer to make a completely bespoke custom dress that we're going to dye eventually - I wanted something I could wear again.
Suit: $550. Husband bought an off-the-rack linen suit from Buck Mason, which fits perfectly into his current wardrobe so he'll get many more wears out of it.
Accessories: around $100, including bag, shoes and jewelry. Husband used his own tie, jewelry, shoes, etc.
Printed goods and signage: $350. This includes save the dates + full invitation suite + stamps, menus, event signage, bar sign, and placecards. This is the only part we truly DIYed - I designed everything and had them printed online with Catprint, Vistaprint and LCI Paper. I made the event signage with panels of translucent colored plexiglass and window clings. Printed goods are not everyone's priority, but it was important to us as I'm a designer and art director by trade.
HMU: $300. I keep my head shaved so no hair budget, haha. MUA is a freelance artist who did my makeup when he did my BFF's wedding, so I knew and trusted his skills. We did a more colorful (but not alt style), k-beauty inspired look, instead of typical soft glam. He is a magician istg, because I'm oily as hell, cried a bunch, and the day was humid and warm. At the end of the night I basically looked the same, minus a little lip color. Worth every penny.
Transportation: ~$100. We just took Ubers between venues and home.
Ceremony venue: $1200. We reserved a protected nature area within a park here for a private, family-only ceremony. The private permit included staff to close the area for an hour, and the photo permit is included with this option. It was pretty magical to have the whole place to ourselves with no interruptions from strangers, which would have totally happened because it took a while for staff to clear out nosy stragglers.
Officiant: free. My best friend got ordained online and officiated the ceremony, which was maybe 5 minutes long. That gave us the rest of the hour for photos.
Reception: $6950. We chose an all inclusive venue run by my favorite restaurant. Sunday night was half the price of Friday or Saturday, so we ran it by our family and friends and they were cool with it. Zero regrets, everything was amazing. The space was already beautiful so no extra decor needed. Furniture, linens, candles, setup and teardown, event coordinator, on-site coordinator/captain, and wait staff were included. An hour of passed apps, 3 course family style meal, a dessert table with 4 kinds of desserts + coffee service, and alcohol tallied by consumption (all NA drinks were free, and we got to pick 2 signature drinks). They made a frankly awesome looking Mac and cheese meal for the kids menu, and were very meticulous about addressing food restrictions. Their level of care and detail is something we were willing to pay for. Example: when we made our entrance, staff set aside a whole plate of apps for us so we wouldn’t miss out on them, and got drinks in our hands ASAP. The food itself was bonkers and multiple people told us it was the best wedding food they’d ever had. They packed us leftovers, too! Tax, service fees and tip are included in the total.
Cake: $120 for a 6” cake from an Instagram baker with an impressive bakery and restaurant background. We originally planned to do something more low key, like a Whole Foods cake, but since it was only for cutting and photos, we figured it might as well look cool. She made it with custom flavors (matcha chiffon, espresso frosting, chocolate ganache) and decorated it with wavy piped frosting in fun colors, pearls and flowers that matched our florals. It was thankfully both cool AND delicious, light and not too sweet. Surprisingly, it was big enough that staff served it alongside the other desserts and everyone got a piece. No cake cutting fee, either.
Photography: $2450. This is something we were picky about because we both have art backgrounds, and my husband in particular is a fine art photographer. He really wanted to work with someone who shot only film and had a more fine art approach (light leaks, double exposures, etc). Instagram came through again and we found a wonderful photographer who shot 35mm, medium format, polaroid and Super 8. We had her for 3 hours and it was the perfect amount of time - she was actually there through most of dinner. She’s a total pro, wasn’t in our way, and had already worked a lot with our reception venue because she’s also a planner!
Entertainment: free. It was a chill dinner party vibe, so no dance floor or anything. My husband meticulously curated the playlist for months, which was on Apple Music and played through the venue’s A/V system.
Flowers: $1600. We prioritized real flowers - we love flowers, get them weekly and floristry is a hobby of mine. We worked with a freelance florist who did my best friend’s wedding last year, and developed an à la carte plan. We had personals (bouquet and boutonnière), and a dozen bud vases + larger arrangements for the reception. She’s super talented and got our more sculptural vision right away. This included an unbelievable floral “purse” bouquet, constructed with wire and a hoop. Gave away a lot of flowers to neighbors afterwards and are composting the rest.
Tl:dr we had a smaller guest list so we could invest in more elevated aspects, while completely eliminating elements that didn’t speak to us (wedding party, dancing, traditional ceremony, etc).
Just graduated in June!!!!! Excited to share our experience, vendors, and total spend for 110 guests in Chicago. Happy to answer questions or DMs for any more vendor specifics etc. hang in there wedding planners, it gets better 💕💕
Venue: River Room ($18k). Also toured Chicago History Museum and Salvatore’s.
Catering: Jordan’s Food of Distinction ($21k)
Photo: $10k
Floral: $7k
HMU: $8k including 20% tip (13 hair & makeup services plus bride services and trial)
Video: $3k
DJ: $4k
Band: $6k
Planner: $5k
Day of paper, shuttle, welcome party, dessert, late night snack, everything else
Dress: $4.5k from Sarah Seven. Also shopped at Jenny Yoo and Grace Loves Lace
hi all! i’m looking for a queer photographer for my lesbian wedding in sept 2027. i’ve found a few that i love whose services are $5k+ and i’m trying to keep it under $4k. please drop some recs if you have anyone in mind, including yourself!
i’ve heard sometimes it’s cheaper to get an out of town photographer to fly in — anyone have experience with that?
Looking for a classic car rental or company that provides a classic car with a personal driver!
For April 2027
i’ve already paid off my wedding planner but she may be the worlds worst planner. everyone knows that i have essentially planned my wedding to the T. she even told me she is more concerned about her reputation than my wedding and i’m too close to my wedding that i fear that nothing is going to turn out good. im more concerned because i feel like they wont actually be coordinating anything the day of because they’re just that disorganized. they keep telling me to not worry but i don’t operate like that. i like to keep things organized and see it get completed and nothing gets done. at this point, i just want to hire a day of coordinator and hand them all the information but im working w all their preferred vendors. is it worth swallowing the cost or what should i do?
Does anyone have a recommended tailor for dress alterations? Also, would anyone be willing to share how much they paid for alterations? My dress doesn’t need anything done except taking the hem up a few inches, and I was just quoted $1300 for that from the first place I went to. Is that price a little crazy? Or am I just out of touch? My dress is an A-line with two layers of toulle and a beaded top layer. I know the beading is driving the price up but $1300 still seems like a lot for just a hem. Help!
Hi!
I'm wondering if there's some kind of local channel where people list recycled wedding decor? I'm specifically wondering about silverware, and COUPES. Renting 1 coupe is like $7 and I need 100 of them. It seems so silly, and I feel like someone must have bought these in bulk before that no longer needs them.
Is there a recycle-exchange like this that exists online, where former brides/grooms are selling items they might have bought vs. rented but no longer have use for?
Sorry if this question is dumb or has been asked a million times. My searches didn't turn up anything.
Thank you!!
Just got engaged! Does anyone have any funky chic venues? I love this aesthetic.
Hi all,
I’m getting married in the burbs next fall, and our engagement photos are coming up this September. We originally planned to do them at the Art Institute, with some outside in the gardens/Millennium Park. Lately though, I’ve been seeing a lot of photos from the Chicago Cultural Center, and it looks gorgeous too. It seems less stressful, it’s free to enter, and my photographer has experience shooting at both locations.
Has anyone done engagement photos at either? I’m leaning toward the Cultural Center + Grant Park afterward, but I’m wondering if I’d regret skipping the Art Institute. We’d also have to pay about $60 in admission for the two of us plus our photographer, which feels a little annoying.
Would love to hear your thoughts! If there are any other stunning (and free) spots in Chicago you’d recommend, I’m all ears.
Hello! We’re getting married on 9/26 in Lincoln Park. Our wedding ends at 11pm, and we are looking for somewhere people can go after in the area to keep the party going. We estimate this will be about 30-40 people. Ideally, we are looking for a space that’s large enough where we can just let them know a large group will be coming in, but we do not have to officially reserve space with a deposit/buy a package, as people will buy their own drinks. We’re really trying to not spend anything on this, it’s mostly just to have a space to go after the wedding.
We’ve already reached out to Gaslight, The Weiners Circle, and Galway Arms.
Anyone have any recommendations?
If anyone has used Simply Elegant Group as their wedding planner in the past, I would love any and all feedback you have.
Context: We recently booked the Event Management package with SGE (begins 60 days out) for our wedding next spring (~180 people). However, after booking, our venue contact mentioned that many couples had not had a good experience with them. This was news to us, because we scoured the internet for reviews and they were recommended by a friend who used them and got married at the same venue.
Not sure if we need to jump ship to a more expensive option. Since our venue has food/bev/furniture/linens all in house, I don't think our planner has that much on their plate. But I also want to make sure we're set up for success on the day. So if you're a previous client, please share your experience - THANK YOU!
Edit: thanks for keeping me realistic and not in dreamland lol. I was hoping to make it work- but yes I realize it’s too hard to coordinate.
Hey all,
One of the wedding venues I'm very interested in (Zhou B Art Center) has a required caterers list to choose from. I've reached out to 2 so far, and I'm dreading having to send a bunch of email so I wanted to reach out here if people have advice, information.
Beyond that, I'm just wondering if among these or in general it's possible for catering to be below 20k (ideally until 18k) for 180-200 guests. We have to include linens in our cost as the venue doesn't supply them. We want served dinner + cocktail apps. Maybe dessert.
List: I already reached out to Chic Chef & Cocina Fusion and was quoted closer to 25k
Ashyana Catering, Beyond Catering, Blue Plate, Butter and Vine, Catering by Michaels, CMB, Dolce Arte, Hearty Boys, J&L, Jordan's Food of Distinction (JFOD), Nicole Jordan, Saffron, SBR Events Gp.
We have a venue in mind (Pazzo's), but this one would be great to make work as I love the look of the place.
The bride reached out to me couple months before the wedding and asked if we can extend on one hour, but the thing is I have 3 weddings in a row in that weekend. Is it ok to say no?
Looking for an amazing private chef/caterer willing to travel to Rockford, IL (Budget: $2,000 max)
My family is celebrating my parents' wedding anniversary, and we're looking for an incredible private chef or caterer with excellent reviews.
We're hosting the dinner at my parents' home in Rockford, IL. We're happy to hire someone based in Chicago, Rockford, the surrounding suburbs, or anywhere within a reasonable driving distance, as long as they're willing to travel to Rockford.
We'll have about 25 guests, but we'd like enough food for everyone to have seconds and leftovers. Our budget is up to $2,000, including food, delivery, and buffet setup.
We're not looking for someone to cook in the house. We'd like everything prepared off-site, with the chef or catering team arriving about 1–2 hours before dinner to set up a beautiful buffet with chafing dishes and serving utensils. They don't need to stay for service unless it fits within the budget.
Our ideal menu includes:
Lamb chops
Salmon
Chicken
Garlic mashed potatoes
Caesar salad
Pasta salad
Collard greens
Peach cobbler
We're looking for someone known for exceptional food, beautiful presentation, professionalism, and reliability. If you've personally hired someone you'd recommend (or even someone you'd avoid), I'd really appreciate hearing about your experience.
Thanks so much!
EDIT: BUDGET IS FLEXIBLE STOP WHOOPING ON ME.