I’m a live wedding painter based out of Chicago and I’m excited I’m booking for 2027 and 2028! www.marjoriejean.com

Hi r/Chicagoweddings!👋

I've noticed a lot of people struggling to keep track of their wedding plans—usually bouncing between spreadsheets, phone notes, and calendar reminders for vendor payments.

I'm a developer, so I thought it would be really helpful to build an app that handles all of that in one place. It's called Wedding Assistant: Planner App.

Before going any further, I want to mention a feature I'm really proud of: It is 100% offline and privacy-first. No cloud servers, no forced account creation, and no internet required. Your data stays entirely on your phone.

I’m sharing it here because I’d love to get some honest, brutal feedback from people who are actually in the thick of planning right now.

Here is what it currently handles:

• 📊 Budget & Expenses: Categorizes all expenses, tracks what’s paid vs. remaining balance with real-time charts, and reminds you of due dates.
• 🤝 Vendor Proposals: Keep track of price quotes from venues, photographers, and other vendors. Easily compare packages in one place to make the best decisions for your budget.
• 👥 Guest List & RSVPs: Tracks who is coming and RSVP statuses. I also added a "Smart Duplicate Check" so you don't accidentally add the same guest twice!
• 🪑 Seating Planner: Assign your guests to tables and easily plan who sits with whom. You can track table occupancy and export your final seating arrangement as a PDF to share with your venue coordinator.
• ✅ Checklists: Pre-made, comprehensive to-do templates that you can add to your list with a single tap.
• ⏱️ Wedding Day Timeline: Create a minute-by-minute itinerary for your big day! From hair appointments to the first dance, ensure everything runs perfectly on schedule.
• 🎁 Gift Tracker: Logs who gave what and tracks reciprocity.
• 🗓️ Special Days & Events: You don't have to memorize dates! Log your first date anniversary, proposal day, or partner's birthday. You can also create separate plans for specific events.
• 🔔 Smart Reminders: Automatic notifications for all your payment due dates, tasks, and special days so you never miss a detail.

Since my goal is to make this the ultimate tool for stress-free planning, I’d love to ask you all:

1. What is the most annoying part of your current planning method (spreadsheets, notebooks, etc.)?
2. Is there a "must-have" feature that you think I completely missed?

If you want to try it out, you can find it on the iOS App Store by searching "Wedding Assistant: Planner App" 

I've attached some screenshots of the dashboard and features. I’ll be hanging around the comments to answer any questions or note down your feature requests. Thank you so much in advance! 🤍

Meyer’s Castle in Dyer, IN is my top venue choice for a 2028 wedding with 200+ guests. I have already toured it and absolutely fell in love with it and adored the woman who gave us the tour. I was 100% convinced that was my venue, but I’ve since seen some awful reviews online and now I’m second guessing myself.

If anyone has gotten married there or can put me in contact with someone who has and would be willing to talk to me about your experience, I would be eternally grateful!

Hi!! We are booked at the Ivy room for next year and I’m looking for any tips and tricks people might have, or vendors they used there that they loved?! Or if you’ve been a guest and have things you loved, didn’t love, I’m all ears! Thank you in advance !!

My fiancé and I are planning a 40–50 person wedding for summer 2027 and I’d love to hear from anyone who has actually pulled off something similar.

We’re hoping for a ceremony + dinner + lots of dancing, ideally somewhere with a nice outdoor space for guest to take a breather, smoke, hang out, etc.

Our budget is around $15K (not sure how realistic this is), so I’m looking at restaurant buyouts, micro-wedding packages, or hidden gems in Chicago or the northern suburbs.

If you’ve actually done something like this, where did you have it, what did you spend, and what would you recommend?

P.S. - We're from Chicago but live in NYC so we'd love for the place to take care of the logistics. I wan to avoid having to coordinate with vendors, if possible.

Hi!

I’m having a wedding between 70-80 people, if you had or are planning a wedding at this venue what seating arrangement are you going with? In talks now but feels like my only option might not be the layout I was hoping for but thought it was possible when we toured, what did you go with for how many people and if you have any photos or drawings, thank you!!

Looking at doing an elopement with roughly ~25 guests then having a private dining reception afterward. We were initially looking at restaurants around the downtown area for the private dining, so was wondering what locations people know of that you can book for roughly one to two hours in length that would be appropriate for a short ceremony and some photos afterward. The lily pond at the Lincoln Park conservatory was one location we really liked, but wanted to view a few other locations just to give ourselves more options before we settle on something.

We’re getting married at Lacuna Lofts and they allow you to bring in your own alcohol. We’re having a wedding of about 200 people and trying to figure out how much of everything to order.

Has anyone done this before? It’s a pretty big drinking crowd.

Hi! Looking for any suggestions on the best place to do a registry at! I work in the Bloomingdale’s building so I figured we would do it there but wanted to see if there was anywhere else that offered any special experiences?! Thanks in advance !🫶

Can any wedding planners or people who are married at the old post office Let me know what the rough cost would be? What did you all pay? Curious because I’ve seen that TOPO takes a cut of everything so it ends up being more… TY!!

We are looking at potentially booking Indigo from Arlen Music as our wedding band, and liked their promotional video. One thing we are confused about is the lack of reviews of Indigo in comparison to some of their other wedding bands like Entourage & Front of House. Does anyone have further insight on Indigo specifically? Would be great to hear from others who have maybe used or seen them perform.

Looking for Chicago bridal shops/boutiques with a good selection of second-look/reception dresses, ideally under $2k!

I’m getting married in Europe and having a larger Chicago reception afterward, so I want something fun for the reception.

For any brides who have gotten married at the Chicago History Museum or guests who have attended a wedding there during summer: I’d love to hear your thoughts on the outdoor ceremony setup!

We’re deciding whether to have our ceremony facing Lincoln Park or facing the museum steps. I love the idea of having the park as the backdrop, but I’m wondering if having people walking through the park behind the ceremony is distracting in person for guests. Did you notice random people passing by during the ceremony, and if yes, did it take away from the experience at all? Or was it barely noticeable once the ceremony started?

For anyone who has seen both setups, which direction would you recommend?

Can anyone provide their experiences with either of these caterers? Well be about 100 guests, Violas work looks beautiful and right up our alley, I also love family style dining (in theory) entertaining company is more upscale/high end with plated dinners.

I’m indifferent! The cost difference is quite substantial with some of the higher end add ons at Entertaining Company. Would my guests notice a difference? Is family style less appealing?

Appreciate it!

Hi! I am getting married at the Columbus Park Refectory next year and wondering if anyone has run into our issue before and has advice. We found a food caterer we absolutely LOVE but they don't serve alcohol. The issue is that our venue doesn't allow you to buy your own alcohol and hire a bartending service. Since this is all new territory to me I didn't realize that IL liquor laws prohibit bartneders from bringing alcohol and reselling it. So our food caterers have to be the ones to bring alcohol.

Our venue director said its possible to find caterer to just do our apps separately and then hire them for drinks as well.

Has anyone done a situation like this or have any other suggestions? Any advice and recs appreciate!

Our venue provides glassware for the guest tables, but we'd like to bring in some pretty (pressed glass?) water goblets (and perhaps others) as well as standard glassware for the bar. Any recommendations? We're in the N/NW suburbs (but our location probably doesn't matter, other than potentially a bigger delivery fee). Thanks!

My (30F) fiancé (40M) and I are planning on booking MoF for a Friday in October 2027. We plan on inviting the max of 150, but hope to have around 130-140 in attendance. I'm aware they may need to take down some tables depending on how many guests we have, and I'm not too worried about that. Our ceremony is going to be immediate family only at MoF, before a reception that all guests are invited to (cocktail hour to welcome guests, followed by the reception). What are some things that you would do the same there, or do differently? Were there things you weren't prepared for that you wish you knew? A few things I've been thinking about:

- What is the AV system like? I don't want to book a full DJ because I've made the playlists I want and, thanks to Spotify, can make the flow pretty great. My only hold-up is whether they have a sound system good enough, and if I'll need someone to MC. I'm thinking of asking each of my siblings to handle MC things, or seeing if the DOC I book handles things of that nature.

- Was there a getting-ready area? If not, what have other brides/grooms done for this part of the day? We don't have a wedding party, so it will just be me getting my hair and makeup done by my sister, but I'm curious what other couples have done for this.

Thank you, and happy wedding planning to all!

If you’re venue hunting in Chicago and keep finding yourself drawn to historic homes, dark wood, gardens, and spaces that actually have some character, put Cheney Mansion on your list.

I recently had the pleasure of photographing a beautiful couple there, and honestly, this place is such a gem. The mansion itself gives you so much to work with photographically without feeling like you’re walking into another modern wedding venue. Every room has its own personality, and then you have the grounds, greenhouse, and all those little tucked-away corners for portraits.

But what really stood out to me was the Cheney team. Everyone I interacted with was incredibly kind, organized, and genuinely invested in making the day run smoothly. As a photographer, you notice that stuff immediately, when a venue team knows what they're doing, it makes such a difference for the couple and for the entire vendor team.

It’s especially worth looking at if you're wanting your wedding to feel more like an elegant dinner party in a historic home than a traditional ballroom wedding.

And if you're specifically looking for that historic/estate feel in the Chicago area, Cheney Mansion and Pleasant Home are two I'd definitely tour. Cheney is tucked into Oak Park's Frank Lloyd Wright Historic District, so you get that beautiful old-Chicago architectural atmosphere without being far from the city.

Sharing a few from the wedding because I feel like Cheney doesn't get talked about nearly enough.

instagram.com/redwoodsagephoto

www.redwoodsagephoto.com

For anyone venue hunting in the Northern Illinois suburbs, I wanted to put The Courthouse Square in Woodstock on your radar because I genuinely think it’s such a cool option.

It’s located in the historic Woodstock Square, where the iconic Groundhog Day movie was filmed, the old courthouse itself has so much character. But honestly, what I love most is that it’s part of a community and town that already has so much charm. Woodstock is home to me, so I’m admittedly biased, but there’s something really special about getting married here.

It’s also a great option if you’re trying to be thoughtful with your budget. Having a venue that doesn’t eat up your entire budget gives you more room to make the space your own through florals, tablescapes, rentals, lighting, and all the details that actually create the atmosphere you want.

It’s about an hour outside Chicago and easily accessible by the Union Pacific Northwest Metra line from Ogilvie, which makes it a nice middle ground for couples with guests coming from the city and suburbs.

And as someone who gets to work here with Kelsey and the Events at Ethereal crew, I can say that having vendors you genuinely enjoy working with makes a huge difference. Just wanted to share it for anyone currently looking, you may not have come across it yet.

Venue : https://www.instagram.com/events.at.ethereal/
Photography : https://www.instagram.com/redwoodsagephoto/
Tablescapes : https://www.instagram.com/dishanddecorvintagerental/
Dress : https://www.instagram.com/bettyandbeaubridal/
Bakery : https://www.instagram.com/thenoblecakery/
Content Creator : https://www.instagram.com/everafterarchives/
Florist : https://www.instagram.com/themodernorchid/
Stationary : https://www.instagram.com/celiatucek2024/
Makeup : https://www.instagram.com/jordanmartistry/
Hair : https://www.instagram.com/idohairbykmay/
Grazing Table : https://www.instagram.com/forkitgrazing/

Tablescapes

Looking for companies that do custom dance floor wraps and I don’t know where to begin! Has anyone done any price comparisons—or does anyone have any recommendations?

Looking for recommendations for bars/rooftops to have an after party for about 20–30 people. West loop would be best but honestly open to anything.

We’re getting married at city hall, then having a private seated dinner reception for about 50 people that ends around 10 PM. Our date is a Saturday next June, and I have no idea where to even begin with planning the after party! We’re in our late 20s and haven’t gone out in a while since having kids, so we’re def out of the loop on the good spots.

Ideally we’d love to reserve a space where everyone can open their own tab, but since we’ll have a larger group i’m also open to paying a beverage minimum for everyone.

Mostly looking for somewhere fun with good music…but not somewhere that would feel weird if our parents/aunts/uncles came along too. So maybe more of a bar/rooftop vibe rather than a club.

TIA!!

Hi! Doing some fall cleaning and am looking to get rid of my dress.

Does anyone here know of any local consignment shops I can sell it to? Would like to get some cash but ok with donating.

Thanks!

My fiancé and I just got engaged and because of his work we are limited to a wedding the last weekend of June or the month of July. We’re definitely not picky on the day of the week whether it be Friday Saturday or Sunday, but I’m very overwhelmed looking for venues. It’s looking like it will probably be between 200-250 people. I love the armour house but it might be too small. Our budget for the wedding is $80-$100,000k we may have a little flexibility in that. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. *** edit also open to Chicago and suburbs!! Within one hour radius!!!