Hi ladies!

Anyone else trying to plan their Chicago wedding from a different city?  I live in Boston but am from IL so I can't wait to get married there...except this is already stressing me out living so far away.  :\

Just wondering if any of you lovely ladies had any words of advice!  We'll be in Chicago over Thanksgiving so we'll do some venue "shopping" then...so I'm sure that will calm me down.  Until then, thank GOD for the internet!!  :D

Take care!
Shannon

Hi Shannon!  Welcome to PW and congrats on your engagement!  I'm sure you'll find a ton of ideas and inspiration on here. 

Have you chosen the venues you'll be looking at over Thanksgiving yet?  I've done the venue hunt twice (had to find a new venue after having my original one booked for 11 months), so I have plenty of suggestions!  Let me know if you need any.  :)

Hi Lizzie!

Thanks so much!!  :)  

Well, since we live out of town/state and my fiance is Catholic...we ended up going with Old St. Pat's church for the ceremony.  We met at Murphy's Bleachers, so for the reception we're leaning toward their restaurant, Mrs. Murphy & Sons Irish Bistro.  As for anything else, thank goodness for the internet!  hehe

I'm sorry to hear about your venue, by the way - after 11 months?!  :(  So glad you found something else, though!

Thanks again for your help!

old st. pats is gorgeous!! awesome choice! i don't know much about that restaurant, but are you looking into other places downtown too?

Hi Katie!

Thank you!!  Yeah, over Thanksgiving we're going to check out our first choices...definitely hoping and praying we fall in love with Mrs. Murphy & Sons.  According to my best friend, we will!  :)

I set up an appointment to meet with a photographer - Gerber & Scarpelli.  I'm excited to meet them because their work looks amazing.  (Old St. Pat's is now restricting the photographers - so far the list is 5.) Anyone work with them before? 

Since the wedding is downtown and the reception will probably be north, closer to Wrigley...do you guys think I should get hotels in Wrigleyville/Lakeview/Lincoln Park area? 

By the way, Katie - congrats!!  I think you just got married last month, right?  YAY!!!!!!!!!!

Getting a hotel closer to where the reception will be is a good idea.  But, they might be a little more expensive because of the area.  The good thing about Chicago is that there are tons of public transporation options.  So, if a guest wants to stay at a hotel downtown, they could always very easily get a cab, or take the el for a little Chi-twon adventure.  :)

And I can't believe Old St. Pats is restricting photographers.  That's definitely a bummer.  I haven't heard or worked with Gerber and Scarpelli, but I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that they're great and within your budget!

You're the best Lizzie!!

Good idea about the hotels - I'll have to figure out what's best (price-wise/location/public transportation)!  A lot of the people coming have either been to Chicago only once or not at all.

Yeah, at first I was really bummed, but hopefully it'll be a GOOD thing so I don't have to go back and forth and back and forth with photographers - I'm horrible, it takes me forever to decide on something!  Haa!  :D  Thanks for keeping your fingers crossed!