Fortunately soon after I got engaged, I lived at home in Chicago and was able to use that time scouring the city for the perfect venue, which I soon found.
I thought the rehearsal dinner search was going to be even easier, despite living a thousand miles away. My fiancé and I decided early on that we wanted it to be VERY Chicago and on the beach – b/c as many of you may not know, Chicago is truly a beach town in the summer. We immediately agreed on hosting it at Castaways, a chill rooftop bar on what looks like a shipwreck literally on the beach, with a SICK view of the city.
The future in-laws agreed but once it came down to paying the deposit, we were informed of the rain policy – use it or lose it. If it rains, you can use the deposit towards another party that summer, but obviously, that doesn’t work for a rehearsal dinner.
It truly IS our perfect venue, but the weather in Chicago in June is always unpredictable, so we just can’t take that chance…I think.
My fiance’s mother almost saved the day by offering to host it at a more formal club also on the lake and in the city, but soon learned that they were already booked five months in advance for our Thursday, June 10!
Since then, Dave and I have been trying to think of venues that personify Chicago whilst being more low-key and informal than the wedding.
We’ve narrowed it down to the following three and I’d love your input on these or any additional ideas you may have.
Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder
This is a well-known Chicago pizza restaurant to locals. It’s small, steps from the lake and beach, serving REAL Chicago deep dish pizza, and the wooden décor adds charm and character. However, they do not have a separate dining room, and the restaurant would remain open. We’d have like 3/4 of the space but it wouldn’t be private. Also, do people want to eat deep-dish pizza before a wedding in the summer? I didn’t think so, but my out-of-town friends are insisting they would.
Green Dolphin Street & Kingston Mines
The two venues below are similar in that they both are music venues/restaurants/bars. However unlike Kingston Mines, Green Dolphin is a classy Jazz Club with a gorgeous riverside room and patio area that turns into a party after 10pm:
Green Dolphin Street
Although Kingston Mines is MUCH less formal, perhaps too much, it is a CLASSIC Chicago Blues bar serving BBQ food with a private room that is open very late and most certainly a cultural Chicago experience.
Kingston Mines
I love both venues and they are all surprisingly similar in price. I’ve gone to Green Dolphin many times to enjoy incredible jazz, while sipping great drinks and admiring the Chicago skyline just down the river. I’ve also stumbled into Kingston Mines on occasion (around 1am) singing the Blues on stage with class acts.
In addition, the Chicago Blues Festival in Grant Park is being held the same weekend as our wedding. It’s the largest Blues festival in the world and Grant Park’s biggest festival of the year, and both venues told us that those big shot musicians will be playing at their clubs that same Thursday later in the night after our dinner.
What do you think? Has your rehearsal dinner search been easy or surprisingly difficult? What kind of tone do you want to set with it?
such a bummer about castaways! being outside in the summer in chicago is perfect…but only if you have perfect weather. we also decided against northstar eatery for that reason and are going to have our rehearsal dinner at smith & wollensky on the river.
my favorite of your choices is green dolphin!
Green Dolphin is my choice too! The overwhelming wood decor is throwing me off of option 1. Although this is the rehearsal dinner, it would be nice to have an element of calm intimacy and that jazz sounds great!
I am getting married on the beach in NJ in Sept– I am terrified of rain too!
We so wanted our wedding at Ravenswood and looked there too :) WAY too large of wedding and prices sky-rocketed, so sadly we had to look at other venues :(…that said, I’d do Green Dolphin!!! Chicago Pizza & Oven Griner is AWESOME, but as I’m sure you’re well aware, it gets very crowded and you don’t want that on your special day!!! Kingston Mines is awesome too, but I think Green Dolphin would be better suited for the occasion!
I vote Green Dolphin as well… My friend went to a day wedding there a few weeks ago and said it was lovely.
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My vote is for the Green Dolphin. Your Goddaughter’s vote is for Chucky E Cheese. (I think she’s serious).
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i’d say, leave it up to your in-laws. since they are hosting it’s one more thing off your plate. just ENJOY the experience and don’t get caught in the details of this event…am sure they will make it perfect no matter what. my in-laws hosted a casual (albeit cheesy) luau at a golf course in reference to our upcoming honeymoon…and i couldn’t have had a better time. it was great to just sit back, relax and just breathe in all that’s happening around me (and drink a half dozen mai tais). not a worry or care in the world…and it continued through the next day and all was bliss :-)
I am going to side with Renatamic ;) If you have future in-laws who are interested in the planning process, let them take the reins (particularly since their choice of venue wasn’t possible). You have given them some great options – let your future husband and his parents make a selection and hash out the details.
we’re having our rehearsal dinner at gino’s east downtown! we had similar concerns as you about the whole deep dish in the summer thing (sounds way to heavy to me), but most of the people coming to our wedding are from out of town and lots were saying that they would love to try deep dish. Green Dolphin would be a fun place to do a rehearsal dinner too! My only thought is that people from outside of Chicago might be turned off by its somewhat odd location on Ashland Avenue.
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Green Dolphin!
We are getting married in Chicago next summer, but are already planning on a rehearsal dinner to include all of our guests since most are OOT. We also want to do something that defines Chicago and allows the guests to take in great views of the city. Instead of a rehearsal dinner, it’s more of a “wedding eve” party. We plan to host a dinner cruise on one of the boats from the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s fleet. We won’t have a docent giving the usual architecture tour, but we will go up and down the river and out onto the lake. If we time it right, we should also catch the Navy Pier fireworks display (our wedding is on a Sunday, so this will take place on Saturday). The CAF has great catering, open bar, and music options!!! Plus, if it rains, guests can go move onto the covered deck, but still see the city. Hoping for no rain, but it’s a long way off :)
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Hi All, Thanks so much for your ideas. So much to consider but its a fun decision. My inlaws are asking us for our input but ultimately in the end it is totally up to them. Regardless, I will let you all know what we decide!
hi! my bachelorette party was this past weekend…how funny that we’re going to the same place :)
we had perfect weather and i’m so happy to have a tan in gloomy chicago right now. we stayed at fountainbleau and had dinner at a sushi place (don’t remember the name) and nobu. you MUST go to the delano for drinks…it’s one of my favorite hotel lobbies ever! liv is the club at the fountainbleau, but we never went b/c the lines were obnoxious and they were silly about letting people in. what are your plans??
Totally late to game, just catching up on blogs.
We’re likely doing our rehearsal dinner at Pequod’s pizza on Webster and Clybourn. It’s similar to Chi pizza and oven grinder, but they have a private room upstairs. We’re getting married in the winter though, and I still worry about the pizza being too heavy.
Otherwise I’m a huge fan of Green Dolphin Street!!
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Great Blog about your RD search and how true it is that it takes both thought and time to plan it just right….so many don’t realize this until the very last moment, so where did you decide?!?!
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