Chicago- a hustling town located on the banks of river Michigan is one of the largest cities in the United States of America. A place that boasts of the skyline of skyscrapers, Chicago is a hub of Indian migrants and permanent residents.
Chicago- a hustling town located on the banks of river Michigan is one of the largest cities in the United States of America. A place that boasts of the skyline of skyscrapers, Chicago is a hub of Indian migrants and permanent residents.
From complete Indian weddings to cross-cultural nuptials, organizing an Indian wedding on the other side of the globe- in the beautiful city of Chicago has become quite a smooth process. With a rising number of wedding venues accommodating rituals like the Mehendi and the messiness of the Haldi ceremony, along with roister of the Sangeet and the wedding baraat, Indians today have plenty of venue choices for having their dream Indian wedding.
While event planners in Chicago make every wedding vision come to life, online stores in India have made it easy to buy wedding wear, bridal lehengas, groom’s sherwani, and all sorts of wardrobe requirements an easy task. The variety of Indian cuisines and catering services in Chicago has further bridged the gap where one can tie the knot in a diverse-cultural land while having an authentic Indian wedding experience.
If you’re living in or around Chicago or planning to have your wedding in this vibrant metropolitan city, you must check out the following wedding venues.
Indian Wedding Venues in Chicago
1. Hyatt Regency, Schaumberg
The reputed chain of hospitality spaces is laid out over an area of 30 thousand square feet. With its lush interiors having a scintillating edge with crystalline ceilings and classy artifacts, Hyatt Regency is an ideal place for having a medium to grand-scale Indian wedding.
The Mahogany and Sienna ballrooms can stylishly accommodate a cocktail ring ceremony and the formal wedding reception. Hyatt is well aware of Indian customs and can execute all your requirements like specific Mandap design, with precision.
One can customize the interiors of the spaces to add colorful elements like dupattas and call for desi dress codes like zari-border sarees, bright-colored lehengas, and jeweled kurta sets, to get a typical Indian wedding feel. With the hotel offering lip-smacking savories, one can be assured of making memories worth cherishing for a lifetime.
Address: 1800 East Golf Road, Schaumburg, Illinois, United States, 60173
Website: https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/illinois/hyatt-regency-schaumburg-chicago/chirw/area-attractions
2. Double Tree by Hilton, Chicago
A red lehenga or a red saree is almost synonymous to a bridal look, just like the dazzle of gold ornaments and golden lights stand for such auspicious days. The décor at DoubleTree by Hilton allows such metallic indulgence that is innate to traditional Indian weddings.
With a crystal-studded ceiling and sophistication that radiates from its every nook and corner, the ballroom stands at par with the standards of a decently luxurious marriage ceremony. The customizable décor also goes perfectly well for contemporary themed parties, like the cocktail hour.
From a beautifully decorated aisle to a sparkling candlelight reception, DoubleTree by Hilton ensures seamless services. However, the venue has limited options for having pre-wedding functions on a large scale.
Since Indian weddings are getting global, the way of dressing up and celebrating such rituals has also undergone a drastic makeover. Soft and neutral color codes have been replacing the regular wedding attire that is characterized by bright and loud colors like rani pink, bottle green, and vibrant orange. No matter what your wedding wardrobe requirements are, it’s easy to get your unique wedding look over FaceTime, shopping for the best Indian designer wear your convenient hour!
Address: 300 E Ohio St, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
Website: https://www.hilton.com/en/doubletree/
3. Bridgeport Art Center
For those who like to keep their celebrations modest and elegant can choose the Bridgeport Art Center, a premier event space of the city. Its Skyline Loft has a raw feel with a dramatic touch of wooden interiors- a dreamy setting where one can take wedding vows while surrounded by the view of the Chicago skyline.
The Skyline Loft is a transformable space- where you can put together your wedding visions. While a white color code would be a perfect complement for its original wooden décor, you can use the rooftop ceiling for a fairy-lights canopy and host a sparkling wedding reception with wardrobe themes that involve sequined lehengas and similar dazzle.
The Sculpture Garden of Bridgeport Art Center is a ground space with brick wall décor- a candid spot for a cocktail party, Mehendi ceremony, and a Haldi ritual. Given the location, we would suggest opting for quiet celebrations in the ground space.
Address: 1200 W. 35th Street
Chicago, IL 60609
Website: https://bridgeportart.com/
4. Chicago Cultural Center
Community and cultural centers are usually cost-effective places for hosting events like weddings. Chicago’s cultural center is a place of magnificence. With its stained-glass dome ceilings, its decorative décor blends in well with the ambiance of Indian wedding ceremonies.
A spacious premise for accommodating massive crowds, the Chicago Cultural Center also has a prime location advantage. Its interiors include marble walls with flower mosaics and mahogany- thus, each nook and corner of the place is a beauty in itself. The stairways and corridors make picturesque backdrops for wedding photography of the couple.
The venue is decent for having an Indian-style marriage with a traditional Mandap, followed by a feast for the guests. However, the space is limited and is suitable only for day-long weddings. If you’re planning to host other pre-wedding functions like the Tilak, Mehendi, Haldi, Ring Ceremony, and the Sangeet all at one premise, then you must omit this choice.
Address: 78 E. Washington St. Chicago, IL 60602
Website: https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/chicago_culturalcenter.html
5. Hilton, Chicago
Epitomizing luxury, Hilton is for the ones who prefer to tie the knot with regal grandness. The palace-like ballroom of Hilton is a spacious one with beautifully carved ceilings and pillars, along with metallic hues in the décor which look mesmerizing under the crystalline lights of its massive suspended chandeliers.
Traditional Indian weddings have always been a grand affair- and till today, the idea of having a Big Fat Indian Wedding exists among most of the Indians all across the globe. The downtown Chicago property of the Hilton group of hotels is well-versed with Indian customs and cultural wedding requisites- and that includes Indian food.
While a wedding and reception at the Hilton are bound to be impressive for your guests, its affluence is a treat for the couple that can get access to its equally splendid rooms for the dressing up errands. Clicking pictures with her heavily embroidered designer wedding lehenga and with her bridesmaids has become a trend among Indian brides- and Hilton’s marvelous rooms serve as a perfect backdrop!
Address: 720 SOUTH MICHIGAN AVENUE, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, 60605, USA
Website: https://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/illinois/hilton-chicago-CHICHHH/index.html
6. Chicago Botanic Garden
The ones visualizing serene fairytale nuptials surrounded by flowery backdrops and natural beauty- can opt for a garden wedding. Chicago Botanic Garden, located in the heart of North Shore, can bring such wedding visions to reality.
The Botanic Garden- has several options in indoor and outdoor venues that you can choose for the myriad of pre and post-wedding celebrations. The outdoor spaces, that include the English-Walled Garden, Rose Terrace, Buehler Enabling Garden, and more, offers a different set-up surrounding the floral theme. But well, most of these outdoor spaces are only available during the spring and summer months, during evening hours.
While most of the outdoor spaces have a capacity of serving a crowd of 200-250 people, the Esplanade has a wider area to accommodate around 500 people for a sit-down reception dinner. Water fountains and pools, along with well-manicured greenery add an ethereal feel to the place.
The indoor spaces of the Chicago Botanic Garden are all about simplistic elegance. You can choose from the McGinley Pavilion, Nichols Hall, Burnstein Hall, Krehbiel Gallery, and a few others, depending on your requirements of space and set-up. However, some of these indoor spaces are only available during the autumn and winter months.
Well, a floral theme wedding sounds good for a garden wedding- guests decked up in floral lehengas, floral Jodhpuri suits, and floral sarees for a flowery surrounding- indeed a vivid sight!
Address: 1000 Lake Cook Road
Glencoe, IL 60022
Website: https://www.chicagobotanic.org/
7. Rockwell on the River
Rockwell is a relatively new place overlooking the Northern Branch of the Chicago River. A happening place with an indoor and outdoor area of over 22 thousand square feet, Rockwell on the River offers extreme versatility for wedding décor. Chicago has plenty of wedding planners to transform the raw event space into a breathtaking one.
Its indoor space detailed with a hemispherical wood ceiling carries a modern feel and allows all sorts of decorations- from fairy lights to balloons and flower vines- depending on the theme of your party. The entry is a modest corridor, while the outdoor space is quite a suitable set-up for dinner tables.
Its central location and customizable interiors are some of the advantages of Rockwell on the River. If you’re planning a one-day nuptial ceremony, then Rockwell is a place that you ought to check out!
Address: 3057 N Rockwell St Chicago, IL 60618
Website: https://rockwellontheriver.com/
8. Palmer House Hilton
Palmer House is a luxurious hotel designed for getaway weddings. The place carries a beautiful legacy of romance; it was a house gifted by a groom to his lady in the year 1870. The mansion is today a Hilton hotel that speaks opulence to the core.
The place houses multiple ballrooms where you can host all of your pre-wedding parties and the wedding ceremony in style. The house is like a dream borrowed- to make your moments lavishly memorable with your near and dear ones. It is a place where the bride can live her princess dreams, enjoying the extravagance, while for the guests it would be a perfect Big Fat Indian Wedding experience.
Attending such upscale ceremonies requires a higher indulgence in the wedding wardrobe. You may even want to customize your wedding outfit for the element of exclusivity. Many websites offer video shopping services over FaceTime, Skype, WhatsApp calls, and Google Duo video-calling, where you can take a virtual tour of their designer collection. Such video calls usually offer stylist services as well that help you choose the best wedding outfit.
Address: 17 East Monroe Street Chicago Illinois 60603 USA
Website: https://www.palmerhousehiltonhotel.com/
9. Navy Pier
Navy Pier is a premier destination for events like weddings, located a few steps from Michigan Avenue, offering a beautiful view of the lakefront and the Chicago skyline. The Pier is a popular place for hosting a cultural Indian wedding, with the fun and frolic of age-old traditions.
The Aon Grand Ballroom of Navy Pier has an in-built stage with stage lights- giving the apt auditorium feel for a grand Sangeet Ceremony and the wedding reception. Its dome ceiling adds to the grandness of the space-which one can accentuate with theme-based décor.
Navy Pier also has a Lakeview Terrace, which is an urban loft where the guests can enjoy delectable Indian cuisines during the wedding functions. This pre-function space can accommodate up to 1000 people, quite a suitable number for traditional wedding festivities. Overall, the venue is spacious, and its landscape view is unparalleled.
Address: 600 E. GRAND AVENUE
CHICAGO, IL 60611
Website: https://navypier.org/book-your-event/event-venues/
A city full of beautiful architecture and modern infrastructure, Chicago has a richly varied list of wedding venues. With a growing Indian population, most of the places have a thorough experience of meeting the standards of Indian hospitality!