What makes Chicago so great? A lot of things! History, architecture, Midwestern hospitality, deep-dish pizza, and “Da Bears”. It is a city that seems to have it all. This includes the perfect venue for every occasion.
No matter what kind of event you are holding in Chicago, you can find a perfect venue for it that is likely among the best in the country for the purpose. This includes venues for an incredible range of events from weddings to bachelor parties to baby showers and professional conferences.
To help you plan your next Chicago experience, we have gathered the finest locations for every type of event. These venues will give you a world-class experience and provide the atmosphere for an event that no one in attendance will soon forget. Here are the perfect Chicago venues for every event type.
Wedding – Chicago Athletic Association Hotel
The Chicago Athletic Association Hotel has been a Chicago institution since the 1890s. The hotel is located in the heart of downtown Chicago on N Michigan Ave. It is right across the street from Millennium Park and the famous Cloud Gate sculpture, aka, the Chicago Bean.
The hotel is more than 125-years-old and displays beautifully restored Venetian Gothic designs. Everything about the building feels classic without seeming old. Incredible views of the park and Lake Michigan can be seen from the east windows. Making one of the most stunning backgrounds for wedding photos the city has to offer.
The hotel has two beautiful ballrooms, the White City Ballroom and the Madison Ballroom as well as two unique wedding spaces, Stagg Court and The Tank. These are respectively a basketball court and a former swimming pool that have been converted to event spaces. The hotel is also home to some incredible bars and restaurants including the rooftop establishment, Cindy’s, with amazing views of the city below.
Bachelor Party – Wrigley Field
Chicago is a city made for bachelor parties. It has plenty of fun stuff to do during the day to keep you and your friends busy and the nightlife is on par with some of the greatest cities in the world. You can customize your Chicago bachelor party in an incredible number of ways, but for the ultimate Chi-town experience, take in a Cubs game.
Wrigley Field has been home to the “Lovable Losers” since 1916 and is a bucket list destination for almost any sports fan. Making a Wrigley venue for your bachelor party, and the surrounding area, an unforgettable weekend for you and your crew.
You can start at the bars around the stadium. Wrigleyville bars offer a one-of-a-kind atmosphere on game days and you almost can’t go wrong with any bars in the neighborhood. Cubby Bear, Casey Moran’s, GMan Tavern, Slugger’s, Guthrie’s, and Murphy’s Bleachers are all especially popular options.
You can move the party into the stadium to watch a baseball game in what feels like a time machine, then roll back out to the Wrigleyville bars to keep the party going deep into the night. Wrigley provides everything you need for the quintessential bachelor party at a historic venue.
Baby Shower – Galleria Marchetti
Just because you are about to be a new mother doesn’t mean you shouldn’t entrust your baby shower to a new venue. You want a perfect baby shower and the Marchetti family, owners of the Haleria Marchetti venue, have been perfecting baby showers and more for 90 years. In fact, this Party Slate article named it one of the best baby shower venues in Chicago.
What started as a showroom for Joe Marchetti’s Ferraris became an incredible indoor/outdoor event space that has hosted countless special events, including baby showers, since the mid-80s. Galleria Marchetti offers 5 unique event spaces to accommodate different sized events, each with a different ambience.
The building is located due west of the Magnificent Mile in the River District of Chicago. The venue is described as a place “where old-world Italy meets the modern sophistication of the city” and that is exactly what you will find here. This combination makes for a perfect baby shower venue with a great combo of the old and the new.
Professional Conference – The Drake Hotel
At the top of the Magnificent Mile in Downtown Chicago, you will find the historic Drake Hotel. The hotel opened in the 1920s but was bought by Hilton Hotels in the late 90s. Since then, the building has experienced two major renovations totaling over $60 million. These upgrades brought the hotel into the 21st century and created the premier Chicago meeting and conference venue.
The hotel has plenty of room for attendees with over 500 rooms. They have 19 different meeting rooms including the Gold Coast ballroom which fits up to 600 people sitting in banquet-style rounds. All told, the Drake has over 30,000 square feet of flexible meeting space. The spaces are supported by an in-house AV team to take care of all your presentation needs and an extensive in-house catering menu for snacks and meals during your professional event. During attendees’ evenings off, there are plenty of great bars and restaurants within walking distance of the hotel.
You don’t even need to leave the hotel to get a cocktail after a long day of meetings, though. The Coq d’Or Whiskey Business Club at the Drake Hotel is a perfect place for conference-goers to hang out and get to know each other outside of the work day. The bar was the second establishment to obtain a liquor license in Chicago, which it did in 1933. For the true Coq d’Or experience, make sure you have a whiskey cocktail and a bowl of Bookbinders Red Snapper Soup.
Conclusion
Chicago truly has it all. You can find many great venues for your wedding, bachelor party, baby shower, or professional conference. If you want the best, most Chicago-centric experience at these events, you should at least consider these perfect Chicago venues. The Chicago Athletic Association Hotel (weddings), Wrigley Field (bachelor party), Galleria Marchetti (baby shower), and The Drake Hotel (professional conference, represent the best the Windy City has to offer for these different types of events.
Comments are closed.