Accommodations

Both the venue and our home address are outlined in yellow on the map; Salvage One is where the ceremony and reception will take place on Sunday, May 25th, 2025, and 225 N. Elizabeth street is our apartment building. We recommend staying in one of the following areas: West Loop/Fulton Market (outlined in red) or River North/Magnificent Mile area (outlined in red). While a little further away, Wicker Park/Ukrainian Village or Lincoln Park are great areas to stay also.

West Loop/Fulton Market

The Emily Hotel | Fulton Market $$$

We have put a block on a number of rooms at the Emily Hotel! The link above enables booking within the block at the discounted rate. If you go to book and there are no more rooms available, please let us know and we will aim to make another block reservation.

Nobu $$$$ - A splurge option

Crown Plaza West Loop $$ - A less expensive option in the area (some discounts for AAA/CAA)

There are vacation rentals in the area as well - typically these appear to be apartments in high rises. These could be a great option, especially if the building has nice amenities (like a pool)!

River North/Magnificent Mile

This area is bursting with hotels at a variety of rates. For those unfamiliar with Chicago, magnificent mile is a shopping mecca and will be quite a busy area. If you are looking for a quieter experience, consider one of the other areas.

Wicker Park/Ukrainian Village

This area has less hotels, but plenty of vacation rentals. If you’re looking to stay in a nice area that has more of a neighborhood feel but is still close to the wedding events, this might be a great area for you!

EATING and DRINKING!!

The food in Chicago is excellent. In West Loop alone, there are 7 Michelin star restaurants and countless others that have received awards and accolades. Our main recommendation is to check them out early and book well in advance if you’d like to dine at any of the fine restaurants over memorial day weekend - it will be busy! Tons of guidance can be found online for fine dining - here we’re sharing some of our favorite neighborhood spots (Fulton Market/West Loop) for the harder-to-tease-out treats and experiences. Let us know if you go somewhere and love it - we’re still getting to know the city ourselves!!

PIZZA: Nancy’s Pizza

We have tried many pizza spots and this is hands down our favorite. We always get the tavern style pizza - they make delish in-house gluten free crust. Steph’s fav order is the Nana’s, with jalapeno added to half the pizza. Kev’s fav order is fresh garlic, jalapeno and pepperoni (and insists it’s the best combo on earth).

BURGERS: Small Cheval

Little sister to Au Cheval - it is a casual outdoor or takeout burger joint that is really heckin’ good (lettuce buns avail. for gfrees). We have also eaten at Au Cheval and it is both much fancier and delightfully delicious.

DONUTS (& coffee): Stan’s Donuts

If you’re wandering around on a Sunday morning desperate for coffee and noticing that most coffee shops are closed, never fear. Stan’s donuts will provide (W Lake location). They also happen to have yummo donuts AND gluten free options (obvs)!

TACOS: Tacombi

There are so many great Mexican joints in the area you’re not going to go wrong. We like this place for a less formal/take-out situation. It’s super tasty and if you happen to be here on a Tuesday, it’s 2 for 1 tacos!

SMOOTHIES: Pure Green

We love this place for lil’ shot of health - Steph always gets a green smoothie and Kev is partial to the acai bowls.

COCKTAILS: The Aviary

For people from Boston - this is Chicago’s version of Farmacia. It’s a cocktail experience. Def not cheap, but definitely on Steph’s activity wish list. You would want to book in advance for this.

FUN BAR: Money Gun

A cocktail bar that we like. It’s a lil’ dark and moody and a lot of fun and funky. It’s first come first served, and come summer they will also have their outdoor space open (Sunny Gun).

SAMMITCHES: Nonna’s

This is a great grab-and-go spot for sandwiches! We have enjoyed these on many an occasion - they also have gluten free bread available!

RECOMMENDATIONS FROM LOCALS:

Our good (NEWLY ENGAGED) friends Luke Reynolds and Chelsea McPeek (one transplant and one local) have given us some well researched suggestions.

Great Food:

  • Daisey’s

  • Bavettes

  • Gilt Bar

  • Proxi

  • Avec

  • Perilla

  • Mott Street

  • Elina

  • Maxwell Trading

  • HaiSous

  • Chef Special

  • Union

  • Lardon

  • S.K.Y

  • Pleasant House Pub

  • Alla Vita

  • Girl and the Goat

  • Galit

  • Giant

  • Mi Tocaya

  • Lula Café

  • Longman and Eagle

  • Pompette

  • Le Bouchon

  • Indienne

  • Tzuco

  • Duck Duck Goat

  • Rose Mary

  • Monteverde

  • The Loyalist

  • The Exchange

  • Swift and Sons

  • Meadowlark (cocktails)

  • Armitage Alehouse

  • Best Intentions (bar)

  • The Aviary (cocktail)

  • Small Cheval / Au Cheval (burger)

  • Three Dots and a Dash (tiki bar)

Good Food:

  • Tuman Tap

  • Boufhause

  • Lilac Tiger

  • Coach House (tasting Menu)

  • Tortello

  • Mano Modern Café

  • Doves Luncheonette

  • Big Star Taco

  • Smoke Daddy BBQ

  • Lao Peng You

  • Phodega

  • Fry the Coop (fried chicken sandos)

  • Dorians (drinks + Music)

  • The Roby Hotel (roof top drinks, good brunch, boutique hotel)

  • Amaru

  • All together now (wine bar + good food)

Bars:

  • Forbidden Root (great food too)

  • Midwestcoast Brewing Company

  • Inner Town Pub

  • Gold Star

  • Tuman Tap (Great food too)

  • Cleo’s

  • Bangers and Lace

Cocktails:

  • Golden Years

  • Queen Mary

  • The Violet Hour

Jazz:

  • Mikes Place

  • Jazz Showcase

  • Winters Jazz Club

  • Green Mill

  • Kingston Mines (blues)

Activities

Depending on how long you are visiting Chicago, you may have time to visit any number of attractions the city has to offer. We can’t vouch for all of them (mostly because we haven’t seen them all haha), but here we’re sharing some of our favorites.

The Riverwalk: by foot and by boat

The riverwalk is one of our favorite areas to walk along in Chicago. It is beautiful, a little tucked away from the city streets and is lined with restaurants and bars. It will take you from West Loop to the Lakefront. Besides strolling the walkway (it gets quite busy so slow paces are inevitable), there are architecture tours by boat that come highly recommended.

The Art Institute of Chicago

The art institute has pieces by Van Gogh, Georgia O’Keefe, Edward Hopper, Matisse, Picasso, Monet… the list goes on! They also offer free daily tours. If you fancy yourself an art enthusiast then you must go!

The Lakefront Trail

The lakefront is an amazing feature of Chicago: it is 18 miles of waterfront trail along Lake Michigan. You can bike it, run it, walk it (anything but drive on it haha). You can find beaches, museums, parks, historical landmarks and restaurants along it. There is also a golf course, a driving range and places to rent water sports equipment for fun on the lake itself. We highly recommend visiting the lakefront, if only for a nice long stroll.

Comedy Show at Second City

This is a rather famous comedy venue featuring improv; it launched the careers of Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, Steve Carrell, among others!

Millennium Park

Home of the Bean! As well as fountains, gardens, art, rock climbing and free concerts, films and outdoor workouts.

The 606 Trail

Close to Wicker Park, this is another great option for the runners and bikers wanting to get some miles in.

Live Music

Since moving here, we have really enjoyed getting out to see bands play - the music scene here is amazing. The venues are cool, the crowd is even cooler and the bands rock.

Additional Suggestions

Garfield Park Conservatory (take an uber), Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Music Box Theater, Chicago Architecture Center (walking tour and bus tour in addition to boat tour), Broadway Shows, Lincoln Park, Lincoln Zoo.