Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Wedding in the Park

Because I'm way too excited to keep it a secret...

We're planning on doing our wedding in Humboldt Park!

We're using the Boathouse for the ceremony and the Fieldhouse for the reception. It could not be more perfect since it's in Chicago, not too far from public transit and a 10 minute walk from our house.

Here's a few pictures I was able to find online. Hopefully, I will be able to post some of ours soon, but in the meantime:

The Boathouse:
Photo credit: Humboldt Park Boathouse Photograph by Frank Dina, http://fineartamerica.com/featured/humboldt-park-boathouse-frank-dina.html


The Fieldhouse (from the back view):
Photo credit: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/look/look-humboldt-park-051863


The Banquet Hall:
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/yochicago1/251914858/

The banquet hall is actually not enough to hold our whole party (250 people might be a bit cramped in this space). But there are two adjoining gyms that just need a little decoration and imagination and it should be perfect.

Speaking of decorations, after we landed the space, we were thinking that if anyone was doing a Friday wedding the day before us, splitting costs would come in handy for both weddings. Then I read that Broke Ass Bride just launched a new website that lets brides team up with other brides to save some cash by going dutch wherever possible.

http://www.brideshare.net/


So, if you're looking for a Friday wedding in October and think you might want to do your wedding here, let me know.

17 comments:

  1. Awesome space! Oh the possibilities for decor. And I love the scenic outdoors!!

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  2. you are fired for making me learn about this on facebook/blogspot

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  3. Thanks Wendy. We're pretty pumped!

    Jamie, we're having dinner tonight. I will bore you with every detail then. :)

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  4. the parks are so beautiful for weddings and cost effective too...the only catch i found was the list of caters they make you choose from... but good luck- its gorgeous there!

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  5. I actually found that Humboldt Park is willing to work with us a little more than some other parks were when it comes to that stuff, but thank you! Hopefully it will all work out :)

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  6. I live in Humboldt Park! I always thought the venue would be great for a wedding.

    Congratulations on finding the perfect space.

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  7. Thanks Misse!

    It's kind of a hidden gem I think.

    So it Honeybee Weddings! I came across your blog awhile ago and I'm always looking at updates. Thanks for reading!

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  8. Hi Candace Aunt Teri here. Beautiful space and wow you and Johnnie look great in the photos. What is the date? Blessings to you both as you begin your life together. Guess what I;m going to be a grandma again. Love ya Teri

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  9. OH, I forgot. Mary and I will be in Cleveland after JUly 7th. Will you be home? Love ya

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  10. Hey Auntie Teri!

    I don't have your email, (but I'm working on it) so send me a message at candacecorner[at]gmail[dot]com. I'll keep you posted :)

    And congrats to you and Jake and B. on the baby! How is Seamus?

    I won't be in Cleveland again til' Christmas but I hope you have fun while you're home!

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  11. What was the other of the two locations in the final two?

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  12. Stan Mansion is our second choice. It's one of the cheaper ones and has a very pretty courtyard, but it will definitely take some decorating to do it up a little more.

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  13. Hi Candace- I am planning my wedding for November 2011. I stumbled across your blog because we were planning our wedding at Humboldt as well. We live a few blocks away and it is such a beautiful park. Anyways, if you have any tips, send them my way. We currently are running into the caterer issue, but we have 150 which is no where near your 268. Happy planning! I can't wait to see actual photos of a wedding put together in the ballroom. =)

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  14. Hey Michelle,

    Glad to see there are more people looking into Humboldt. It definitely is beautiful, and I'm sure your wedding will be gorgeous too.

    If you're looking for a caterer I would suggest Honest Foods (they don't have a Web site, but they do have a Yelp page and that's how I found them). With our guest list being ginormous, we couldn't afford the cost, but as far as caterers go they are very professional and flexible and they have a "kitchen on wheels" (ie, food truck) so it can help you get around the teeny tiny kitchen space the park has.

    We unfortunately just found out we have to move our wedding to Southbend because we were just getting hit to hard with such a high guest list and we have too many friends and family to cut it down (not the worst problem :)

    Good luck with your planning and congrats!

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  15. Hey, we are two Chicagoans thinking of having our wedding at the Humboldt Park Boathouse/Fieldhouse like you did. Any hints tips or suggestions?

    Thanks so much,
    Erik and Quyen

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  16. Hey Erik And Quyen -

    Congratulations and Best Wishes!

    Full disclosure - Due to a lot of personal reasons - financial ones for the most part - my husband and myself ended up getting hitched in South Bend, Indiana. However, prior to that, I had pretty much researched a crap ton of vendors and lined up almost the entire wedding, so if you need any recommendations beyond HP details, just let me know.

    That said, biggest advice I can give to anyone looking into Humboldt Park is the following: Take time to go in person. It's CPD, so everything about this location is city controlled. If you go in person, you're going to want to head to the Field House and try to meet with Nereida Aviles (Nereida.Aviles@chicagoparkdistrict.com). Communication is much better in person, plus you can get a feel for the flow of the rooms and meet Nereida who will be assisting you through most of the process and she'll be able to provide you with a pricing sheet. Take pictures, get room dimensions. If you can, ask your DJ if they have worked with the venue before and if they can either go with you to check it out so you can handle it all at once, or if they can go solo and report back. The acoustics there might lend to some additional costs if you're using more than one room.

    Catering-wise, I have a few posts and can highly recommend Lula Cafe or Honest Foods. Both experienced, professional, and I've eaten food from both places and can attest, it's good stuff.

    If you need anything else, just let me know.

    Thanks and good luck with your planning!
    Candace

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  17. Hi! What weekend in October are you planning to have your wedding? My fiancé and I are looking at venues in both Chicago and Denver (where i am from) right now and are trying to figure out what to do. We would totally be up for a Friday wedding if we stay in Chicago...and splitting costs would be awesome. I also live in Humboldt Park--cortland and whipple! So we could easily get together and talk about details if this worked out. Congratulations!

    Shoot me an e-mail! bcarvey@gmail.com
    Bethany Carvey

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