Events in Chicago to be aware of when planning your date?

[Deleted User]

Hi,

I'm currently trying to lock down a downtown summer wedding date in 2012, and wanted to make an attempt to avoid the more hectic weekends in the city (90% of our guests will need hotel rooms). I've heard stories about brides booking a wedding date, only to find that a convention at McCormick Place is taking over the city's hotel rooms. Does anyone know how you can find this information? Or are there any recommendations on weekends to avoid? I was thinking Lollapalooza and the Taste of Chicago could have an effect on hotel room prices/availability.

Thanks!

chavezhardy

Lolla and the Taste for sure. Also, Air and Water Show, Cub v. Sox games....There are plenty of websites that list the activities happening during a Chicago summer, The City's website, Metromix, etc. They will only give you 2011 dates, but you can at least use it as a guideline and compare it to a 2012 calendar.

TEA&Co

What neighborhood are you looking in?  I'd look to see if there are any specific fests/tastes that are always in your area.

Love is Bald

Chicago Half Marathon & Marathon too!

mscramuzzo

You can check out McCormick Place's web site. They have a calendar of events...not sure if it has the number of expected attendees...anything bit like a doctor convention would probably use A LOT of hotels. I know this because of my job but DDW (Digestive Disease Week) is at McCormick place and there are 22 "host" hotels!!!

AshleyK2011

Be careful if you use a 2011 calendar for dates because some of them do change.  They're usually a good guideline, but we kind of got screwed using that method. 

Our wedding is the weekend of the air and water show.  When I booked our wedding venues back in February 2010, the 2011 info wasn't up.  In 2010, the air and water show was August 9-10 but this year it's August 19-20, so 10 days later.  So far, we haven't run into that many road blocks because of it.  I've been able to get hotel blocks everywhere I wanted and haven't had any limitations on rooms because of the air and water show.  My main concern is noise (our ceremony is in Lincoln Park) and traffic on the day of. 

Allison8879

mine is air & water, too... we have a block at our hotel so shouldn't affect much. the planes are typically done flying around 5 pm or so, so shouldn't affect my later 6:30 pm ceremony (i hope!). other events i'd echo above - lolla, taste, street festivals if you're in a neighborhood, and absoultely mccormick place events. good luck!!

hz80408

My brother works for a large hotel downtown and has warned me that room-rates sky-rocket for big fests like Taste, Airshow, Marathon, etc.

I'd definitely try to plan around these if you're concerned about budget of OOT guests.

Miracle520

I know you're anxious to get a date set but have you considered waiting a little longer and seeing a 2012 event calander before you make the final choice?

I know it's best to book everything early, but due to some changes for us I've literally booked things 7-8 months out now and have been fine.

MrsPaps

check the City of Chicago website...like PP said, you can get a good idea of things happening this summer to know what to expect for next year.

[Deleted User]

Thanks so much everyone! These are great tips. Believe it or not our venue only has FOUR summer 2012 dates left, so unforunately we can't wait. Thanks again!

MyWedding13

Hey, also make sure to check the breast cancer 3 day, which is usually early June. Chicago also has this huge oncology conference called ASCO which is end of may/early June and they block off literally all these hotels and restaurants. My wedding is June 5, 2011 and I had to book my rehearsal dinner spot in May of last year b/c places were already booked for this conference. Hotels are booked, also. Maybe just google a date you are thinking with chicago attached to it and see what comes up. It might be easiest

garicasgirl

2011 chicago festival guide from metromix:

http://chicago.metromix.com/events/article/chicago-festival-guide-2011/2450230/content

ajozwiak

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_illinois-chicago_events-chicago-aware-of-planning-date?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:72Discussion:3b2fc7ab-0090-485d-8572-234e048a8e91Post:8c2f2556-edd0-4e68-a5cf-4d5f95995b8f">Re: Events in Chicago to be aware of when planning your date?</a>:
[QUOTE]Hey, also make sure to check the breast cancer 3 day, which is usually early June. Chicago also has this huge oncology conference called ASCO which is end of may/early June and they block off literally all these hotels and restaurants. My wedding is June 5, 2011 and I had to book my rehearsal dinner spot in May of last year b/c places were already booked for this conference. Hotels are booked, also. Maybe just google a date you are thinking with chicago attached to it and see what comes up. It might be easiest :)
Posted by MyWedding13[/QUOTE]<div>
</div><div>So THAT is why I can't find any hotel rooms for that weekend!  I'm getting married June 4 and about had a panic attack when I realized that all of the hotels were booked already.  I looked up events, but couldn't find anything that seemed like it would be taking up every single hotel room in the city.  Who knew oncology was so popular?</div><div>
</div><div>Fortunately, I have very few out of town guests.  I ended up finding a B&B in my own neighborhood and booked all of the rooms there, so every thing worked out just fine. <img src="http://cdn.cl9.vanillaforums.com/downloaded/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-smile.gif" border="0" alt="Smile" title="Smile" />

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