Windy City Wedding

I went to a wedding in Chicago over the weekend, and while it was a hometown affair for the couple, most of the guests, including me, had traveled in from elsewhere and made a weekend out of it.

As the third-most-populous city in the U.S., according to the 2000 U.S. Census Bureau, Chi-town has plenty to offer couples looking for a locale with urban flair, swank venues and plenty to do. I spent the days surrounding the wedding perusing the boutiques in Lincoln Park, trying out local restaurants, and catching a Cubs game at Wrigley Field. And everywhere I went, people were walking their dogs, playing cornhole, and having drinks on pub patios. The perfect weather hovered in the upper 70s, and flower boxes were bursting with color on every window.

If you’re craving even more action, head to the Loop, where there’s culture galore, from the world-renowned museums on the lakefront to the funky public art at Millennium Park. Just across the Chicago River to the north of the Loop sits Fulton’s on the River, a popular downtown restaurant and the reception site for the wedding I attended. I was really impressed with the venue’s outdoor Veranda (complete with daybeds, river views and its own bar), where we spent cocktail hour, and the Riverfront Room (all dressed up with colorful orchids), where the reception took place.

But my favorite moment of the event came when the wedding party made their entrance to the reception. Reception — and even ceremony — entrances keep getting more and more entertaining, and we’re loving every minute. At this wedding, each bridal-party pair came in doing something zany, from literally mixing a cocktail as they walked in to a tiny bridesmaid carrying a big groomsman on piggyback. The maid of honor and best man both did the worm in formal attire (which is no small athletic feat, by the way), but the entrance that topped them all was the bridesmaid and groomsman who swapped clothing: her sauntering in wearing his baggy suit, and him looking quite lovely in her pink, floor-length chiffon gown — stuffed at the chest with tissues, of course. It complemented his mustache nicely, I might add.

So keep the creative entrances coming, and keep the Windy City in mind for a cosmopolitan celebration!