Weddingbee Blog

::Sheepishly peeks out from behind laptop and waves::

Hi! Remember me? I know it’s been a couple weeks and there have been lots of new faces joining us in that time, so let me reintroduce our wedding…

The Bacons aren’t so good at staying put in one place for all that long, so now that we’re calling Chicago home, we realized that pretty much none of our guests do, too. What does this mean for us? It means that we are having a “Faux Destination” celebration; faux because it’s not a destination wedding for us, just for all the guests.

We are planning each and every detail with convenience for the guests in mind. From finding rock bottom hotel prices to a trolley taking guests to and from the venue, we want this wedding to be so easy for everyone. It’s actually really nice being able to plan a vacation for our friends and family. Sure, some of the family is going to be stuck with us most of the weekend, as is the wedding party, but everyone else will have Chicago at their fingertips during what I hope will be a great weather weekend. I’m pretty sure that if things had come together differently, I would have made an excellent travel agent.

How can you not love that skyline?

Here’s what we’re hoping everyone is going to experience while we’re dealing with last minute wedding stress: When guests arrive at the hotel, they will be greeted by an Out of Town bag bursting at the gills with Chicago must haves like Garret’s popcorn and Jay’s chips. After fully dissecting the bag, they can take an hour or two to relax and unpack, then promptly at 5PM its time to head up to the “Manager’s Cocktail Hour” where they can munch on free finger foods and sip on free beverages. After whetting their appetites, they can step out onto Kinzie Street and walk a block in either direction and pretty much trip over some of the best restaurants in the city. Maybe dinner at Hub 51 where the Transformers cast loved to eat when they were filming? Or how about Mercadito where R Kelly was buying drinks for everyone at the bar just last week? Prefer baseball to celebrity sightings? Good thing Harry Caray’s Steak House and Sports Bar is across the street.

After a night on the town, guests head to bed and wake to the sounds of the city. Luckily, there is complimentary breakfast waiting for them in the lobby of each floor to nurse that hangover/jet lag. After some morning primping, the day is theirs until 4:30 when the trolleys start making the rounds. Shoppers have the Magnificent Mile three short blocks away while the history buffs can (if it opens on time) head to the Museum of Broadcast Communications down the street. All the Out of Town bags will have tips on what to do on Saturday for all the different interest groups along with a 101 on how to use the bus and trains. The Baconator and I are pretty much obsessed with how awesome out city is, so we are really going to be encouraging people to check out the sights before the wedding whether it’s by foot, by boat, or by double decker tour bus.

Segways - the Ultimate Tourist Transporter

It’s a bit weird to be hosting 85% of our guest list in a city they have never really been to, but we’re thrilled that we can share our experience with folks that haven’t had a chance to visit us before. I’m pretty sure that if the Cubs had been in town that weekend, we would have found a way to take a chunk of our food budget and buy Saturday afternoon bleacher tickets for everyone. We want people to love Chicago as much as we do, so we’re going to incorporate its fabulocity as much as possible.

The Cubs didn’t win… but they didn’t lose either! Hooray for a rain out!

Do you have lots of guests coming in from out of town? How are you helping them explore your town?