Travel

Below you’ll find details about getting to and around Chicago.

Traveling to Chicago

By train

If you’re traveling from the St. Louis area, we strongly encourage you to take the Amtrak train from Alton or St. Louis. This way, you won’t have to worry about driving and parking in Chicago. Ubers/Lyfts/taxis are plentiful in the city and will be the easiest way to get around between hotels, the venue, and other locations. Plus, after considering the cost of gas and the cost of parking, a train ticket may end up being less expensive!

Trains to Chicago arrive at Union Station, which is an approximately 10-minute car ride from the Fulton Market neighborhood and blocked hotels. Once you arrive and get off the train, exit the train station to street level where you can hail a taxi (the old-fashioned way or with the Curb app — the Curb app is easier) or call an Uber or Lyft.

View Amtrak schedules and purchase tickets at Amtrak.com.

By car

Do not bring oversized vehicles like wide trucks or large SUVs unless you have confirmed where you are staying can accommodate your vehicle. Unfortunately, oversized trucks and SUVs are often too big for available public parking options in the city.

If you are driving from the St. Louis area, the trip usually takes 4.5-5 hours (without stopping), depending on the level of road construction on the highway and traffic coming into the city. If you plan to drive to Chicago the day of the wedding, we encourage you to be on the road by 10am at the latest to arrive at your hotel by check-in at 3pm, get ready, and arrive at the venue by 5pm when the wedding celebrations begin.

The hotels we’ve reserved blocks with offer either self-serve overnight parking for about $50 per night or valet for about $70 per night. You can find more details about accommodations and the parking available at each here.

Additionally, while public transportation is plentiful in the city, we know you may choose to drive to restaurants or attractions while you’re visiting Chicago. If you’re driving around the city, we recommend using an app like SpotHero to book parking near any areas of interest before you drive to them.

By plane

If you plan to fly to Chicago, either O’Hare or Midway are good options.

From O'Hare you can take the CTA Blue Line train directly to Fulton Market/West Loop (Grand stop), or all the way to the Loop, depending on where you're staying. From Midway, you can take the Orange Line to the Loop.

Of course, you can also always Uber, Lyft, or taxi from the airport, whether you’re flying in and out of O’Hare or Midway. It can typically take between 45 minutes to an hour to arrive downtown from either airport.

Please note: there is currently construction on the highway between O’Hare and downtown Chicago. Be sure to factor in extra travel time between downtown and the airport accordingly.

Getting to and from wedding events

Shuttles

If you are staying at one of our wedding hotels, here are the details for the shuttles:

  • Hyatt House - shuttle will pick up at 4:15

  • Crowne Plaza - shuttle will pick up at 4:30

  • Emily Hotel - shuttle will pick up at 4:30

Please plan to arrive early in the lobby for your shuttle, as the shuttles will not wait and will leave on time with whoever is there. However, if you miss the shuttle, don’t panic! It will be easy to call an Uber to get you to the venue on time if needed.

To return from the venue, there will be a shuttle starting around 9:00 making a loop back to all three hotels as needed.

Ridesharing

Uber or Lyft - The most popular ridesharing apps anywhere are very popular in Chicago as well. Request a ride from anywhere in the city on demand from your phone. If you haven’t already, we recommend downloading at least one of these apps an setting up your account before you arrive in Chicago.

Curb - Like Uber or Lyft, but for actual taxis! This app is great for scheduling rides in advance when you know you’ll definitely need one, like a pick up to go to the airport or a ride to scheduled wedding weekend event.

Driving

There will be free valet parking at our wedding venue. However, if you plan to be drinking, please choose to take the shuttle or Uber/Lyft/taxi to the venue instead, as you will not be able to leave your car overnight.

We do not recommend driving to most bars and restaurants in the city (including Time Out Market and Good Ambler, where we’ll be on Friday night and Sunday morning), as there are limited parking options available. If you do plan to drive anywhere in the city, please plan ahead by reviewing your destination’s parking options or booking a spot on SpotHero.