Update in 2026 to showcase more about the venue itself as well as a wedding we have worked here so that you know everything there is to know about the venue and what they have to offer as well as seeing a real-life experience we have had there.

As a wedding coordinator that has coordinated over 150 weddings, and also had my wedding here, Columbus Park Refectory has such a special place in our hearts. This venue is the perfect unique, fun space in Chicago that has all of what you need. Being in the heart of Columbus Park, the Refectory provides a perfect backdrop for photos and fun and we definitely recommend checking them out. Here are some of the insider tips and important things to know about this space if you’re planning on having your wedding here.

The Space

Columbus Park Refectory is so far west out of the city that it’s right at the edge of Oak Park. The Refectory itself is in the northeast corner of the historic Columbus Park which is right next to the pond or lagoon, waterfalls, and a 9-hole golf course nearby. With that golf course also comes a full parking lot that has tons of free, complimentary parking which you won’t find in most places in the city!

The Pavilion is the covered outdoor patio space that most people use for their ceremony if it is onsite or for cocktail hour if your ceremony is offsite. It can host up to 250 guests with a banquet style or 300 guests with a cocktail-style reception and is 32’x86’.

The Grand Ballroom, or the Dance Hall (which is actually where you would have your dinner) is a perfect space for everything you need. Most people have their dinner here, although we have also had an indoor ceremony here with a room flip as well. There’s a classic painting of Christopher Columbus and the 3 ships in the water as well if you’re into the history-feel. The space is 32’x69’ with a banquet capacity of 200 guests and a cocktail-style reception capacity of 250 guests. We usually don’t recommend having more than 180 guests in this space though to feel more comfortable.

The Jensen Hall, or the Dining Hall (which is actually where you would have your dance floor) is truly one of the most iconic parts about the space given that the floor is completely made of black and white mosaic tiles. This is the perfect place for dancing over course because you already have a built-in dance floor! The space is 32’x52’ with a banquet capacity for 100 guests and a cocktail-style reception capacity of 150 guests, but because most people use this just for dancing you won’t have to worry about that.

There’s also a small private patio in the back of the venue called the Dining Terrace that we think is a great place for couples to either have a private moment or get some lovely sunset photos if you want to stay inside the venue. Another thing that’s unique about this space is the adjoining balcony that is in between the Dancing and Dining Halls! This is a great space for you to store your personal items or also catch a breath alone… or even sing to your guests from above! This is sometimes recommended as a space for your DJ, but personally we find it harder to have a good time when the DJ is further from the dance floor.

For photos, many couples head to the area directly behind the pavilion because there are the beautiful stratified stonework ledges that lead to one of the two waterfalls. Of course the park itself is full of greenery and the pond or lagoon is also a great spot to see the beauty of the nature and the building itself.

About Columbus Park Refectory

The park itself was acquired for the park district in 1912 and 1913. The Refectory was completed in 1923 by an architectural firm. It has 140+ acres with a fitness center, gymnasiums, bike and jogging paths, and lots of courts for recreational sports on the far side from the Refectory.

The word “Refectory” means a large communal dining hall, which perfectly describes this space! We remember so many guests always ask about the name, so we figured it’s great for you to know as well.

The building itself has some of our favorite architecture - the arched entryways, terra cotta details, the three porticos great for letting in the sun, and the contrast between the warm brick and the blue window awnings are definitely some of our favorite features. They are described with a Spanish-influenced architecture that we definitely adore.

The design for the park itself and the historic building was a Prairie-style architecture by Jens Jenson with inspirations of the site’s natural history and topography. The serene feel from the space, the landscaping, and the area surrounding it really speaks to couples while still being a place for hosting such fun events!

Flow

You can rent individual parts of the Refectory, however we feel it is best utilized when you do a full rental unless you were doing a micro wedding here. One thing we love specifically about this space is that it is broken into multiple rooms that will make it much easier for your guests to enjoy themselves.

With any of the main rental options, you will receive 3 hours for setup, 4-6 hours of an event time, and 1 hour of teardown.

You can arrive a little earlier during setup for photos and dropping your personal items if needed. Most people will do a first look onsite or before arriving, but if you’re planning on not seeing each other before the ceremony we can have one group in the Dining Hall and the other in the Dance Hall since there are bathrooms on each side. If you’re planning your ceremony onsite, we usually see them in the Pavilion, weather permitting. Your guests will likely come around the back for the ceremony when they pull up or you can have them go through the foyer closest with the bathrooms and coat check station as well.

If you’re having your ceremony onsite at the Pavilion, when the ceremony concludes you can have your guests directed to the South Terrace for cocktail hour. This stretch is perfect for your guests to get a glimpse of the space without disrupting the setup. If your ceremony is offsite, most couples have their cocktail hour on the Pavilion so you don’t have to worry about guests in the main space too early.

At the end of cocktail hour, your guests are directed to the Dance Hall for dinner and formalities. Your caterer (which is selected from their list of approved caterers) is set in the kitchen through the Dining Hall, so they will not be too loud since there’s a little bit of distance.

When the dinner is finished, one of the parts that most couples get nervous about is that the dancing happens in the room next-door. This actually is seen by us as a positive - we can have the DJ direct guests into the Dining Hall for formal dances surrounding the dance floor, and then when open dancing gets started you have the whole Dance Hall available for guests to sit away from the music. This is great for your older guests that feel the music is too loud without disrupting the guests on the dance floor the whole night!

The event timing must finish at 10pm, but you can purchase an additional hour for $350 plus staffing. This would mean that your reception would end at 11pm and the teardown would conclude at 12am with that additional hour.

Amenities at Columbus Park Refectory

The venue rental is the main thing you are getting with weddings here, but here are some of the additional features you get by booking your wedding here:

Round tables
Chairs
Grand piano
Complimentary parking onsite
Coat check room
Security
Onsite kitchen for caterers

Pricing

As of May 21, 2026, the pricing is on their website here. The pricing is split into either renting the specific rooms (which we don’t recommend usually for weddings), summer/fall wedding packages, winter/spring wedding packages, or entire site packages.

The entire site package is $5,000 which includes the rental fee and the $500 refundable deposit. This also includes all of the amenities listed above and a 6 hour event time.

The winter/spring wedding package is from November to April and it includes the Dining Hall, Dance Hall, Balcony, and Coat Room with a 4 hour event time at $3,945.

The summer/fall wedding package is from May to October and it includes the Dining Hall, Dance Hall, Balcony, and Coat Room with a 4 hour event time at $4,275. With that price difference, we highly recommend the entire site package for the extra hours of even time as well as the additional spaces you can use.

For most accurate pricing, you will want to reach out to the venue manager Dionne at Dionne.Hawkins@chicagoparkdistrict.com.

The one main thing that’s tricky about booking a Chicago Park District building for your wedding is the application process. To secure your wedding date, you have to fill out the special event venue application which is an extensive form, but it’s definitely worth it.

As a wedding coordinator, there are so many wonderful places to get married in Chicago, but this one has so many perks and is definitely one of our favorites even without the bias of getting married here as well. We love Columbus Park Refectory because of its character and all of the space that is included and we definitely recommend you check it out! There are so many venues that cost so much more and provide so much less, so it’s definitely worth looking into wedding venues like these to see if the unique, personal feel is something you might want for your wedding day. To get more information, reach out to Dionne, the venue manager, at Dionne.Hawkins@chicagoparkdistrict.com or call 773-287-0856.

Need help coordinating and planning your Columbus Park Refectory wedding?

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Want to see a real-life wedding from Columbus Park Refectory?

Read more about Annie and Alex’s wedding that was personalized to perfection!

Columbus Park Refectory Wedding

Annie and Alex had the most perfect wedding day with the most perfect love story. It was a tad warm on the early October day, but overall the weather, the love, and the wedding was fantastic! Their ceremony and reception were both held at Columbus Park Refectory in Chicago and their photos were around the Chicago city so they had a perfect mix of city life and nature.

We were there as their day-of coordinators to make sure they were really able to take in every moment without worrying about the details. As a couple, they were such fun-loving, happy people and we knew that all they wanted was to smile all day and not be worried about any logistics. Thankfully, that’s exactly what happened for them and we truly had a blast making sure the wedding went smoothly!

They started their day at Hilton Chicago to get ready for the day. They were really able to casually take their time and enjoy each other’s company before getting started with their first look.

Annie’s look for the day was truly so elegant. Her dress was heavy with beading and it was incredibly beautiful and unique! She kept her look fairly simple and it really showed off her inherent beauty. We also loved the colors of her flowers - such a happy bouquet for a happy bride!

First Look and Photos at Grant Park

Annie and Alex did their first look in a park and it was a perfect start to their day. They got to have a really sweet, intimate moment together before things kicked off with their photos in the city where they will be meeting up with their wedding party.

The wedding parties in black always look incredibly classy and timeless, and we love what this does with a pop of color in the bouquets that they had! We also appreciate when the bridesmaids can wear different silhouettes that suit themselves best and make them feel great while celebrating their favorite couple!

Photos at Wrigley Building

Alex and Annie got truly some of the most perfect shots by the Wrigley building. The rainbow solar flare was featured in many of their photos too and we loved that it literally felt like their happy energy was being shown! Their entire photo album is stunning and it’s so hard to narrow it down to just a few photos - AJ did a spectacular job capturing their day!

Photos and Wedding Ceremony at Columbus Park Refectory

When they got to Columbus Park Refectory, they had made time so they could take more photos around the beautiful park. This venue is so beautiful with their spots that are nature-filled and green, but the venue itself offers some interesting photos too with the teal window grilles, which is personally one of our favorite parts about the Refectory!

Their ceremony was personal, short, and sweet. They had their cousin sing for the processional, their friend officiate the ceremony, and Alex’s mom’s friend that came all the way from Germany (where many of Alex’s family is from) to do a reading. The vows that they had were the longest part which personally was the sweetest!! They had some funny stories about each other that truly had us laughing out loud and we loved hearing more about their love with all of their loved ones. There was even a seat reserved for Alex’s late father in his honor.

Cocktail Hour and Mingling at Columbus Park Refectory

Once the ceremony was over, we directed the guests through the venue to the cocktail hour while Annie and Alex got a minute to themselves with their signature cocktail. They took some more photos on the private upper deck of Columbus Park Refectory and then joined their guests for cocktail hour. We know that many couples love this layout of the cocktail hour, and it never is a system that they regret as long as they do a first look beforehand!

Personalized Details

One personalized part of their day that many people do was the signature cocktail. As the night went on, we heard all of the guests joke about Annie’s love of the show, “90 Day Fiance” and that they named their drink “0 Day Fiance” in honor of that. It was clear that Annie had two obsessions that they called to throughout the wedding - this TV show and Beyoncé. There were plenty of Beyoncé songs through the whole day, but also for their formal dances too. Annie did a super cute father/daughter dance where she had taught her dad The Parent Trap handshake from the movie which they did before dancing.

Dinner in the Dancing Hall

After cocktail hour had ended, the guests got to see the beautiful dinner space and take their seats. To personalize the day for Alex too, we had placed on each place setting lyrics to a German toast / song that they sang before dancing got started. We also had their formal dances and speeches in this room, where we heard nearly every family member and friend mention these parts of their personalities - her maid of honor mentioning Annie finding her “Mr. (Jay) Z”, his best man being scared of Annie’s Beyoncé knowledge, and Alex’s mom’s speech. Her speech was incredibly sweet talking about them as a couple, but also mentioned how the groom's late father probably would have thought they were crazy for their obsession with 90 Day Fiance!

Dancing in the Dining Hall

Once all of the formalities had finished, including an incredibly sweet “thank you” from the couple to all of their vendors, the dancing room was open for guests to get down and have fun!! Annie changed into a reception dress and the dance floor was truly packed all night thanks to the amazing DJ. We heard lots more Beyoncé and it was really a blast all night! They went off on their way at the end to an after party too because the party couldn’t just stop there.

Overall, we absolutely adore all of the personal touches in this wedding and we are so thankful to have been a part of such a happy occasion. Truly they had so much fun from start to finish and we are so glad they got to enjoy themselves. We definitely think this wedding was one to remember and we will never forget!!