Parking!

Only 3 weeks until the bestest wedding party ever! We hope you are all getting the logistics sorted out for your arrival and transportation around Chicago and to the soiree. If you have any questions, be sure to email or call Tim or Katy!

In the meantime, we wanted to offer some additional Chicago transportation insight...

Conveniently, every paved method of ingress to the city from the 'burbs is under-construction. Please build in some extra travel time if you are planning to come into the city via automobile.

While we certainly do not highly condone vehicular travel from the suburbs, we understand it is unavoidable in some cases. Please see below for a host of parking options very near The Rookery. We recommend the Sears Tower garage at West Adams & South Wells (shown in pink on the map).

But, why trifle with road rage at all? Trains are a far more sophisticated form of travel and both the suburban Metra system and the city's elevated "El" train have stations a hope, skip and a jump away from the The Rookery. You can check Metra's suburban train schedules here and the El train schedule here (FYI, Quincy or Washington Street stations on the Purple line are your best bet).

Hotels in Chicago

Hopefully most of you have received your Save-the-Date by now, if not, you aren't invited....kidding! Please let us know if you suspect your Save the Date was lost by the reliable USPS, our copies were and Mummy Harding had to send them to us again.

Anyhoo, while the notifications are slightly behind schedule, I'm guessing you dear guests are far more organized than us and have started to think about hotels, thus...

The Rookery (locale for the wedding party) is located in the heart of downtown Chicago's financial district, literally surrounded by hotels. So, while we have a few special rates at the hotels below, please feel free to stay wherever!

The W – Chicago City Center (across from The Rookery)
We recommend finding a room online for a decent rate at the W City Center. The W Wedding discount was not compelling compared to the sweet internet offers.

The Hilton Palmer House
Call 877-865-5321, refer to "Harding/Nickel Wedding Block"
Discounted room rate is $189/night

The Hotel Burnham or The Hotel Monaco
Use the wedding code “WED” for 10% of your room
Regular room rates are $250/night and up
NB; We will likely have the post-wedding brunch at the Hotel Monaco

Please let us know if you have any questions at all. We are here to help and want to be sure you find an appropriate place to stay so that you are well-rested for the party!

CTA System Map

Most public transport information can be found at the CTA website. Also, below, is an 'L' system map that you can use to navigate the city should you be interested in some sightseeing (more information on sightseeing to come).

Travel Information

As planned, RTT and I are getting married smack in the middle of the country which is intended to make it easy for most people to attend our glamourous wedding or party. What can we say, we are always thinking of other people. And, unless you are part of the wedding party (read: staying in the suburbs), you will not need to rent a car. In fact, we would recommend against it since parking downtown is such a nightmare!

First things first. DATES! If you are part of the wedding party, there is a pre-wedding BBQ on Thursday, May 8th at the Harding Estate. This is optional, of course, but would you really want to miss it?!?! Otherwise, you will need to arrive by Friday (May 9th) mid-day as the ceremony is that evening. Party-goers will need to arrive by Saturday (May 10th) afternoon, unless you want to partake in the pre-wedding activity, because the party will being at 7:30pm that evening. Got it? Good.

Ok. Chicago is proud to have an 'airport system' that rivals any other major city in the world that includes, most notably, O'Hare Airport north-west of the city and Midway Airport directly south of the city.

Let's address O'Hare first...Typically, if you are passing through O'Hare en route to another city, it's the airport with the most delays. Cursing its name (and sometimes mine) ,I'm certain most of you know the inside of O'Hare more than you would ever like. But, lucky for you, our dear friends, you have the pleasure of simply navigating your way to baggage claim as opposed to terminal hopping. YAY!! Let's hope that eliminates most of the delays on the big day! Almost all major airlines fly into O'Hare and it is a hub for United and American. You can easily find direct flights from San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Washington DC, Boston and most international cities (for the London crew).

If you are staying the suburbs, call Mummy Harding to arrange transportation from O'Hare or you can call 303 Cabs upon arrival at the baggage claim. They make cheap and quick trips into the Northern Suburbs for about $30-$40. They can be reached at 1-800-225-5303. However, if you are staying downtown (hotel information forthcoming) it's also extremely easy to take public transportation (of course, you can take taxis as well that wait outside the baggage claim...). The CTA Blue Line (the 'L') trains go from O'Hare Airport to the center of Downtown Chicago on a frequent basis. The fare is about $2-$3 and you can get specific information from the transportation website, CTA. This website will also provide information about travelling around Chicago once you have arrived.

As for Midway, it's a good option if you are staying downtown, but we would advise against it if you are staying in the suburbs. Midway is south of the city and is a hub for Southwest and Continental airlines. It's just a quick 30 minute trip to downtown Chicago on the CTA Orange Line (the 'L'). You can get specific information from the transportation website, CTA. Otherwise, you can also grab a taxi outside the terminals.

Obviously, if you have any questions, cal RTT or Skip at 617-714-3313.