city mouse, country mouse

So, once again at loose ends about where exactly the legal marriage would happen, DJ and I went back to our options. Did we want everyone to drive to Chicago? Maybe! Did we want to have both ceremony and reception at The Barn of Barrington? Maybe! Were there any other options? Maybe!

We went to see Brasserie Jo on Hubbard Street, a restaurant owned by the executive chef of Everest. It's in an interesting neighborhood - I counted three adult bookstores within a block, in an area where you can't park for less than $20. It's gorgeous on the inside, all velvet drapes and black and white subway tile and glass walls of wine racks. And it has a reputation for great food.

(Images from Brasserie Jo.)

The sample menu they offered looked fantastic, and it was in the right price range. The even manager even offered to host the ceremony in their "winter garden" - which was just a side room, but lovely, with velvet drapes, tall windows, and an enormous fresco.

The only problem was that the private room itself had a maximum capacity of 60. 60 people, with not an inch of space left. So, no dancing, no DJ or musicians. We weren't sure. It could be a very chic wedding, with fantastic food and wine. But we weren't sure that we were actually chic people, and besides - would we miss the dancing? And what about parking? Would we hire a valet? Could our guests afford the hotels nearby? We needed more options.

Back we went to The Barn. They could host the ceremony, they said. In the same room or a different room, it was up to us. It looked like that would be the easy option, but I wasn't sure. After all, we had time to burn.