9 ceremony-only elopement venues in Chicago
Ceremony-only sites are priced for the vows and nothing else, which is the entire point of an elopement and the reason the number is so small. Every listing below is a real Chicago area site with a price published by the venue itself or in a public fee schedule, checked in August 2026. We do not publish estimates, and we do not take a cut of what you book.
- Listings
- 9
- Cheapest
- $10
- Median start
- $200
- Highest start
- $800
Cheapest is Cook County Marriage and Civil Union Court at $10. Prices last verified against their sources in August 2026.
The mix here is 4 courthouse & city hall, 3 garden & conservatory, 1 park & pavilion, 1 estate & historic home, spread across 7 cities in the metro. Filter by price tier, guest count, indoor or outdoor, and ceremony versus reception below, then open any listing to see its source link.
Cook County Marriage and Civil Union Court
$10A valid marriage or civil union license and a $10 administrative fee are required for the ceremony. Ceremonies are also available by appointment at the Skokie and Rolling Meadows courthouses.
Lake County Circuit Court Marriage Ceremony
$10$10.00 marriage fee, cash only, for a ceremony performed by a judge. Weekday ceremonies at 2:00pm at 18 N. County Street (Annex Building lower level); Saturday/Sunday ceremonies 8:45-9:00am in 1st Appearance Court (T-020). No appointment needed.
Kane County Courthouse Wedding Ceremony
$10$10 ceremony fee, cash only, paid to the Circuit Clerk when checking in. Kane County Judicial Center in St. Charles holds ceremonies at 3:30pm Monday-Thursday and the first Friday of the month; the Geneva courthouse (719 S. Batavia Ave., Bldg. B) holds ceremonies Fridays 2:00-4:00pm (excluding the first Friday).
DuPage County Courthouse Wedding Ceremony
$10 to $14The ceremony fee is $10.00, collected by the Clerk of the Circuit Court, which charges an additional $4.00 convenience fee ($14.00 total). Couples must schedule the courthouse wedding online through Wedding Ceremony Registration before obtaining the marriage license.
Fabyan Japanese Garden
$200 to $250Two-hour ceremony/photography rental slot: $200 for Kane County residents, $250 for non-residents. Available Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Chicago Park District Outdoor Wedding Ceremony Permit
$420 to $950$45 application fee plus a rental fee based on park cluster (1-3) and time frame: Cluster 1 parks $420 (2-hour) or $572 (4-hour); Cluster 2 parks $525 (2-hour) or $761 (4-hour); Cluster 3 parks $656 (2-hour) or $950 (4-hour). A $200 security deposit is also required. No food/beverage service is allowed under this ceremony-only permit.
The Morton Arboretum - Fragrance Garden
$600Fragrance Garden ceremony site: $600 flat rate for every rental period offered (Friday evening, Saturday daytime, Saturday evening, Sunday daytime, Sunday evening). Ceremony chairs are an additional $5 per chair for all outdoor venues. No indoor backup space is offered for ceremony-only bookings.
Mayslake Peabody Estate - Ceremony Only
$700 to $900Ceremony-only pricing: Portiuncula Chapel Interior (seats 49) $700; Portiuncula Chapel Rear Grounds (seats 60, May-October only) $750; Mayslake Hall Living Room or Library (seats 85) $900; Portiuncula Chapel Front Grounds (seats 120, May-October only) $900.
Wilder Park Formal Garden
From $800Wedding package starts at $800, based on a two-hour maximum. Additional chairs are $2 each. Reservation requires a signed contract and $400 deposit; full payment due 30 days before the event. Available May through October, Friday evenings and weekends.
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Tell us your date, guest count, and budget. We'll email you the Chicago venues under $5,000 that fit, each with its published price and source. We don't book or hold anything, you contact the venue yourself.
Common questions
- How much do ceremony-only elopement sites cost in Chicago?
- Across the 9 Chicago listings on this page, published starting prices run from $10 to $800, with a median starting price of $200. The cheapest is Cook County Marriage and Civil Union Court in Chicago at $10. Every figure comes from the venue's own pricing page or a public fee schedule, checked in August 2026.
- What is the cheapest of the ceremony-only elopement sites in Chicago?
- Cook County Marriage and Civil Union Court in Chicago, at $10. Rental fees do not include the marriage license, an officiant, or anything you bring in.
- Which parts of Chicago have ceremony-only elopement sites?
- The 9 listings here sit across 7 cities in the Chicago area, including Chicago, Geneva, Waukegan, Wheaton, Lisle, and Oak Brook. Some rates are lower for residents of the city or county that owns the site, so check whether a resident rate applies to you.
- Can any of these Chicago venues hold 50 or more guests?
- Yes. 3 of the 9 listings on this page publish a capacity of 50 or more. The rest are sized for smaller ceremonies, and a few courthouse and garden sites cap guests in the low single digits.
- Are these Chicago venues indoor or outdoor?
- Both. 5 of the 9 have an outdoor ceremony or reception area and 5 have indoor space. Outdoor sites almost never include a rain backup, so ask what happens to your fee if the weather turns.
- Are these prices current?
- Each listing shows the date its price was checked against the source, most recently August 2026, and links straight to that source so you can confirm it yourself. Fee schedules change, peak-season and weekend surcharges are common, and nothing here is a quote. Confirm with the venue before you book.
Places in Chicago that rent several spaces
These venues price each space separately, so what you pay depends on which one you book. Each page compares all of them side by side.
Guides that go with this list
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