The Basics

/

The wedding ceremony will be held at the beautiful Humboldt Park Formal Gardens. We lived in Logan Square for five years, and regularly spent our Saturdays walking or biking through the park and enjoying its verdant paths and, in particular, the redolent Formal Gardens. Guests are encouraged to arrive early and explore.

The ceremony will begin promptly at 5:30pm, and will be officiated by the Honorable Robert E. Senechalle, Jr. Please note that this will be an outdoor event, although contingency plans have been made in case of uncooperative weather.

The wedding reception will take place at the Logan Square Auditorium, a historic ballroom located immediately above Lula Cafe, one of our favorite brunch spots in the city. Cocktail hour will begin at 6:00pm and dinner -- a Mexican buffet from  Carnitas Don Rafa -- starts at 7:00pm. But far more importantly, and consistent with our most notable shared passion, dinner will also feature a singular array of wines from around the world (well, France mostly). The music doesn't stop until 12:45am, so bring your dancing shoes.

Logistics & Transportation

/

Look around for exact locations. Please click on a marker for more details. Scroll down for more info.

The Formal Gardens in Humboldt Park are located just north of Division Street and just west of Sacramento Blvd. / Humboldt Dr. (name changes at Division), at approximately 1300 N Sacramento. Public parking is available at the Boat House, located across Sacramento Blvd. and just north of the gardens (near 1401 N Sacramento). Parking is also available on Luis Munoz Marin Dr., the curved street encircling the park.

Logan Square Auditorium is located at 2539 N Kedzie in Chicago, just a couple hundred feet from the Logan Square stop on the Blue Line. Parking is also available at the First Midwest Bank parking lot around the corner from the venue, near 2580 N Linden. 

A shuttle bus will be available to transport guests between the reception hall and the ceremony site. It will leave at 4:45pm from the First Midwest Bank parking lot. The drop-off / pick-up spot will be the Boat House parking lot, so guests should still have ample time for a leisurely stroll through the park prior to the ceremony. Guests can sign up for the shuttle when they RSVP.

Out-of-Towners

/

We greatly appreciate that many of you are taking the time to travel to Chicago so that you may share this special day with us. If you need any information please don't hesitate to reach out to us. Chicago is a very busy and fun place in September: head to Wrigley to see the Cubs play the Cards, visit the MCA for the S, M, L, XL exhibit, or swing by Wicker Park for the Renegade Craft Fair. After all, this will be the last official weekend of summer!

We've made arrangements for accommodations at the following places:

Longman & Eagle / 2657 N Kedzie / 773-276-7110 / kelly@longmanandeagle.com

A Michelin-stared restaurant with an Inn upstairs. It is located on Logan Square, directly across the street from the reception hall. The Inn has six rooms priced $95-$200 per night + tax. Rumor has it that if you book a room, they might let you reserve a table at the restaurant, which otherwise does not take reservations. When contacting them, please indicate that you're reserving for the Piwinski-Carraher wedding. Rooms will be held until two weeks before the wedding. For those rooming together, note that the in-room bathrooms have glass doors.

Club Quarters / 111 W Adams / 203-905-2100/ Click to Reserve

Located directly in the Loop in downtown Chicago and near train lines for both O'Hare and Midway airports (and the reception hall). A block of Standard Rooms has been reserved and is available for $187 per night + tax. When calling please indicate that you are making a reservation for the Piwinski-Carraher wedding and provide group code PCW918. Rooms will be held until August 18. Afterwards, the discount will still apply but availability cannot be guaranteed. If staying here, get to the wedding by taking the Blue Line towards O'Hare and getting off at Logan Square, then catching the wedding shuttle to the ceremony.

Honeymoon

/

We have always had a travel dilemma: Patryk's desire to travel the whole world vs. Tim's desire to just live in France. Years ago, we reached a delicate, if natural, compromise: Yes, we could keep traveling back to France, but at least every other trip abroad had to be to somewhere else. Well, our last trip together was to Poland, so...

Tim is getting his dream Honeymoon! But to make it Pat's dream Honeymoon too, we're focusing our trip on French wine country: two full weeks in Burgundy, Bordeaux, and a few of our favorites in between. When else can you zip down to Voiron to spy on the monks making Green Chartreuse? Or take a detour to Gigondas? Or dine at Paul Bocuse's namesake restaurant? (Chef Gusteau in Ratatouille is based on his life.)

But before we leave, we hope you all can join us in celebrating our big day -- and let's take a glass together!