300+ guest capacity
This venue can host 300+ guests
About this vendor
Located inside an award-winning skyscraper from acclaimed architect Jeanne Gang, our event facilities provide a unique setting for your wedding—from the undulating, wave-like facade and modern interior design to a location in the heart of Chicago minutes from Lake Michigan, the Magnificent Mile, and the Loop.
Elevating your happily ever after is what we do best—that’s why our team of experts works together to ensure that your wedding is unforgettable, from the overall design to a customized catering menu.
You bring something old, new, and borrowed, and we’ll take care of the Something Blu!
Amenities + details
Ceremony Area
Dressing Room
Handicap Accessible
Indoor Event Space
On-Site Accommodations
Outdoor Event Space
Reception Area
Wireless Internet
Covered Outdoors Space
Liability Insurance
Ceremony Types
- Civil Union
- Commitment Ceremony
- Elopement
- Interfaith Ceremony
- Non-Religious Ceremony
- Religious Ceremony
Guest Capacity
- 300+
Settings
- Ballroom
- Hotel
- Restaurant
- Rooftop
Venue Service Offerings
- Bar & Drinks
- Cakes & Desserts
- Other Desserts
- Food & Catering
- Planning
- Se Habla Español
Reviews
Your trust is our goal. Our community relies on honest reviews to help you make those big decisions with ease.
4
out of 5.012 reviews
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Just had our wedding on 5/25/24 and Kim was absolutely amazing to work with! From the planning to execution everything came out perfectly! Food was excellent and we got a lot of compliments from our guests. We really loved seeing her on our wedding day as she recently was on medical leave.
We just had our wedding here on September 24 and cannot say enough good things about our experience! The food was fantastic, Michael and his staff were so flexible and accommodating of everything we asked for. So much was included with their package which is a huge plus. The space was perfect for our larger wedding. So updated and modern compared to other hotel ballrooms. Absolutely would recommend having your wedding here!
I cannot rave enough about the Radisson Blu as a wedding venue!! We knew from the beginning that the hotel and its ballroom would be a sleek and beautiful venue, but we were BLOWN AWAY by the service we received from every staff member every step of the way!
The catering manager, Rosie was warm, responsive and accommodating. The tasting she arranged was beautiful, and she went above and beyond in arranging for us to taste an alternative white wine on a different afternoon, with a complimentary meat & cheese tray. While this might have been a small touch, it exemplifies the graciousness we experienced from the hotel and its staff during every phase of the planning and execution of the wedding.
The banquet manager, Frank, instilled confidence that he would personally make sure that every detail of the wedding was perfect, and he was solicitous of us and any possible need we might have the entire weekend!
And, from the moment we arrived on Friday afternoon, the front desk and all the bellmen were friendly and incredibly helpful.
The food at the wedding was delicious. We received so many unexpected compliments on the "moistness" of the chicken, the impeccable dinner service (the entire table was served all at once), and that the main course was served hot! (Quite a feat for 200 guests!)
The facilities at the hotel are amazing! We were given presidential suites for the wedding party to use to get dressed, and the Red Sea/Black Sea rooms were a spacious and fun hospitality suite that our guests enjoyed all weekend. The huge fitness center and basketball court was an added bonus that the bridal party made good use of during the weekend.
Bottom line - We were could not have been happier with our experience at the hotel. The staff is AMAZING, the hotel is BEAUTIFUL, and the wedding was FANTASTIC! You couldn't possible ask for anything more.
I do not know where to begin to thank you the staff of the Radisson Blu for everything they have did for my family, my husband, and me in regards to my wedding. Every guest raved about how beautiful hotel the hotel is: the breathtaking lobby and hotel rooms, the kindness and helpfulness of the hotel staff, the delicious food (Chef Leah is the best), the beautiful ambience of the hotel and the ballroom, and so on! Everyone at the Radisson who helped plan my wedding helped make my husband's and my wedding day dreams come true. This hotel deserves more than 5 stars!
There was a little chaos for my husband and I while we were in transit from the church we had our mass to the hotel. Saying we were a bit more stressed than we needed to be on our wedding day is an understatement. However, the moment I walked through the Radisson's doors and Rosie, the Senior Catering Sales Manager/hotel coordinator, greeted me, she assured me that everything was in her hands and the night was going to go off perfectly, which it did! As my bridal party and I were taking pictures in the Presidential Suite before the cocktail hour, Rosie even sent one of her staff up to the room with two of Shane's and my favorite cocktails, a Manhattan severed properly, a bottle of expensive champagne for my bridal party, and some snacks to remind us to sit back and relax as Rosie ran the show. In that moment, I knew I made decision having my wedding at the Radisson and truly let go of my stress to enjoy my day. :)
From the setup of the room, the drinks, the food, the desserts, the staff at the reception, everything was absolutely perfect! Rosie and her team made my wedding feel like we were at a J Gatsby party. The food and drinks were flowing and everyone was enjoying themselves. I do not need to go on and on about my wedding day and why you should have your wedding at the Radisson. If you are contemplating it, just do it. You will not regret it. I promise you. It was the best decision in regards to my wedding day. My parents have had my older sister's wedding there, my wedding there, and they are already planning for sister number 3's wedding to be there! The Radisson treated us like family, and having an event there is truly one hell of an experience. We love the Radisson!
Love,
The O'Mara and Durkin Family
We had our wedding at the Radisson Blu Aqua in the Atlantic Ballroom back in March and had the most amazing experience with the venue and working with their team. We worked with Ali leading up to the wedding and she was always super responsive, positive and helped quickly and easily resolve any questions or issues that arose during our planning process. They were also really accommodating of different requests or ideas we had for our big day. The food at our reception was absolutely outstanding – the main chef and team there totally blew us and our guests away with the dinner courses as well as the late night sliders (that turned out to be really clutch). The team of servers/bartenders/crew on the night of our reception was absolutely amazing. My husband and I felt totally spoiled by the attention they gave us – I know it was our wedding day but we felt like we were really treated like royalty during our entire stay and especially at the reception. The ballroom looked amazing and is simple enough that you can transform the space to fit whatever your wedding or event vision may be. The location of the hotel was perfect for our guests who were primarily coming from out of town – close to touristy destinations and lots of good dining options and the rooms were really nice with great views. And that bridal suite! All I can say about that is “WOW!” We loved every second of our wedding weekend at the Radisson Blu Aqua and would highly recommend to anyone currently exploring event venues.
We had our wedding at the Radisson Blu a few weeks ago and could not have asked for a more perfect venue. We worked primarily with Anita, and she was amazing. She was always responsive to our emails and questions, remembered all of our detailed requests, and we had so much fun with her at every event! The rest of the Radisson Blu staff was amazing as well - the head waiter, all the banquet waiters, every single valet and hotel staff member was so unbelievably nice to us and our guests all weekend. The food, setup, specialty cocktails...everything was perfect and we got lots of compliments from our guests. We would 100% have our wedding there over and over again and highly recommend contacting Anita!
I had been communicating w/ Anita (the planner on site) for about a week- discussed w/her my preferred dates. She had informed me that 10/21 was available (initially on hold but not contracted yet). We had made a plan to see the space a week later (even though I had tried to see it earlier in the week). After a busy day of venue hunting we arrived at the Radisson Blu on time- informed concierge that we had been there to meet Anita and then proceeded to wait another 15min for her to arrive (15 min after our meeting time). Then we toured the space and I repeatedly asked her what the date availability is- she says "she wasn't sure but lets look at the hotel rooms". I told her this is all a waste of time if our date wasn't available. She then checked and said our preferred date was gone. I had told her it would have been nice if she had emailed us before our appt to let us know that our date was not available. She said that we never reconfirmed our meeting today so she didn't think we were serious. I honestly was extremely disappointed w/ this venue and saddened as it was a top contender. If you can work w/ someone more professional and organized here that would be ideal.
I'm a big believer in promise-keeping, and I was delighted to discover that every promise that Deniz, catering sales staff, made to us was kept. The ballroom was beautiful, the food was great, the service was exceptional. All of our family and friends loved staying at the Blu, too. Deniz was responsive to emails and showed up the day and evening of the wedding and made sure that we were pleased. We are very happy to recommend the Blu.
The Radisson Blu hosted our dream wedding last weekend. Every last detail was perfect - the whole weekend was seamless. The modern ballroom was exactly what we wanted for our contemporary, elegant vision and the service was impeccable. There was not a single hiccup all weekend. The transition from ceremony to happy hour to reception was fast and easy, and the service at every moment was flawless. Drinks were flowing, the food was incredible and our every need was catered to. We couldn't have asked for a better venue or team!!
We had our daughter's wedding at the Radisson Blu. The venue was outstanding. The room is one of the nicest in Chicago. Floor to ceiling windows, beautiful chandeliers, large dance floor. The catering manger, Deniz, was great and very accommodating, as well everyone at the hotel. Management attended our tasting and when we arrived at the hotel they also made themselves available.
I would give the Radisson Blu my highest recommendation. We were extremely pleased with hotel, the people, service and food.
Sadly, I had a similar experience as the previous reviewer in that weeks of reaching out to them went unreturned and only once I wrote a formal complaint did I receive a phone call. Much too little, much too late.
We were interested in viewing the Radisson Blu Aqua’s ballrooms for an upcoming wedding. I contacted the staff a few weeks prior to our departure (did I mention we were flying from Los Angeles) and despite my numerous e-mails and phone calls over the next few weeks, NO ONE replied back to schedule a time for us to view the ballrooms.
Moreover, when I called the day before and the day of to see why no one scheduled, we received no explanation for the lack of communication nor was any attempt made to rectify it. I was left a voicemail stating that while no wedding coordinator was available that someone from the staff could unlock the rooms for us if we still wanted to see them. "Unlock the rooms," despite the fact that we flew from Los Angeles, e-mailed for two weeks and called, no one on their staff could be bothered to meet with us. Seeing as weddings are such huge revenue generators, that's a bold move in this economy.
Based on my interactions, my impression of the hotel is that it has a disorganized, disinterested and cavalier sales and catering staff.
I will happily take my money elsewhere since out of the 9 hotels we visited over our stay in Chicago, Radisson Blu Aqua was the only one that gave us poor service.
I contacted the Radisson Blu as a potential option for my wedding venue for Ceremony and Reception. The Catering Manager was receptive at first, but soon became difficult to reach. After we finally found a time to look at the space, we were extremely impressed with the venue. We were told our date was available and we immediately let the manager know we were extremely interested and just needed a few questions answered. The next day I emailed my questions and at this point this is when she disappeared. I called and left voicemails and heard nothing back for almost a week. At that point, she answered my questions but would get back to me in regards to one of them the next day. I had told her that the Blu was basically our first choice venue and we wanted to book - but again, I heard nothing back for almost a week. At that point, I emailed her supervisor - and only then did she call me back. When she called me back she told me my date was gone (we had two specific dates we needed for a few reasons) and they were unwilling to work with us on pricing and basically sold different events on our dates without any regard to us or courtesy call.
I work in the events industry and could not believe the run-around we were given because they preferred to book a different piece of business. That was unprofessional and I would have been impressed if they had at least given us a courtesy call. Instead, the way this was handled, has turned me off from this property and hotel completely and I would not suggest anyone book here. Just to note, we were not having a small wedding - we were expecting 300 people plus a large room block and a brunch the next day. Although they do have a nice product, they need a little work on their sales tactic and customer service.
Contact
221 N Columbus Dr, Chicago, IL
Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel, Chicago
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