Welcome BBQ

Rehearsal Dinner

The Bridgeport Art Center

Ceremony

Reception

Our Wedding

From our first date at Moe's Cantina in River North back in 2013 through 4+ years of long distance and now life on the north side of Chicago, we have always loved spending time with our people (especially after this past year!). We can't wait to host everyone in our home city for a fun weekend celebrating love!

Our Story

We recommend the following neighborhoods for hotels or Airbnbs as far as proximity to our venue and fun attractions: the Loop, River North, South Loop, Lincoln Park, or the West Loop. Please let us know if you need assistance by texting Alex or Jillian or emailing us at alexandjillian2020@gmail.com. We'd love to help you find a place to stay!

Getting here

Guests may book through the link below or call 786-594-2805 and mention the Berner/Simmons block to reserve a room. The Royal Sonesta is in River North, central to shopping, restaurants, bars, entertainment, and Lake Michigan. It is a 15-20 minute drive or Uber to our ceremony and reception venue. Reservations available until 6/30/21. https://gc.synxis.com/rez.aspx?Hotel=31867&amp;Chain=5157&amp;arrive=7%2f30%2f2021&amp;depart=8%2f2%2f2021&amp;adult=1&amp;child=0&amp;group=U94

Royal Sonesta Chicago River North

We have a block of rooms at the Marriott Marquis Chicago. Go here to book: <a href="https://book.passkey.com/e/50090736" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://book.passkey.com/e/50090736</a>. The Marriott Marquis is a 10-minute drive or Uber from our wedding ceremony and reception venue and is close to Lake Michigan, the Field Museum, Soldier Field, the Shedd Aquarium, and Northerly Island. Reservations available until 7/6/21.

Marriott Marquis Chicago

Travel and Accommodations

This is an absolute must-see for any fans of architecture (and even for those who aren't). This 1.5 hour tour takes you along both branches of the Chicago River and out to Lake Michigan by Navy Pier. It's a great way to get to know Chicago and learn about all of the history and quirk of Chicago's most famous buildings. Hosted by the Chicago Architecture Foundation, this is around $50/person but it is really worth every penny. The Foundation also has a gigantic 3-D model of the city that is worth seeing as well.

CHICAGO ARCHITECTURE FOUNDATION RIVERBOAT CRUISE

One of the better things to do in Chicago in the summer is taking a bike ride along Lake Michigan! There are some great views of the city along the lake, and you can bike up to Lincoln Park or down to Northerly Island. Divvy bike rental stations run all along the lakefront path, which stretches 20 miles both north and south of downtown. Costs around $3.30/ride and it's definitely worth it for the views and the beach!

TAKE A BIKE RIDE ON THE LAKESHORE

The Art Institute is one of the great museums in Chicago, and a must-see if you have the time. This summer they have a Monet Exhibit that's pretty renowned, and the Bisa Butler exhibit has been extended through September 6th! We would highly recommend both, and of course they have a great Impressionist wing. Additionally, the Obama exhibits by Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald will be arriving at the Art Institute on June 18, if you haven't seen them in DC yet. It's located in Millennium Park and equidistant between the two hotels.

The Art Institute of Chicago

The White Sox and Cubs are playing baseball this year! Both stadiums are easy to get to and from downtown, and while the White Sox traditionally have cheaper tickets, this year they're projected to contend in the American League and Cubs tickets might be cheaper if you go during the week. <a href="https://www.mlb.com/cubs" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Click here</a> for the Cubs schedule, and <a href="https://www.mlb.com/whitesox" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">click here</a> for the White Sox's. The Cubs will be out of town the weekend of our wedding, but they will be in town the Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday the week before. The White Sox will be in town all weekend to play the Indians. Also go Tigers!!!

CATCH A BASEBALL GAME WITH THE WHITE SOX/CUBS

Chicago is often called a neighborhood city, and during the summer there are some amazingly diverse (and free) street festivals that ring downtown. Given the COVID-19 pandemic, a final list of street and city festivals is constantly evolving, however there most likely will be five or six festivals going on this weekend. Click below to view Timeout Chicago's unofficial list of events going on this summer, with the strong caveat that this list is constantly evolving as more and more people become vaccinated.

CHICAGO STREET FESTIVALS (To be Announced)

For enjoying some great views of the city while sitting down, we're excited to report that the rooftop bar phenomenon has finally hit Chicago. A few that we would recommend would be <a href="http://www.cindysrooftop.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Cindy's</a> on Michigan Ave, <a href="https://www.thegwenchicago.com/dining/upstairs-at-the-gwen/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Upstairs at The Gwen</a> in River North, and the <a href="https://www.jparkerchicago.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">J Parker</a> in Lincoln Park. Honestly, though, you can't go wrong with any rooftop you find in the summer.

GRAB A DRINK FROM A ROOFTOP BAR

Chicago Recommendations

Hannah Berner

Mollie Berner

Jessie Berner

Tommy Simmons

Stevie Simmons

Aaron Berner

Wedding Party

Photos

Registry

Safety is our utmost concern and will be strictly enforced at our wedding. Regarding COVID-19 precautions, we will follow rules and guidelines the CDC has set forth and recommended as applicable. We strongly encourage everyone to get the COVID-19 vaccination before the wedding to maximize everyone’s safety. You can find the most up-to-date information on Chicago's reopening and current COVID guidelines here: https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/sites/covid-19/home/reopening-chicago.html

Update II

Dear Family and Friends, We hope you are doing well and are as healthy as can be in these times.&nbsp;&nbsp;With everything that has transpired over the past year, we wanted to provide a quick update as to our current wedding plans, since it has been some time since you may have heard from us.&nbsp; While we are all still in a very difficult and dangerous situation, we are very encouraged and heartened by the progress of vaccination throughout the country over the past month.&nbsp;With that progress in mind, we will be getting married on&nbsp;August 1st of this year. The health and safety of everyone&nbsp;in attendance is still&nbsp;our foremost concern, and we are taking all CDC guidelines into account as we continue the planning process. We are extremely hopeful that you all will be able to join us on that date - in person or however you feel most comfortable. The venue will remain the same (Bridgeport Arts Center in Chicago, IL), and we are&nbsp;optimistic&nbsp;that we all will be able to be together for some dancing and celebrating!&nbsp;Updates can be found on our wedding website (<a href="http://www.theknot.com/alexandjillian2020" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.theknot.com/alexandjillian2020</a>) and invitations are forthcoming. We are both happy to answer any questions or concerns you may have, so please feel free to email, text, call, or snapchat. In the meantime, please reach out if you have moved or plan to move since last spring, so that we can find you at the right address! We can't wait to see everyone as soon as we can. Until then, please stay safe, continue to mask up, and stay warm! All our love,Jillian and Alex

Dear Family and Friends,&nbsp; We hope that this update finds you and your loved ones healthy and safe. In this stressful and difficult time, we are missing all of our friends and family deeply, and hope to see each and every one of you very soon. We have spent a lot of time considering our October 2020 wedding and the conditions that may be in place during the fall and winter. Even though things are getting incrementally better on a daily basis, we believe that a wedding celebration, with many of you traveling and the dancing, celebrating, hugging, and sharing we want our wedding to include, would be an enormous and difficult hardship that we wouldn't want anyone to bear. In order to keep everyone safe, comfortable, and relaxed, we have decided to postpone our wedding, currently scheduled for October 11, 2020, to August 1, 2021. We will be in the same location, Bridgeport Arts Center in Chicago, IL, and hope that you all will be able to join us then. We'll continue to update our wedding website with further information, and encourage you to reach out to us via email, phone, or text, if you have questions or concerns. Also, if you have changed your address since earlier this year, please let us know so we can reach you in your new home.&nbsp; We can't wait to see everyone as soon as we can. Until then, please stay safe, help others in your community, and get ready to dance (we will need help) next year. With all our love,Jillian and Alex

Jillian & Alex

Jillian & Alex

Registry

Your presence, especially during this time, is more than gift enough. If you feel so inclined, we have selected some items that will help us build our home together. Thank you for thinking of us.