Our wedding is formal/semi-formal attire. Think floor-length or cocktail dresses and suits, but don't be afraid of a pop of color! Use this as an excuse to dress up and pick an outfit you love and feel your best in : )

There is a parking lot at the church and ample free street parking on surrounding streets. For this museum, there is a parking lot one block north of the Museum near Clark and LaSalle streets at 1730 N. Stockton Drive. Please bring your ticket to the museum to have it validated by the front desk and the $11 fee will be comped.

We invite any guests to join us at District Brew Yards (our first date location) on Saturday night to catch up with friends and meet others attending the wedding! We have the North Beer Cabana on the patio reserved from 8-11pm. The couple will probably be present from 8-9:30pm but stay as long as you'd like! District Brew Yards accepts credit cards, no cash, for their collective, pour-your-own beer hall and Lillie's BBQ. There is ample free street parking around the brewery.

The ceremony is at First Presbyterian Church of River Forest (7551 Quick Avenue, River Forest, IL, 60305). The reception is at the Chicago History Museum (1601 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60614). Both venues are wheelchair accessible, please let us know if you need additional accommodations.

There will not be a shuttle, guests are responsible for getting themselves to and from the venues and hotels. If you have extra seats in your car driving from the church to the museum OR you're looking for an extra spot to get a ride, email thebells.092025@gmail.com to get access to our carpool spreadsheet!

The ceremony and reception will be indoors. At the museum, you will have the option to step out onto the patio during the reception to get a breath of fresh air. The surrounding Lincoln Park is stunning and we encourage you to catch at least a glimpse of the foliage.

The short answer is yes! However, see below for notes (especially regarding the church) and keep in mind delayed train/bus times due to it being a Sunday on Labor Day weekend in the city. For the church, take the blue line out of the city. However, you will need to get a taxi or rideshare from the blue line stop to the church as it is a 45 minute walk. The green line stop is 10 minutes from the church but we do not recommend taking the green line that far west due to safety issues, especially if dressed to attend a wedding. The Museum is easy to reach via public transportation. CTA buses 22, 36, 72, 73, 151, and 156 stop nearby. The Brown Line Sedgwick station and the Red Line Clark/Division station are approximately one half mile from the Museum.

Yes! You can watch a live stream of our wedding on First Presbyterian of River Forest's website. A private link will be posted here the month of the wedding.

Check out the "Things to Do" tab on our website for some ideas!

We will have an open beer and wine bar with assorted non-alcoholic options as well.

We'll be serving passed hors d'oeuvres at cocktail hour followed by a sit-down dinner with a choice of entree. There will be a coffee service following dinner with mini-desserts and late-night snacks during dancing!

Your presence at our wedding is the greatest gift we could ask for! If you would like to honor us to a gift, you can visit our registry to see the items or cash-funds you can contribute to. A wedding card box will be available at our reception. Click the "Registry" tab above or copy and paste this link: https://www.theknot.com/us/rebecca-carlson-and-jack-bell-aug-2025/registry

Your invitation includes the names of all invited guests and will indicate if you have a plus one or your children are invited. Please let us know if you need assistance finding a trusted individual in the area to watch your child(ren).

While we love that you want to capture our special moments, we kindly request an unplugged ceremony to allow everyone to be fully present and immersed in the experience. Our professional photographer will be capturing all the highlights, and we'll share the photos with you afterwards. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in creating a distraction-free environment for our ceremony.