Please RSVP by August 1, 2024, so that we can get an accurate headcount! For your convenience, all our RSVPs will be done online here.
Yes! Both the ceremony and reception will be at the Charles Gates Dawes House in Evanston, IL (225 Greenwood St, Evanston, IL 60201).
We’ll celebrate Maria and Mel’s love in an interfaith, multicultural ceremony before enjoying a buffet dinner and dancing the evening away, all in one beautifully restored historic home!
We’ll be starting the ceremony at 5 PM sharp – so PLEASE endeavor to arrive between 15 and 30 minutes early! If the ceremony has already begun by the time you arrive, the doors will be closed – but the ceremony will be short, and you’ll be able to enter during cocktail hour!
We have reserved hotel blocks at the Hilton Orrington and at the Hilton Garden Inn North Shore. Please use our Acommodations page to book your rooms by August 1, 2024!
Please check your invitation for information about +1s! Due to the size of our venue and the constraints on events there, we have to keep the guest list to those named on envelopes.
Our wedding and reception are both child-free zones! The Dawes House is full of priceless historical objects (it’s a working museum when it’s not hosting the wedding of the century), so we ask that even adult guests refrain from touching the art! If you are traveling with children, they are more than welcome at Friday night drinks at The Graduate and at Monday morning brunch (location TBA).
On September 1st, Chicago will just be thinking about entering autumn. We recommend checking the forecast closer to the wedding – recent averages for that weekend are in the low 70s, with highs in the 80s and lows in the 60s. Although we’re keeping our fingers crossed for cloudless skies, please also note that rain is always possible – the ceremony will be inside, but the reception is inside AND outside. Finally, don’t forget the Lake Effect – our venue is steps away from beautiful Lake Michigan, and the wind from the lake can make evenings quite chilly!
On the day of the wedding, there will be limited, paid parking available along Sheridan Road. We will also be arranging transportation from the hotels to the venue; both hotels are within walking distance from the Dawes House (a 16-minute, 0.7-mile walk from the Hilton Orrington and a 22-minute, 1.0-mile walk from the Hilton Garden Inn North Shore), but you may prefer to take the transportation, especially after the reception.
Our buffet dinner will be catered by the incomparable Psistaria Greek Taverna in Niles, IL! There will be vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options available.
And to our fellow lactose-intolerant friends… yes, we will be providing Lactaid ;-)
Open! Please drink responsibly and use the provided transportation or a rideshare if you chose to partake.
Please do NOT wear anything white! Please also avoid dark green and dark brown – if you wear one of those two colors (the wedding parties’ colors), you will surely be put to work by one of the brides or by our wedding coordinator.
We’ve specified cocktail attire on the invitation – so please no shorts, flip-flops, or t-shirts. Heels are definitely not necessary, and if you choose to wear them, please note that the reception will be partially outdoors on grass when deciding on your footwear!
Any outfit you’ve been saving, waiting for an opportunity to wear, but it’s too fancy/formal/flouncy for a normal day? As long as it doesn’t contradict the question above (what NOT to wear), we’re excited to see your best looks!
For more information, check out our Dress Code page.
Yes! Please reach out in advance to our wedding coordinator, Liz Staniszewski, with specific accessibility requirements or questions.
There is a single-stall bathroom on the first floor of the Dawes House, as well as an additional single-stall bathroom on the second floor. All bathrooms are gender inclusive.
During the ceremony, we would love if everyone could remain phone-free. Our incredible photographer, Lindsay Tullar of Redwood + Sage Photo, will be capturing each and every moment!
During the reception, feel free to take photos, videos, and copious selfies. We’ll also have some old-school disposable cameras out for extra fun!
As two millennials-slash-Gen-Z’ers, of course we had to have a wedding hashtag. Please tag your Instagram posts with #mariamel24 so we can find all the fabulous snapshots after the special day!