Playful Field Museum Wedding with Beautiful Details

Taylor and Rishan really leaned into non-traditional, personality-driven fun for their Field Museum wedding. They live in Seattle but met here in Chicago. Their wedding weekend was a combination homecoming and celebration of their relationship. I documented the weekend with timeless, joyful photos that feel true to Taylor and Rishan.

Here’s what you’ll find in this blog post:

Wedding guests gather for cocktail hour on the steps of the Field Museum Chicago.

A Field Museum Wedding

A Field Museum wedding is a great way to give your guests an unforgettable Chicago experience. This natural history museum has an amazing collection of dinosaur skeletons and fossils. Who doesn’t want to have their first dance beneath a dino skeleton suspended from the ceiling? Between the stunning building and impressive collections, you get the best of the elegant and playful on your wedding day.

A bride poses for a Chicago wedding photographer in her home.
Wooden chairs sit on a patio for a backyard wedding.
A groom in a purple wedding suit blows bubbles in a backyard.
A bride's father walks her down the aisle as a child blows bubbles.

The building itself is incredible. It opened to the public in 1921, and it has all the columns, bass relief, and open space you could hope for out of a Neoclassical building from the era. Stanley Field Hall, where most wedding receptions take place, accounts for half an acre of floor space. Needless to say, there’s plenty of room for dinner, dancing, and pretty much anything you could imagine at your reception.

A bride and groom clink glasses during a backyard wedding ceremony in Chicago.
Family members watch a backyard wedding ceremony in Chicago.
A groom helps a bride put on a gold necklace.
A bride and groom pose with champagne glasses at a Chicago wedding.

Quick facts about a Field Museum wedding:

  • Venue type: Indoor/outdoor

  • Location: Museum Campus, Near South Side

  • Capacity: 1,000 guests (Yep! You read that right.)

  • Starting cost: $22,000

Fancy donuts sit in a box with the Firecakes Donuts logo.
Wedding guests in running clothes pose for a group photo.
A woman in a bridal suit poses with a colorful wedding bouquet.
A bride looks at a Chicago wedding photographer from behind her bouquet.

The spaces you can use for your Field Museum wedding include

  • Terrace: You can have an indoor or outdoor ceremony at the Field Museum. The outdoor spaces are gorgeous. Brick terraces surround lawns and little gardens. You get incredible views of the Chicago skyline, too.

  • Rice Native Gardens: In the summertime, consider holding cocktail hour amid the native plants and contemporary sculptures in the gardens. The museum is home to over 100 species of native plants, including some selected to attract butterflies and other pollinators.

  • Stanley Field Hall: Many of the weddings you’ll see, including this one, have receptions in Stanley Field Hall. It’s spacious and elegant.

A groom hugs his brother.
A bride and groom have a first look on a staircase in a Chicago hotel.
A bride and groom kiss on a crosswalk in front of the Wrigley Building in Chicago.
A bride and groom pose with family members on the steps at a Field Museum wedding.

A Playful Wedding Weekend

A Field Museum wedding was perfect for Taylor and Rishan. Before their wedding, they shared this with me:

“We are child free but live our lives as if childhood lasts a lifetime. We are very close with our family and each other's family. The whole weekend is Field trip-themed, but we are personally really leaning into the dinosaurs."

Guests arrive at a Field Museum wedding.
Wedding guests gather on a terrace at the Field Museum with the Chicago skyline in the background.
Family members shake hands during cocktail hour.
Guests drink cocktails on a terrace at a Field Museum wedding.

As you can tell, Taylor and Rishan are super fun humans. Taylor’s sarcasm is the perfect match for Rishan’s silliness. 

Wedding guests pose on the steps of a Field Museum wedding in Chicago.
Wedding guests in colorful dresses laugh.
A groom drums with the Chicago Bucket Boys.
A bride greets a guest at cocktail hour during a Field Museum wedding.

To kick off the long wedding weekend, Taylor and Rishan held a family-only ceremony on Thursday. The backyard ceremony was sweet, heartfelt, and intimate. It was a really nice balance to the big party at the Field Museum later in the weekend.

Colorful florals decorate a staircase at a Field Museum wedding in Chicago.
Flowers and colorful linens decorate reception tables in Stanley Field Hall at a Field Museum wedding.
Fruit and flowers decorate a reception table at a Field Museum wedding.
Flowers and fruit decorate a table with colorful napkins at a Field Museum wedding.

The rest of the weekend included Field trip-inspired activities. They even started their wedding day with an optional morning run along the lakefront! Everyone enjoyed Firecakes Donuts at the end.

Wedding guests sit at reception tables beside elephants at a Field Museum wedding.
A woman in a pink dress gives a speech at the foot of the stairs at a Field Museum wedding.
A bride sits in a chair laughing during speeches at a Field Museum wedding.
A groom sings on a stage with a dinosaur skeleton above him in the Field Museum Chicago.

Beautiful Details for a Distinctly Chicago Celebration

For this Field Museum wedding reception, Taylor and Rishan’s guests showed up looking their best. They wore fashionable clothes in bright colors that complimented the elegant neutrals of the architecture. 

A bride dances with her father.
A groom dances with his mother.
Wedding guests cheer during a wedding reception at the Field Museum.
A bride and groom perform a choreographed dance.

The Field trip theme continued with guests arriving at the reception in a school bus. It set such a fun tone for the night! Guests also enjoyed having free range of the Field Museum’s exhibits during the reception.

A bride and groom kiss in front of a wedding band in the Field Museum.
Wedding guests explore the exhibits in the Field Museum.
A bride and groom cut into a tiered wedding cake.

Cocktail hour was a very Chicago experience. Everyone sipped cocktails on the museum steps. Then Taylor and Rishan had the Chicago Bucket Boys play. Rishan even joined them. Guests absolutely loved it.

Wedding guests hold hands and dance in a circle.
A groom dances with friends.
A bride and groom laugh while they dance at their Field Museum wedding in Chicago.

Choosing Your Chicago Wedding Photographer

Are you looking for a Chicago wedding photographer to document the playful, sweet moments at your celebration? That’s where I come in! I’m AJ, a photographer who translates connections and moments into timeless photos. Inquire with me here!






Thank you to the amazing team that helped make this wedding so special.

Planning: BURST Events Co.

Photography: AJ Abelman Photography 

Venue: Field Museum

Floral: Southside Blooms

Linen: BBJ LaTavola

Catering: Blue Plate Chicago

Band: Funktastic Productions

Hair and Makeup Artist: Fearless & Bella

WeddingsAJ AbelmanChicago wedding venue