The bride walks down the aisle at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago.

The 12 Most Beautiful Churches in Chicago

Chicago is home to some of the most beautiful churches in America. As wedding videographers, we see these buildings differently: we know how the light falls through the stained glass at 2 PM, which aisles give the longest processional shots, and which steps make the best grand exits. Here are the twelve most beautiful churches in Chicago, starting with the ones we film most.

1. Holy Name Cathedral

The seat of the Archdiocese of Chicago and the city’s most iconic wedding church. Gothic Revival grandeur, a soaring vaulted ceiling, and front steps made for a grand exit, we have filmed everything from 50-guest ceremonies to full processions with bagpipes here.

The bride walks down the aisle at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago.
The bride walks down the aisle at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago.
Family make a blessing at Holy Name Cathedral Chicago
Family make a blessing at Holy Name Cathedral Chicago

2. St. James Chapel

Hidden inside the Archbishop Quigley Center and inspired by Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, this jewel box of stained glass may be the most cinematic ceremony space in the city. It is the church we film more than any other.

The bride and groom walk into the vintage car (Cloud 9 Limousine ) outside Saint James Chapel in Chicago.
The bride and groom walk into the vintage car outside Saint James Chapel in Chicago.
The bride and groom are making a grand exit from St James's Chapel, accompanied by cheers from their guests.
The bride and groom are making a grand exit from St James’s Chapel, accompanied by cheers from their guests.
The bride walks down the aisle with her father inside St James's Chapel in Chicago.
The bride walks down the aisle with her father inside St James’s Chapel in Chicago.

3. Saint Clement Church

Lincoln Park’s Byzantine-Romanesque masterpiece, crowned by a golden dome of mosaics that glows on film. Its front steps have hosted some of our favorite ribbon-wand exits.

The bride and groom are leaving Saint Clement Church in Chicago after the ceremony, with their guests cheering them on outside.
The bride and groom are leaving Saint Clement Church in Chicago after the ceremony, with their guests cheering them on outside.
The bride and groom are getting married inside the Saint Clement Church in Chicago.
The bride and groom are getting married inside the Saint Clement Church in Chicago.
This is an aerial view of St Clement's Church in Chicago, taken from the front.
This is an aerial view of St Clement’s Church in Chicago, taken from the front.
A vintage car waits outside Saint Clement's Church in Chicago, while guests cheer on the bride and groom.
A vintage car waits outside Saint Clement’s Church in Chicago, while guests cheer on the bride and groom.

4. Church of the Holy Family

Founded in 1857 and one of the few buildings to survive the Great Chicago Fire, Holy Family is the city’s second-oldest church, with a sense of history you can feel in every frame.

The altar view as the bride walks down the aisle at the Church of the Holy Family.
The altar view as the bride walks down the aisle at the Church of the Holy Family.
The bride and groom walk down the aisle after their ceremony at the Church of the Holy Family.
The bride and groom walk down the aisle after their ceremony at the Church of the Holy Family.
An aerial view of the Church of the Holy Family, with the city centre and the Willis Tower in the background.
An aerial view of the Church of the Holy Family, with the city centre and the Willis Tower in the background.
The flower girls walk down the aisle at the Church of the Holy Family in Chicago.
The flower girls walk down the aisle at the Church of the Holy Family in Chicago.

5. Fourth Presbyterian Church

A Gothic Revival sanctuary directly across Michigan Avenue from the Hancock tower, with a garden courtyard that offers a rare quiet portrait spot in the middle of the Magnificent Mile.

The bride and groom's recessional at the Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago.
The bride and groom’s recessional at the Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago.
The beautiful interior of the Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago.
The beautiful interior of the Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago.
The exterior of the Fourth Presbyterian Church's chapel in Chicago.
The exterior of the Fourth Presbyterian Church’s chapel in Chicago.
The bride and groom were cheered by guests as they made their grand exit from the Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago.
The bride and groom were cheered by guests as they made their grand exit from the Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago.

6. St. Michael in Old Town

Tradition says that if you can hear St. Michael’s bells, you are in Old Town. Its towering steeple and richly detailed altar anchor one of the most charming wedding neighborhoods in Chicago.

7. St. Alphonsus Church

A neo-Gothic landmark in Lakeview built by the neighborhood’s German parish in the 1890s, with an interior of painted vaults that rewards a wide lens.

8. Old St. Patrick’s Church

Built in 1856 and among the oldest public buildings in Chicago, Old St. Pat’s pairs Celtic Revival stencil work with one of the most active young wedding communities in the city.

The bride and groom made a grand exit from Old St. Patrick’s Church, cheered on by their guests.
The bride and groom made a grand exit from Old St. Patrick’s Church, cheered on by their guests.
The first kiss between the bride and groom took place at Old St. Patrick’s Church in Chicago.
The first kiss between the bride and groom took place at Old St. Patrick’s Church in Chicago.
An Irish bagpiper accompanied the bride and groom as they made their grand exit from Old St. Patrick’s Church in Chicago.
An Irish bagpiper accompanied the bride and groom as they made their grand exit from Old St. Patrick’s Church in Chicago.

9. Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral

The heart of Greek Orthodox Chicago, where the crowning ceremony and the Dance of Isaiah unfold beneath golden iconography. We film Greek weddings here with two cameras and great joy.

10. The Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii

Little Italy’s beloved shrine, an intimate Italian Renaissance interior that has hosted the neighborhood’s weddings for over a century. We filmed Amanda & Tommy’s ceremony there.

11. St. Mary of the Angels

Bucktown’s “Polish cathedral,” its Roman dome visible for miles along the Kennedy, with an interior scaled like a basilica. We have filmed two weddings beneath its dome.

12. St. John Cantius

A Baroque interior so ornate it feels transported from Kraków, and one of the most photographed church interiors in Chicago.

Honorable Mentions

Rockefeller Memorial Chapel at the University of Chicago, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unity Temple in Oak Park, Assumption Catholic Church (the 1881 Italian parish downtown), and Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Glenview. And 90 minutes east, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at Notre Dame belongs in any Midwest list.

Filming Weddings in Chicago’s Churches

Every church on this list has its own rules for videographers, its own light, and its own rhythm. We have filmed in most of them, which means we arrive knowing where to stand, when the sun hits the glass, and how to capture a full liturgy without intruding on it. Browse our wedding films to see these churches in motion.

Getting married in one of these churches? We would love to film it. Check your date →