We always stay at The Hudson Hotel on W. 58th. Love it, a convenient location as well as the fact that the accomodations are immaculate. The food in the "Hall" is wonderful. Don't know if you are traveling with children, but if so, your children will be hard pressed to balk at any menu in the Hall. Of course, you want to hit some of the great restaurants in the city, but you can get a great meal in the hotel if you choose. We usually always eat breakfast in the Hall, and have eaten dinner when we've been out shopping all day, or arrive late and without reservations for dinner outside of the hotel. The Hudson is across the street from the Time Warner Center which houses lots of shopping on the first and second floors. A short walk from Central Park as well. Not a bargain hotel for sure, but you are going to pay more $$ for any hotel in the city at the time of year you are traveling. A don't miss is the unveiling of the large department store holiday windows. They are usually revealed around Thanksgiving. Not on the bed bug list! Here is a link that might be useful: The Hudson

I was discussing this thread with my 80 yo Mum. She said back in the day people knew enough to response and it was on their own stationary. She was shocked the first time she received an invitation with a response card. Seemed like a slap in the face, like she wouldn't know enough to rsvp. But nowadays, it's hard to get anyone to rsvp to anything. So whatever works - email, response card, smoke signal. I do use the response card but always add my own handwritten comment. The handwritten notes & rsvp cards with comments were such a treat to open when I got married so I always pay it forward, so to speak. Some brides probably thing "whatever, how many will be attending?". I don't think of myself as very sentimental but I did save a few wedding invitations that I found special for various reasons. It still makes me happy to see them when I come across them. It seems sad to think that by the time my 4 yo niece will be marrying I might be informed by text.

I did basically the opposite of wp luann, I did all my ceilings palladian blue, except for one very small bathroom that I did the walls and ceilings all the same color (a light heathery periwinkle). Fortunately it goes with all my walls, which are fairly muted for the most part. We decided to do this because we stayed in a great little boutique hotel in Chicago last summer that had blue ceilings and we loved it, so we call it "chicago hotel ceiling blue".

Some other hotel ideas that would be about 20-25 min walk from Soldier Field are the W Hotel on Adams, the Club Quarters on Adams, the Hotel Blake on Congress is another, about 15-20 min walk. These are all a bit smaller and a few extra minutes walk. My only concern about the McCormick Place Hyatt mentioned above is that it's in the opposite direction from the Loop. You could always try the Trump...it would be a good walk. If you keep striking out, I can keep offering suggestions. I'm in downtown Chicago every day. The hotel with the higher floor lobby is the Ritz which is connected to Water Tower Place. The lobby is on the 12th flr.