Joy Morton (of Morton Salt) founded the Arboretum in 1922 with the motto "plant trees." A hundred years of that has produced 1,700 acres of living collection around the historic Morton family residence at Thornhill. Two wedding packages run here: the Ginkgo Room overlooking Meadow Lake, and Thornhill with ceremony in the Founder's Room and dinner in the Arbor Room.
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Ginkgo And Thornhill
The Arboretum sells weddings as two structured packages rather than a menu of open sites. The Ginkgo Package uses the Ginkgo Room (up to 270 guests) with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Meadow Lake, a private terrace, and a modern interior that transitions cleanly from ceremony through dinner and dancing; the cocktail hour lives in Orientation Hall. The Thornhill Package uses the former Morton family home as the base, ceremony in the Founder's Room, cocktail reception in the foyer, dinner in the Arbor Room.
Thornhill is the historic option: smaller scale, period detail, rooms with views directly onto Arboretum gardens and woodlands. Ginkgo is the contemporary option: bigger, lakefront, capable of the 250-guest counts that Thornhill cannot hold. Ensemble choice depends more on which package you pick than on guest count alone.
Project String Quartet is founded by Rebecca Hamilton, a conservatory-trained violinist with 200+ Midwest weddings and a 5.0 Google rating. The ensemble brings both classical repertoire and Bridgerton-style pop arrangements to ceremony, cocktail, and dinner sets. See the full music library or build your playlist before you get in touch. For venues across the wider area, visit the Naperville string quartet page or the Chicago string quartet hub. Planning a garden ceremony soundtrack? The complete guide to wedding ceremony music covers the essentials.
Package Notes
Floor-to-ceiling windows on the Meadow Lake side mean a bright room with short reverb. We set up along the solid interior wall opposite the glass, and play with slightly more sustain to compensate for the dry acoustic. The private terrace extends the ceremony area when weather cooperates, but the primary acoustic job stays inside.
The historic Morton residence layout (Founder's Room for ceremony, foyer for cocktails, Arbor Room for dinner) means we relocate three times over the course of the evening, a different rhythm than most single-room weddings. We stage a compact setup per room rather than hauling gear across the house.
Both packages run on an Arboretum timeline, with strict vendor load-in windows, defined routing, and restrictions around the collection. We confirm the BEO times a week out and arrive in the exact slot designated, which is not negotiable given the living-museum context.
Tell us whether you're planning Ginkgo or Thornhill and we'll recommend the right size on the spot.
Get a RecommendationEnsemble Fit
Violin + Cello
Fits a very small Thornhill-scale ceremony under 50 guests, or a cocktail-hour subset. Under-scaled for the Ginkgo package.
Request QuoteViolin, Violin + Cello
The right match for the Thornhill package across Founder's Room, foyer, and Arbor Room. Three voices suit the intimate historic rooms and make the three-location-per-evening setup easier than a full quartet.
Request Quote2 Violins + Viola + Cello
The call for Ginkgo Package weddings at typical 200-to-270-guest counts. The Ginkgo Room's short reverb and larger scale both ask for four-voice density; the quartet carries cleanly through ceremony, dinner, and dancing.
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Tell us about your event at the Morton Arboretum and we'll send a personalized quote.
Send the date and flag which package (Ginkgo or Thornhill). The ensemble recommendation shifts meaningfully between them.
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