Walden - Chicago, Illinois

Emily C.

We had our wedding here in November, and I cannot recommend this venue enough. It truly is a one-stop shop! From the moment we signed our contract until the last guest departed, the planning team guided us through every step, ensuring a seamless experience. They coordinated all our outside vendors—hair, makeup, DJ, photography, and more—so that on our wedding day, we could simply show up and enjoy without any stress. We customized our menu, with fresh, on-site catering that our guests absolutely loved, and the cocktail selection was exceptional. The entire staff was incredible to work with, and I can’t imagine having celebrated our wedding anywhere else in the city!

Anna M.

We got married at the Walden in October and had a great time working with the Walden and our planners, Kalila and Ally. They use a project management app so it’s easy to keep track of your timeline and to-dos. It comes with catering and a full bar. They have cocktails on draft in addition to the signature cocktails, which guests loved. The food was also great. On my wedding day, I didn’t have to think about anything except showing up. They coordinated with all the other vendors and helped set everything up, steamed our dresses, set up breakfast and lunch while we were getting ready. Everything ran so smoothly. The space is beautiful and has a large suite that my bridesmaids and I got ready in. The roof made for the perfect spot for our first look and sunset photos after the ceremony.

Elise K.

Words cannot express how grateful my husband and I are for choosing Walden for our wedding. From our tour day 1, through the planning process, to the wedding day, the team was incredible in all aspects and we can’t thank them enough. We were so fortunate to work with Hannah and Alyssa- they were attentive to detail, patient, communicative and so down to earth. They made the planning process a breeze and enjoyable. The day of the wedding was completely stressfree which made me relaxed as a bride and truly able to enjoy the day. The facilities are immaculate from the ceremony space, to the getting ready room, to cocktail hour/dinner space and the rooftop where we had sunset pictures. Our friends and family keep raving about the amazing food and service. In addition, they were blown away by our room reveal. Our wedding was beyond our wildest dreams and we cannot recommend the Walden enough for making it possible!

Shirley Z.

100% would recommend Walden for a stress-free wedding experience!!! We knew Walden was our venue when we read about their full-service wedding packages including planners, kitchen/bar all under one roof. After we toured the venue, we could not wait to have our wedding here!

Our main planners were Hannah and Briscel, and we had the pleasure of a 3rd planner, Ally with a last-minute day-of staffing change. Hannah and Briscel took the stress out of wedding planning, keeping us on track with every detail and vendor. Ally made sure the wedding day ran seamlessly. One of the best things we loved about working with the planners was their recommendations for local vendors (floral, DJ, photography etc.). Their assistance contacting and coordinating calls/quotes from vendors was also a huge help. Every possible detail regarding the wedding was accounted for, so we were certain nothing would be missed along the way.

Now for the fun part, our wedding day was absolutely perfect and better than we ever dreamt. The coordinators kept us on schedule and sent an itinerary in advance, so everyone knew where to be and what was coming up next. They handled all of the communication with vendors and all the little details, so we could fully be present on our wedding day. We did not have any moments of stress, or panic, and was rarely asked any questions or to do any tasks. The Walden team set everything up for us from the welcome sign to the memorial table and of course the gorgeous reception room. It’s like suddenly we got teleported into our Pinterest vision board!

A big shout out to Nick and Matt, the kitchen and bar staff. They were absolutely amazing! The drinks were awesome, the bartenders could make any drink guests wanted including mocktails. The food was incredible, so many guests complimented on how delicious their meals were. We also really appreciated their accommodations for various food restrictions and preferences.

Overall, the Walden staff has truly thought of everything. They made the very daunting task of planning a wedding much more manageable, and made the whole day that much more special. Could not think of a better venue in the area for folks planning a wedding!!

Audrey S.

I've shot two weddings recently at Walden and each time it was a smooth and enjoyable experience! Kalila was an amazing planner, she's the perfect mix of detail oriented, organized, professional yet also super friendly, hilarious, and fun to be around. The space makes every wedding look fantastic! Overall just a lot of ease. Would recommend this venue to anyone!

Gina M.

1,000,000 stars! When searching for a venue, as soon as I saw all the things the Walden came with, the beautiful event space, and read about their approach, I was done; I knew this would be the place and the team for our wedding.

Words can’t be put to describe how thankful my husband and I were for this stellar team. I worked mostly with Hannah (lead planner) and Ally. Hannah was always a source of brainstorming, support, and execution. We had a tighter budget around certain things like florals, she led me in the right direction to have a more affordable option that still looked amazing. When a bakery provided a bummer experience, she was my knight in shining armor to give them feedback and help figure out another option. The day of…I cannot imagine enjoying the day without her expertise. Hannah was a freaking champ. She made sure every person was in the right place at the right time, coordinated vendors, family, wedding party, first looks, making sure we ate and got time alone, etc. She literally gave me her own fresh water when I was parched. As a bride, I was able to just experience the day, take it all in, without worrying “will everything fall into place” because she and the team made certain it would.

Ally is a bright light and creative mastermind. I had a ton of decor that was more DIY (candles, vases, picture frames and boards, memory table items, greenery garlands, etc) and she turned it into a dream. Emails would get responded to in lightning speed and anytime I needed to be in touch with a vendor, BOOM, done.

The entire staff was so kind, it felt like they were just as excited as our guests. The food and drinks were out of this world. The bartenders and servers crushed it; guests still talk about how fast they got drinks and how dang god their cocktails were. Even the security guys felt like the protective older brothers.

All of my vendors gushed over the site and team. The DJ had a great experience with setting up and having all the space he needed. The makeup and hair teams were blown away by the bridal suite area to get us all ready.

My husband comes from a huge family and we had about 200 guests in total. I never had any added stress with those numbers because the Walden team were on top of it all.

The venue was perfection. Plenty of clean bathrooms, bars, dance floor, seating, and rooms. We got ready there, ceremony, pictures, cocktail hour, reception… all of it on a wintery February Friday.

I don’t know how people have weddings without this team and venue. The day got to be all about my husband and I’s love, we both got to be fully present from the moment we set foot the day of, and I’m forever grateful for that priceless gift.

If I could give any bride advice, it would be book your venue here. It’s not just a beautiful space, but the team and all the come to the table with is immeasurable; it was the greatest choice we could’ve made aside from marrying each other 😉

Kaitlyn S.

We hosted our wedding at Walden a week ago and cannot recommend enough! 10/10!

From the very start, our planning team (Krystle and Alyssa) were so helpful. They kept us on top of tasks, recommended incredible vendors and handled those communications, and helped conceptualize our vision. We used a project management app called Basecamp that kept us organized. On the day of, Alyssa, Briscel and Jessica were incredible - we truly felt no stress and knew everything was in trusted hands!! They were such a well oiled machine and the day was seamless!

Shout out to Nick & Matt and the rest of the catering team as well! The food and drink was incredible!! The tasting was a highlight of wedding planning and we received so many compliments on the food & drinks from our guests.

We are SO happy we chose Walden as our venue. One of the best decisions we could have made - we’re so grateful!!

Taylor R.

We used Walden as our venue for our wedding two weeks ago and I truly cannot say enough amazing things about our experience!! Our "dream team" of planners Krystle and Alyssa (although truly I think all of the planners at Walden are probably the dream team) made everything throughout the whole 18 month process of planning a wedding such a breeze. A full service planner was not something I had thought about having for the wedding until I found out that Walden included them in the venue rental and now I can't imagine planning a wedding without them! Their expertise, incredibly positive attitude, and organizational skills made all of the stressful parts of planning fun. The catering and bar team are also incredible - so many of our guests complimented the food ("best wedding food I've ever had" was said more than a few times) and the bar (there was never a line, which is the first time I've ever experienced that for a 120+ person event)! They worked with us to really bring our vision to life and were so flexible when we made special requests to make our day more personal. Truly I could write 1,000 words about how amazing the entire Walden team is but trust me when I say that if you want to alleviate as much stress as possible out of the wedding planning process then this is the venue for you!!!