Walden — Local services in West Chicago Township

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...

We had the pleasure of having our wedding at Walden on 11.12.23 and if you find yourself here reading this review—DO. IT.

My husband and I first heard of Walden before we were even engaged and after hearing the co-founder of Half Acre (shout out to our fav brewery) was opening up a wedding venue. Even then, we knew when the time came, we would absolutely be checking it out. And we did! And it was way more than what we ever could have imagined.

From start to finish, we always felt like we were amonst friends. Every person working here is SO friendly. We had a couple switches with wedding planners, and landed with Krystle, who I was supposed to have a 30 minutes soon call with that turned into an hour and a half just of us absolutely hitting it off. What I was really impressed by was that behind the scenes they decided to pair us with Krystle because they felt like she would be a better fit for us. It felt so good knowing our event was really being analyzed and looked after, and Krystle was, indeed, a fantastic fit for us.

Walden uses a project management app for seemless planning that kept us in contact and on track. It was really easy to use and reference back to when I wasn't sure what we should be working on. We picked some of our vendors on our own, but they had amazing recommendations for whichever vendor you need. We found our DJ through Walden and we LOVED him! It was also so worth it for us to have catering and planning included, and really contributed to the ease of planning and the actual day of.

The actual day of the wedding, it was hard to ignore how much of a well oiled machine this team runs. Every transition ran so smoothly, and we truly felt the care they put into our wedding. The planning team is so committed to making sure your day goes just as planned and every detail is how you want it. Every accomodation that we needed or wanted the day of, they made sure we got it and then some. They made it so easy to just be present and enjoy this special day of ours. We had a private last dance in the ceremony space and our closing planner lit candles on the window ledges, without us asking, just to make it more special for us. That alone speaks deeply to me that we just weren't another event to them, that we weren't just a number. They put this level of thought and care into everything they do. The food and cocktails were absolutely incredible and the tasting party pre-wedding is SO fun.

Walden truly made our wedding day the best day of our life, and if we could go back and do it all again we would pick Walden every single time. This truly does not scratch the surface of how invaluable this experience was. I've already convinced one couple to get married here and I will continue to sing the highest praises of them to any newly...

We got married in March 2025 and let me tell you - Walden is worth every cent. We had looked at a couple locations in the Chicago area, like the Old Post Office, Bridgeport Art Center, and Rockwell on the River, some very beautiful locations however for us it was an easy decision on The Walden. The location was accessible and easy, the venue was gorgeous and dramatic and highly customizable, the planning team was knowledgeable beyond words, and the amenities were top notch. But the part that made the investment so worth it, were the intangibles.

Every person in our lives who got married always told us the same thing “your day flies by, enjoy every minute you can.” And that was the intangible that The Walden provided. The Walden provided a day for us to soak up every minute, every detail, every happy moment, without a worry in the world. Our coordinators and planners, shoutout to Alyssa, Kalila and Hannah, for helping us plan the most fun day ever. They made planning so easy and bearable. They strategically spaced out all the To Dos so it was not overwhelming and truly made planning so much fun. I always joked with friends and family that wedding planning was the easiest part of my 2024-2025 year. During the day of our wedding I did not worry about a SINGLE thing. We had a coordinator and planner throughout the entire event, who knew every detail, where every vendor needed to be, when they needed to arrive, who needed to be where and the list goes on. My husband and I were able to soak up all the happy vibes the whole day. We both got to soak up the morning with our people, enjoy every laugh and joke throughout the whole day. When it was time for our 1st look, we had the ability to live in that moment and truly enjoyed getting married that day. We both were able to soak up each other’s time as well as spending it with our guests. Every second, every detail, was carried out exactly how me and my husband envisioned it. They brought our vision to life.

The intangibles that The Walden provided for me and my husband and our entire wedding is what makes them unlike the other venues. Their team truly cares about you, your vision, your wants, your happiness and everything that comes with your day. Their team was so professional, so precise, so deliberate and just a well oiled machine. They really know what they are doing. The most valuable thing they provided was allowing my husband and I to enjoy our day together and with our people, knowing that our vision was going to be carried out exactly how we hoped.

Also side note, the FOOD and DRINK were 20/10. We still get comments today about how delicious their food was and how GOOD their...