Rockwell on the River — Restaurant in West Chicago Township

We had our wedding here last month and everything went really well but there were a few things that they could do better. First, when you meet with the sales person to book the place, they talk to you like the possibilities are endless. But, later when you meet with the people that will actually be setting up and running your wedding, they have a way they like to set things up and you have to push back pretty hard to get them to change anything. For example, we wanted the bar closer to the dance floor and at our walk-through they wouldn't budge on where the bar should be but finally agreed when I e-mailed later.

Also, you tour the space with the sales person when you book it and then you don't see it again until a month before your wedding when you do your final walk-through. They did a great job of answering all of my questions through e-mail as I planned but it would have been helpful to have a walk through about six months out to get a better idea of how things would be laid out so I could tell our vendors. Maybe they would have done that and we just never asked.

Another thing that was strange, is that they make you close the bar for a half hour at the end of your cocktail hour to get everyone seated for dinner. They say that people will not sit if you don't close the bar. I have been to countless weddings and have never seen this be an issue if the bar is open. People are usually ready to sit and eat after an hour of standing and drinking. But, they would not budge on this even though we would have gladly paid for that extra half hour of bar time. In the end, none of our guests said anything and it wasn't an issue but just find it strange that they are so insistent upon this.

The bar packages they are offer are good and it's really easy to work with them on this. You pick a package, tell them the number of people and they do everything else. They will also let you customize the packages. But, some of their pricing seems a little off. It's $2 per person to add champagne to the bar for the whole night but $6 per person if you want to do one champagne toast with all of your guests.

Lastly, this is not a criticism of the venue but just advice if you are considering having your wedding there. This place is HUGE and if you don't have the money to go all out on decor, it will look empty, even with 200 guests. When you book, they give a list of production companies that can hang drapes, bring in extra furniture, do lighting, all kinds of cool stuff. If you have the extra money for that, then definitely book Rockwell. They can make it look amazing. If you don't have the extra money for that, book somewhere smaller with more built-in character. We didn't have the extra 10-20K for production so we relied on flowers and candles and the fact that we had 200+ guests but it looked really empty in there. We are getting the pictures back and all I can see is how empty it looks. For this reason only, I wish we would have went with...

The most beautiful venue in Chicago! 100/10 would recommend! We were so fortunate to host our wedding at Rockwell on the River in August and it was perfect! The space is magnificent, the architectural details are a work of art, the riverside setting is magical, the management team is world class, all their preferred vendors are fantastic, and we loved every moment of our big day (and the planning process!). You will love hosting your event here!

Pictures of the space don’t even do it justice, it will take your breath away in person! The space is large and easily divisible which means that you can really make it your own. We loved the fact that our guests would be able to enjoy cocktail hour on the large patio overlooking the river. The indoor space has so much character and visual interest on its own that you don’t need much to create a really enchanting space for your event.

We were lucky to have the lovely Claire take us on our first tour of the space. She was such a delight to work with and offered us all kinds of inspiration and ideas. We also worked with the fabulous Eleanor on the finer details of our vision as we approached wedding day. She was so organized and helpful with our final walk through with our vendors!

Truly, everything about Rockwell on the River exceeded our expectations. Our friends and family compliment us on this beautiful venue all the time. And look how beautiful it turns out in pictures! You will not regret hosting your event at Rockwell on...

My wife and I got married at Rockwell on the River, and we can't speak highly enough of the overall experience! First off, the venue itself is absolutely beautiful (high ceilings, stunning wood floors, lots of space) and can also be a blank canvas for you to add decorations and customize the way you'd like - strings lights, chandeliers, etc (we had suspended floral over the beams and it was stunning). We held both our ceremony and Reception inside, and had our cocktail hour on the beautiful patio out back, right on the river. Additionally, the staff there is very organized and was extremely helpful throughout our wedding planning process, especially Eleanor. They provide a list of recommended vendors, and have a list of "approved" caterers as the space can be somewhat challenging to work in for food service. However, there are plenty of options, and our caterer from the list (Cocina Fusion) was fantastic. The venue also provides their own beverage package with plenty of add ons, different tiers to choose from, and bar staff that was very nice and helpful throughout the night! The one caveat we would add is the lack of parking - we recommend bringing in an outside valet (not expensive but obviously all $$$ adds up) for your event. Overall we highly recommend hosting your event...