Walden Chicago


All-inclusive venue

The venue takes care of it all - food and beverage, rentals, the works!

Full wedding (ceremony and reception) pricing

Starting at $25,000

Guest capacity

Up to 275 seated guests


About this venue

Walden Chicago offers a blend of urban charm and modern elegance in the heart of the city. The venue’s spacious layout with high ceilings and exposed brick walls creates a unique atmosphere for any wedding. Guests appreciate the attentive staff and customizable options that cater to various wedding styles. The outdoor courtyard adds a special touch, perfect for ceremonies and cocktail hours. With its prime location and exceptional service, Walden Chicago is an ideal choice for couples seeking a memorable and stylish celebration.

Best of Zola 2024
Best of Zola 2023

Our event spaces

First Floor - Cocktail and Reception

A space that wows your guests at every phase of your event!

Our first floor is the crown jewel of Walden! As soon as you cross the entrance to the reception and cocktail space you are immediately greeted to versatile room that feels both cozy and spacious at the same time. We decided to white wash the original brick to bring in a light and airy feel to contrast with the industrial floors and ceilings. We fell in love with the original ceilings of the building and opted to keep them as is!!

Guest capacity

Up to 275 Seated

Up to 350 Standing

Square footage

9,000

Ideal for

Wedding ceremony, Wedding reception, Rehearsal dinner, Wedding shower, Engagement party, Welcome party, After party, Farewell brunch, Couples luncheon, Baraat, Cocktail hour

Guests often feel this space is

“Luxurious and chic”

Included in this room:

- Dimmers for up and down lighting - 60 ft bar - High tops & lounge furniture for cocktail hour - In-house speaker system - Mother's room - Men and women's restrooms -Coat check - Designated Vendor area - Track curtain to change the layout of the space we see fit!

Second Floor - Ceremony Space

Bright and fresh ceremony room bordered by large windows on both sides

As soon as you step into the room, you can immediately envision yourself walking down the aisle towards our organic feature wall. This space has retained the original building's brick coloring which is balanced out by the neutral wood-tones of our floors and the walls of the bar. Windows facing East and West promises beautiful natural lighting for as long as the Sun is up. For our winter weddings, we dim the lighting to ensure your space is intimate and romantic as you would like.

Guest capacity

Up to 250 Seated

Up to 250 Standing

Square footage

6,000

Ideal for

Wedding ceremony, Wedding reception, Rehearsal dinner, Wedding shower, Engagement party, Welcome party, After party, Farewell brunch, Couples luncheon, Baraat, Cocktail hour

Guests often feel this space is

“Surprised and delighted”

Included in this room:

- Dimmers for track lighting and light feature that is near the bar - 15 ft bar for welcome drinks and cocktail hour - men and women restrooms - Spacious Bridal suite with Hair & Makeup stations and full bath - Feature wall for ceremony backdrop - In-house speakers

First Floor - Cocktail and Reception

A space that wows your guests at every phase of your event!

Our first floor is the crown jewel of Walden! As soon as you cross the entrance to the reception and cocktail space you are immediately greeted to versatile room that feels both cozy and spacious at the same time. We decided to white wash the original brick to bring in a light and airy feel to contrast with the industrial floors and ceilings. We fell in love with the original ceilings of the building and opted to keep them as is!!

Guest capacity

Up to 275 Seated

Up to 350 Standing

Square footage

9,000

Ideal for

Wedding ceremony, Wedding reception, Rehearsal dinner, Wedding shower, Engagement party, Welcome party, After party, Farewell brunch, Couples luncheon, Baraat, Cocktail hour

Guests often feel this space is

“Luxurious and chic”

Included in this room:

- Dimmers for up and down lighting - 60 ft bar - High tops & lounge furniture for cocktail hour - In-house speaker system - Mother's room - Men and women's restrooms -Coat check - Designated Vendor area - Track curtain to change the layout of the space we see fit!


Available services that can be provided by Walden Chicago

Services & amenities

  • Bar services
  • Catering services
  • Clean up
  • Dressing room / Bridal Suite
  • Event coordinator
  • Event rentals
  • Event staff
  • Lighting/Sound
  • Pet friendly
  • Service staff
  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Wifi

Transportation & access

  • Self parking - free
  • Valet - paid
  • Wheelchair accessible

Rentals

  • Barware
  • China
  • Glassware
  • Linens
  • Sound / AV
  • Standard Chairs

Walden Chicago menu options


Reviews

Write a review

5.0 out of 5

25 reviews

Write a review
  • 5 star experience

    Verified review
    Allie M.Dec 13

    Where do I start?? Walden is the most perfect venue - from full scale planning support throughout the wedding planning process, to blowing everyone away with 5-star service and quality drinks/food/space on the wedding day, I have no better venue to recommend you get married. Our planners, Ally, Briscel and Kalila, were truly AMAZING. They each went above and beyond to make sure we, as the bride and groom, felt cared for, celebrated and felt zero stress on the wedding day. This team thinks of everything, even bringing apps and drinks to the bride and groom for their private cocktail hour after the ceremony to ensure they get a taste of what their guests are experiencing downstairs. Every vendor we booked spoke so highly of the Walden team, and I truly couldn’t recommend Walden enough for your wedding venue!

  • Chicago "Destination" Wedding

    Verified review
    Melissa and D.Dec 5, 2024

    Our experience with Walden, Krystle and Ally was amazing. From the very start they made it so easy to plan our dream destination wedding. It was magical. The Walden team is very organized and helped us stay on top of things. They were very accommodating and made us feel comfortable every step of the way. The food and drinks were incredible - everything was delicious and the portions were huge! 95% of our wedding guests do not live in Chicago, including us, and we have had so much feedback from our family and friends about how much they loved the entire wedding. From decision making to day-of, Krystle and Ally were there for us and answered any questions we had. I would 10000% recommend this venue to everyone looking.

  • No one even compares

    Verified review
    Arianna M.Nov 27, 2024

    I don’t even know where to begin. As a former wedding photographer I found Walden while shooting a wedding years ago and was blown away by the space and service. When we got engaged they were the first venue I contacted for a tour and every single step along the way has reaffirmed that there’s no team I would rather have for our wedding. Maria, the owner was so fantastic for the first walk through and all of the communication was thorough and quick. Matt, the bar manager was phenomenal and everyone raved about our welcome and signature drinks. He worked with us to come up with exactly what we wanted and they tasted phenomenal. Forever in love with our fall welcome drink and my Prickly Pear Mojito. Nick, the co-owner and head chef was SO prompt with his responses and the food was to die for. As a former wedding vendor I know wedding food is typically sub par and that was 90% of my deciding factor for where we booked. EVERYTHING is amazing. He even worked with us to do items off the menu with our request to bring in some of our culture. Loved every second of it and was so sad when I had to accept we’re done with their cooking. The service team, literally all of them from start to finish were the most exceptional people I’ve encountered. So thorough, caring, and attentive. Never did I have to wait or wonder where anything was or what was happening next. They checked on us non stop and were always ready with another drink or hors d'oeuvre. Truly exceptional. Finally, to our two amazing planners. I don’t have the words. Krystle and Alyssa MADE our day, week, year. Always ready to provide input, be a sounding board, and go the extra mile. Plus, they have incredible taste in music and hometowns lol. Just speechless with you two. All of our gratitude and love forever. All in all just absolutely exceptional. We are so sad our day is over but have been raving about you every minute since it started and will be for years to come. Everyone has been floored with the beauty you all created. THANK YOU! Lots of love, The Zdravev’s

  • In love with Walden!!! Don't think, just book!

    Verified review
    Alex D.Nov 12, 2024

    We could not have been happier with our decision to get married at Walden! From the moment we booked our date, the planning process was made seamless and actually enjoyable thanks to the incredible built-in planning team, Kalila and Ally. Having coordinators included in the cost of the venue was such a valuable bonus, and they truly made all the difference. Kalila and Ally were there with us every step of the way, staying on top of every detail for our 18-month engagement/wedding planning journey. They reached out to vendors, followed up on our behalf when needed, and offered spot-on recommendations that perfectly suited our vision and budget. Their guidance and expertise helped us make the best choices, and their input kept us calm and organized. On top of their professionalism, they were so down-to-earth and fun to work with, bringing energy and laughter to every planning session and making the entire experience even more memorable. One of the highlights was the collaborative online planning tool we had access to as part of booking Walden. It kept everything organized in one place, allowing us to easily stay in touch with our planners, track tasks, and manage finances and contracts. It was loaded with helpful resources, making planning a breeze. Walden provided us with much more than a beautiful venue. They gave us an incredible planning experience and an amazing team that felt like family by the time the wedding arrived. The entire wedding party and all the family members who were there the entire day of the wedding had nothing but amazing things to say too...they were all shocked at how much support we had throughout the entire day to the point where we did not have to lift a finger. And don't even get us started on the food and bar...we've never been complimented more in our lives. We were shocked at how insanely good the food and drinks were at our tasting party months before the wedding, but we were curious if it would live up to the hype on our actual wedding day where we had 216 guests. It might've been even better on our wedding day! Guests were raving about our food and drinks. We were told by nearly every guest that it was the best food they've ever had at a wedding, bar none. We even had sober people come up to us and go on and on about how amazing even the mocktails were. The only thing we regret is being too excited and not having enough of an appetite to truly enjoy dinner as the bride and groom. But even so, our planning team made sure the servers packaged up our entrees so we could take them home a few days later when we came back to the venue to pick up our belongings. Honestly, there are a million other reasons why we'd recommend Walden for your wedding venue, but this is already getting to be too long of a review. Basically, if you’re looking for an all-inclusive venue where you’re genuinely taken care of every step of the way, we cannot recommend Walden highly enough! Thank you, Kalila and Ally, the entire bar/service staff, and truly just everyone at Walden for helping make our wedding day everything we dreamed of and more! P.S. - Make sure you get golden hour photos on the rooftop at Walden...we are soooo delighted with our photos from up there.