Wilder Mansion

zing value for such a great space and with it being part of the park district it was very affordable and there was room for kids to get outside and run around. The staff was very friendly and made the day so easy for everyone.

remony location in the gardens is covered by a tent, so even though it drizzled the day of the wedding, we didn't have to worry about back up plans. Even better, we were able to have all of our individual and family photos in the fully covered greenhouse, so even that wasn't a cause for stress on a rainy day. The staff at the ceremony were so sweet and helpful. I would recommend this venue to anyone!

out amazing.

was gushing about how lovely it was. Meagan and Peggy were also incredibly kind and helpful throughout the process, and helped us keep things running smoothly through our special day.

nts about our venue choice from our guests. The Wilder Mansion team was outstanding as well – Meagan, Peg, and Heather. Everything was ready to go the week before, and having Peg and Heather on site to help run the evening was wonderful; they did a perfect job and the evening went flawlessly. We would highly recommend booking your wedding at the Wilder Mansion!

had to reschedule my wedding a total of 4 times. The first due to a family emergency and the other three due to covid. Wilder worked with me and never gave me any problems in making changes. The true gem of this venue is the Program Supervisor of Rentals Meagan Dividio. She is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!! She helped to make my day go off without a hitch. She was on top of everything. She answered each and every one of my hundreds of questions and never got annoyed. She really stepped up on the day of my wedding when my florist was a no show. She jumped into gear and made me a bouquet from flowers bought at the store. They day was perfect. You will not be disappointed with making the decision to go with Wilder Mansion.

intments to see the mansion whenever I needed it. I was always in the loop with Covid protocols. The day of the wedding was perfect. Megan and Peggy were for the entire wedding helping with decor, guests and making sure the day went smoothly. Our guests were blown away with the beauty of the venue. I know I will be back for another event soon. I highly highly recommend this place. The price is right and includes so much! *We also purchased a brick outside of the mansion to ensure the mansion is always apart of our lives. We can't wait to visit again soon!

They are flexible and open to different styles and preferences. Meagan was a blessing to work with and was quick to respond to every random email that was sent. Wilder saved our wedding. Highly recommend!

reception space, and centrally located. They work extremely well with several vendors throughout Chicagoland and we were so happy to hear how much vendors raved about the team at Wilder; it made the planning process a breeze! The grounds were exceptionally maintained and the venue itself is pristine-minimal decorations needed. Despite having to change our date in light of COVID, and move forward with a smaller wedding with additional precautions, Meagan ensured that our day would be everything we wanted. We can't say enough good things about Wilder and with how stressful 2020 has become, we were thankful to have worked with Meagan through it all.

iting the venue really made the decision easy. It was beautiful both for an outdoor ceremony and indoor reception. As with many couples, we ended up having to change our original plans due to COVID, and Wilder made that very easy to do. They quickly refunded all the hours we no longer would need no questions asked, which relieved a lot of stress. We still kept our ceremony in the gardens, with a very small amount of people and Meagan at Wilder Mansions was able to help us with this. She had everything set-up for us when we arrived, so we didn’t have to worry about anything, and she was instrumental in helping us with our music and zoom streaming. The ceremony would not have gone as smoothly without her. And above that she got us ice for waters since it was such a hot day! The people at Wilder Mansion are so kind and detail oriented, and you really can’t go wrong with having your big day there!

y had never been inside. We decided to check it out to see what it was like, and the minute we walked in my wife and I were sure we had found our space. When having a fall-winter wedding not in a church, it is hard to find a venue that is unique. Oftentimes brides and grooms end up in a ballroom for their ceremony and for their reception and we knew that was not what we wanted. Well we hit gold with Wilder. It provided the perfect locale for our ceremony, and when the weather decided not to cooperate and literally rained on our parade (the entire day) the inside provided just as perfect a back drop for pictures as the outside would have. We worked with a couple different folks leading up to the big day - Meagan, Heather, and Krysten - and they all were incredibly wonderful. So helpful and accommodating. It really helped ease our minds. Our day of coordinator, who also oversaw our rehearsal, was a little brash and left something to be desired. Looking back, I wish we had requested a sit down with her ahead of the rehearsal, I think we could have gotten to know each other and had an opportunity to really go over all the details and arrangements. Without that, we felt a little disconnected and at times rushed, and there were some miscommunications along the way. All in all we were very pleased with the venue and the planning process and our ceremony went off without a hitch. We would definitely recommend Wilder Mansion as the back drop to any bride and groom looking for a memorable indoor ceremony that is not in a church.

ke sure we had all the details in order before the wedding. On the day of the wedding we had Peg and Dani helping make sure everything ran smoothly, and they both did a great job helping to ensure everything went off as planned. The mansion is beautiful with so much natural decor that we didn't need to do any extreme decorating. I also think the Bride's room is the biggest perk, as my bridesmaids and I definitely used the room throughout the night! The size of the venue was perfect for my wedding, and a lot of guests commented that they liked the mansion setting versus being in a banquet hall for a reception. If you can, I recommend booking the gardens and conservatory for photos. It poured on our wedding day, and we would have been out of luck if we hadn't have booked the conservatory. Now we're able to have great pictures even though the weather wasn't the best! Book the Wilder, you won't regret it!

tell you the number of times I emailed the rental coordinator a novel full of questions big and small, and she always wrote back same day (or very quickly the next day) with sweet answers to everything. I never once felt that I was annoying anyone there. The venue itself is stunning – you can’t tape anything to the walls or use confetti or anything like that, but why would you want to when the mansion has such beauty and charm on its own? (Plus, hey, less money!). I’ll admit, I was a little unsure about the two floor layout (main floor for cocktails and the reception, top floor for dinner), and even stressed about it leading up to the wedding (including stressing about having 2 tables set in a smaller adjoining room separate from the main room)…. But I absolutely didn’t need to. The whole event flowed PERFECTLY, and the tables really aren’t that separate at all. We only had around 66 people total at our wedding and the mansion definitely felt like it was the perfect size for us (which I was also concerned about since it holds many, many more people than that!). Trust the space and the venue, it really does end up showing off for you and your guests. All in all, this venue and its staff are the best. I had slight doubts but they were totally unfounded, and everyone said that our wedding was among the most beautiful we’ve seen… and all credit for that honestly goes to the Wilder staff and our caterers, because we certainly didn’t do anything to dress up the place. 😊 Also bonus, you get 2 on-site coordinators for the day of that will help you set things up (placecards, table numbers, card boxes, etc). They even helped me with my greenery table décor when the florist had to come by before the caterers! Thank you, Wilder, for hosting our wedding, helping everything flow so perfectly and for helping me have the best day of my life. Brides, if you’re on the fence, just do it. Trust me.

the closeness to family and friends. Everyone at the mansion was helpful and knowledgeable. If I could plan my day again I would still use Wilder Mansion.

ore the wedding to walk through the final details. I made many of my decorations, and they listened to where I wanted every detail and how I wanted it to look. My husband and I were snuck upstairs when we got there on our bid day and we got a first look at the dining area upstairs. We were in awe of everything. It was just the way I imagined it to look. The ladies at the mansion set everything up for me and they made my dream come to life. Secondly, our guests LOVED the set up of the mansion. They thought it was so unique and beautiful. They enjoyed the two-floor concept and the separated rooms. Many of our guests said they could actually talk to family and friends in one room while the rest of our guests danced in the other. Everything flowed beautifully throughout the house even though there was not an open floor concept. I would highly recommend this venue to anyone. It is classy and unique all at the same time, everything I wanted and more.

love with the area, and when we found Wilder Mansion was an option, we jumped at the chance to have our ceremony there! We chose to rent the mansion itself as opposed to the garden area (which turned out for the best due to the weather!). And while we were hoping to have our ceremony out front, the weather had other plans. We moved the ceremony inside, and it was just as beautiful as we could have asked for! The staff was also a dream team of women who were quick to answer emails, calls and questions. Wilder Mansion is an amazing value for your money, and we are SO HAPPY with our day!

she was very accommodating with allowing us to take pictures inside after our ceremony took place at the on-site Wilder Park Formal Gardens. She had coordinators to keep us on schedule and moving to the next locations, which helped to elimainate any sort of headache on the day of. We also will have a brick installed in the gardens, to commemorate our union! We couldn’t be any happier with the service and accommodations received, and we cannot ever fully express our gratitude for everything you’ve done for us! Thank you so very much, from the bottom of our hearts!! -Tom and Mel

epped as backup in case it rained, given we had an outdoor wedding in the garden. It was a dream come true!

ing for our special day. The garden was absolutely beautiful for the ceremony and the mansion was so unique for the reception. The entire property had so many opportunities to take beautiful pictures. The Wilder staff were amazing! Easy to work with, responsive, and genuinely cared and wanted us to have a great wedding day. They answered all of our questions (there were a lot) and worked with us when we had to be creative with the set-up. We had about 100 people and wanted to keep everything on the first floor, Heather was so patient as we talked through our options. The day of the wedding, the staff did an amazing job decorating the Mansion the way we asked..and even made it look better than we thought! It was amazing to see everything come together. They also were amazing during the ceremony, helping our wedding party get in order, guiding our guests, etc. THANK YOU!!!

them.

or the rehearsal and the day of, Dani was on site to guide us through where to go and timing. She was a lifesaver! She kept our wedding party in line and made sure our day went as smooth as it possibly could. I really cannot compliment this place enough! The park is absolutely gorgeous and between the garden and the mansion, I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful backdrop for my wedding!

g on course so that the couple enjoys their wedding. Looking forward in working in many events to come! Thanks, Extreme Sounds Entertainment & Lighting extremesoundsent.com

at Wilder was responsive, helpful, and so overwhelmingly friendly and supportive! From our initial tour of the venue, through booking, through planning, and for the big day, the staff at Wilder were with us the whole way. We worked most closely and most often with Meagan and Heather, but several other staff members helped us on our big day. Here's what you need to know planning your wedding. The Venue: It’s absolutely beautiful! The mansion itself, the surrounding gardens, the formal garden, the conservatory… there’s not a bad place to take a picture if you tried! We wanted an old-school, romantic feel for our wedding and this was the perfect place for that. We also wanted things to still be simple, so the fact that we could have the wedding ceremony and the reception in one place made it really easy for us and for our guests. Our ceremony was in the formal garden, which is so beautiful and also secluded, so it felt very intimate. In the garden area all paths are paved, and the event area is turf, so there’s no grass to need to negotiate in heels. The garden area is covered by a nice looking tent, so no sunburn to fear. In the mansion itself there’s lots of room for guests to wander around, and the bridal suite for getting ready was perfect and was separated to help keep my groom and I apart before the ceremony. They have their own sound system that you can plug a phone/iPod into to play music, so we didn’t need a tacky DJ (another saved expense); they even recommended a music app for us! Wilder has a list of preferred vendors for catering too, so that also made the planning even simpler for us. (Catering reviews separate.) The Staff: I can’t say enough fantastic things about the staff. From start to finish, they handled so much for us I think they really helped to make our day that much more special – truly. Before the wedding Meagan was just so awesome helping me with questions so I knew exactly what I needed to do before our wedding. The team handled so much for us on our day, from setting up and tearing down our decorations, directing guests around, to helping us navigate the sound system, loading our car with the gifts, and even following up with my florist when my flowers didn’t show up on time! When the Wilder team found out my florist’s delivery vehicle broke down, they drove out to pick up the flowers to get them to my ceremony! But their efforts didn’t stop there. I wanted to start the ceremony on time without the flowers, and when the Wilder staff realized I wouldn’t have a bouquet they chopped up one of the Mansion’s floral displays and MADE a bouquet for me to carry! Believe me when I say that the staff at Wilder Mansion are a special group, and I can’t thank them enough for being just amazing people. Your wedding will be special regardless, but honestly I can say that the team at Wilder made our day even more amazing. I’m tearing up writing this because they really went above and beyond the whole time working with us. A HUGE THANK YOU to the Elmhurst Park District, Wilder Mansion, and most importantly, the amazing Wilder staff (particularly Meagan and Heather)!!! <3

I can't help but be happy that they did. We had a perfect experience at the mansion that was very special and unique. I can't imaging having had our reception anywhere but the Wilder Mansion!

f is so friendly and helpful. Our reception was an extended cocktail party (no sit-down meal) so we just rented out the first floor, which has five rooms. This provided plenty of room for our guests to walk about and mingle, but it did mean that we were only able to greet about half of our guests because we weren't able to hit every room during the four hours we were there. Even though we only rented out that first floor, the Mansion allowed us to use the second floor to get ready and take photos. The Elizabeth bridal suite is the perfect space for getting ready, and the fact that we were on the second floor meant that my groom didn't see me during our getting ready process even though he was popping in and out of the Mansion throughout the morning to make sure set-up was going well. Speaking of set-up, WIlder (along with our caterer CHOW) did ALL of the set-up and made the reception space so cozy and beautiful with very little direction from us. It was such a crazy and busy morning for me and I really appreciated the fact that they took the lead on that without burdening me with more little details. I definitely recommend booking Wilder Mansion for your wedding, but I would be wary about the month you book your wedding. We visited during the winter and early spring and the grounds were not kept up very well. Our September wedding led to gorgeous shots of the grounds, but that might not be the case for every month of the year!

uldn't wait to go see Wilder Mansion. As soon as we saw it, we fell in love and cancelled all our other appointments to go see other venues. We got married in the garden, which is so beautiful, even in October, the flowers are still in bloom! Then, we had cocktails, dinner, and dancing inside the mansion. It created a great flow moving from the garden to the first floor to the 2nd floor back to the first floor. Our guests loved it. The best part of the mansion is working with their wonderful staff. We worked most closely with Meagan and Heather, but also worked with Katie and Brian. All 4 are wonderful and made sure all details were taken care of. If you're looking for an intimate, naturally beautiful venue with a wonderful staff, I would definitely recommend Wilder Mansion!

decorating idea we wanted.

esome on the day of, making sure everything was running smoothly.

am so happy that we had our special day here!

n and uses the same staff. Overall, I loved my wedding ceremony at Wilder Park. The staff was always helpful throughout the entire planning process. I was a little annoyed when I showed up for the rehearsal and an intern was helping me--I had to keep answering questions that my previous coordinator already knew the answers to. However, it all worked out, and she was really fabulous on my wedding day. She told everyone where to go, when to be there, and basically handled everything while I was waiting for "the walk." In terms of the venue, it was everything I wanted and more. I imagined getting married outside in a beautiful garden, and that's what it was. I love the walk through the gardens. I love the tent that shades the guests. I love the archway. Everybody told me it was a beautiful place--they loved it too. After the wedding, we were allowed to roam around and take photos, meaning we took some in the garden but took some in front of the mansion too. This was the perfect site for my outdoor ceremony, and I was happy that we also had a rain alternative in the Wilder Mansion (though I'm happy we didn't have to use it!). It would have been convenient for guests if the reception was at the mansion too, but I chose not to do this because the dancing at the mansion is on a separate level than the tables--just not what I wanted. However, if you don't mind this, Wilder could be a perfect "all in one" venue. Please check this place out if you're looking for a beautiful outdoor ceremony location--you will not be disappointed.

lpful and friendly (thanks Meagan and Heather!!!). My whole wedding day went off without a hitch (except for my grandpa's cell phone ringing during the ceremony!). I looked into many mansions in the Chicago area, and the Wilder Mansion was one of the least expensive ones. Everyone that attended the wedding still praises me on picking such a gorgeous venue! I would ABSOLUTELY RECOMMEND the Wilder Mansion! You don't have to get married IN the mansion, you can do it outside or in the small chapel on the grounds. Loved it!!!!!

owed for our guests to walk around and mingle instead of sitting for a 3 hour dinner. We had a Masquerade themed wedding. People are still talking about how fun and unique it was...