Wedding Venue Spotlight - Wedding Guide: WildmanBT in Chicago, IL
As a Chicago wedding coordinator and planner that has done over 100 weddings, we see a lot of wedding venues in Chicago and the Chicago area. We know all of the best wedding venues as far as service, cost, and experience based off of our time working weddings. In our opinion, Wildman BT of Chicago is truly one of the best Chicago wedding venues in the area for so many reasons.
Photo: Mary Mathis Photography
The Space
One thing that makes Wildman BT one of our favorite venues is how large it is. You can really host the best party of the year with how much space they have, and because it is split with their large curtain it’s easy to host both your ceremony and reception here even if you do have a large guest count. Their capacity is 300 guests for the ceremony or “presentation seating” for more corporate events, 400 guests for a seated dinner, or 500 guests for a cocktail-style reception. We have worked many weddings here that have guest counts at about 250 guests and it is comfortable and still has a seamless room flip because of how they utilize the space here. It’s also helpful that it is a pretty blank canvas that you can dress up or down however you’d like and it still looks beautiful. Some of the signature items that they have that we love are the velvet, blue curtain that separates the space and also provides an elegant pop of color, tons of natural light, the private lounge furniture that is easy to use for your cocktail hour and for areas close to the dance floor for those that want to hang out instead of be on their feet, and unique, dimmable lighting fixtures that are really a statement of the space and really great for any lighting any time of day.
The floor plan itself can be flexible, but they have great suggestions for what other couples have done to make sure the flow is as smooth as possible from start to finish.
We also love the location - it’s in the beautiful city of Chicago, but it’s tucked away in between West Town, Humboldt Park, and East Garfield Park, which means there is a lot less hustle and bustle than many of the other Chicago wedding venues.
Photo: Unabridged Photography
About Wildman BT
Wildman BT was established in 1914 as “Wildman Boiler & Tank”. It comes with the original, beautiful architecture but it was renovated in 202o with modern technology and features. Many couples are looking for Chicago wedding venues that offer the loft-style of warm, exposed brick, tall ceilings, and blank canvases to be able to design as they please with as much or as little detail as possible. The space is 12,000 square feet that was used for a lot of production studio needs and has offered itself for weddings and other events for years.
Wildman BT has a preferred catering list that they recommend you choose from - however, if you would like to book someone off of their list, you can do so by providing the venue with the information they need as well as an additional fee. They are also BYOB, which means that you can order your alcohol from vendors like Garfield’s or Prestige to have the caterers serve it for a lower cost too!
PHoto: Crane’s wedding photography
Flow
Working weddings at Wildman BT is always a breeze because of how well-thought-out the space is as a whole and how it is broken down into parts. First thing in the morning, there are multiple entry points for vendors with lots of equipment that doesn’t disrupt the wedding party or guests as they arrive through their garage instead of the front door. When the wedding party arrives to either freshen up, get ready for photos, or hide out for their ceremony, they are able to head upstairs to the wedding suite - it’s incredibly spacious and the perfect place to store personal items away, and it even has a bathroom so you don’t have to go downstairs to be seen by guests if you don’t want to.
Access typically begins at 12pm, then as your guests arrive, they can go to the dedicated space for the ceremony. Typically, the curtains are mostly closed to make the space sizing feel best, and then when the ceremony is getting started there are no distractions. Once the ceremony is over, the guests are ushered to the opposite side of the space for the room flip to begin if you’re having your ceremony onsite. If not, then your reception can already be set and ready in the opposite side for your cocktail hour. We love that blue curtain to make the room flip run as smoothly as possible!
When the cocktail hour ends, all of the curtains are opened for guests to find their seats and have a grand reveal of the dinner space. We love seeing how much your guests love the reveal too! After dinner concludes, your guests are usually asked back into the “cocktail hour space” for formal dances and open dancing - your guests though can hang out in any part of the building to get away from the music and sit at their seats or dance the night away! The receptions typically end at 12am and then vendors have until 1:30am to load out. Overall, the flow of the weddings here is absolutely perfect in our opinion, and we have seen a lot of events as wedding coordinators and planners!
Photo: Unabridged Photography
Amenities
There are so many perks of the space that we love, but here is a list of the things that come with the space that we really do appreciate:
250 wooden cross back chairs
30 66” round tables
10 8’ rectangular dinner tables
6 6’ rectangular tables, usually for DJs, card box, etc.
10 highboy cocktail tables
1 half moon sweetheart table
2 7’ gallery table, sometimes used for head tables or dessert
1 9’ gallery table, sometimes used for head tables or dessert
Massive projector that you can have with personalized details like a welcome message/sign, seating chart, or dance floor decor that you didn’t even need to bring with you to set the tone for the night!
Wifi
Drive-in load-in bay for vendors
Drive-in parking lot with complimentary valet for up to 60 guest cars and more valet options as needed
Separate catering prep kitchen
Coat check room
Private lounge seating
Marble bar
Access indoors for food trucks
Venue manager onsite
Restroom attendants
Security onsite
There are also other upgrades available that are unique to this space, such as a mobile bar, uplighting and other lighting services, or earlier access to the space if you plan to utilize the private wedding suite before 12pm.
Photo: Classic Photographers
Pricing
As of December 10, 2025, it is listed at $11,000-13,000 for peak season pricing depending on the day of the week or $9,000-10,000 for off-season pricing depending on the day of the week. They do have a wedding package brochure available on their website that will outline all of the information you would need as well as current pricing as well.
We love that Wildman BT has an updated pop-up on their website that lists their current availability too - it makes it a lot easier for you while you are venue searching to know if it’s going to work for you! For the most up-to-date pricing and availability, we definitely recommend checking out their website directly here.
Photo: Unabridged Photography
As a wedding coordinator and planner, we go to a lot of venue tours and have worked in countless kinds of spaces. If you’re looking for something that is more unique, great at managing the flow, and has so many perks, Wildman BT is the perfect place to start! We recommend this space to any couple that is looking to have their large guest count in a Chicago wedding venue, and we can’t wait to be back again ourselves! You can get in contact directly with Wildman BT by emailing them at info@wildmanbt.com or calling them at 312-248-2828.
Need help wedding planning?
We have plenty of experience in this venue and all over the Chicago area. Reach out for our day-of coordination or planning services below!
