Working with the Walk-Ins was a pleasure, and I would unreservedly recommend them as a wedding band.
About a year before my wife and I got married, I requested pricing from about... 25 wedding bands in the Chicago area (many do not publish pricing information publicly) and ultimately wound up having introductory phone calls with about 12. Of those, the Walk-Ins, which have comprised the same 4 core members for almost 20 years, were the clear best choice, with a repertoire comparable to much pricier ensembles. We also appreciated that their contract wasn’t laden with fees for things like load-in/out, emcee services, interstitial music during breaks, or ridiculous LED lighting arrangements, which seemed to be the norm among other groups I spoke with.
Joe, the bandleader, was a great point of contact throughout the planning process. He was straightforward about pricing and gave us a great sense of the group and its configuration options. We wound up adding a brass section, and Joe was proactive and helpful in confirming that our reception space, which had a unique layout, could accommodate the full group. Around 5 months prior to the wedding, my then-fiancee and I met with Joe and had a great conversation about logistics and our preferences - and he even drove all the way into the Loop to a cafe 2 blocks from my apartment, which set us at ease. Of the vendors we worked with closely, Joe was consistently one of the most accommodating and attentive.
One of the things Joe explained was his role as emcee during and after dinner. He did an outstanding job keeping the various toasts, speeches, and dances on schedule, with no lulls in energy throughout the 4-hour reception. Among the guests we’ve seen since the wedding, feedback on the band has been effusively positive.
There were a couple minor miscommunications about, for example, whether the first dance songs would be performed live or played from a recording, but to be honest, the (small, in the scheme of things) error could well have been my fault. Regardless, my wife and I would enthusiastically recommend any newly-engaged couples planning a wedding reception reach out to the Walk-Ins - they’ll elevate your big day to an event your guests remember for years.