I was quite surprised by the opening post. I wondered if I had been out of Chicago that long that all the wedding halls had closed. (I also thought the Concord was the expensive place to which you referred. I always thought of K.I.N.S. as the affordable one.)
I’ve been to several beautiful weddings at K.I.N.S. I’ve been to beautiful weddings at B’nei Ruven and F.R.E.E. I’ve been to several beautiful weddings in a lot of different hotels. I was even at a wedding at the White Eagle, although why someone would want to get married in a place with Polish paintings all over the place is beyond me. But I’ll bet it was not expensive.
Did you call a caterer? A lot of times they know of places off the beaten track that are more affordable.