We had our wedding at Union on 9/30 and there were things that we absolutely loved about our experience and things that were furstrating.
Pros:
- 24 hour rental. This was HUGE. The... other venues we looked at nickel-and-dimed you to death for more time... Union please never change this because it is so unique and SO helpful!!
- BYOB. Although, yes, you have to pay Union for the non-alcoholic bar setup, bringing our own alcohol was still cheaper than any package we could find at any venue. The bartenders were very friendly and did a great job only opening one bottle at a time so we were able to return what was unopened.
- Flexibility. Union advertises themself as a blank canvas and they lived up to this! They were not only accommodating to our ideas, but supportive as well in terms of decor, layout, etc.
- Sales tax was included in their prices!! This seems so small, but when you're paying thousands for a venue, it adds up.
Cons:
- Communication. This was by far the #1 frustration throughout the whole wedding planning process. I had to follow up on almost every email I sent to our client concierge... even during wedding week, I didn't get replies to emails. Additionally, there were some small details that varied between our brochure, versus what was told to us during the tour, versus what was told to us by our client concierge. Luckily it wasn't anything major, but just annoying to clarify.
Lastly, I would've given Union 4/5 stars up until the situation that happened the day after our wedding. We packed everything (every. single. thing.) up the night of the wedding and left it by the back door to the alleyway so my parents could drive up, load their cars, and leave the next morning. My mom got a text from a girl from Union at 8:30ish. My mom told her that her and my dad would be there around 9:30/9:45 to pick up our stuff and the girl told my mom that was perfect. Union states you have until 10 AM the day after your event to load out. My mom showed up at 9:35 and the back door was locked. While she was knocking, Madison called my mom but my mom didn't answer because she was at the back door and her phone was in her car. Because my mom didn't answer on the FIRST ring, Madison called me AND my husband the MORNING AFTER OUR WEDDING and woke us up?! Wtf?! Who calls the bride and groom the morning after the wedding??? My mom's call log said Madison called her once at 9:36, then Madison called me and my husband at 9:37. We didn't answer so she called my mom again and my mom had gotten back in her car and picked up the phone when Madison called again at 9:39. Madison called us but never called our day-of coordinator? Madison was extremely disrespectful on the phone when talking to my mom and was telling her that she needed to get our stuff, there were people coming in, we had so much stuff to pick up, etc. Meanwhile, my mom is on the phone telling her the she is literally standing outside trying to get her things but that she can't get in. I was appalled at how unprofessional the whole situation was. Our things were completely out of the way of any cleaning and setting up that needed to be done. If you say we have until 10 AM, then don't berate us for not being there at 9:30- which is ironic because my parents WERE there, but couldn't get in. The situation really left a sour taste in our mouth.