Unity Temple

Our wedding day at Unity Temple was absolutely perfect! I wouldn't have changed a single detail. From start to finish, the experience was seamless. The service (with a minister referred by Unity Temple) was lovely, the logistics were so easy (thanks Joan!), and the setting was gorgeous (in person and in photos).

Place is gorgeous FLW and UNESCO world heritage site and top 150 architecturally significant buildings. Recently completed $40 million renovation. Thus, there are insurance requirements to protect this site. Staff were responsive and easy to work with. Great area and Oak Park is very cute. Lots of parking close by and Austin Gardens is a short walk for outdoor pictures.

My now-husband and I dreamed of Unity as the backdrop to our wedding for years—so much so that we waited for the restoration to finish to get married!! I worked with Five Grain Events, specifically Joan (the owner) for over a year working out the details of the day. She was responsive, kind and professional the entire process, and at one point when our reception venue went out of business (don’t get me started) Joan suggested a few options for my numbers. This was way outside of her role at Unity--she is a professional wedding planner so any such advice would normally come with a fee. Although we found something on our own, I still remember this as such a kindness when I needed it the most. Truths about Unity 1. It’s a busy place! It is an active congregation, it’s a site for Frank Lloyd Wright Tours, they hold concerts, fund raisers, lectures, and events regularly. Don’t expect that you are the only thing going on (or the most important thing for that matter) in this space. What that means-- you have to schedule your visits, walk-throughs, rehearsals, etc. and keep to schedule. 2. Five Grains Events does all the wedding business. They are professional wedding planners, so the staff at Unity is not going to be your main contact. 3. Its historic! What that means for you— a. certain things are not allowed, dropping flower petals (real or fake), moving things (pews, tables, etc), and anything that could cause damage (red wine, adhesive tape, etc). b. You must get an insurance policy for the day. This covers you and your guests from liability if something goes wrong. Most venues these days will request this. If they don’t you should do it independently just to cover yourself and that one uncle that might trip over something... Weddingwire is easy, fast, and reasonable. Your vendors will have to get it too—if for some reason your vendors don’t have insurance, then you should probably not be working with them! 4. It’s a Unitarian Church. Unitarians are incredibly welcoming of other faith and traditions. It was really important to me that my father (an ordained minister) and my friend do the ceremony, they welcomed this with open arms even though we are not Unitarian. I also wanted my brother to play piano, which was not a problem. You can work with the staff at Unity to assist you with the ceremony, but unlike many churches they don’t require it. Thank you, Unity! I did however use their AV staff, and it was seamless. 5. IT IS WORTH IT. It is worth it, it is worth it. It really is. Weddings are crazy, you need a professional sometimes! I did not hire a wedding planner, it was so incredibly helpful to have Joan orchestrate the timing of the wedding party and keep everyone on task. She’s a great problem solver—2 examples—1. I wanted both my parents to walk me down the aisle, but since the pews don’t move, we couldn’t fit three people across. Joan suggested I walk alone right behind my parents (something often done in Jewish traditions) and it was perfect, and probably better for the photographs too! 2. During the wedding my great Aunt left her walker in the way of where the flower girls were going to exit, my mom whispers it to Joan as they start to walk. Joan immediately jumped up and moved it out of the way. If you love Unity Temple do it! Just understand that it’s a historic place, be flexible, and enjoy your wedding! Thank you Joan! Thank you Unity!

We had a spectacular experience working with Joan and her team to hold our wedding and reception at Unity Temple in October of 2018. (Since the building is a historic treasure, the church itself doesn't deal with bookings for weddings, it's done through a third party organization, Five Grain Events.) They were fantastic to work with and I couldn't find even a constructive criticism to make. I knew they would have staff on site during the rehearsal, wedding, and reception, but the jaw-dropping surprise was that, rather than sort of glancing at their watches and waiting for us to be done and get out of there, they actively helped: they helped to set up the rental tables, they helped us figure out what should go where, and Joan (the owner of Five Grain Events) helped to run the rehearsal and make sure that we were thinking about the things that we didn't even think about thinking about. They were very responsive via email and text message, and were patient and kind when they had to poke me about stuff that I was supposed to have sent in but forgot about. I didn't have a wedding coordinator or anything -- it was just me and my partner -- so I really appreciated the above-and-beyond support (logistical and otherwise) that the Five Grain Events team provided us. I'm really a little misty thinking about it: I can't think of a time when I felt more supported and cared about by people who, at the end of the day, are "just doing their job." And the venue itself: GORGEOUS, obviously -- and also just absolutely ideal. My brother, god love him, said to my Dad "I'm really looking forward to the wedding, of course, but -- shhh don't tell Melissa -- I'm even more excited about seeing the building. " Ahhh brothers. <3 But I can't blame him: everyone, from locals to out-of-towners from CA and CO and everything inbetween, were just agog about it. When you're getting married you feel pretty special; but when you get married THERE, you feel like some level of royalty. The list of vendors that UT had for us to choose from was extremely helpful as well, as -- again -- I was starting from square one and had no idea what I was doing. We had a morning wedding [WHICH I SUPER HIGHLY RECOMMEND because I was on my couch by 5pm, but that's a topic for another day], and we had pastries from one of their approved pastry vendors; I brought in the goods for mimosas & had them slung by Oak Park licensed bartenders [Do make sure that you are mindful of the timeline for getting your one-day liquor license from OP, else they'll slap you with a $100 rush fee, sigh]... and every guest had just a lovely time. Oh! And the cost!! Listen, y'all, I had a wedding in Chicagoland and the total cost for everything (venue. dress. alterations. invitations. champagne. pastries. musician. officiant. photographer. linens and table rental. flowers. website. postage. reception with alcohol and food for 150 guests.) was less than $10k. This is a crazy-reasonable price and I can't shut up about it. And at Unity Temple!!! I'm just so happy with how it all turned out; I could not be more pleased with how Unity Temple, Five Grain Events, and everyone involved on their end handled everything. :)