UNION — Attraction in Kansas City

My now-husband and I walked into about 3 other city skyline rentals and when we walked into the UNION, we knew it was the one. The speakeasy is literally so magical and set our dark and moody vibes. It was everything we both wanted. It was so incredibly nice that it’s 3 floors, but also includes the rooftop for a gorgeous KC skyline for photos? How much more perfect can it be for a city couple?!

Walk-thru Wednesdays are a life saver. I believe anyone can walk in, tour the venue, but as a couple, having access to the venue to try out how our centerpieces would like, be there to physically map things out, move tables around, check the lighting, getting video stills beforehand during a gorgeous day made our wedding that much more perfect. We went to the Walk-Thru Wednesdays about 3 times and each time, it felt like things were just so much more solidified. I didn’t have to imagine if the decorations would go with the table or worried about if the chairs were too close together. I could just go to the venue and arrange it how I’d like and see if the dance floor was an appropriate size (smaller since we're not huge dancers). As someone who plans a lot and has a ton of anxiety, this made me feel so much more at ease.

I would say the bridal suite was absolutely stunning, but I think more ventilation in there is definitely needed and outlets. A third station or a tall bar chair would’ve been much more convenient. I felt terrible that one of the artists had to work with someone in a low chair. There were 3 mirrors, but only 2 high chairs. We had to do a makeshift station, but I believe for our Hair&MakeUpArtists, they really prioritized the natural light to make sure that we looked our best. There also is only a 1 2-outlet on the wall with the mirrors and there’s one on the one by the dresses for the fan, but for a room having about 8 people, 2 fans were definitely needed. I would also say that it would’ve been helpful if there were more trays or counter space for our HMUAs to set their things. It worked out, but yeah, it is a slightly smaller bridal suite, so I would say… 3-4 bridesmaids max. I had 6 bridesmaids + flower lady, but thankfully during the morning, half of us were running errands and helping set up so it wasn’t as bad. Also, the bluetooth setup they have in the bridal suite was so easy to use and already there. No need for us to remember those Bluetooth speakers we always forget!

Madison was the venue coordinator and she was amazing at making us feel comfortable and giving us options on what we could possibly do and also make amazing suggestions for the timeline or how we can migrate from floor to floor. Hayden was the amazing bar manager at the UNION who was incredible at communication and was making sure all of our alcohol was in order! Having a BringYourOwnAlcohol package is just incredible and having them as bartenders was mwah chef’s kiss.

We enjoyed all the staff at the UNION and we’re so happy to have had our perfect wedding here. I can’t imagine anyone regretting getting married in such a beautiful, beautiful venue already on its own. I honestly thought I had too many decorations that took a little bit away from the venue’s ambiance that I wanted captured...

I am extremely disappointed with the way I was treated by this venue on my wedding day. We specifically chose Union because we loved the Speakeasy and the 24-hour rental, which is unique to any of the other venues in downtown KC. Minutes before I was to walk down the aisle, I was in the office with the venue staff and my dad, so we could hide until it was our turn to walk, and at this moment I was told I was supposed to be out of the venue by 10PM and they would be doing last call at 9:30PM. I was very confused because I had confirmed the end time in an Event Details questionnaire Union had sent me the month prior to the wedding. The bartenders, who happened to be in the office at the time, seemed annoyed, but did agree to stay for an extra hour, which was kind, but I was still forced to leave the venue at 11PM. Why would I have booked a venue with a 24-hour rental if my entire wedding was supposed to be over and everyone out of the building by 10PM? This may just be a communication issue, as most of their staff are working out of their other venues out-of-state, and we could barely get them to answer any of our calls and emails the week of the wedding. I completely understand that people can get out-of-control at weddings, so they cut-off the bar service at a certain time, but if their rules had changed and we couldn’t stay until the requested end time, I don’t understand why I was notified at that special moment, instead of beforehand. It honestly ruined our night, as we had a lot of friends & family in from out-of-town that we hadn’t seen in years because of the pandemic. It was not fair to us to cut our time that we paid for so short.

To make things even worse, after we left the venue, we realized we had forgotten some things and went back to get them and even though the entire staff was still there, hanging out in the basement - with all our opened leftover alcohol nonetheless - they told us since we had left the building, we weren’t allowed back in. My husband had to practically beg them to let him in to get my overnight bag that I had left in the bridal suite.

I have been working in the wedding industry in Kansas City for 10 years and I completely understand simple mistakes or things that can go wrong with weddings/vendors, but this was the most unprofessional staff and situation I have ever dealt with. It has been really hard with how much money we handed over to them to justify having been treated like this and move past it. I know reviews are important and I would be very sad if I heard one of my customers had to deal with something like this on their wedding day. My advice to anyone interested in this venue is to read the fine print, document ALL conversations you have, and confirm ALL details before the day of, so you have proof of what you...

Our experience at Union was an absolute dream from start to finish. There were so many things about this venue that put it head and shoulders above all the other options we looked at: the DTKC location (especially the proximity to the Kauffman Center); the aesthetic and layout of the space itself; the amazing rooftop views; the BYOB package; and most importantly, the 24-hour rental. We are a Latino American couple and knew we would want to keep celebrating deep into the night; Union was the only venue we looked at that would allow us to do that without worrying about getting people out of the venue/cleaning everything up—it was SO nice not to think about that on the wedding night, knowing we could come back to clean up the next morning.

Even better than all of that was the quality of service we received from the Union staff. Clay went above and beyond in putting together our beverage package, even doing his own mixology experiments to help us perfect one of our signature cocktails. Shannon stayed up with us the entire wedding night, taking care of everything until we left the venue at 3 am. But the realest of them all was Allison, our day-of coordinator. She was so friendly, helpful, and easy to work with; we could tell that she really cared about making our day special. On the wedding day, she made everything run so smoothly that my husband and I did not have to do anything but show up and get married! We could not have asked for better support throughout the entire process of planning this event, up to and including the wedding day itself.

One last thing I really liked about this venue is that they offer so many great additional services (e.g. photobooth, ceremony arch, etc.), but they never tried to upsell us on them. We always had the option of adding stuff on, but we never felt pressured to do so, which allowed us to create the event we wanted at the price point we were comfortable with. Ultimately, we felt like Union’s goal was to use their extensive resources and expertise to help us create the experience we wanted. And that’s exactly what we got! I wholeheartedly recommend this venue on every level. Get married here! You...