Venue Reviews - Galleria Unico & 22thirty9

There were multiple venues we visited when searching for the right one. We have a guest list of 130-165 so the following two venues would have been suitable for a cocktail reception. Perhaps smaller parties of 60/70 could actually have a sit down dinner.


Galleria Unico is located at 1936 West Division in Chicago. The space is located on the second floor. It isn't very big, so again, a cocktail reception would be ideal. I'll talk about this space more under each photograph.

The pictures above are from the back exit which is a balcony. We thought that when it's all cleaned up, it would be a great place for people to take a break from the party to go outside for a minute to chill. Some Christmas lights around the balcony would give it some sparkle and would provide light once the sun sets. 

Skylight where the stairs are at.

Galleria Unico is located on the second floor. The photo above is the staircase. I think this would be a great photo op. The planner who showed us the space suggested up lighting from below to give it a magical touch once the sun sets. 

The large room breaks off into this smaller space and is divided by large window walls (I'm sure there is a name for that, I just can't recall what that name is haha).

Everything shown above is included with the rental of the space. I LOVED the sofas and the lamps from Ikea. I thought they were fabulous.

You can kind of see the window walls here. I LOVED the large windows and how they let in all that natural light. The hardwood floors where exactly what I was looking for. 

When you are in that little room and look the right, this door is there. It's where they store chairs that available for you to use at no extra cost. 

This is your view when you look down. Nothing special.

Sorry for the horrible pictures. My camera on my phone was all scratched up! This is the main room. The bright windows are where the stairs are. 

As you can see on the right, there are little rooms. There are three to be exact. 

View from inside the room out. They aren't very big. We thought about having one for the photo booth, one for the food, and the other? I'm not so sure. A bridal suite perhaps? 

This is where the bar is. I thought it was a cool little space. 

View from outside to the first floor.

Looking above from outside. 

Another picture of a little room. 

The door. haha

This place was one we really considered. Why? Well here are the pros:

1. The price. A Saturday night is only $1,500. The only "hidden cost" is the requirement to hire security after you pass up 75 people on your guest list. 
2. It is close enough to downtown which is a benefit for all those downtown pictures I want. 
3. They have preferred vendors, but from what I can remember, they are not required. 
4. There are no rules when it comes to the bartender. They don't have to be licensed. This means you don't have to hire somebody with their crazy fees. 
5. The extra rooms where kind of cute. 
6. Joe loved the fact that they had a balcony. 

Cons:

1. The place is small. If we did want a seated dinner the maximum capacity is 70 people. (Cocktail is 175. )
2. Unlike Kitchen Chicago, this room definitely called for decoration. Up lighting would look great in this place and is often used. How would it look? Take a peek at their website and you can see!
3. The small rooms. Although they are cute are they really practical? Wouldn't it be better for a larger, more open space? 
4. I think the drive was a little far. I remember Joe and I hitting traffic on the way back. That was no fun and it took us a little while to get there.

Overall we liked this place. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

To get a better idea of how this place can truly be transformed, take a peek at the photos I took from their website.

22thirty9 was a trendy little place located at 2239 North Michigan Ave. 

This is the main room. (sorry again for the horrible pictures). 

This place felt a little bit bigger then Galleria Unico. 

When you walk in this is your view to the left. 

When you walk in and continue all the way to the back it opens into another smaller room where the bar is, a place to the lounge, and a couple bathrooms. Large windows are here. 

Those are couches below the windows. 

Here are the couches. I thought they were cute.

The fireplace is cute. The TV? Not so much. Maybe a picture slide show could be displayed? 

The bar! 

I loved this painting. And the brick!

The bar again. This was the best part of the whole place. It was so beautiful. 

Bathroom. (the others were locked)

Bar stool for the first room.

Ok. I lied. This is the best part of the room! 

Imagine the pictures that can be taken here?!

In that mirror/window is where the DJ would go. They have their own equipment. 

View from the outside.

Lots of parking!

I can't remember the price of this place, but I think it was around $3000 ( There is a huge possibility it's less though). 

Pros?

1. The bar
2. The windows. I loved all that natural lighting. 
3. I believe we could bring in our own catering.
4. Parking! Lots of it. There is a lot to the right of it. It would be cool to have access to that for more pictures...maybe a ceremony? 
5. She did show me another room on another floor where I could get away and freshen up/get ready if I wanted to. That was nice. It also had some great photo ops. 
6. Close to downtown.

Cons?

1. BAR! You have to go through their bartender and pay a per person fee. She estimated around $20. She was a little unprofessional and didn't know cost. When we asked her about kids she stuttered. How do you not know this information? She told us she would send it in an e-mail and never did. I don't think they have very many parties there. This was enough to rule out 22thirty9 as our venue. Think about it. 20x130=2600 on drinks! That is more then I want to spend. That's assuming it's a flat $20 a person rate for the night...and most venues do not work that way.
2. The two rooms, although not divided by a door, seemed a little too separate. I'd hate for my guests to be divided on a day where everyone should come together! 
3. Apparently the Chicago mob used to operate in that building. There were killings and supposedly ghosts. When they moved in they had to call "ghost busters". Yes, the lady actually told us that. It's not a con for me, but it may be for the superstitious.  Haha.
4. They didn't have the air conditioning on when we went to view the space. It was hot. That kind of annoyed me. haha. 

Overall, it was a nice place. The bar is beautiful and the large windows stole my heart. The one bathroom we saw was also nice. The cost of alcohol, a bartender, along with a confused planner who never e-mailed me (my biggest pet peeve) gives it 4 out of 5 stars. Perhaps the drink menu could be talked down and worked with. I didn't try it, but I recommend that you do!

Photos from the website. 

melissaisaiphotography.com