501 Union

I was here as a Wedding Photographer working.
I felt so strongly about the way we were treated that I had to write a review.
A lot of people don’t realize how poorly wedding vendors can (not always) be treated at weddings. I’ve been photographing in NYC and the surrounding area for over 6 years.
TO start… 501 union is a photographers dreams. If you are a bride… this place will never have bad lighting. You can’t have bad pictures if you get married here. The space is not only lit with the most beautiful natural light, but its decorated and kept absolutely stunning and spotless.
The food was beyond delicious. I was lucky enough to try a few things the chicken, pasta, potatoes, brussel sprouts and the bread. Everything was great.
The Staff. The staff was kind, helpful, pleasant. (Not common for NYC) From the moment my team and I approached the building the staff was super helpful. Kept up updated on the movement of the evening, made sure we were comfortable and had food. As I stated earlier we aren’t treated very well at weddings. We are there to work not to make friends. I get it.
But it was amazing to be treated with the same respect as guests.
I attend around 30 weddings a year. This is one of the 3 places in NYC I would get married!

A wedding at this venue last night was spot on: space, sevice, coordination, staff, and the fantastic food (including accomodating some serious food allergies) and excellent booze. My one star short is due to the deafening noise level towards the end, which might have been at the request of the hosts. But overall, highly recommended.

Nice space. Great layout.

501 Union is great, but this review is for Ashley Chamblin. She was the day-​of-​coordinator for my best friend’s wedding in September that I was maid of honor for, so I was coordinating with her for a lot of the day. I wasn’t sure what a day-​of-​coordinator did, but Ashley basically did everything. She ran the show seamlessly and seemingly effortlessly and was extremely proactive and calming throughout the whole day. The wedding was beautiful, but of course, all weddings have their moments. Even when there were hiccups, she was happy, upbeat and incredibly helpful. We used each room in the space for a different function at different points throughout the day, and Ashley made those transitions very smoothly. The next day, she let us pick up the remnants of the wedding from 501 Union and she was there working on another wedding, and still extremely pleasant and helpful!
Thanks for everything, Ashley!

Had a great experience having my wedding at 501. The staff was great to deal with and day-​off ran smoother than I thought possible.
Venue is not cheap, but as I quickly learned nothing is cheap when it comes to pledging your love in front of 130 of your closest friends and people you’ve never met but you’re hoping will give you lots of money and then some of them don’t and then you’re like crap, I invited a stranger to my wedding for nothing.

We just had our wedding at 501 Union the sunday before Thanksgiving and it was more fun than we could have ever imagined it to be. The building itself is so classy and beautiful. No other venue looks like this place. The lighting, the walls, the wooden tables, the bar and even the wallpaper is so stylish and hip. The building is located in Gowanus Brooklyn — a quaint community by the Gowanus Canal that is great for capturing the look of an urban wedding. The only downside of getting married in the city is no private parking. We had to hire Elite Parking Services to provide valet parking for this venue.
However, the people at 501 Union are amazing. They know how to do buisness in a professional and friendly manner. They often have open houses and exibits at their venues that showcase different vendors that are worth speaking to.
In summary, 501 Union is a great place and we are so happy that we had our wedding at this place!

I attended a wedding at 501 this past weekend. It was gorgeous, quaint and trendy. It was catered by Dinosaur BBQ which is right down the street I think and served some amazing food! The serving staff at 501 need some pointers because the table I sat at did not seem to receive the same amount of food as many of the other tables (family style dining), so many of us were still very hungry after dinner was served. Luckily, I loaded up on apps! I also felt like we should have used the open ceiling area for the dance floor, but this could have been decided by the bride and groom or maybe have been suggested due to weather concerns. Overall, very nice. The wedding I was at was a good size of about 200. I may keep it to 150 max. Thanks for the nice evening 501.

What a great addition to the Gowanus! The venue is quite spacious and the staff are terrific. I attended an event here recently and was in awe of, first off, how conveniently located for us Brooklynites this place is. I was also impressed with the design of the three large rooms — bar, foyer and main room. I definitely see more awesome events being held here!

501 Union is a new venue across the street from The Green Building. As someone described it to me, it’s the Green Building’s «chic older sister.»
The place makes me wish my boyfriend was about to put a ring on it, because it is a gorgeous space! Ideal for a wedding or large party, the entrance room feels so open and light thanks to a beautiful glass ceiling. The bar is spacious — you could imagine many people in there enjoying drinks without trampling each other to get their beverages. The décor is classy — minimal and sophisticated.
I was here recently for the BK Exposed Holiday Bazaar, and absolutely loved the place. If you’re looking to book a private event in the area, you’ve got to check it out!

How does 501 Union not have any reviews yet??? Well here goes!
Brought to you by the same folks who own the Green Building across the street, 501 aims to be part wedding venue, part event space, and from what I hear a future social club. The wedding/​event side of things have been in full gear, booking up weekends in ²⁰¹³⁄₂₀₁₄. There are monthly open houses to view the space.
The building is truly gorgeous, in a different way from the shabby chicness of the Green Building. Beautiful and unique wallpaper and chandeliers throughout, marble bar, super dark wood, and a huge skylight make the space bright, inviting and classy. It looks like a fancy cocktail bar inside and has an outdoor space too.
I can’t wait until the Social side opens, hopefully membership prices will be appropriately priced to attract the burgeoning Gowanus neighborhood.