More Than a Feeling by The Urban Union
With The Urban Union at the helm, this Designers’ Challenge team dared to ask: what if your wedding felt like the chicest dinner party you have ever been invited to? Inside Chicago Firehouse Restaurant’s rich, moody dining room, Adorable Designs, Anemone Chicago, Lauren Angela Photography, The Urban Union and Vanille crafted a design that balanced masculine tailoring with rich romance.
After the morning jitters, weddings really hit their stride when the sun sets. Inspired by nighttime, this shoot invites viewers into an exclusive dinner party. Chicago Firehouse Restaurant already arrived with architectural personality and masculine moodiness. Its cinematic warmth gave the team permission to move away from a softer, more traditional wedding aesthetic and lean into something that felt a little more tailored, a little more edgy. With a room lit exclusively by candles, a cake frosted in macarons and a martini served extra dry, the overall vintage flavor set the stage for a night with real atmosphere.
For the couple less interested in checking every traditional wedding box and more intrigued by creating a night guests will remember, consider this Designers’ Challenge an invitation.
The goal was to create a beautiful design, yes, but also to create a mood in the room that every detail contributed to.
– Joseph Brenckle, The Urban Union
The Team
PLANNER The Urban Union
FLORAL Anemone Chicago
CAKE Vanille
STATIONERY Adorable Designs
LINENS BBJ La Tavola
VENUE Chicago Firehouse Restaurant
PHOTOGRAPHY Lauren Angela Photography
CONTENT CREATOR Bonitos Recuerdos
MODELS Diedre Parris, Collier Rowe Jr.

Seated (Left to Right): Candice Morales, Adorable Designs; Jessica Petty Smith, Anemone Chicago; Stephany Lopez, Bonitos Recuerdos; Alyssa Rossetti, BBJ La Tavola; Joseph Brenckle, The Urban Union
Standing: Lauren O’Machel, Lauren Angela Photography
