Students and faculty planning a wedding for their future may not have considered a less-obvious choice than a chapel.

“Weddings, conferences and Christmas parties are all held here,” said Cathy Engelkes, Deputy Director of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

The Union is used for more than just student functions.

The Charleston Chamber of Commerce holds Christmas parties in the Union in the winter months. Dinners and auctions are also common functions hosted in the building.

“We have lots of big events coming up – Athletics’ ‘Spring Fling,’ ‘Mattoon May Merriment,’ dinners and auctions, lots of conferences, lots of ‘End of the Year’ banquets for chemistry, physics, psychology, etc.,” Engelkes said.

Groups wanting to hold an event at the Union must come in and reserve a room.

Different rooms have certain room rental charges.

The Grand Ballroom and the University Ballroom are the most common rooms used because of their size, Engelkes said. The Grand Ballroom costs $50 for on-campus events and $400 for off-campus. The University Ballroom is $20 for on-campus and $300 for off-campus.

“We find out what setup they want, when they want their event to end and whether or not they want liquor service at the event,” Engelkes said. “After that, we send them down to catering. We charge them for which room they have and how long they are in the room.”

Union Night Manager Donnie Davis helps set up events in the evening. Student managers set up events on weekends.

Freddie Hall, assistant director to the Union, is in charge of room arrangement, setup and liquor service.

“She gets the drawing of the room for the person who wants it and gives it to the building service workers so they can set up the room,” Engelkes said.

For a wedding, Hall said she does a schematic of requested table arraignments for the couple. She and Engelkes work with catering on where to put or arrange food tables. They also find out where to put head tables, the cake and the gifts.

In addition to weddings, the Union holds multiple proms each year.

“We have Mattoon, Charleston and Oakland proms coming up in the spring,” Hall said.

The Union also holds University Board events, Greek Week Activities and Award banquets. The third-floor rooms are used to house student or community groups events.

How to reserve a room for an event at the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union:

Special setup requests must be received at least five working days in advance. These include arrangements for the Grand Ballroom, University Ballroom and any other special requests. Also, alcoholic beverages cannot be served at events unless approval is received from the director of the Union.

Heather Holm can be reached at 581-7942 or at haholm@eiu.edu.

Tuesday’s blood drive is one of many events frequently held in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union. (John Bailey/The Daily Eastern News)

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