The Brim
Kansas City, Missouri 2021
Marley designed The Brim as a wedding and event destination centered on intimacy, purpose, and connection. Located on 16 acres of rolling hills and open green fields in Kansas City, Missouri, the campus was conceived to provide an affordable and welcoming setting for couples beginning their lives together. Rather than creating a conventional event venue, we developed a collection of spaces that support the full wedding experience—from the ceremony and reception to gathering, celebration, and reflection.
At the heart of The Brim is a small, intimate wedding chapel designed to make meaningful ceremonies accessible to more couples. Every element of the chapel was carefully considered to support the emotional significance of the ceremony while creating a strong architectural presence within the landscape. Positioned at the highest point of the property, the chapel serves as both the spiritual and visual focal point of the campus.
The design accommodates approximately 120 seated guests within the chapel, with large openings that extend the ceremony experience beneath the surrounding overhang. Two bell towers rise approximately 35 feet above the property, giving the chapel a distinctive profile and creating a memorable landmark within the rolling landscape. The bells also provide a personal ceremonial moment for couples to ring as they begin their new life together.
Architecture Connected to the Landscape
The site’s natural topography played an important role in the planning and character of The Brim. We positioned the chapel on the hilltop to take advantage of its visibility, views, and symbolic prominence, while maintaining a direct relationship between the outdoor ceremony areas, reception facilities, and surrounding open fields.
The approach to the property creates a gradual transition from the surrounding roadway into a more intimate and celebratory environment. The rolling terrain, mature landscape, open lawns, and outdoor gathering spaces work together to create a setting that feels both accessible and distinctive. By allowing the site to guide the placement and orientation of the buildings, we created a wedding venue that feels rooted in its Kansas City location.
A Reception Space that Honors the Chapel
The reception building was designed as a complementary structure rather than a competing architectural statement. Because the chapel is the defining feature of the property, we developed the reception space with a lower profile and a roofline that slopes toward the chapel. This gesture creates a sense of deference, allowing the reception building to acknowledge and reinforce the chapel’s importance.
The reception space combines a refined black-and-white palette with a simple, timeless architectural language. Six large garage-style doors open the main room to a covered patio and the surrounding lawn, allowing guests to move naturally between interior and exterior spaces. The result is a flexible event environment that supports dining, dancing, music, and informal gathering while preserving visual connections to the property.
A Distinctive Kansas City Wedding Venue
The Brim demonstrates how thoughtful architecture can transform a simple site into a meaningful destination. Through the careful placement of the chapel, the restrained character of the reception building, and the integration of indoor and outdoor gathering spaces, we created a wedding venue that is both memorable and purpose-driven.
The completed campus offers a distinctive architectural identity while remaining connected to the surrounding landscape and the community it serves. From the hilltop chapel and bell towers to the reception building’s open patio and flexible event spaces, every element was designed to support celebration, connection, and the beginning of a new chapter.
Keep Exploring
