St Louis Wedding
The Ultimate St Louis Wedding Planning Resource
The Larimore House PlantationI had my wedding this Fall at the Larimore. If I wasn’t trying to plan for an accessible wedding for my out-of-town guests, I would have chosen another venue. It was nice that it was close to the airport, as we were out of town and trying to plan the wedding from another state. One other nice feature was the pure convenience of having our wedding and reception all at the same place.
The plantation house is beautiful from outside—which made for nice pictures. However, it is in need of a serious face-lift inside. There were outdated furnishings, dolls and old fake floral arrangements inside which made for awkward backgrounds. The temperature was also pretty warm (80 degrees) in both the house and the reception hall. Dena acted put out when my now Mother In Law asked if we could turn it down for our guests’ comfort.
As far as a wedding coordinator, Dena was very stand-off and not very personable in her overall demeanor. I primarily reached out as questions arose and found Dena to work with me on things, but only if I would pay extra. On the day of my wedding, she really didn’t approach us (except to say when we were cutting the cake) and never congratulated me during the entire event. My wedding party kept asking if she was ok or mad. I guess I’d just expect someone a bit more approachable and bubbly to work in the wedding industry. Even though there were no events before my Saturday evening wedding, she was unwilling to move the time for the rehearsal from noon on Friday to something later in the day. This posed a bit of a problem for some of the wedding party. Also, we asked to arrive an hour early and paid $200 extra for that time. As for the decoration packet, words of warning- don’t do this. At first, I thought it would make the planning easier, and once I looked at what was involved I asked to take this off our contract—primarily for the tulle backed chairs that really didn’t go with my theme at all. She charged me $150 extra dollars to take these off the chairs, even though they were included in the decorations I specifically didn’t want. These are already on the chairs, but they make you think you’re getting all of these “extra” decorations for the $600.
They also recommend using their preferred vendors. I would warn against this as well. Dena gave me a floral arrangement price list, but Jenny at Stems wanted the extra amount in another check written out to her. So, instead of getting any savings, it ends up being more of a hassle by writing two checks to Dena and the florist with no real “deal”. We also were told at the beginning of our wedding venue search that, if we had less than the 155 guests for the minimum per plate pricing, they’d offer an extra entrée option. This was another empty promise- we didn’t receive any extra selections and ended up paying more than $600 extra due to the smaller guest count yet still paying for the minimum 155 headcount.
For all of the extra nickel’ing and diming the Larimore did, we really should have looked elsewhere for someone who would be willing to work with me and make my day as stress-free as possible without all of the hassle.
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Metropolis BallroomI had my wedding at the Metropolis in August of this year. I can't say enough good things about the Metropolis. We had an afternoon reception on a Saturday, and the venue was beautiful with so much natural light. Our pictures all turned out incredible. We had 200 guests, and there was enough space to fit everyone comfortably without feeling like there was too much extra space. The food was delicious, and I received so many compliments about the courtesy of the waitstaff and the quality of food.
I didn't give the venue 5 stars across the board for two reasons. First, when I saw the venue for the first time, the chairs were dark blue, and I noticed holes in the fabric of the chairs from overuse. This caused a debate between my mother and I as to whether we should rent chair covers or the fancier chivari chairs for an additional price. I decided that the money could be spent on something more important and decided not to rent special chairs. On the day of the wedding, however, half of the chairs were new and black and the other half were the old dark blue. In truth, I'm sure I was the only person who noticed the black versus blue chairs, but I would have been much happier to have had all of the chairs be new and black.
My second reason was that email communication was a bit slow. With planning my wedding from St. Louis, I had to rely on email for my communication with all my vendors. Emails from the Metropolis were always a bit slower than from my other vendors. However, phone calls were always promptly returned and always made me feel like the wedding was going to be a huge success. My suggestion--correspond by phone or in person.
When it comes to Michael Raymond, the wedding coordinator, I believe every bride needs a Michael. At the beginning, he just listened to me and showed me how to make all my wishes a reality. I never felt pushed, and he worked really hard to put together a menu that fit my budget. He also has a great deal of knowledge about etiquette. His tips and pointers helped us be socially graceful at our reception. He organized who would be speaking at the wedding in what order so that no one would be offended, and he even gave my fiancee and I a dance lesson. The wedding reception was like clockwork; I just got to sit back and enjoy the ride. The Metropolis was beautiful, but I think that Michael really made the reception everything we had imagined.
Overall, I would highly recommend this venue to other brides; I would choose this venue again without hesitation.
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BLOSSOMS BRIDALDonna and Jenny from Event Planning & Wedding Creations 314-892-8401 recommended this dress shop.
There are so many good positive things one could say about Blossoms Bridal a few are 1) Everyone that works there sincerely cares about each one of their brides. (Compare the BBB report and facts will show their exceptional customer service). Not like some chain stores in the area. 2) They have a very nice selection of gowns 3) . The staff is very friendly and not at all pushy, 4) the prices are just right. Only problem was at the reception the bustle would not fasten and stay up.
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Teri Newman Exquisite Events Elegantly ExecutedTeri did my wedding on November 5th, 2011 on very short notice and put it all together beautifully. I could not have been happier with the vendors she recommended and the venue. It was beautiful and I couldn't have asked for more. She also brought my wedding in UNDER budget by nearly $2000.00 that I got to spend on the honeymoon!
It was everything I could have asked for and more! I can't say enough good things about her and Exquisite Events!
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The Sheldon Concert HallWe booked the Sheldon for our September 2011 wedding back in March 2010. Laurie, the coordinator, is a very difficult person to work with. Her communication was awful. She told me that she would get back to me in April 2010 on some questions I asked her, and I never heard from her again. Their contract is horrendous. It doesn't include the stipulations that they actually have for the venue, and Laurie didn't disclose those stipulations until after the contract was signed, despite multiple questions on the subject. They require union vendors, and the lighting vendor that they require was extremely rude to us. We cancelled the Sheldon as it caused far more headache than it was worth, and, of course, we were unable to recoup our 1200 deposit.
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Anyone know of any good bridal boutiques in the St. Louis area?? I am going to look for my dress for the first time in June!! Thanks!
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I am thinking about ordering Gooey Louie Butter Cakes, Are they any good? I keep seeing them on Food Network and they look good!!!
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soooo FI doesnt like the xbox 360 cake that i picked out for him lol. he prefers baseball so i need some inspiration ladies!!
thanks!
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I still need to book our photographer and since I don't have any friends recently married or getting married I'm in need of recommendations from you ladies!!
Please shout out your photographer! Websites or pics from your wedding would be great too!!
TIA!!!
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Lost of wedding decorations available after July 10th!! Purple is my color!
Cylinder Vases
(12) 10in cylinder vases--asking $3 each or $24 for all
(13) 8.5in cylinder vases--asking $2 each
(28) 7.5in cylinder vases--asking $1 each
$10 each--10 available Hydrangea pew markers made with very high quality flowers, tulle and purple ribbon
$4 box---Lavendar and dark purple flower petals 8 boxes
$10 for (2) 6ft hydrangea garland
Email for pictures! Will hold items if interested!!
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Hey ladies, I will be in St louis and fort leonard wood all next week for work. Maybe we can have a little meet and greet Friday. PM if you are interested. :)
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St Louis Wedding Bios
FI and I met in St. Louis, in graduate school at one of the local universities. We both grew up in the area, and after living in different areas (different countries for him) we both ended up back in St. Louis. I love St. Louis city, it is a wonderful, historic, old city with lots of great old architecture, and neighborhoods with character. St. Louis city is a separate entity from St. Louis county, and so the county line has come to mean more than just an invisible dividing line. But the city is back, and it is time to back the city. FI and I both grew up in the county, but have proudly moved into the city, we work, and support local businesses in the city. So for us, a Saint Louis city wedding was very important. We knew that was were the ceremony needed to be, and where the reception needed to be, so that we could drive as much of the revenue from our wedding back into its local businesses. I've also tried to focus on vendors in the city, but that hasn't always gone as well.
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One more basis on which few people select to take Home Refinance Loans St. Louis is that it frees up cash that is fixed up in the equality of their home and this money can be made a good use.
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We live in New Orleans and planned our wedding from afar.
Sam and I met in Saint Louis where he attended Wash U Law and I was at Saint Louis University Med. Sam is a JAG in the USMC and I am a Urology Resident. And fortunately, we
were able to make it happen where he is stationed here and I matched here for residency. What a relief!
We look forward to spending the next three years here in New Orleans and then moving back to San Francisco. ;)
THE
PROPOSAL
It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon as Sam and I were walking in downtown Clayton (an area in St. Louis) to meet some friends for lunch. As we were walking, he was reflecting on the movie that they had watched the night before (The Notebook - a
romantic love story).
As we turned a street corner, Sam said that he wanted to take care of me until we were old (like the husband in the movie). He got down on one knee, pulled out a box from his pocket, and asked me to be his wife. I was
speechless. I was so surprised because he had been telling her that he was still saving up for a ring. In reality, he had flown to California a few weeks prior to get my parents' blessing, and naturally, he purchased the ring the day after they
gave him the thumbs up. And yes, I did say "yes" even before I opened up the box and saw it.
People passing by congratulated us, and then we went to meet our friends for lunch and to share the great news!
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Our ceremony will be held at Our Lady of the Gulf Catholic Church in Bay St. Louis Mississippi
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My Fiance and I are not perfect nor will we ever be but he is right for me and I am right for him! The thought of ever getting married was the furthest from my mind. The thought of ever meeting anyone after lifes ups and downs was just a hit or miss in my mind.When I met him I wasnt looking and neither was he, as a matter of fact we spent the first month or month and a half just playing phone tag, texting, and talking. I found myself unable to keep a smile off my face when we we did talk though. Pretty soon he wanted to meet up and take me out but I just didnt want to let him in. Finally one night when we discussed meeting somewhere he drove out to where I lived and called asking me how close I was to the spot he was at , not knowing I said "I live 2 seconds away from there." He said " Good then meet me here Im waiting." My heart raced, my palms were sweaty and I felt the butterflys like I never felt before. I met up with him with one of my girlfriends that night, we went out and had the best night of my life staying out till the wee hours of the morning. I even told him I loved him after a few drinks...LOL. I wasnt expecting alot from him I felt as though it was to good to be true. (some of you may know what Im talking about) Finally someone who could look past the past someone to give me a chance considering my situation, you see, I have 5 children and not to many guys are looking for love in my situation. To short, to tall, no job,no car, no future, no purpose,weird,scary, no matter what the reason it was just not right. When I met him I honestly felt like I had another shot at love! Two and a half years later going strong, and in love our wedding day is March 14, 2009. (314- Were from St.Louis!) Picture's to come soon!
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