| About our wedding:
Stormy and I at schooling at home.
Schooling show in August.
At a show in December.
Showing in February
Jerry
Homer
We're Married!
Link to Vendor Reviews
Link to Planning Bio
VENDOR REVIEWS
I feel very lucky that I found all of my vendors. Here are my experiences, please page me if you have any questions!
Ceremony- Grace United Methodist Church
What can I say, we are members here, and we love it! Rev. Mary is fabulous, and she was very accommodating to us even when we changed a couple of things from how they ‘normally’ did stuff. The only thing I didn’t love was that we were required to hire their wedding coordinator. She was a VERY nice lady, but we didn’t meet her until the night of the rehearsal, and she kept getting confused while we were practicing. Again though, she was willing to work with us. The organist was very good, and she did a good job of learning the music for my soloist. Finally, the custodial staff is fabulous! Greg did a great job of setting up everything just how we wanted it, and was very patient as we took some extra photos after the ceremony.
Transportation- Antique Classic Limousine
Early in the planning, we decided that we wanted a classic car for our wedding day transportation. Andy called about a million places, and they all said that they had sold their classic cars because they were too unreliable, then he found this place. Not only did they have the beautiful car, but also they were also significantly less expensive than all the other companies. Sadly, the car we reserved had some mechanical problems the week before our wedding. They did an awesome job of finding a replacement though, and Gary, a friend of the owner, drove us in his Bentley. I think that we actually got a prettier car than the Rolls. Gary was really nice, and even had champagne waiting for us. They hadn’t even told DH about that ahead of time! Gary arrived on time, waited for all of our pictures, and was very nice during the drive. I could not have been happier. Even though plans were a little up in the air about a week out, they really came though, and we had a great time!
Reception- Windows Off Washington West Room
Almost everything was perfect. We got into our room a day early to decorate, and Vincent, their floor/ service manager was there to check on everything. We mentioned a couple changes, and he had them finished before we left 20 minutes later. Our coordinator, Caline, was great through the whole planning process, and she was always prompt to respond to any of my questions and concerns. I was also so impressed with their attention to detail. At one point I went to the bar for my third glass of water in like 15 minutes, and the bartender said ‘I bet they stole your last one, huh?’ I laughed and said that I had no idea where I had put it, and he said that their philosophy was that dirty dishes and glasses were a sure way to ruin pictures, so, if you set down your glass, you could bet that it would be cleared in a flash. Well, I was so impressed that they would have thought of that! Some places that offer an open bar would have wanted us to drink every last drop so that they could maximize their profit margin. The wait staff was amazingly attentive, and everyone was impressed that their wine glasses stayed full, and the food came out hot and in good time. Except the kids meals. That was the only part of the meal that wasn’t perfect. They forgot to prepare the kids plates, so their dinners didn’t come out until almost desert. Steven, our party captain, apologized profusely, and the kids did get fed, but it was the only thing all night that didn’t exceed my expectations. Otherwise, they did a superior job! All of our guests have been raving about the food and wine, the service was fabulous, and it really is all the little things that make the difference. They even saved our cake top! We hadn’t even asked them to, but they came out and gave it to my mom as we were packing up to leave! How great is that! I highly recommend this venue. All of our guests loved the food and ambiance, especially that it wasn’t your typical hotel ballroom reception. The West Room was great because we could stand outside and watch people play on the playground at City Museum. (There were even fire jugglers that night.) As you can tell, I could go on about how amazing everything was for a long time. We were so pleased; you have to check them out!
Out of Town Hotel- Drury Plaza
We were really pleased with our experience at the Drury. This hotel is really beautiful, and you would never guess you were staying at a Drury by looking around. Their prices are great, and the service is fabulous! They originally had me in a room right next door to my parents, but when I pointed it out, they changed me to another room in 5 minutes. With each room you get free breakfast and free cocktail hour. They also have a pool and two hot tubs. The only warning I have is that their maid service leaves by 2:00, so if you are getting ready at the hotel, don’t expect them to clean your room before you get back. Other than that though, everything was wonderful. Stephen is in charge of booking groups and giving tours, and we really enjoyed working with him.
DJ- Jeremy Roeder, First Class Weddings
He was great! Jeremy is one of the preferred vendors at Windows, and I can tell why. We loved that he really listened to us and what we wanted. He played all of our special requests, even acknowledging my parents’ 40th wedding anniversary. Jeremy is a low key kind of DJ, just what we wanted, so we loved that he didn’t get out in the middle of the dance floor and act all crazy. He was very classy, and did a great job of keeping the party going without making everyone feel goofy. It even turned out that he was the DJ at one of the groomsmen’s weddings a few years ago!
Cake-Wedding Wonderland
Again, this was another preferred vendor at WOW, but we could not have been happier with them. They were great to work with, and the cake was delicious! We had a 3-tier cake with each tier a different flavor. The largest was banana, the middle was white with almond, and the top was German chocolate. They were all amazing! Plus it really looked beautiful. There was plenty to go around, and everyone really enjoyed it. I’m not a big cake person, but I enjoyed what I ate too.
Invitations- D&D Designs
Seriously, Kimberly has to be one of my favorite vendors. She was so great through the whole planning process, and I could not have been happier with the finished product. She really listened to what we wanted, and she took lots of extra time to make sure that everything met my specifications. I could not have been happier with my invitations, and my mom and I got more compliments on them than I can count! Kudos to Kimberly, and I can’t wait to find more excuses to use her services!
Programs- The Ink Spot
We designed our programs and had them printed here because the owner is a friend of Andy’s. Andy did all the cover work, and I took care of the text. The programs were printed pretty quickly and at a reasonable price. I was a little annoyed that there were a couple typos on the finished product that were not in the document I e-mailed (I saved a copy of the e-mail), but at that point we were out of time, and we figured not many people would get too worked up over the fact that the wrong spelling of altar was printed. If we hadn’t waited until the last minute, then I am sure we could have seen a proof and caught what had happened, so I take part of the blame. Anyway, they seem like a good printer (better than Kinko’s), but they certainly don’t specialize in weddings.
My Dress- Brides by Demetrios (Albuquerque, NM)
I LOVED my dress. The fabric was so nice, and the service I got at Demetrios was wonderful. My parents live in Albuquerque, so when I was home over Christmas, my mom and I went shopping, just for fun. Well, I totally fell in love with my dress, and I could not have been happier with everything I got there. I spent a little more than I was planning, but when I mentioned that I was pushing my budget, they actually gave me a little price break. Anyway, I know that Demetrios doesn’t have a store in St. Louis, but as a designer, I really recommend them.
BM Dresses and my shoes- St. Louis Wedding Design
I had a really great experience here. My mom came to visit and we went to try on dresses during the Jim Hjelm trunk show because those dresses looked nice in the catalogues. Well, when I told Kimberly about what we were looking for and described the girls, she right away started bringing out dresses by After Six, and they were really perfect. She didn’t even try to push the more expensive ones! We ended up going with the After Six style, and the girls all really liked it. They felt beautiful, and were pleased with the price. There was a little mix up in shipping the dresses, two of the girls’ dresses got swapped, but the store corrected it quickly and painlessly. I was very pleased.
Photographer and Stylist- Kell at Studio Red (Albuquerque, NM)
Kell has been doing my hair since I was 15. I couldn’t have imagined not having her here to do it for my wedding. So, when I started talking to her about coming in to do everyone’s hair and makeup, she mentioned that she had started doing wedding photography as well. She sent me her portfolio of the few she had done, and I was so impressed! Well, I hired her to do everything, hair, makeup, and photography, and I could not be happier! I don’t have all the images yet, but the few I have seen look great! I will post more in my bio as I get them. Wedding photography is a hard field to get into, but I think Kell is already really great. She is wonderful to work with, and even my DH, who hates having his picture taken, enjoyed working with her. Thank you for everything Kell!
Florist- Jupiter’s Gardens
What can I say about Jupiter’s that hasn’t been said before? They rock! I gave them a couple pictures and vague descriptions about flowers, and they came out beautifully! I could not have been happier. I chose to have the bouquets done in holders instead of being stem tied, and mine still looks nice, a week and a half later! If they are available for your date, book them now! I was soooo happy with them.
Day Of Coordinator- Suzie at Proposing Dreams
What a great investment! I don’t know what I would have done without Suzie. She was such a calming influence through the whole planning process. I only wish I had hired her earlier so that I could have asked her even more questions! It was great to have her with us all day, and she really helped keep everything in order. She even made sure we started the ceremony a few minutes late because there had been an accident on I-40 that day. I know we gave her a really tight timeline for getting everything done between the ceremony and reception, but she handled it with ease. If you have ANY way of hiring a coordinator, do it. Just the fact that I didn’t have to worry about anything, like moving floral arrangements from one place to another, made the day that much more fun. Thanks Suzie for being so wonderful!
Planning Bio
Invites
Ceremony
Reception
Flowers
Other Goodies
Flowers
This is the bouquet I will have, only without the eucalytpus and the roses will be more creamy.
Ceremony
We are having the ceremony at Grace Methodist in U. City.
Inside the sanctuary.
Invitations
Kimberly at D&D did pocketfold invitations for us. Here are the pictures of our mock-ups. The ribbon is a nice sage color, that coordinates with the BM dresses. All of the paper is ivory, and the colored writing matches the ribbon perfectly. If you want really nice inviations for a reasonable price, contact her!
This is the outside
Here is what they look like when they are opened.
The various cards that are enclosed (directions, reception, and respond.)
We are also doing a small reception the following week for some of my students because we don't feel comfortable having them at an event where there will be alcohol. These are the cards that they will get.
Reception
We are having the reception at Windows off Washington in the West Dining Room. This is the bar.
Isn't the mural great?
I want this picture too!
Centerpieces
I love the monogram on this cake. Actually I love the look of the whole cake, but we decided it was a little too busy. Ours will be 3 stacked tiers in ivory with a very understated border at the base of the bottom two tiers. The top teir will have our monogram. We will have a floral top and petals scattered on each layer.
The border at the base of each tier of this cake is very similar to the one on ours.
Transportation
Here is the limo. It is a 1950 Rolls Royce!
The Extra Stuff
Here is a toasting flute.
They are heart-shaped. Probably not the style I would have chosen, but they were free when we started our registry at Crate and Barrel! The quality is really good though.
This is our guest book. We will fill it in with pictures of us growing up and then together. People will be able to write messages to us instead of just writing their names on a line. The colors are perfect for the wedding! I even found sage photo corners.
Here is our cake serving set. I love that it is simple. It only cost $16 at BBB!
Our monogram designed by Knottie fpunkfiona. We will use it on our menu cards and favors.
Bridesmaids' Gifts
Flip Flops from Target.
Crystal bracelets. The bigger one in the middle is for my MOH. I bought them at Gypsy Caravan from The Glass Window.
Great jewelry boxes from Lilian Vernon. Each is monogramed with the girl's first initial. They are nicer than I expected.
VENDORS
Wedding Gown: Brides By Demetrios, Albuquerque, NM
Bride's Shoes: Dyeables Lovely from St. Louis Wedding Design
Bridesmaid dresses: After Six #6212 from St. Louis Wedding Design
Flower Girl dress: Dillard's
Invitations: D&D Designs
Ceremony: Grace United Methodist Church
Reception: Windows Off Washington- West Room
Florist: Jupiter's Garden
Bakery: Wedding Wonderland in Florissant.
DJ: First Class Weddings: Jeremy Roeder is the owner, and he has been FABULOUS!
Transportation:Antique Classic Limousine
OOT Hotel: Drury Plaza Downtown
Hair and Makeup: I am flying in my stylist from New Mexico.
Photography: My stylist is also my photographer
Day of Coordinator: Suzie at Proposing Dreams
Bridesmaids' Gifts: Flip Flops from Target
Bracelets and Brooch from The Glass Window
Jewelry Boxes from Lilian Vernon
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