Location location location

Picking the location of every aspect of the wedding is more difficult than I thought it would be. When you think of a wedding, you probably think of two things (maybe only one depending on the type of person you are): The wedding ceremony. The reception. Well, first off, it's hard enough selecting the two places that are going to be available on the same exact date during times that work with one another. Then, when it comes to the reception itself, you have to think about how close or far it is in relation to the ceremony site, what time the ceremony will be and whether it will give enough time or too much time for the guests in between while still giving the wedding party enough time for wedding photos (a must for many wedding parties these days...yes, ours too!!), a place for guests to stay following the wedding, and transportation following the wedding if necessary, especially if alcohol is involved (my how all things risk management related even come into play after college. Thank you Greek Life for keeping us safe!:) ). During the whole process we had gone back and forth on so many things. First thing was the date. We had a few dates in mind that were significant to us, although not all of them worked based on other family engagements, etc. so that was the first obstacle. We knew for a fact, though, that we really wanted a Summer wedding, and what's more perfect than a June wedding anyway!? We decided on June 11, 2011...Every time the clock strikes 11:11 we make a wish : ) in turn making this date even more perfect, and it just so happened that places actually were not booked on this date, believe it or not. Don't get me wrong, a lot of places were, but the places that we really wanted (and got!) magically were not! We chose to have our wedding at Third Baptist Church on Grand (right across from the Fabulous Fox Theater). This church is so beautiful with a lot of history in a neat location convenient for both our guests and to our reception site, and most importantly, my Grandfather, who is a Baptist Minister, will be able to conduct the ceremony for us at this church. That was one of the most important aspects of finding the perfect location because I wanted more than anything for my Grandpa to marry us. I have honestly dreamt of it since I was a little girl. He has married so many people in our family, including my Mom and Dad, and he will be marrying my cousin two weeks before our wedding in ATL! We had really considered having our ceremony outdoors and searched a lot of venues including the Botanical Gardens and Forest Park. The thought of an outdoor wedding to me would be so beautiful and perfect, but it's just too risky for the amount of time and money being spent for such an important day. In fact, the day after we were really considering booking MoBo's there was a major rain storm the entire day. Not one of those that lasts a half hour and it's sunny after that...this lasted the entire day. I took that as a sign that maybe it wasn't the best idea to plan an outdoor wedding. On top of that, we've got heat. June can definitely be a hot month, and especially based on how hot this Summer has been, with excessive heat warnings every other day, it seemed best to find some place indoors. Tim can't handle the heat as it is! Therefore, we settled on Third Baptist Church, and I am so happy we did : ) It even has a beautiful bride's room for all the girls to get ready in before the ceremony. Every aspect of it seems so perfect : )
As for our venue, we did a lot of the same going back and forth on so many different places. We wanted to feel everything out and weigh all our options before deciding on one thing because this is such a big and important decision! After much thought, we knew that we wanted our location to be in downtown St.  Louis (again with the church too), and we really wanted to reception to take place at a hotel in hopes of everyone staying after the reception. It is likely that if we were to not have it in a hotel our guests would be staying in a hotel nearby which means we would also have to consider transportation and what not, and me being the person I am, I would be wondering if everyone made it to their destination safely in the end of the night. I don't want to be worrying about such things on my wedding day therefore a hotel seemed like the perfect solution, and I hope this means more people will be staying. I want people to have so much fun that they just have to stay : ) We decided on The Westin St. Louis which is located directly across from Busch Stadium. It. Is. AMAZING. (Yes, I may be slightly biased because I am now employed at the Westin as well :) ) But really... I am truly in love with what we have chosen. The hotel itself is built in an old warehouse and everything inside is so new and modern and trendy. There is a great walkway for our guests to walk down in order to enter into the cocktail reception area which will then lead into the Promenade Ballroom. The ballroom itself consists of striped carpet flooring, wooden pillars in the middle of the room, and exposed ducts and brick (my absolute favorite). It has that lofty feel, and it's just us. Hands down we knew it was the place we wanted to be. 
Picking out the date and where we planned to actually have the ceremony and reception itself were definitely two of the hardest parts of the planning process thus far, and these are some of the most important decisions to be made...aside from first finding the man of my dreams to marry of course : ) I am so happy we got this settled so early on in the planning process. So many people made comments about us starting so soon after getting engaged, but you'll figure it out once you get married too...and for those of you who are current brides to be or recently married, I know you definitely understand...If you want the wedding to be everything you want when you want, where you want, and how you want it, you've got to start now. The sooner the better. So many of the places I have contacted are actually booked through 2012 believe it or not. I feel lucky that we've gotten everything we've wanted so far. I couldn't be happier. I'm just so anxious to see how everything turns out in the end. We're already down to about 300 days. Not much longer until the day of my dreams comes true : ) 
In the meantime, happy planning! More details to follow soon! We've gotten lots more done already in the process...I just need to get to sorting everything out! Best wishes to all those in the wedding world! : )


Third Baptist Church: 





The Westin St. Louis:








If you want to see more details about our ceremony and reception sites feel free to visit our website: www.steffenslucaswedding.com to see more details and info! And for those of you who will be attending the wedding, you will even be able to book your room for the wedding night and/or the night before right from our website as well!! Be sure to check it out!! : )