Need an outdoor venue in the St.Louis MO area

Renee0402

Hi! I'm looking for a venue where I can have both my ceremony and reception. I've considered parks, but our wedding is in late August and I'm afraid it might be too hot to have both outside. I'm on a VERY tight budget and I thought I could save by having the ceremony and reception in the same place. We always wanted an outside wedding. I thought we could set up a sound system and avoid a large dj expense, and have BBQ, pasta salad, fruit salad..etc. What do you guys think? Have you been to a wedding like that before? I want it to be fun and informal...mostly because I can't afford to have a big extravagant wedding. If you have any helpful suggestions as to a better venue than a park pavilion for the reception and gazebo for the ceremony....I'm all ears. Thank you in advance. This is so stressful! Lol

aragx6

Fun and informal is fine, but it sounds as though you're not going to have it catered. it's important to think about who will make the food, how you'll get it there, how you'll ensure it stays at a safe temperature (both hot and cold dishes) and who will clean up after the event. Don't depend on family or friends for these sorts of things.

You should look at the Victorian pavilions in Tower Grove Park -- they're gorgeous.

helleb

You might have better luck on the local wedding boards.  I needed some ideas about caterers and put it on there and had many specific ideas which was wonderful.

I think a fun informal wedding sounds like a lot of fun.  We are looking into renting a vacation home for our outdoor ceremony b/c our guest list is small.  Maybe something like that would work for you too!

Hope this helps

aragx6

^I would have suggested that, but the local board is literally empty. There are posts on the front page from 2 months ago.

Renee0402

Thank you for your suggestions. My grandfather has a small BBQ catering business so I was planning on him doing it. Does it sound silly to have it all at a park though?

Renee0402

I have just never been to a wedding like that before and I'm not sure how to go about making it work.

helleb

Check out intimateweddings.com they had a "real weddings" section that I looked at the other day.  It was super cute some of the things people were doing that were very easy and informal like hanging paper poms etc.  They had a LOT of pictures so maybe that would help.

I have been to weddings where the ceremonies were at a public park and they were beautiful.   I would think that a reception would be just as nice

Sorry about your local board, that really does suck.  I have gotten a lot of good advice from mine and its always nice to have specifics.

Renee0402

Yes, it does stink, I tried posting on there first but I had zero replies. I will check out that site. Thank you very much for your help. I appreciate it!

aragx6

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_outdoor-weddings_need-an-outdoor-venue-in-the-stlouis-mo-area?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:666Discussion:ef84c11a-2be8-47cb-8c11-fdde17fa3d2cPost:9a396af5-48fb-4d2d-ad61-045ddc005156">Re: Need an outdoor venue in the St.Louis MO area</a>:
[QUOTE]Thank you for your suggestions. My grandfather has a small BBQ catering business so I was planning on him doing it. Does it sound silly to have it all at a park though?
Posted by Renee0402[/QUOTE]

I think that sounds <em>awesome</em>. If you focus on the stuff people remember and care about -- good food, good drinks -- I promise your guests will have a great time.

Do ensure you have proper event insurance  -- your uncle's company might already carry this if they do full-service catering, but if not you can get it from any insurance company.

Oh and definitely post on Budget Weddings -- the ladies over there are a great resource!

Renee0402

Okay, thank you!

NOLAbridealmost

I'm not sure how many of these outdoor areas "do" weddings because I am not in the St. Louis wedding circuit, but having grown up there St. Louis is a terrific place for outdoor spaces.  The Art Museum's terrace overlooking the fountains, Grant's Farm, the old stables at the AB Brewery, Turtle Park, the Zoo, I could go on and on....I'd call Forrest Park's guest services and ask them what options they have for outdoor weddings.