Casual/Unique venues to hold the ceremony AND reception (specifically Squires or City Museum)

LeFillenwarth

Good evening-

I've been reading some really great advice in this column and thought I would get some feedback on what we are looking for.

We are planning a June 2012 daytime wedding. We want it to be casual, unique, and fun. We are looking into non-traditional venues and want to make sure we have considered all of our options before coming to a decision. Oh, and we also hope to do the ceremony and reception at the same place.

We would like something near or in downtown, but I would be okay moving to the suburbs for a venue that is perfect. We extimate that our size would be about 100 and we are hoping to stick to $5000-$7000  for rental+food (difficult I know but I think it can be done!)

We have been looking around and strong contenders so far are City Museum, Squires, and Oliva on the Hill.

If you have any feedback on those three venues or have other ideas that maybe we haven't considered, please make some suggestions for us. Thanks!

mmpm97

We just had our reception at SqWires, and it was PHENOMENAL!!  I still have to do my vendor recs, but Bethany Budde at SqWire's was absolutely fantastic to work with--extremely flexible too.  We almost had our wedding ceremony at SqWires due to the rainy weather on the morning of our wedding (5/7/11), but it cleared up, so we went with our original ceremony location of Lafayette Park.  We had a brunch reception at SqWires, and everyone raved about the food.  I think that we ended up having about 100 people as well, and we were definitely under your price range.  Feel free to send me an e-mail, and I'm more than happy to give you more details.

jlk0219

I don't have any feedback on those three venues but I just wanted to throw in a couple more suggestions that might work for you- Schlafly Tap Room and Morgan Street Brewery.  We had our reception at Morgan Street in the Golden Pilsner Room but it was also our backup ceremony location in case of rain, so I know it would work for both a ceremony and reception.  In that case, you'd have your ceremony in the Golden Pilsner (top floor) and then your guests would go down one floor (to the bar/pool table room) while they flip your room for reception.  And Morgan St would def fit within your budget.

LeFillenwarth

Thanks for both of your feedback.

With Squires, one of my concerns is that it might be a little too informal for us. But, they do seem really great to work with and I like the idea of getting married in front of the fountain or in Lafayette Park. It's good to hear a success story. What kind of food did you have for your brunch?


And, thanks for bringing up Morgan St. Brewery for me! I actually looked into it before and eliminated it but I can't remember why. One perk of having it there is that you can get craft beers instead of the St. Louis Budweiser-which is all you can get at any other venue! What type of food did you have? Was paying for booze per consumption an issue for your budget?

LeFillenwarth

Also, jlk0219, I'm just curious...where did you do your ceremony?

BLedbetter

I will be having my wedding in october 2011 at the Oakland House

I also have a low(ish) budget and wanted an outdoor wedding cermemony and reception all in one place.

check it out!

www.afftonoaklandhouse.com
(technically in the county, but just barely)

mmpm97

Some of the food that we had was:  an omelette station (with two or three people making omelettes, I don't remember because I never got over there!), brioche french toast with maple syrup, biscuits and sausage with sage gravy, chicken breast with wild mushroom saute, roast pork loin with caramelized apples, and parmesan au gratin potatoes.  Bethany said that she was going to be adding new menu items in 2011, so there will likely be more.  You can see all of it on their website under brunch buffet menus.  SqWires also serves microbrews including Schlafly, and they can serve Heineken and Corona.  Good luck!

jlk0219

We had our ceremony in Lafayette Park, next to the large lake.  If you would like to have your ceremony at the same place as the reception, one of the perks of having it at Morgan Street is that they don't charge any extra for having the ceremony in the same room and then flipping it for reception (as long as the gap between ceremony & reception isn't any longer than 1.5 hrs).  And they have white wooden folding chairs (nicer looking than your average reception hall chair), so you don't have chair rental to figure into the ceremony price.  FYI- cost for getting the permit for a Lafayette Park wedding is $300, plus you would have to rent chairs & sound system.  You can see pics of everything in my Married Bio.

We ended up having a plated dinner because it was so cheap compared to other venues- but you could go even cheaper depending on the options you choose.  During cocktail hour we had baby crab cakes with some type of dipping sauce (can't remember what) and bruschetta.  Actually, I never got any apps cause they were all gone by the time we got there, but everyone said they were really good. Our guests chose between Beef Wellington or Chicken Breast stuffed with Crabmeat and Boursin Cheese- SO good!  Both entrees came with a baby spinach salad, fusilli pasta with a roasted garlic cream sauce, fresh green beans, a potato dish, and a vegetable medley (squash, zucchini and other veggies in olive oil).  The beef was $22.95 pp and the chicken was $19.95 pp- and they were large portions- everyone got a ton of food.  Guests were still raving about how good the food was for months afterward.  They also have a separate kids' menu so kids can order chicken fingers & such at the time of the dinner.  All of their banquet info is on their website, including some of the pricing.

As far as the bar goes, it ended up being much cheaper than we were expecting.  We were a little nervous about that cause we didn't know how much people would drink.   We even ended up having a champagne toast (every single guest got their choice of champagne or sparkling grape juice, not just the head table) because it was less than $50.  Yes, they do have their craft beers that they brew on-site, but Morgan St will also work with you to get any kind of alcohol that you want.  If you want something specific, just ask and they'll get it through their distributor especially for you.  For instance, their house champagne is brut which we hate, so they got us an asti (sweeter) and they got us sparkling grape juice because many members of my hubby's fam are Mormon- and like I said, it was less than $50 for everyone to get a champagne toast.  Also, my hubby LOVES Coors Light which is hard to find in STL bars, so they got him a couple cases of that too.  I don't remember how much it was, but it was negligible.

If you have any other questions, just ask.  Morgan Street definitely isn't as "easy" as the all-in-one package banquet halls (you have to rent a dance floor for some of the rooms), but they are extremely accommodating and definitely have the non-traditional vibe you are going for.  Booking them for our reception was one of the best decisions we made.

LeFillenwarth

Wow, thank you so much for your feedback! The food you had at your wedding sounds amazing...thank you! We're still considering our options.

Allieycat

I haven't had my wedding yet, but I have the Lemp Grand hall booked for my October wedding. We were going for a more historical vibe and this definitely fits the bill. The hall is on the thrid floor of the building and there's a deck that overlooks the area. You'd think it would cost a lot more than it actually does.
Talk with Pat, she's been very accomadating and will be up front with you about the pricing. You can also go to the Lemp Mansion website (the hall is around the corner from it, but managed by the same people) and get pricing and food options.
I have to admit, this took a lot of the stress out of the wedding now that I know I won't have to worry about tables, chairs, food, glasses... it's all included.
Oh! And a suprisingly cheap open bar is included in the price as well!

I'm just having my reception there, but you can have the wedding there as well.
I bet those pictures will turn out fabulous!