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Budget wedding in St. Louis?

becky238becky238
in Illinois-Southern Illinois
Hello all!  I have never written on here before, but I figured that I would give it a shot and see what kind of advice is out there...I was wondering if anyone had any great tips on hosting a budget wedding in STL or surrounding areas.  We are looking to keep it between $5,000 and $10,000, which is max.  I was hoping for an outdoor wedding, with the ceremony and reception being held at the same location.  The Botanical Gardens is nice, but very pricey when trying to keep the budget so low.  Do you think that it is possible to host a nice wedding with such a small budget?  Is it worth contacting a wedding planner?  I am really hoping to make it look and feel like it cost a lot, but it really didn't.  HELP!
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Re: Budget wedding in St. Louis?

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    bhrettbhrett
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Try the jewel box at Forest Park maybe?  FP has loads of nice places to host your ceremony.  I am doing a <10,000 wedding too and I refuse to get a wedding planner (the ceremony is DW).  I wouldn't if I were you.  You don't want to sink 20% of your budget into someone that tells you what to do, do you? 
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    steph72881steph72881
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    As long as you have a small guest list, you can pull off the Shrine in Belleville or the Falls in Columbia, IL.  The Falls has an outdoor area for the wedding, but it is a small area and then they have rooms for the reception of course.
    If you want a St. Louis Wedding, try Town Grove Park, its inexpensive, but you're guests will need to stand, unless you rent chairs.
    We are well under $10,000, but I had to use CKL of I  in Swansea, so I could have a 300-400 guest list. It was only $11.25 a plate, so the reception budget is $4,000.
    And I'd skip the wedding planner as long as you have someone to help you- bridesmaids, moms, fiance, crazy Aunt, etc. Good Luck!
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    omgitscaseyomgitscasey
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Another great place is the Crystal Garden in Edwardsville.. I'm not sure how much they cost but the place is gorgeous.. I'm having my reception at the Collinsville Gateway Center and for 125 people including food (open bar), decorations, and an hour cocktail hour its gonna cost a little over $4000. I think its pretty reasonable because the decorate and do all the linens and china. I was going to have the ceremony outside in Woodland park in Collinsville, but its a July wedding and I didn't wanna chance it being a scorcher.

    Good Luck!

    006

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    ilythiailythia member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Do you have any friends in the St. Louis area with a nice yard for an outdoor wedding? 

    I noticed the locations people mentioned, the ones that are in doors will help cut your cost, but not sure if that is what you really want.  If you do shoot for the outdoor wedding a tent is very realistic for rain or whatever might happen. But tents are not cheap.  That's why I think your best bet to save on money and really be outdoors is to use a nice yard of a friend. 

    If Forest park would let you rent space on it's ground it would probably be the cheapest option for an outdoor tent.  The botanical garden is very pricey, I checked that out for myself.
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    SarahF20SarahF20
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We are using the Jewel Box in Forest Park, which seats 250 and the rental fee is only $900. Luckily, the only decorating in there you really need to do is buy an aisle runner since it's already filled with gorgeous flowers. Forest Park also has other areas you can rent for smaller outdoor ceremonies. If you check out their website you can see all the prices, however, unless you are getting married in the fall or winter months, you need to book about a year in advance.
    For our reception we are using the N.O Nelson Center on the Lewis and Clark campus in Edwardsville, IL. The food is kind of pricey, but the rental fee is anywhere from $200-$500. Our budget is about $15,000 but we will come in closer to $10,000 using these places.
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