Lost in Illinois

jenking1616

We are getting married 1 year from now. I just moved to Illinois, around Belleville. We are having our wedding here or in the STL area. My choice, he says! The problem is I don't know ANYTHING about these areas. I don't know about where to have the ceremony, reception, or anything! I can barely make it to work and the grocery without getting lost! LOL! Do you gals think I should hire a coordinator? Any suggestions would be great!

bee8278

I'm planning from out of town, fiance from St Louis so I'd never been there before. It's do-able if you have the time/energy to put into it but I'd sure there are good wedding planners too. I guess you'd first need to narrow down which area of town you want to be in and your budget. St Louis Bride & Groom magazine (free at many bridal places) has good resources in different price ranges. I've gotten a lot of suggestions on here when I got to specific vendors - asked for help when I was choosing reception site, then florist, etc.

mickylvr1

I grew up in that area of IL an now live in MO (byu the airport). I can try to help you out if you want. Do you know your guest list size or budget? Those 2 are big things to know or at least have an idea of when you start looking. Are you wanting hotel, church with hall, something else?

stephy1126

I don't think you necessarily need to hire a coordinator.  This is a great place to find out about things in your area.  I found my ceremony site on the STL board.  I live about 15-20 minutes away from the site and I never knew about it until I asked for ideas on here.  If you have the extra money, hire one but I think this is a great place for ideas and inspiration.  Good luck girl! 

DrudgesBabii

I was just in Belleville a few weeks ago doing a session with our photog! We live about 150+ miles from there in Missouri. We are having our wedding in Grafton, IL at the Pere Marquette Lodge and Conference Center...It is an absolutely beautiful area! you could do an indoor our outdoor wedding there easily..its absolutely gorgeous! pmlodge.net is their site. We are using a photographer from Lebanon, IL who is absolutely amazing, she is phenomenal!! Her prices are very reasonable! her website is moltobellaphotography.com You can e-mail her to get prices, etc. There are so many beautiful areas to have a wedding out there! Good luck!!

jenking1616

Our guest list will be small, at appx 60. We are only inviting family and very close friends. As for budget, well, we have not made a budget. We decided we would pay for whatever we needed and what was necessary, but ideally we would like to keep it under $10,000. We have already paid for our rings and honeymoon, not to be included in that "budget". Our friend owns a DJ company and is gifting us that service, and my best friend is a wedding photographer of 15 years and is gifting us that serivce. A judge friend in St Clair Co is officiating at no cost as a gift also. So, those are 5 expenses we do not have to pay. We want small and not very formal as we have both been married before and already did the "BIG" wedding thing.

stephy1126

Try Hidden Lake Winery in Aviston, IL.  I haven't been there but it is supposed to be very nice.  Oh and I agree with PP.  Pere Marquette in Grafton is beautiful as well. 

melbee327

In my opinion wedding coordinators are a waste of money...but that is for u to decide.  Go to the bridal shows and you can get a great start on a lot of vendors in the area.  I had no idea where to start and I went to the shows and listened to what people said on here...and im halfway done with my planning.

shawna77inil

I don't think a wedding coordinator would be necessary at all.  Since you have such a good sized budget considering everything that is already paid for, you could have your reception just about anywhere you want.  Good places in the area that I would suggest with your budget would be Fischer's, which is on Main Street in Belleville or The Shrine which is on highway 15.  They both have very good food, are pretty easy to find and would be able to accomodate you with no problem whatsoever with the size of your party.  Hope this helps!

callista.chen

We just got married at Pere Marquette in Grafton, Illinois.  Was a bit cold last Saturday (Oct 17) but absolutely gorgeous. We decided to do an indoor ceremony because of the cold weather.  At the last minute they let us hold the ceremony in the Great Room in front of the fireplace (which they don't usually allow in the fall because there are so many non-wedding-related guests in the Lodge to see the fall colors).  Made all the difference.  Also did reception inside.  I will post a longer review of the venue in a separate thread (sometime in the next few weeks).