Missouri-St Louis

Outdoor Venue Help!!

I'm planning for a wedding next June (2013) and I'm looking for an outdoor venue. We love Bee Tree so far but I'm worried about not having anywhere to get ready beforehand (since they won't let you in the house there) and I'm worried about rain. 

I saw a few others I might look into: Lafatyette Park, Piper Palm House at Tower Grove Park, Carondolet Park seems to have some sort of old "mansion" or boat house, and I'm also considering the Butterfly House. 

Overall, we are on about a $5000 budget so I'm trying to keep it simple. 

Does anyone have any suggestions/tips/advice/info on any of these places?? Or any suggestions about the weather in early June?

Thanks!Smile

Re: Outdoor Venue Help!!

  • The overlook at Bee Tree is beautiful. I'm a wedding photog and have been able to find some great old barns, garages, etc for photo backdrops. You could rent a white tent and add twine, some flowers and a chalkboard sign outside showing it's the brides quarters. Tower Grove is also a great, central spot with tons of charm, photo spots, etc.
  • $5000 for ceremony only...? Or ceremony / reception... ? And is that budget just for the space, or the space plus food/ bar, entertainment ( dj, band).... Etc.... ? I'm assuming cake, flowers, dress, etc are not in this budget? One more question, number of guests? Sorry so many questions but it's hard to narrow good choices for you if we dunno. There's a lot out there and it makes a difference. :) But I swear I looked everywhere for a venue, so.... I feel like I know too much. ;)
  • Our budget for the entire wedding: EVERYTHING is $5,000 (oh yea, and the honeymoon). I know it's not much but both our families are working class and although they will probably try to chip in a little, we aren't counting on it. And I'm currently in Law School so I have no income. Really it's based on what my fiance can afford and the little I have in my savings. 

    My guess is it will probably go a little over this with the help of our parents, and depending on how much he can save this year and hoping I find a summer internship at a law firm, how much I can save too. Hence one of the reasons we are really interested in parks :)

    I hope that helps a little more! Thanks for your help in advance!
  • We did our wedding for about 5,000 in Fayetteville, AR. The food, my dress and the venues were the most. We used a family member to photograph bad choice, but I guess some photos are better than none. I made most of the floral decor with 1/2 off flowers from hobby lobby. I cut and tied them how I liked and nobody knew the difference. They looked great in photos. If you can find a nonprofit venue ours was on top of a mountain overlooking the city it is tax free. We also made our invites, etc.
  • It's gonna be tight. But it's achievable.... I don't think you're budget is going to work for the places you listed. A lot have caterers you must use and I think it'll be too much per head. If you could find one that you use your own... I looked at the annehuiser Busch soccer park ( in Fenton) might be very affordable for you. They also had a place to get ready, not a great place, it was kinda like a conference room, but it was spacious and had light, outlets, etc. you could get married outside and if it rained you would have a plan b because they have this foyer kinda thing which would be plenty big enough. Im sure they could work out a price with you. Tell them your budget is $4000, you're going to need at least a grand for extras you don't realize. Here's a link from google..
  • http://www.google.com/m/place?cid=10397148647438921733&q=anheuser+busch+soccer+park&fb=1&gl=us&hq=anheuser+busch+soccer+park&ei=OEFmT9q0H-KPsQLv9tm2Dw&oi=local_result&cd=2&ved=0CD4QnwIoATAD Well... There's the link. My iPad acts up sometimes and won't let me type anymore. Lol So look at the pics there. They used to have a website of their own I can't find it. The girl there said I could get married outside,have cocktails in that glass room, then reception in the other room where you see the fireplace. But if it rains, wedding in the glass room, then just have the cocktails and reception in other room. If you're not doing cocktail hour , then who cares? Just have the glass room as extra space - it all connects.
  • Hi - have you considered Laumeier Sculpture Park? The natural setting, and among the sculptures, makes for a beautiful and unique landscape. I handle PR there - get in touch if you're interested.
    Suzanne Sierra
    314.398.1391
  • Does the whole wedding need to be outdoors? And did you mention headcount?

    I can't remember all the deets, but I want to say the rental for Magic Chef Mansion would be under 2k (don't quote me!). They have a patio space and a little carraige house/barn type thing that can be opened up. They also have decent sized grounds (not sure what their policy is on having people out there all day).
    I think it's open catering so you can do whatever for food (they may even have a grill if you want to do BBQ... you'd need to check that though). And then you could use the inside of the house if it rained.
  • We are going to have between 60-85 people depending on if we invite children. No, we are actually looking to only do the wedding outdoors (it will be relatively short since I'm not religous so there's no mass or anything) and then we want an indoor reception. I woudln't mind outdoors but I think my mom would have a heart attack and complain the whole time so I'd just rather avoid it. I looked into the Magic Chef Mansion, they are actually a little pricey and you have to rent the barn separately so I don't think we're going to do that one. Right now we've (I think) narrowed it down to Bee Tree Park, Piper Palm House at Tower Grove, the Butterfly House, or Rau Garden in St. Charles at Blanchette Park. I'm not aware at least of anything else out there that's better but always taking suggestions! :)

    Thanks for the response!
  • Quail Ridge lodge in QUail Ridge Park!  It books up 1-2 yrs in advance for busy season but worth looking into.  Gorgeous 250 acre rustic park setting with a lodge that has huge glass windows and its only $650 to rent the place for the enitre day!  Plus you can bring your own alcohol food if really needing to save $$$$. :)
  • I should have mentioned its in Wentzville.  Heres a link to the park site.  You can find other pics of the place if you google search.  It looks really pretty at night with white lights on the deck and outside railing....  :)http://parks.sccmo.org/parks/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=138&Itemid=178
  • We actually looked into that. My Fiance's mom found it and it looked gorgeous but it was booked for all next summer already! We ended up deciding on Seven Gables Inn in Clayton. They have a really cute courtyard so it's still outside but they reserve the inside lounge just in case. All for just $200!!! Chairs included! But Bee Tree Park was our second choice- it's gorgeous. Still might to pictures there


    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_missouri-st-louis_outdoor-venue-help?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:87Discussion:3d40e4bf-fda3-4a4a-819a-4ec35fdfdfbfPost:04ca6e90-5473-49b6-80cf-e693c7a46174">Re: Outdoor Venue Help!!</a>:
    [QUOTE]I should have mentioned its in Wentzville.  Heres a link to the park site.  You can find other pics of the place if you google search.  It looks really pretty at night with white lights on the deck and outside railing....  :) <a href="http://parks.sccmo.org/parks/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=138&Itemid=178" rel="nofollow">http://parks.sccmo.org/parks/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=138&Itemid=178</a>
    Posted by toniamarie19[/QUOTE]
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