Article by: Ashley McLeod

As June rolls in, we often think of the beach, warm weather and long days. Whether you plan to spend June chilling poolside, or making an epic road trip, a playlist is always in order. These are a few of the best songs about the month of June, and with a little something from every genre, everyone should be able to find something to make their perfect soundtrack of summer.

Train – “Drops of Jupiter”

Train‘s “Drops of Jupiter” definitely had its time in the sun as a hit pop song, but who remembers the line “Since the return from her stay on the moon/She listens like spring and she talks like June, hey, hey”? Whether you’re looking to bring back some 2000s nostalgia, or just enjoy a fun song, “Drops of Jupiter” is a great fit for your summer listening.

Rascal Flatts – “Words I Couldn’t Say”

Bringing in the feels, Rascal Flatts get right to it with the line “In a line in a song I once heard/In a moment on a front porch late one June.” This song is a beautiful ode to someone who’s gone now, and everything you wish you’d said to them before they left. When you might be having all the overwhelming feelings on a long June night, Rascal Flatts are there for you.

Dean Martin – “June in January”

While technically more about January than the month of June, this Dean Martin classic still covers warm weather and love. Martin croons “I can feel the scent of roses in the air/It’s June in January/But only because I’m in love with you.” A little old fashioned music is never a bad choice, and Martin is of course one of the best.

Alan Jackson – “Rainy Day in June”

Alan Jackson‘s 2004 song reminds us that not every day in June is sunshine and dandelions. As Jackson says, he’s feeling pretty blue missing someone, and the gray skies of a rainy day aren’t helping. This touching song is a great choice to cover your more forlorn feelings during the summer’s happiest month.

Van Morrison – “Evening In June”

If this one doesn’t make you feel like you’re swinging in a hammock somewhere tropical, then just nothing might. Van Morrison tackles all of the classic June elements: blue skies, moonlight, sitting by the water, flowers, and of course, romance. The wind instruments are a nice touch in the track, giving it the perfect easy listening vibe.

The Smashing Pumpkins – “Bye June”

When June starts to fade away, this Smashing Pumpkins song is the perfect fit. Played acoustically on guitar, the song sees Billy Corgan’s voice take on a distinctively calmer feel than his usual screech. Though it lacks the anger and volume of much of the Pumpkins’ catalog, this song is a wonderfully refreshing, breezy take on one of the ultimate alternative bands, perfect for summer.

Bright Eyes – “June on the West Coast”

Providing the best California vibes this side of the Beach Boys, this Bright Eyes track takes the listener on a trip through warmer weather, dry breezes, and beaches where the Pacific ocean crashes hard. This song will resonate with anyone who’s waded through the feelings of where to settle down and place some roots, forgetting past loves, and dwelling on childhood memories.

The Decemberists – “June Hymn”

The ultimate song of June, The Decemberists’ folk-pop “June Hymn” heralds in summer in the most perfect way. Listening to this song will make you want to relax on the front porch, drinking a big glass of cold sweet tea, while reminiscing of your grandma hanging laundry on the line. It’s a perfectly sunny, happy song like this which will make you feel so lucky to be alive.

The Great Escape is the Ultimate Party Band, covering the dance hits of today with a touch of the ones you grew up with. We cover everything from Journey, Prince, The Blues Brothers, Michael Jackson, Gretchen Wilson, Miranda Lambert, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Maroon 5, One Republic, to James Brown, CeeLo Green, The Roots, and much more. Please see our full Song List!

Check out their new video! Things will be opening up again soon, and they’ll be ready to play your wedding, private event, party, club, restaurant, etc. Check out their social media and give them a like & share!

https://www.facebook.com/TheGreatEscapeSTL/

https://www.instagram.com/thegreatescapebandstl/

We opened in Summer of 2015 and haven’t stopped hosting unforgettable and elegant weddings since. Discover why so many brides have said “I Do” to Silver Oaks Chateau. Hosting couples tying the knot is our passion. On your wedding day, Silver Oaks Chateau is exclusively open for you and your guests.

Silver Oaks Chateau is fortunate enough to feature 8 unique ceremony locations… and that’s just what we’ve come up with; the possibilities are endless! Whether you have 10 guests or 200, we are confident we are offering you the most beautiful, most flexible options. When you choose Silver Oaks Chateau, you are choosing to have your day, your way. Choose your ceremony time and location, tell us how you’d like the chairs set up, and add one of our arbors if you’d like!

Approximately 6 months prior to your wedding date, we schedule your first of two bridal meetings. During this first meeting, we will help to develop the timeline for your day, go through the reception layout and explain what you can expect from us on your day. We will advise and direct, but in the end it is your call. Here are a few facts and key insights to be aware of prior to making any large decorating or seating decisions!

• The maximum we can seat for a sit down dinner is 280 guests. This is assuming your head table is on the stage and your meal is served plated rather than utilizing a buffet.
• We can fit 6 round tables in the balcony, a total of 60 guests.

• Using all round tables, we can comfortably seat around 170 guests on the main floor.
• The most we can seat on the stage is 16 people. The most we can seat in one line in front of the windows is 18 people.
• We have 7 cocktail tables, a “sweetheart” table, and a cake table on wheels- all of which you are welcome to use.
• Our stage measures 24’ W x 15’ D- you’ll notice we try to mirror the same size for the dance floor when creating your floor plan. That is a large dance floor for your sized group!
• With a large group utilizing 2 buffets, your buffets will typically be set up on the dance floor at first and then quickly broken down in time for toasts and first dances.
• Visit their website! http://www.silveroakschateau.com/

Curious as to why Silver Oaks Chateau is rated the #1 Wedding Ceremony Venue in the St. Louis area? Click here to learn how to personalize your day.

Article by: Melody Fanning

Covid-19, the unwanted wedding guest…

We know that getting married right now, or even a little later in the future might not give you the “picture perfect” wedding, but look on the bright side, it’s a wedding NOBODY will forget. Here are some cute and funny wedding favors that your guests will love!

According to the EPA Clorox, Purell, and Lysol are cleaning disinfectants that possibly kill corona-virus. Consider purchasing these miniature hand sanitizers, they might be the perfect wedding favor this season! I would also think about having hand sanitizer, wipes, or some type of disinfectant accessible in high usage/busy areas.

Roll with the flow and give your guests a wedding favor that they can use. Plus, it will give them a good laugh!

Even though you want to give everyone the biggest hugs, its best to stay 6 feet apart or be safe with elbow and fist bumps. But you can also let them know how much you really love and miss them by giving out this super cute candle as a wedding favor!

Give out these adorable tissue packages with your own little thank you notes! Your guests will definitely be needing them when they see you walk down the isle. Only happy tears here!

Lastly, give your wedding guests something they wont forget, a cute mask embroidered with your wedding date and name. Your wedding will be unlike any other, and that’s okay because it will be memorable in it’s own special way. We’re always faced with so many challenges in life, this is just another challenge that we have get through, together!

Article by: Melody Fanning

If your venue is not available for a Saturday wedding, you might just opt for a Friday or Sunday. But sometimes that isn’t always an option. Don’t be scared of weekday weddings! It is important to be open minded, especially right now! Many 2020 weddings have been postponed due to the corona-virus, and need to be rescheduled. That is quite a few weddings, which means dates are going fast. If your weekend date didn’t work out, don’t worry! Here are a few reasons to consider a weekday wedding.

They are trending in 2020!

Many people are looking for dates to reschedule their big day, so don’t feel weird about having a weekday wedding, they are going to be pretty common this year.

Most people have or are going to change their date

One in five are changing their wedding date, and between the months of May to December 2020, over 63,000 couples have now set ceremony dates for Mondays. Talk it out with your partner and really decide what is more important, the date or the venue?

You Can Change the Format of the Events

With a weekday wedding there is flexibility with scheduling events. Welcome party, wedding, brunch. Give your guests some unexpected moments! If you were going to have a welcome dinner the day before the wedding, maybe change it to a post wedding dinner. That way you can get a chance to reconnect after a night of fun and keep celebrating!

Weekday Weddings Work!

If you are unable to get your desired weekend date then you should start looking at other days of the week, specifically Mondays. A Monday wedding increases the chance that your original team of vendors will be available. It also follows a weekend, which will give your guests time to travel and settle. You might also plan a warm welcome party where your loved ones can connect and really prepare themselves for your big day!

Article by Melody Fanning

A day so magnificent should be shared with ALL your friends and family. Yes, I am talking about your life long four-legged bestie. Ideally, every engaged couple would want them by their side. But let’s be real, a lot of times this isn’t always practical. Have no fear, here are 8 totally adorable ways you can also include your pet in your wedding!

Have your pet attend the wedding!

Remember that there are plenty of variables that will determine whether your pet will be able to attend. Some things include the location, venue, and obviously your pet! Really make sure consider your pet’s character when reading about these next few ideas. Don’t think that just because you don’t have a dog or cat, that you can’t bring your pet. Many couples have brought their horses, rabbits and goats with them on their big day!

Walk down the aisle together

Your furry companion has been there for you during the good and bad times. So, they definitely need to be present for the “I dos” just imagine how memorable!

Dress up your furry friend!

Dress your pup up in a matching bow tie of the groomsmen or a little doggy dress so she could be an honorary flower girl!

 Include them in a few pictures!

Even if your pet can’t make it down the aisle, you can still have forever lasting memories by including them in pictures!

Make them the ring bearer

Have a custom pillow made for your fur baby to carry down the aisle. (Of course, entrust the real rings to the best man)

Mention them in the ceremony

One of the easiest ways to include your pet in your wedding is by mentioning them in your ceremony! You could also reserve a seat for them just so they are in spirit!

Incorporate them into your cake

Another simple way to have your bestie with you on your big day is to add them in your wedding cake!  You can ask your baker to incorporate your furry friend or even get an animal cake topper!

Include them in your decorations!

There are so many ways you can give your pet some spotlight when adding them to your stationary! It could be as simple as putting up a cute display or adding pictures together on your save the dates!

–Article by Melody Fanning

Drawing up the details of your wedding all starts with choosing the right colors! Wedding colors can majorly impact your look and how you feel on your big day, so you should take your time making right decision. Knowing how to pick your wedding colors is often easier said than done. But don’t worry! Here are a few tips on how to begin your thought process!

Choose a main color and get inspired!

When thinking about your wedding colors, you need to choose one main color in order to build the rest of your palette. Base colors can range from anywhere on the color wheel! It all just depends on the kind of aesthetic you are going for. But most importantly, make sure that it is something that YOU absolutely love!

Decide on what kind of style/aesthetic you want

How do you want your friends and family to feel on your wedding day? More importantly, how do YOU want to feel on your wedding day? Creating an aesthetic with visually appealing colors can bring beauty to your whole venue. Perhaps you want an elegant palette, with deep and rich colors of ruby, emerald, and sapphire. Or maybe you want a light passionate palette with pretty pastels. Get creative with it! Decide what kind of style are you going for and make it your own. Really think about the atmosphere you want to have on your big day!

Consider your venue

Next, think about your venue and its surroundings. Is your venue an open ballroom style with empty white walls? If so, then choose your colors freely and get creative! Other venues such as hotels, cathedrals, and country clubs usually tend to have their own little decorations. If that’s the case, then look at what colors are already in place and incorporate those into your palette. You want to make sure that your palette complements your venue and vice versa.

What Season is it?

Think about the time of the year and what colors will flow. For instance, lighter colors like a rosy blush would be perfect for spring, and in the summer, brighter colors like a saffron yellow would pop! Maybe you want the fall seasonal standard of sea buttery neutrals and monochromatic darks, or the cool light pastels for winter. Whatever the season, be sure not to diss the colors you absolutely love just because of the seasonal rules!

Don’t stress!

Choosing your colors should be something fun and inspirational, don’t get too caught up in having every single detail matching. Give your look some variety! Also, don’t be afraid to be a little selfish, choose colors that will flatter YOU! Use your palette as more of a guideline rather than a regulation, and lastly have fun with it!

the dream team:

THE VENUE: Bissinger’s Caramel Room website
THE CATERING: 23 City Blocks website
THE DJ: Allegro Entertainment website
THE PLANNER: Aaren Muex / Divine Events website
THE CAKE: Celebrating Life Cakes website
BOSNIAN DESSERTS: Zlatne Kapi website
THE HAIR/MAKE-UP: Refeyeance website
THE DRESS: Bridal Manor website
THE SUIT: Downtown Tailoring website
THE FLORALS: Alex Waldbart Florist website
THE DECOR: An Affair To Remember website
THE PHOTOGRAPHER: Arndt Photo & Cinema website
THE REHEARSAL DINNER: Lemmons website

• 

• 

• 

• 

the dream proposal:

Amir and I love to travel. It’s not an uncommon occurrence for me to come home from work on a Friday evening to Amir asking, “want to go somewhere this weekend?”. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for Amir to plan a week-long trip but leave the destination a surprise as it also happened to be the week of my 30th birthday. Amir had recently been asking a lot about camping, so my inquisitive mind was certain I had it all figured out. We packed up our pups and hit the road. We arrived in Saugatuck, a picturesque little town on Lake Michigan. We stayed in a beautiful farmhouse with a secret garden feel. Our first evening it rained, so Amir surprised me with an itinerary he had created. This isn’t his norm. I immediately thought, he is going to propose on Wednesday on the retro boat ride he had planned. Despite the rain that evening, Amir was insistent on driving by the beach. I wondered how he came across this charming little town. Knowing him and his love for researching things, I wasn’t the least bit surprised. Fast-forward to Tuesday and I know tomorrow will be the day that he is going to propose. We visit the beach at evening to catch a glimpse of the sunset. Amir is insistent we go see the sunset. We walk the beach and make our way up to a pier that overlooks the beach. We had both been taking photos of the sunset, but Amir had asked if he could take a photo of the sunset through my phone. Thinking nothing out of the ordinary, I turn back toward the beach. When I turned back around, I see him on one knee. My heart was smiling. I was so shocked I couldn’t say YES fast enough!

what was your favorite wedding day memory?

Amir: One of my favorite moments from our wedding was hearing the how heartfelt Lynlee’s vows were Another favorite moment was from the day of our rehearsal. Lynlee surprised me with a Groom’s Cake that looked like a Bosnian coffee pot and cup. We rode to rehearsal together but had to pick something up before. She wouldn’t tell me what. She drove and had me ride all the way with my eyes closed. We are terrible at keeping surprises from each other. She couldn’t wait until dinner to show me the amazing cake she had made for me! Lynlee: It’s so hard to pick just ONE favorite memory. I often ask Amir when we can have another wedding because it was so amazing and fun. I decided last minute to wear my veil over my face, something we didn’t really practice or talk about. I texted him to let him know, but he didn’t see the message. Amir looked surprised when I made it down the aisle. I had to whisper to him a couple of times to flip the veil back! Our favorite memory collectively has to be, our officiant, who is also a friend of ours got caught up in the moment and forgot to tell people to be seated! Luckily, it was a short ceremony. She realized mid-way through the ceremony, and I couldn’t help but chuckle as she whispered her realization. We all get a good chuckle out of this!

where did you go on your honeymoon?

Our honeymoon was nothing short of magical. Before our real adventure began, we immersed ourselves in one of Scandinavia’s most beautiful cities, Stockholm. Here we enjoyed traditional Swedish cuisine and some of Stockholm’s many museums. From Stockholm we traveled to Helsinki, Finland before making our way to the far North above the Arctic Circle. We experienced an Arctic winter with well below freezing temperatures, frozen seas, and snow more than four feet tall. On multiple occasions, we were fortunate to witness one of the worlds most beautiful natural phenomena, the Northern Lights. An adrenaline-charged evening of mushing a team of sled dogs to a calm relaxing sleigh ride led by reindeer, our honeymoon was full of new explorations. Traveling more than 100 km by snowmobile, we explored Lapland’s snowy forests and frozen lakes and swamps. We spent some nights in all glass igloos not to obstruct the sensational views of the dark night sky. However, it wasn’t all comfort on our Honeymoon! We spent a couple of nights “cold”. We spent nights in both a snow hotel and an ice hotel, where the temperatures remain a constant -5 to -8C. Despite being cold those were experiences we didn’t want to miss. One last thing we couldn’t miss while on our honeymoon, visiting the official hometown of Santa and meeting Santa Claus himself!

how was your experience with allegro?

When we first started talking about music selections, we thought “how hard can it be?”. We are so thankful to Allegro for easing this process tremendously! The packet is beyond helpful and having preset due dates is honestly a stress reliever. When we needed help working through something, Dori was able to guide us. Eric was our DJ. He called a few days before to work through things with us, how we may want things announced, pronunciation of names just to be sure, among a few other things. We had some not so typical requests such as traditional Bosnian music, but Allegro did everything to make sure we found what we were looking for. Needless to say, he did an awesome job!

• 

• 

did you enjoy working with divine events?

Aaren Muex with Divine Events was AMAZING! When we first asked Allegro about Day-Of-Coordinating, we were referred to her, and booked with her that same weekend. Aaren was really the glue that held everything together, and made sure that our night turned out perfect! From coordinating everything, to her extreme attention to detail, we could not have had such as amazing and relaxing time without her and her team’s support! We would not have had as smooth and perfect of a wedding without her♥

• 

• 

• 

• 

give us a post-wedding update…

Life is flying by! We were fortunate to have family from Europe here for our wedding. We loved getting to spend time with them and show them some of our favorite places in the city after the wedding. We waited to honeymoon so we could spend time with our visiting European family, so we just returned from our honeymoon mid-February. One of our favorite things post wedding is getting to refer to each other is “husband” and “wife”. We are hoping to get back to traveling as soon as possible. Exploring the world is one of our favorite ways to spend time together. We travel with our boxer, Lenox, and our goldendoodle, Sanders, whenever we can. In the meantime, we are learning a new language together!

So you’ve just had the best day of your life, but it’s not over quite yet. The DJ has just announced that he’s getting ready to play the last song of the night, and you are gathered on the dance floor with your new Husband/Wife, surrounded by all of your friends and family…. What song will be played?

At Allegro Entertainment, we have built in a 3 month planning process with every one of our wedding packages. We provide our clients with planning documents, an online client portal to keep things organized, and multiple meetings to discuss such details.

Just like all the other music you choose to implement into your wedding day experience, it’s important to select a Last Song of the Night that has meaning to you. Maybe it’s a silly song that reminds you of an inside joke, a song that was always played at the college bar where you two met, or maybe it’s just a popular song with fitting lyrics that indicate the ending of the evening. Whatever the title, whatever the reason, the Last Song of the Night should be something you have put some thought into.

To help give you a head start in brainstorming, we’ve compiled the TOP 10 Most Popular Last Song options we see our couples choose…

#10 – COUNTRY ROADS TAKE ME HOME

#9 – FRIENDS IN LOW PLACES

#8 – LAST DANCE

#7 – DON’T STOP THE music

#6 – I DON’T WANT THIS NIGHT TO END

#5 – Take me home tonight

#4 – save the last dance for me

#3 – don’t stop believing

#2 – i’ve had the time of my life

#1 – closing time