From rustic barns, to elegant ballrooms, contemporary museums to industrial warehouses, St. Louis offers a plethora of wedding venues to choose from.  So where do you start?

STEP ONE: Consider Your Budget First

Since there are so many different styles and sizes you can choose from, prices can range anywhere from $1,500 – $9,000 just to rent event space, so it’s important to consider EVERYTHING when planning your budget.

According to the 2020 Wedding Report, the average wedding in St. Louis cost $22,000.

Once you land a total amount, that you feel comfortable with, THEN you can start actually planning your wedding.  Why is this important?  Without stating a number, you leave yourself vulnerable to overspending, which will only result in buyer’s remorse, making it very difficult to enjoy the whole wedding day experience.  Trust me, I’ve seen it.

STEP TWO: Create Your Guest List

I know what you’re thinking… “Dori?! C’mon!  Can’t we start touring venues yet?  I’ll think about my guest list later!!!” 

Wellllllll…. You can, but let’s be realistic.  It doesn’t matter how much you love a particular venue, if you won’t be able to fit all of your guests inside of it.  Right?!

Creating The Perfect Guest List is another article, for another blog post, so I’ll skip ahead….. Once you’ve tallied up the names on your list, remember that on average 20% of your invited guests will not be able to make it, and now with COVID concerns still lingering, that number might even be as high as 30%.

I’m telling you this because it will help you to zero in on the realistic number for your headcount.
For instance, your invited list tallies up to be 200 guest…. Then you subtract 20% (40 people) you will most likely have around 160 in attendance on the day of your wedding.

STEP THREE: Consider Location & Logistics

YAY!!!! Now you’re ready to tour!  Well, almost!
Your wedding day is all about you and your boo, but I also want you to consider your guests, as we take a look into where to host your Big Day! 

Questions To Ask Yourself:

1.) Is there a location that is centrally located between my relatives and my fiancé’s relatives?

2.) Do we have a lot of out-of-town guests that will need lodging accommodations?

3.) Are there some specific St. Louis hotspots we MUST have our photos taken on our wedding day?

4.) Do we have any handicap guests, or loved ones with mobility issues?

STEP FOUR: Style & Concept – Now that you’re ready for the fun stuff!  What are you envisioning for your wedding day vibe?  Are you wanting something Rustic Chic?  Maybe something Classic & Regal?  Below, you will find a guide I’ve created for you…..  6 venue venues per category, sorted by direction from St. Louis County.

Let’s have a heart to heart, (pats the couch) come have a seat sister girl. 

I want to talk about a not so glittery side of wedding planning.
It’s a slippery slope, so I want to make you are aware of the potential risk of wedding addiction.

First of all, I want you to know that I fully understand how exciting, stressful, and all consuming everything can be when you’re trying to balance the multiple aspects of planning a wedding, AND keep up with regular daily life. 

I get it girl.  It’s a lot.

Since most of us woman LOVE a good to-do list that we can sink our teeth into, we relish in the organization of our wedding binders, pinterest boards, and don’t even get me started on the spreadsheets.  Gah!  Its deliciously detailed.  I mean, its like we can’t get enough of it…. 😬

And that is exactly what I want us to focus on today….

Once it’s planned….  Let it be (clap👏)

Imagine this… You get your hands on your grandmother’s insanely scrumptious flourless chocolate fudge cake recipe.  It’s your favorite!  You’re so excited that you immediately head to the store, get all the ingredients, rush home, put on your perfectly adorable apron, and go to town like you’re Betty Freakin’ Crocker.

Pinch of this, dash of that, stir stir stir, little batter taste, and viola!
It’s time to pour this gooey goodness into your super cute cake pan, EEK!

Then into the oven it goes!

But guess what?!  Once it goes into the oven, the OVEN does the work from there.

You can’t pull it back out, and start adding or removing the ingredients from the batter.

At this point, you need to just patiently let the cake bake, sweety♥

What most planners won’t say to your face is this…

“Stop overthinking things!”   Your wedding is less than 2 weeks away, and you’ve done a great job making all of your decisions. Now, listen to me baby girl…. it is time to accept the fact that the planning has officially concluded. (holds your hand, and nods slowly).

Yep.  It’s done babe.

You chose all of the perfect flowers. You chose all of the best food items.  Your linens are going to look great!  Your hair trial went flawlessly!  Your bridesmaids’ dresses have all been altered, and look stunning.  Your out-of-town guests have all confirmed their accommodations.  The weather forecast is looking incredible.  Your photographer got the exact time of the sunset for your wedding date.  The Earth is still rotating.  The sky isn’t falling….

You see where I’m going with this?

Stop. Nit. Picking. Every. Little. Detail. Trying. To. Find. Something. To. Plan. Or. Revise.  (clap, snap, hair flip)

What some planners won’t say to your face is that you are literally making yourself crazy, driving your fiancé nuts, and quite frankly, making your wedding planner’s job a little difficult to finalize everything, with all of these teeny tiny last minute changes.

This overthinking is NOT helping you, or anyone else around you.

Here’s a trick to ween you off of “wedding plans”, and ease the withdrawals.

Since you’ve been primed to dive into planning mode as soon as you arrive home from work,

Turn that energy towards another outlet…. Like journaling!

What are some things you want to do in your first 12 months of marriage?

•Buy a house?
•Remodel a kitchen?
•Start a family?
•Move to another state?

Divert your attention from away from overthinking wedding plans, and redirect it towards a new project that you can look forward too! I promise that your wedding day is going to be magical & memorable!

Now exhale, trust, and change the channel in your brain. It’s all going to be fabulous♥

WHY AREN’T MY GUESTS RSVP?

 We live in a super hectic world, with a million things fighting for our attention every moment of everyday.  Think about your work schedule, and all the tasks you’ve had while planning your wedding, and social events you’ve committed too…… now think of that thing that you want to do, but keep putting off….

Trust me, I’m the first person to tell you that poor responders frustrate the crap out of me, BUT I’m also the person who will put the DSW 20% coupon on my fridge, promising that I’m going to get over there soon, and then next thing I know the deal expired over a month ago.

Wedding guests are normal people too.  Of course they’re excited about your wedding!  And YES they are super honored that you invited them, and I bet that their RSVP card is sitting on their counter ready to go in the mail, but maybe they ran out of stamps.

BUT, if you are an instant gratification lady, like me, then let’s come up with a game plan to make sending an RSVP simple and stamp free.

There are several ways for engaged couples to create online RSVP options….

1. TheKnot.com – Have you created your wedding website? TheKnot.com is a prime example of a quick and easy way to create a special page for your wedding day, that also includes RSVP options.
2. EventBrite.com – This is a FREE event website, that you can use to track your RSVP’s
3. Facebook Events – Let’s face it, this is not the sexiest option, but it works AND most of your wedding guests our already on FB anyway.

Just because you’re offering an online option doesn’t mean you have to skip the process of having beautifully printed invitations created.  It’s simply another way you can connect with your invited friends & family, to make sure you receive an accurate headcount.