Botanical, tropical fall greenhouse wedding in St. Louis, Missouri

Leslie and Cassidy got ready in the same building of Airbnb rooms (owned by Ludwig Lofts) in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. Their wedding party wore different sets of Arch Apparel shirts, a local indie St. Louis clothing brand. They had their first look outside of the lofts, where they were placed back-to-back and held hands while the wedding party watched with watery eyes and big smiles.

Leslie and Cassidy were married at the Jewel Box in Forest Park, an iconic greenhouse in St. Louis, Missouri. They were both walked down the aisle by their fathers and were married by Leslie’s sister. They had photos and video done in Forest Park, at the Muny and at Four Hands Brewery, since they love craft beer. The reception took place at Neo on Locust, a rustic and industrial wedding venue. Guests enjoyed making tacos at the taco bar catered by Mission Taco.

Tell us about your wedding! What was the inspiration behind your day? Did you have a specific theme, style or color palette? Did you incorporate any cultural or religious traditions in any part of your day?

Our theme was geometric with white flowers, eucalyptus leaves and succulents spread throughout. Our bridesmaids wore green Adrienna Papell dresses to match the greenhouse, The Jewel Box, where the ceremony was held.

Let’s talk wedding decor. How did you decorate your space for the ceremony and the reception? Was any part of the decor DIY?

Our ceremony site was so beautiful and natural on its own, that we did not need a single piece of decor. All of our reception decor was DIY! We hand created every centerpiece using gold terrariums and faux succulents with a white pebble base. We created all of the signage using editable downloads from Etsy. We spent most of our money on experience type things for our guests (music, food, bar, etc.) because we really wanted them to create memories that would last a lifetime and have less focus on decor and material items.

What were the florals like in your wedding? Did you use flowers in any of your design elements like the bridal bouquets, centerpieces or ceremony backdrop? Did they play an important part in the overall style of your wedding?

Flowers did not play an important role in our wedding. In fact, we purchased all faux flowers premade into bouquets for our bridesmaids. For our bridal bouquets, we took three premade sets, deconstructed them and put them back together to fit our vision. These included lots of greenery, some basic white flowers and a few succulents to tie into the reception theme. Our ceremony location was inside a greenhouse, so the natural beauty of those plants and flowers was the main focus during our ceremony.

Did you personalize the day in any way (food trucks, guest entertainment etc.)? What were some of your favorite parts of your wedding?

We picked a very local and unique restaurant to cater our reception. We had never heard of someone using them at a wedding and being our favorite place to eat as a couple, we had to use them. Everyone loved having Mission Taco as our food!

Let’s talk fashion. How did you both choose your wedding day look? Describe the looks in detail.

Cassidy and I both purchased our dresses from Clarice’s Bridal in St. Louis. She started out looking for a jumpsuit, but fell in love with a braided top with a tulle skirt! My dress, on the other hand, was full glam. It was satin with a large train and the entire back was covered in beaded crystals. The small cap sleeves matched the beading on the back and the deep plunge in the front made quite the statement.

How did you meet? Tell us about the proposal.

We met when we were both on a service trip hosted by Rockhurst University in Punta Gorda, Belize. We spent the week building a library for a school located deep in the jungle near the border of Guatemala.

Cassidy proposed to me in Nashville, Tennessee, where we went to celebrate our one year anniversary. We started the day crossing the pedestrian bridge and completing a tour at a local brewery. After lunch, Cassidy asked if I wanted to go to a local lookout spot that was supposed to have spectacular views of the entire city. I reluctantly agreed. Once there, she distracted me by pointing to something in the distance, got down on my knee and pulled out the ring! I was so surprised and caught off guard.

I proposed to Cassidy at our favorite local brewery, 4 Hands, to have drinks and play ski ball. Earlier in the day, I challenged Cassidy to a game saying the loser has to buy the winner a prize. Cassidy knows how much I love prizes, so I knew she would agree to the terms. Once we started playing I purposely lost the game, Cassidy claims she is just actually better than me and beat me fair and square, but that’s clearly not the case. After the game, we went back downstairs to the bar. I asked Cassidy if she was ready for her prize and handed her a small jewelry bag. She was definitely confused, opened it and pulled out a ring.

What was the most anticipated or special moment of your wedding day?

Hands down hearing each other’s personalized handwritten vows. It was so special and brought tears to both of our eyes.

Do you have any wedding planning or marriage advice that you’d like to share with other couples planning their day?

Decide what is most important to you on the day of and spend the most money there. Don’t waste money on the small stuff that people will forget about the next day. Put your money where the memories are created!