Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue—does it all sound a little too familiar? Couples from around the city have found their own unique ways to fuse old traditions with a new, very personal touch.
Josie Littlepage, president of Cosmopolitan Events, says “It’s about the bride and her being able to do whatever she would like to do.” That could be something unusual and leap years away from traditional.
From eccentric themes to mixed-culture weddings, from favorite snack foods to unique photo opportunities, any sort of ceremony is possible with a little creativity and personality. If you’re still searching for something borrowed, here are a few ways St. Louisians have been spicing up their ceremonies.
A Marriage Miles Away
St. Louisians don’t have to stay in St. Louis for that special day. Newlyweds Brian and Megan McKenna, along with 60 guests, toaok a week-long trip to Orange Beach, Ala., for the beachside wedding of their dreams. While planning a long-distance wedding might take a little more investigating, it also opens up opportunities for a truly personal wedding experience.
“We both love the beach,” Brian says. “We wanted to [get married] with the Gulf of Mexico in the background, on the beach, barefoot, with no tuxedo. Fairy-tale stuff.”
“Everything was done over the Internet,” says Megan. “We chose that location because we wanted a house that was on the beach and Gulf side. We had to have enough room for everyone going down there.”
Megan and Brian held their ceremony in the backyard, next to the pool, with the whole wedding party decked out in Hawaiian wear. Everything from the beachside location to the message-in-a-bottle invitations were in tune with the setting. “It’s actually much easier,” Megan says. “When you get married in your hometown, you have so many choices, whereas this place narrowed things down.”
A Taste of Home
Even at the most upscale weddings, there’s still room for a taste of St. Louis junk food. Littlepage has had clients order from local favorites such as Imo’s Pizza, White Castle and Dad’s Oatmeal Cookies.
“People are calling more and more,” says Ken Hastey, President of Dad’s Oatmeal Cookies. “It’s kind of a business we hadn’t thought of. Some wedding parties buy our little 10-ounce bags and put them in a goody bag full of treats from St. Louis.”
Picture Perfect
For couples who can’t wait for wedding photographs, PhotoboothStL offers pictures on the spot. Tim Garrett, owner of PhotoboothStL, started the business three years ago when he got married.
“I’m an artist in my free time and have been using the photo booth for the past 10 years to create art,” Garrett says. “I was just visiting public photo booths, but thought that if I ever got married, I would love to have one at my reception.”
When he couldn’t find a photo booth available for rental anywhere in the Midwest, he decided to buy one.
“Everyone, no matter how young or old, has some connection to the photo booth,” Garrett says. “Our grandparents sat in them, even our generation and kids younger than us have sat in one sometime. There’s also a notion of spontaneity and catching photographs in the moment. For most wedding pictures you need to wait three or four weeks for the proof, but this comes out on the spot.”
PhotoboothStL offers traditional black-and-white booths, as well as digital booths. The digital booths allow for the bride and groom to receive a CD with all the photographs on it, which they can post online. A flat rental fee of $1,500 includes delivery, set up, unlimited use of the booth and a technician for the duration of the event.
Your Day, Your Dress
“I know it sounds like a cliché, but a wedding dress, stylistically, sets the tone for a whole wedding,” says Dauria Wheeler of D’Auria, Inc.
With that in mind, many brides are opting for custom-made dresses, which offer the opportunity to work one-on-one with a designer to bring a dream gown to reality.
Some go the custom route because their body shape won’t fit into a particular size. “You get a fair number of customers who are not pleased with the sizing in the store,” Wheeler says. “There are people who are not confident that they can find something proportional to them.”
Others are looking for something unusual, such as sleeves. “A girl who wants her arms covered, whether it’s a winter wedding and she’s afraid she’ll be cold or stylistically, has no choice but to pay extra to get sleeves added,” Wheeler says. Recently brides’ choices of embellishment have changed as well. Lace has been replaced by beads, crystals and custom embroidery.
Culture Combination
For Na Porter and Piyaluck Rattananont, two wedding ceremonies are better than one. When the couple gets married in May, they will have both Episcopalian and Thai ceremonies. A double ceremony is an easy way to bring together two diverse cultures.
Although she didn’t think about her wedding when she was young, Rattananont’s mother pointed out it’s import; “Mom just says, ‘This is going to be important to you.’ It sticks with you when you get older and your friends start getting married.”
Rattananont explained that the Thai ceremony, which will come first, mainly consists of a water blessing. The couple sits on a podium while all the guests older than the bride and groom line up and give blessings to the couple.
After a quick wardrobe change, the couple will have an Episcopalian ceremony with Na’s hometown pastor. After that, according to Rattananont, “It’s time to party.”
Spare No Expense
Splurging for your big day has never been easier. Why not cruise to your reception in a Bentley Continental or, even better, the 1970 St. Louis Blues Barracuda? Find more information at www.classiccarsforrent.com.
You can supplement that wedding cake surplus you have with the mother of all desserts, a chocolate fountain. For about $400 your guests can dip their fruit or stare at the tiers of cascading chocolate, available at sweetfountains.com or local businesses: Chocolate Fountain Affair, Chocolate Falls and Au Chocolat.
What wedding would be complete without ice sculptures? Ice Visions, a St. Louis operator, offers a wide variety including massive ice bars for guests to belly up to and literally chill out. Any single sculpture starts at $239 and ice bars range from $500-$2,000, depending on size. Get more information at www.icevisions.com.
For those who dread the thought of public speaking, worry not. For $99, www.instantweddingtoasts.com will compose a personalized speech for you to claim as your own.
—Matt Berkley
