Stephanie and Charlie
Saturday, July 13, 2002
St. Louis, Missouri

ABOUT THE BRIDE: Stephanie, a Saint Louis native, graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University in 2002. She is launching a custom stationery company and is a recent hire as an associate designer at Petals Galore (the floral design studio that created her wedding flowers).

ABOUT THE GROOM: Charlie has lived in Saint Louis for most of his life. He graduated from Texas Christian University in 1991. He owns Midwest Sleep Diagnostics and is a teacher of martial arts.

HOW WE MET: Stephanie and Charlie met through a mutual friend at a martial arts class. After dating for a few weeks, they decided to be more exclusive in spite of the long distance relationship they would endure when Stephanie returned to school in the fall.

ENGAGEMENT: As they were celebrating their one-year anniversary, they stopped at Turtle Park (near Forest Park) to exchange gifts before sunset. Charlie gave her a dozen roses and then pulled a jewelry box out of his pocket. Stephanie was convinced she was getting earrings because of hints dropped earlier. However, when he opened the box, Charlie got down on one knee and proposed!

PLANNING: Planning began immediately. Stephanie wanted the perfect combination of vendors and knew that much of the planning would have to be done from Indiana, while she returned to school for her final semester.

ATTIRE: The bride's gown was a two-piece white, matte satin gown with black embroidery around the top of the bodice and bottom of the skirt. (Swarovski crystals were accented throughout the embroidered design.) The veil was designed by the bride and custom made by Ann Murtogh of Glamgal Designs in California; it was a three-tiered cathedral-length veil with black satin cording and rhinestones around the edge of the longest tier.

Bridesmaids wore red dupioni silk two-piece dresses from Watters & Watters. They were bateau neck tops with three frog closures for detailing. The bottoms were sheath floor-length skirts.

THE CEREMONY: The ceremony was held at Graham Chapel on the grounds of Washington University. We both loved this beautiful church with its extraordinary stained-glass windows and marble flooring. The powerful pipe organ was absolutely perfect for the bridal processional. A string quartet played the prelude and recessional pieces. The recessional song was a Latin piece "Laudamus Te" sung by two female vocalists and accompanied by the string quartet.

THE RECEPTION: The celebration was held in the Louis Spierring Room of the Sheldon Concert Hall near downtown Saint Louis. A cocktail hour was held in the Sheldon's art gallery. Guests welcomed us by tossing rose petals as we exited the Hummer Limousine. We loved the room's contemporary style and the tropical flowers we selected for the centerpiece designs took our breath away. Guests dined on a gourmet dinner while listening to the Jesse Gannon Trio, an up-and-coming jazz band out of Webster University. Later we danced to the big band sounds of the 18-piece Gateway City Big Band.

HOW WE PERSONALIZED THE WEDDING: I designed and created all of the invitations, programs, menu cards, and favors. Small touches were included in the wedding ceremony and reception that represented our personalities, such as the Hummer Limo, floral decorations, Charlie's attire, the musical pieces and groups (which included a total of four different musical groups, as well as a number of other vocalists and solo musicians), my veil, and the design of our wedding cake (surprisingly, thought of by the groom!).

THINGS WE LOVED: We loved so many things but foremost were the flowers. They were absolutely fabulous, as was the personalized service we received throughout the entire day by Sandra Meyer, owner of Petals Galore. Her unique sense of style and creativity is still receiving compliments to this day. I was so confused as to what to have the flower girls carry. I wanted something unique; Sandra came up with a wonderful orchid floral parasol for each girl. They were simply outstanding and not to mention the incredible reception pieces designed by Petals Galore that took three days to set up.

We customized our rings to reflect our individual style and also to match the engagement ring lovingly designed by the groom.

The Gateway City Big Band, a band accustomed to performing at large functions, agreed to play at our wedding. Everyone loved the different style of music.

Russo's Gourmet Catering did an outstanding job as well. I still receive compliments on the food and service they provided.

Last but not least were the family and friends who traveled from near and far to share our wedding day. We love you all.

To see more photos from this wedding, go to the Dave Keiser Photography wedding collage.
To see more decorations from this wedding, go to the Petals Galore wedding collage.

VENDORS WE USED:
Photography - Keiser Photography
Flowers - Petals Galore
Dress - Zurc
Ceremony - Graham Chapel, Washington University
Reception - Louis Spierring Room, Sheldon Concert Hall
Hummer Limousine - Kelly's Limousine
Cake - Cakes by Georgia

If you have questions or comments for Stephanie and Charlie please e-mail them at featurewedding@anngardner.com.