The First Time They Met: Tara and Steve met freshman year of college. They were both in relationships and traveled in different circles at the time, so they only remained casual acquaintances for years…until the fall of 2006. Tara and a friend celebrated a fun night on a party bus that ended at Harry’s on Market Street. The friend named Ashley (and future maid-of-honor) knew Steve and thought they would make a cute couple, so she called him asked him to meet up; he did. Sparks flew, and they had a lot of common interests, so they exchanged numbers. Much to Tara’s surprise, she also discovered Steve was moving to Denver the next day for a job. Therefore, the relationship basically began with phone calls to and from Denver with the occasional flight back and forth. By Thanksgiving weekend, they decided to officially be a couple, yet distance still separated the two. Therefore, Steve was eventually transferred to Kansas City, so they spent the next year driving and taking the Megabus back and forth. Finally, in the summer of 2008, Steve moved back to St. Louis to be closer to Tara and after a year of finally living in the same city, Steve asked Tara to marry him.
The Proposal: On Mother’s Day weekend/Tara’s Birthday, Steve had the entire day planned out. Not missing a beat, Steve sent Tara on a little scavenger hunt around St. Louis. The first clue sent her to her puppy’s crate, where she found another clue. The next clue took her to Squire’s Restaurant. A few more clues took her around the city and finally to Lafayette Square Park, where Steve stood on a bridge, got down on one knee, and asked Tara to marry him. They celebrated their engagement a few weeks later with friends and family at the Botanical Gardens.
The Wedding, June 19th 2010: They both wanted a summer wedding at the Saint Louis University College Church, St. Francis Xavier. Both SLU alumna and Billikin fans, they knew it would provide a beautiful setting to begin their lives together. The bridesmaids wore a plum dress by Mackenzie Michaels, and the men wore traditional black. It was a very personal wedding; Father Gary Braum did an amazing job with the ceremony that didn’t leave a dry eye in the church. The wedding party made a quick stop at the Tara’s old apartment building, the Cornado, to eat at Chuy’s. Here, we all drank margaritas while nibbling on chips, salsa, and tacos. The wedding party made a few pit stops on campus and downtown for some classic St. Louis pictures. They wedding party headed to the Sheldon for the reception. The room and candle light created a whimsy romantic and elegant atmosphere. With many family and friends, nearly 300 guests danced the night away.
If you ask the bride what her most memorable moment was she would tell you, “Sorry, I can’t sum this up quickly. I didn’t really plan some Cinderella fairy tale wedding and haven’t dreamt about my wedding since grade school. I never dreamt about a fairy tale dress like most little girls, yet the silk gown fit me like a glove while my hair held up all night. I’m a pretty average person, yet I felt beautiful that day. I didn’t dream of perfect flowers and candles floating everywhere around me, or walking down the isle of a truly beautiful cathedral, yet my florist gave me the softest, most elegant looking bouquets I’ve ever seen. She even used tall, beautiful crystal vases to hold silver painted trees draped with hydrangeas, roses, strings of silver, and candle votives. I walked down the isle of the most beautiful church in the area right on my college campus. More than anything, I never wanted to have to have some Prince Charming come and save me because I like being independent and self-reliant. Somehow Steve truly makes me a better person, and I am lucky to spend the rest of my life with a wonderful person who still lets me be myself. Basically, I truly felt like a princess in a fairy tale wedding, and that realization really hit me on the dance floor at the reception. The DJ was playing “Laffy Taffy,” which doesn’t have a romantic or wedding-ish word in it, but I looked around the room and saw everyone either dancing, singing, laughing, talking, or just smiling. My bridal party had celebrated with us all day in the humid and hot summer weather, our families welcomed one another with open arms, our friends and extended family traveled literally across the city, states, country and even Guam to be with us on that day. Most importantly, they were happy to do it simply to celebrate our wedding day and really had fun. I have never felt so lucky and special in my life, and that realization made that day a real-life fairy tale wedding.”
The Honeymoon: Puerto Rico: 3 days in Old San Juan, 2 days in Condado, 1 day in El Yunque Rainforest, and 2 days in Vieques
Church: St. Francis Xavier College Church at Saint Louis University
Reception: The Sheldon in the Louis Spiering Room
Photographer: Taylor Cincotta and 2 assistants for Salvatore Cincotta Photography
Florist: Jolene Feazel for Artiste de Fleurs
Cake: 10th Street Bakery in Belleville, IL. We picked 7 different flavors so guests could choose whichever they like: white cake with cherry filling, white cake with raspberry filling, chocolate cake with raspberry filling, yellow cake with Bavarian cream filling, chocolate cake with chocolate fudge filling, carrot cake with cream cheese filling, and red velvet cake with cream cheese filling.
Menu: Italian-Caesar Salad, chicken spedini, green beans, potatoes, white cavatelli, rolls
Music: Ray Farrar with Complete Music
Wedding Gown: the Laurel dress by Amy Michelson purchased at White Chicago
Accessories: Hair piece: Esty; earrings: Shane Company; engagement and wedding band: The Diamond Shop
Something New: Brooch
Something Borrowed: Antique ring by sister-in law
Something Old: her Grandma Seib’s mother’s ring
Something Blue: Blue lacey underwear with a rhinestone “I do”
Beautiful story – lovely event. Thanks for sharing.