Springtime Hendri's Catering South City Wedding Reception

How They Met // The Love Story

Sean and I met on Match.com. I was hesitant to try online dating, but my mom talked me into it (You were right, mom, as always). Sean messaged me within a few days of me joining the site and we got to talking. We bonded over our shared love of history, podcasts, books, and museums. We’re giant nerds. We met up for our first date at Foundation Grounds Coffee Shop in Maplewood, where we talked more and got to know each other. About an hour and half in, Sean abruptly got up and said he had to go help his parents put up Christmas decorations. We awkwardly hugged goodbye and he left. I didn’t think much of it until he texted me about half an hour later with a picture of him putting up lights at his parents house and a text saying “I just realized that sounded like a really bad excuse to leave, but I promise I really am helping my parents put up decorations! When can I see you again?”. We started seeing each other regularly after that and from pretty early on it became obvious, at least to me, that we had something different than anything else I had experienced before. Sean would tell you that he realized he loved me when it became extremely difficult for him to not tell me he loved me, to hold back for fear of saying too soon. I can’t think of one exact moment that I realized I loved Sean, but more the feeling that I got when we talked. He always made me a priority in his life, even from early on, and when he talked about his future, I was always in his plans. I’d never experienced that certainty with any other relationship and I think we both felt pretty early on that marriage was a real possibility. Thankfully, we were both right, I ended up with my best friend for a life partner, and we were surrounded by our family and friends on our wedding day. Who could ask for anything more?

The Venue

Our ceremony was at St. James the Greater Catholic Church in Dogtown. The day we got engaged, we ended up going to Mass there that evening. Sean and I knew we wanted a Catholic wedding and had been church hopping trying to find a parish we liked to join. St. Louis has some beautiful churches. When we walked in, we fell in love the overall feel of the church. The beautiful stained glass windows, the vaulted arched ceiling, and the absolutely stunning mural behind the altar. It reminded Sean and I of all the old gothic style churches that we had visited both here and abroad that we loved. It was definitely love at first sight.

We chose Hendri’s for our reception and it was definitely the perfect fit for us! Hendri’s was a much harder find than St. James. It was literally the last place on a long list of reception venues we were visiting one Saturday and we were exhausted. Pulling up to Hendri’s, we didn’t have high hopes. We were tired, discouraged by the limited availability and price of other venues we had spent the day touring, and both felt our visit to Hendri’s was going to be one we just needed to “get through” before we could go home.

Thankfully, Hendri’s turned out to be everything we were looking for an more. Walking into the reception space, we were blown away. We loved the old world feel and charm of the place, from the fire place in the corner, to the black and white checkered dance floor, to the long, lovely dark wood bar (that happened to have Urban Chestnut’s Zwickle beer on tap – Sean about signed the contract right then and there). It was definitely our style, cozy and comfortable. Dan and Maura, our hosts, were extremely kind and generous, taking the time to explain their services, their prices, and making us feel right at home from the moment we walked. It was clear they were experienced and would do everything in their power to make sure we had everything we could possible want at our reception. We walked out convinced it was the place for us, and a week later at the tasting, we were blown away again by the deliciousness of the food and vast array of menu options. We wanted to keep all our vendor local to support South City, and Hendri’s is truly a hidden gem!

Décor + Details

I wanted a very soft and romantic feel to our wedding. Sean and I are down-to-earth introverts at heart and so the more intimate and cozy I could make our wedding feel, the better (despite the fact that we had nearly 200 people attend…). I decided on minimal decoration at the church (St. James was everything we wanted in a ceremony space as it was and didn’t need much embellishment) and tried to make our reception as comfy cozy as possible.

For our flowers, I chose soft colors, blush pink, white, and green foliage, soft round bouquets and simple boutonnieres. I wanted lots of candles at the reception to enhance that soft, romantic, favorite cozy bar kind of feel (Hendri’s dim lighting and old world feel definitely helped!). I chose to do candles on most tables as well as on the fireplace mantle, and fairly simple floral centerpieces with the same white, blush, and green foliage theme. My favorite was probably the centerpieces on our long, rectangular tables which consisted of a garland of greenery interspersed with blush flowers and candles.

We chose to do small bags of Billy Goat Chips as our favors (wanting to continue to support South City businesses) which I hoped would round out the look of the tables (and be a nice snack with the Zwickle). I also decided to have pictures of both Sean’s and I’s parents and grandparents weddings set up in the entrance hall, both as a tribute to those who had passed and couldn’t be with us on that day, but also as a fun way to remember the family who helped us become the people are and whose examples of marriage we wanted to emulate.

What She Wore

My dress was an A-line Essence of Australia dress from White Traditions Bridal House in St. Charles (the one place I strayed from our South City theme). The dress I chose was actually a bit of a last minute surprise! I had actually fallen in love with a different dress (the first one I tried on) and compared all the other dresses I had tried on since then to that first dress. I was pretty convinced it was the one and was coming back to White Traditions for the second time to try it back on and make sure. As the staff was pulling that first dress for me to try on again, they told my mom and I they had some new dresses in since the last time we had been there and that if we wanted to look around we could.

I ended up finding the dress I eventually wore on my wedding day during my second trip. It was a tough choice then between the initial dress I loved and this second one that I was rapidly falling in love with as well. In the end, the second dress just felt more like me and I’m so glad we took a look around that second trip! I knew I wanted a dress with lace, straps, and one that wasn’t too restrictive so I could dance the night away at our reception (my favorite part of weddings other than when the couple says their vows!). My dress ended up being everything I wanted. Soft, lacy, wide straps, and fitted just enough to feel pretty without hampering my ability to dance to my heart’s content. It had beautiful beading that sparkled just slightly and a stunning lace back that I couldn’t get enough of. Walking down the aisle in that dress was probably the most beautiful I have ever felt.

What He Wore

Sean wore a gray suit from Men’s Wearhouse with black shoes and a navy tie. He had told me once he wanted to wear tails at his wedding, so when he decided on a simple gray suit from Men’s Wearhouse I was surprised. He said he ultimately wanted a classic look that suited him and all the groomsmen, and then in classic Sean fashion, launched into a lengthy explanation about how even if he wore a morning coat with tails to the ceremony, it was only proper for that type of coat to be worn during the day and he’d have to find a different outfit for the reception anyway. Have I mentioned yet that we’re giant nerds?

The Ceremony

From pretty early on, Sean and I both agreed that we wanted to have a Catholic ceremony and Mass. The ceremony itself is fairly set as far as order and length, however, getting to choose readings, music, and petitions that embodied who we are as couple and what we believed and wanted for our marriage was a wonderful experience. We chose readings and music that had a theme of service. Not only has service been an important part of both our lives as individuals, but we wanted to convey the sense that the hope for our marriage was that we would not only be of service to one another, but that through our union we might also be of service to the world – taking the love we felt for each other and putting that back out into the world. I was a mix of emotions during the ceremony – joy, nervousness, contentment. But mostly I just felt in awe of what was happening and of the love I felt surrounded by, not only from Sean, but from all of the friends and family who had gathered to celebrate with us. It’s a feeling I won’t soon forget.

Music // Reception // Party

For our reception, all I really wanted was a few things: good food, an open bar, and good music. I wanted our guests to have a good time as a thank you for not only attending our wedding but for the love and support they had shown Sean and I throughout our lives. I wanted to foster a very joyful environment, one in which people felt comfortable dancing, chatting, and spending the evening in whatever way suited them best. For me, after visiting with everyone, I wanted to dance! Having a good DJ was really important to me, and DJ Jeremy of First Class Weddings was everything I wanted. He was professional and kept the focus on the music. He had people on the dance floor the whole night which was exactly what I wanted. I’m a sucker for 90’s pop music and he made sure some of my absolute favorites made the cut. I had a blast at our reception (hopefully our guests did too) and I wouldn’t have changed a thing. I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat!

The Photographer (Jaimie!)

Jaimie was a dream of a photographer! (Is it weird to refer to you in the third person??) She was actually the second vendor I booked after we had the date and the church. I had seen her work after she photographed the wedding of a close friend of Sean and I’s and was blown away. The photography was stunning and I knew I wanted to work with Jaimie if at all possible. Kelsey (our friend) had only wonderful things to say about Jaimie and her experience with her, which was just icing on the cake! In my initial e-mail to Jaimie, she has you fill out a short questionnaire, one of the questions being on scale of 1-10 how excited are you to work with me? I’m pretty sure my answer was “infinity” and I still absolutely feel that way. Jaimie made the whole process fun, but what I appreciated most was her ability to make Sean and I feel comfortable in front of the camera. Both of us can be super awkward, so putting us in front of a camera guarantees some goofy looking pictures. Jaimie has an amazing quality of making you forget that your picture is being taken and the results are phenomenal. She made us genuinely laugh and have fun which absolutely shows in our photos. I could not have asked for anything or anyone better and I plan on using her for all my future photography needs.

Advice to couples planning their wedding

To couples planning their wedding, I would say to take breaks from wedding planning when you need to and don’t feel bad about it. It can be overwhelming and stressful. Plan date nights and activities that don’t involved wedding planning or even talking about the wedding. That helped us to really enjoy the process when we went back to it and the engagement period as a whole. Also, figure out your priorities early on. Pick three or four things that are most important for you to have on your wedding day and spend your money and time accordingly on vendors that match your priorities. In the end, you’ll have what’s most important to you and you’ll be married to someone you love. What could be better?