Beautiful Spring Wedding at the Tower Grove Park Ruins

Matt + Julia’s gorgeous spring wedding at the Tower Grove Park Ruins

How You Met // The Love Story

Julia and Matt first met here in Saint Louis at the inaugural opening of something called The Venture Cafe — a social gathering for young entrepreneurs here in St. Louis.

Julia almost didn’t go that night since she had to study for her second-year renal exam for med school. But her friends convinced her to go, where she found her way to the free beer line. And that’s when Matt wound up in line right behind her. He was instantly intrigued by her and the conversation she was having with another guy in line who was wearing lederhosen.

Matt made his move to talk to her after Julia loudly expressed her contempt at the bartender for suggesting she drink the 4.5% beer instead of the 9% beer. He attempted to impress her by talking about shotgun genome sequencing, and I think it’s safe to say it worked.

“My talk about genetic sequencing definitely impressed her,” Matt recalls. “At least it broke the ice. We started talking and haven’t stopped since.” Julia’s recollection differs only slightly: “He was super nerdy. I knew I liked him right away

And just like a scene from a movie, when the event ended, Julia ran outside to catch Matt just as he was pedaling away on his bicycle. She invited him to play board games at a friend’s apartment, which he accepted… then won all of the logic puzzles. According to Julia, that’s when he won her over. “He was super cute and the way he answered the questions, really it was just was so nerdy. I was definitely hooked.”

The evening ended with a romantic kiss in the elevator. And as they were walking through the lobby to the door, Julia ate a Milk Bone dog treat just to shock the doorman. Then Matt gave Julia a ride back home on the rack of his bicycle.

(Special thanks to Matt + Julia’s officiant Danny Povinelli for the awesome story about the night they met!)

The Venue

We both love City Museum – it is whimsical and fun and very St. Louis.

Décor + Details

We went for a bohemian earthy green feel. I think it ended up contrasting the industrial City Museum very well.

What She Wore

After getting overwhelmed at wedding dress shops, I didn’t know or care what I wanted to wear anymore. My mom ended up buying the dress I wore on eBay for $50! I think originally It was $6,000. It only needed slight tailoring and ended up working out great!

What He Wore

Gray suit from Bonobo. Got the suit for my brother’s wedding two years ago, so the Wyczalkowskis already had matching suits. We’re very practical that way.

The Ceremony

Our officiant was our friend Danny Povinelli, a recovering academic (retired professor) who is now a playwright. He helped us put together something which was fun but also moving and sentimental.

Your Photographer (That would be me!)

From Matt: I am a photographer myself – I’m certainly not professional, but I have shot a couple weddings for friends and think a lot about light, people, how to tell a story in a single frame. I looked over a number of photographers’ web sites and met with a couple, but I wasn’t impressed with what I saw. Jaimie was recommended by the photographer who shot our friends’ wedding. As soon as I saw Jaimie’s web site I knew that she was an extraordinary photographer. Our engagement photos were amazing – everyone loved them – and I can’t wait to see the wedding photos!

Advice to Couples Planning Their Wedding

A wedding coordinator is tremendously helpful – in the days leading up to the wedding, as the number of little things to deal with simply exploded, having a team on your side was so very helpful. We worked with Cassidy Johns of Event Doc STL and couldn’t be happier.