A Lovely Winter Haue Valley Wedding

Lauren & Ryan - December 9, 2017

It All Started With a 1 in a Million Shot

Ah, these two - so sweet and so in love. This love story is also a fun one. Ryan, a street photographer posted a photo on November 13, 2016 on Instagram that would ultimately change their lives forever (shown below this story.)

In the middle of this photo, in a sea of people, you'll find Lauren (circled in red). Exploring St. Louis hashtags, Lauren stumbled across Ryan's Instagram account and followed him. On that November day, Lauren noticed Ryan's photo in her Instagram feed and herself in it. Lauren commented on the photo, the two began talking and kept talking.

The two finally met in person in early December and both realized there was something special there. (However, in Lauren's words, she "ghosted" for a month after their initial get together.) He later caught all of her attention with his "piercing blue eyes, infectious smile, and witty sense of humor," and she drew him back in with her "beauty, intellect, and caring nature."

In mid-January Lauren & Ryan went on their first official date to 4Hands Brewing Co, although neither were quite sure at the time if it was actually a date or not. They met again soon with some mutual friends from a local activist group, and by their third date at the Art Museum, and lots of laughter, the two had become completely inseparable.

The Proposal

After six months of dating, including Cards games, lots of laughter, and crazy cats, Ryan popped the question in a beautiful proposal at Forest Park.

Leading up to the big moment, Ryan asked Lauren to go out into the city with him to take pictures (not an unusual request), but Ryan did take an unusual route that day. Instead of heading downtown, the two headed toward Forest Park, but found themselves with no place to park since it was Twilight Tuesday. Lauren suggested they try again another day, but Ryan insisted. They eventually found a parking spot down by the Grand Basin and asked Lauren if she would be in a few pictures. Lauren turned to face the art museum (while Ryan snapped the picture below), and when she turned back to face him he was down on one knee. She quickly agreed to spend forever with him and the two were off moving toward their next life adventure - planning a wedding in 6 months!

Choosing Haue Valley

From Lauren

"We had looked at a few different venues, but as soon as we walked in to Haue Valley we knew. We were given a tour by Dana and part of the way through the tour, I asked Ryan what he thought of the venue. His response made the decision an easy one, "I just keep picturing you walking down the aisle here." - SOLD! From that moment on, we were in and couldn't be more thrilled with our decision."

The Wedding Day Details

Lauren and Ryan hosted a beautiful December wedding at Haue Valley. Many beautiful moments were captured by Syd & Tony of Chosen Photography (a photographer fiance team also getting married at Haue Valley this year.) Complete Music provided sound and a fun photo booth, and the night was topped off with delicious food from Graze Catering, one of our exclusive caterers, and a beautiful cake from Cake.Happy.

In preparation for the big day Ryan found his suit at Mens Warehouse and Lauren's AMAZING blush dress was designed by The Wedding Gallery.

A complete list of vendor credits can be found at the bottom of this blog post.

A Note From the Bride

"Since I was a little girl, I had always dreamed of getting married in a pink dress. After many unsuccessful bridal consultations, my mother and I stumbled upon The Wedding Gallery in St. Charles. The experience there was AMAZING! With a quick turnaround time on my dress (6 months to design, fit and receive the final product) and a specific idea in my head, the dress was a tall order. We worked with the owner, Nagwa Abdelghfour, and her consultants, to transform the plain strapless gown I had tried on for size, into the blush gown of my dreams. If you have a specific style in mind or would just like a bridal experience specifically catered to you personally, check out The Wedding Gallery."

A Word of Advice for Future Couples

" We did not have a videographer, which is probably our one regret from the wedding. When planning our wedding my brain said, “what do you need a video for? You’ll be there to experience it first hand!” Well, I didn’t realize how quickly that day would fly by and what a whirlwind it would be! There are some things I’m sure I missed and wish I could rewatch to see. The pictures from our photographer are amazing and captured things beautifully, but if you’re debating whether or not to go for the videographer- GO FOR IT!"