A Chic Contemporary Wedding at the Jefferson Underground in St. Louis, Missouri

Jessica Lane (26 and a financial advisor) and Ross Knutson (32 and a business systems analyst) met playing sand volleyball against each other. Jess bought Ross a drink (a rum bucket) before the game to try and tip the scales in her team’s favor, but his team won anyways. It started the conversation, though and Jess thinks she ended up "winning" in the end. Two years later, Ross proposed to Jess before their volleyball game (they both play on the same team now) over homemade rum buckets, as a nod to the first time they met.To reflect their playful personalities and their new home of St. Louis, the couple planned a festive, laid-back affair with lots of fun, local touches. They chose the Jefferson Underground, a prime example of Art Deco architecture and a former Chevrolet dealership, as their venue, the chic historic site offering an outdoor terrace overlooking the city skyline and an indoor space with exposed brick walls and concrete and wood detailing that lent the space a distinct, industrial feel. Thanks to unseasonably warm weather that November, the couple and their guests were able to enjoy cocktails and dancing out on the terrace. To highlight the venues unique vibe, Jessica and Ross chose simple, clean decor with a few funky touches. Neutral tones, earthy green in the form of vintage bottles and succulents and pops of dark blue introduced a fresh, elegant note to the raw space, while Edison bulb pendants and strings of bistro lights added an element of ambiance and tied into the subtle “lights” theme. Since many of Jessica and Ross’s guests came to the wedding from out of town, it was important to them that everyone felt welcome and really enjoyed themselves. “ We made the wedding a showcase of our St. Louis favorites,” says Jessica. That included a menu of Southern barbecue cooked up by Bogart’s Smokehouse, as well as Gus’s Pretzels, Billy Goat Chips, Schlafly Beer, Kaldi’s Coffee and of course, rum buckets. “Our favorite part of the meal was that it was served family style,” says Jessica. “Everyone was passing plates and sharing food down the long community tables and the conversation was flowing. It felt like a real sit-down family meal.” Other fun touches included the couple’s decision to ditch the traditional wedding cake for locally made ice cream by Frostbite Ice Cream and a lively wedding march led by Jessica’s aunt and uncle. “It's a traditional wedding dance that my family does and we used it to start the dancing portion of the evening. Guests from both sides were game to join in, keeping step to the polka tune!”