1. Real Weddings

An Intimate Summer Wedding at Lucas Park Grille in St. Louis, Missouri

Stephanie Cooper (27 and a speech language pathologist) and Tim Brunt (27 and an account manager) became friends while attending the University of Nor

Stephanie Cooper (27 and a speech language pathologist) and Tim Brunt (27 and an account manager) became friends while attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, both moved to Florida after graduating (Stephanie for her master’s degree and Tim for work), then started dating. Tim proposed in December with a ring he designed (based on a photo Stephanie had sent him), and the couple started planning a summer wedding in St. Louis, Missouri, where they both grew up. The morning Stephanie was to leave for her bachelorette party in Arizona (with 16 girlfriends), Tim had a doctor’s appointment scheduled and planned on bringing Stephanie straight to the airport afterward. Plans changed when Tim was diagnosed with testicular cancer. “This diagnosis was 100 percent a shock,” Stephanie says. “We had no idea.” After an ultrasound, the doctor recommended immediate surgery. Stephanie’s family was en route to Arizona and Tim’s parents were in England, so the couple leaned on each other during those first few terrifying hours. “I was not going to leave Tim’s side,” Stephanie says. She sent a text to her girlfriends—most were on their way to her destination bachelorette party—letting them know she’d be missing the weekend. Tim went into surgery and was discharged that evening. By the next morning, Stephanie’s dad and Tim’s brother had arrived. “The three guys strongly insisted that I get to Arizona to celebrate with my friends,” Stephanie says. She was apprehensive about leaving, but Tim was firm.  “Being greeted by 16 friends was such an emotional juxtaposition from what we had been through, but their love and encouragement was so greatly needed.” Since then, Tim has had two clean CT scans and is in remission. With their relationship stronger than ever (and Tim in good health), they were able to focus on their wedding. Stephanie has always loved the Jewel Box—a climate-controlled greenhouse in St. Louis's Forest Park. “There was no other space I wanted our ceremony to be,” she says. The venue “essentially decorates itself, filled with trees, flowers, hanging baskets and greenery.” Their reception was held at the nontraditional Lucas Park Grille, where red, pink, cream and green floral arrangements, candles and pops of gold and metallic added a soft glow to the dimly lit space. It was beautiful in an unfussy way: unpretentious, stylish and most of all fun. “If there were little snafus or issues, I don't even remember them,” Stephanie says. “I am so in love with Tim and so grateful that our families and friends were there to celebrate that love with us.” —Chrissy Sorenson

Stephanie's vintage “Madonna and child” pendant necklace decorated in crystal, diamonds and pearls was worn by many of the women in her family on their own wedding days. “I felt such a strong familial presence and connection,” she says.
The Jewel Box greenhouse is the "jewel" of Forest Park in St. Louis, Missouri, with renovated glass panes "glowing" in the sun.
Using Pinterest for inspiration, Stephanie knew she wanted to carry a natural, lush, free-flowing bouquet. The florist stayed within the bright color scheme of the bridesmaid dresses, creating smaller versions of the bride’s bouquet for the bridesmaids.
“I wanted to be able to move, sit, dance and breathe in my dress,” says Stephanie, who was just as concerned with comfort as she was with style (she wore flats). After shopping around, she found a deep V-neck gown “for the curvy shape it gave my thin frame,” for the flowing fabric and “for its simple elegance and subtle sexiness,” she says. It helped that the self-described bargain hunter found the gown on Tradesy at a “fantastic price point.”
The seven bridesmaids chose their own dresses in whatever style, print and fabric they wanted. Stephanie's only stipulation was the dresses fall in the pink, red, mauve or burgundy color scheme. “I know that rarely does one dress flatter everyone's shape and style,” she says of her decision to go with different styles. As soon as one woman chose a dress, she emailed a photo to the group. “And I guess with a little luck and some stylish friends, my plan worked out beautifully,” she says. To go with their dresses, she requested they wear nude shoes and gold bracelets or necklaces.
Tim wore a light gray suit, a cream tie and a button-down shirt custom-embroidered with the couple’s initials and his parents’ wedding date. The groomsmen wore the same suit—Tim’s gift to them—with charcoal-colored ties. Boutonnieres were single rose buds and greenery.
The groom and his groomsmen wore striped “power socks” with their gray suits.
Following the ceremony, the wedding party took a 35-person party bus to locations around St. Louis for posed photos.
Tim’s cousins, who are trying to break into the Nashville country music scene, performed “Glasgow Love Theme,” “Canon in D,” and “Best Day of My Life” on their fiddle and mandolin during the ceremony.
Stephanie and Tim didn’t want a “typical hotel ballroom” reception, and they found the vibe they were looking for at Lucas Park Grille—an industrial-chic warehouse with plenty of spaces for eating, drinking and dancing.
Through Etsy, the couple ordered a hand-crafted and hand-painted pine frame with a slot at the top, so guests could drop signed hearts inside the frame. The guest book can double as artwork in the couple's home.
The theme was a mix of rustic, shabby chic and industrial. The goal was to create a beautiful space in an unfussy way—achieved through candlelight, metallics and pink, turquoise, and red floral arrangements. “The space was romantic and elegant with a gorgeous ambient light glow,” Stephanie says.
Stephanie and Tim opted for a vanilla cake with cookies and cream buttercream layers rather than a traditional fondant cake. “I think a cake is meant to be eaten and not just looked at,” Stephanie says. She made the cake topper, a large gold-painted wooden letter “B” on a wooden dowel.
Stephanie's father bought and restored a 1962 forest green pickup truck, affectionately named “Ed,” decked out the “grumbling loud stick shift with no air conditioning” in “just married” decor and hired a driver to bring the couple to their honeymoon suite. “Riding in Ed through downtown St. Louis, trailed by clanking cans, was the perfect ending to our night,” Stephane says.
Tim, an avid country music fan, introduced Stephanie (not an avid country music fan) to the song “Hey Pretty Girl” by Kip Moore. The lyrics won her over, and it became their first-dance song.