Since J and I live in Birmingham, but are getting married in St. Louis, we have to squeeze a lot of venue searching into very short trips home. My first and only qualification for a space was that it was different. After some unsucessful visits, I’m wondering if it’s neccesary to have a unique space or if I can tranform a “cookie cutter” space into something magificent.
Here are some unique places that ended up being losers for us…. but maybe perfect for you!! 
1. The Landings at Spirit Golf Club: Dad’s #1 choice, since they offered him a free round of golf if we booked with them. This was the first place we visited. It was lovely, had nice views of the golf course, was in our price range… but it was just TOO small. Sorry dad. I love J, but I don’t want to have to sit on his lap during the reception because there’s no room for me.
![LandingsatSpiritGolfClub150x100[1]](http://budgetdreamweddings.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/LandingsatSpiritGolfClub150x10013.jpg)
2. The Kemp Auto Museum: Very sleek, modern and sexy featuring some awesome old cars. Also a tad too big. I’m afraid it would feel cold and impersonal to our guests.
3. The Old Post Office: I fell in love with this venue from the outside, I mean, seriously, is that not a beautiful building?!?! But once inside it seemed kind of oddly configured and cramped. Ahem… I mean “intimate”.
4. The Crystal Ballroom in the Renaissance Grand Hotel: Where as the Old Post Office and the Landings were too small and the Kemp Auto Museum was too large the Crystal Ballroom was JUST RIGHT. I loved it. In fact I’m wiping the drool off my keyboard as I type, I love it so much. It has floor to ceiling windows that feature stunning views of my beloved St. Louis. It’s truly grand. It makes a statement. But, alas, if we went with the Crystal Ballroom we could only invite 5 people. And they’d have to byob. It’s way out of our price range…. so unless we win the lottery this one’s out.
Ack, who knows where we’ll end up… I’m leaving to the hands of fate. 
I refuse to stress out…. repeat it with me I refuse to stress out, I refuse to stress out, I refuse to stress out…..
Photos Courtesy: The Landings, Kemp Auto Museum, The Old Post Office, The Renaissance Grand Hotel
(All venues in St. Louis, Missouri)
#1 by cupcake wedding - December 17th, 2009 at 10:44
The auto museum looks awesome.
#2 by Kari - December 17th, 2009 at 14:05
I agree – I LOVE the auto museum! Some creative decor with backdrops and draping could make it feel much smaller and more intimate…
#3 by Jill - December 18th, 2009 at 11:57
Good point about the draping. It is a really fantastic room. When I visited it it was set up for a speed dating event and had really cool lounges and cocktail tables set up. It’s located in Chesterfield, Missouri (a suburb of St. Louis) I think I linked to their website, but if I didn’t it’s http://www.kempautomuseum.org/
Thanks! Jill
#4 by Mrs. Jones - December 21st, 2009 at 13:38
Hi, I just planned my wedding in September. We switched 4 times before we finally settled on SLU – Wool Ballroom. Once decorated it was beautiful. They have tons of locations and are very affordable (venue comes with chairs, tables, ect) some locations you can have your preferred caterer. Our other venues were the D. Lee Theatre at UMSL, NEO on Locust and the Paladium (which is gorgeous and offering 50% off booking fee). Our wedding will even be featured in the January wedding edition of Alive Magazine. I still have my wedding binder. Let me know if you want other suggestions.