First Look Weddings, Weddings by Corine

Jon Vicari House St. Louis Cathedral Jaxson Wedding Photographer | Brette & Aaron

Married: June 1, 2019
Bridal Prep: Jon Vicari House
Ceremony: St Louis Cathedral Catholic Church
Reception: The Jaxson
Coordinator: Emily Sullivan
Videographer: Dyle Films
Florist: Bella Blooms
Bakery: Gambinios Bakery
Hair: Paige McMillan
Makeup: Jenna Kelly
Brides gown: Rita Vineris
Bridesmaids gowns: Dessy
Entertainment: The Phunky Monkeys
Tuxedo: John’s Tuxedo
Candles: Firefly Ambiance

How did you meet?
We met 5 years ago while in college through a mutual friend.

Include a little bit about yourselves. What do you do?
I have been an elementary school teacher for the last 3 years and Aaron works for his family’s offshore tugboat business while attending law school part time. We moved to a new city, started a new job, and started law school all while trying to plan our wedding!

What is your favorite thing about each other? 
I admire his work ethic and his fun loving personality. Aaron is also not ashamed to be the life of the party which keeps things exciting.

Brette has a very creative way of problem solving, and she handles our ever changing life with such grace.

How did the proposal go? Who proposed to who, were you surprised?
Aaron proposed on December 27, 2017 at the Grand Canyon. We planned a family trip to Las Vegas that winter where we spent the day driving to Lipton Point in the Grand Canyon. We arrived almost missing the sunset (Aaron is always late lol) where he had a picnic arranged for us overlooking the Grand Canyon where he proposed just in time.

Where was your ceremony held and why did you pick this site?
The ceremony was held at St. Louis Cathedral. We’ve always loved this church and figured it would be the perfect place to have our ceremony being that our reception would be held very close by.

Where was your Reception held and why did you pick this site?
We looked at many different venues for quite a while for our reception and we knew The Jaxson was the right place for us when both of us and our families all loved the venue. We fell in love with it’s clean modern look on the inside and the balcony on the outside where you can view the Mississippi River. It also had an intimate feel and just knew it was perfect for us.

What unique or special things did you do at the reception? 
We absolutely loved our second line to the reception! We couldn’t stop talking about how much fun we were having during and after, even if there was a little rain!

Pick one moment in the day that was your favorite thing?
Second line band to the reception.

Did it really go by as quickly as everyone says?
Absolutely! We can not wait to see the pictures to relive it because it is all a blur. We know we had an incredible night.

What was the inspiration behind picking the color palette and decor that you picked?
I knew I wanted everything to look elegant but still soft and romantic. I also wanted a light blush color for bridesmaid’s dresses since it was the summertime. We used white, ivory, and blush florals along with gold decor and warm lighting to give everything a romantic and elegant summertime look.

From the Bride – When you first saw the groom, what were you thinking/feeling?
I loved seeing him in his tux and I was excited to be together again to share that moment with him.

From the groom – When you first saw the bride, what were you thinking/feeling?
I was overcome with joy to see how beautiful my bride was. She was perfect.

Who was your baker, what was the flavor of your cake? Was it delicious?!
Gambinos! Everyone loved it!

Did you do a first look? If so how did you feel about it? If not, do you wish you had?
I was SO nervous about the first look and debated with myself about doing it or not the whole time planning the wedding! I wanted so badly to keep with tradition and have that “moment” of first seeing each other as I walked down the aisle that I dreamt of my whole life. However, I just knew it was more practical to do a first look and we’d get better portrait opportunities. As soon as we got started with pictures I knew I made the right decision 100%. We had time to take all the pictures we wanted and once we were done we were able to focus on just the wedding after. We still had the most amazing moment seeing each other when I walked down the aisle!

Did you have a coordinator or did you plan everything yourself? If you didn’t have a coordinator any advice for brides planning their own wedding?
Emily Sullivan Events helped me with month of coordination along with wedding decor. I hesitated on getting a planner at first but there is so many things that her and her team helped me with that I could not have possibly done myself. They waited on me hand and foot during the wedding night and was there for anything I needed during the wedding planning process. Getting a planner is a must if you have a busy lifestyle and need the extra help with planning. Definitely recommend!

What was your first dance song? Why this song?
Can’t Help Falling in Love- Elvis

We knew we wanted something classic and not just a song that was popular at the time. We sat one night listening to many different songs and as soon as we heard this song we both got so excited for our wedding and knew this song was for us.

Band or DJ? Did they rock it?
The Phunky Monkeys. Hands down, THE BEST!!

We want to hear YOUR advice for future brides.
Family can give you a hard time during wedding planning. Remember to keep the day about you and fiance’ and what the two of you want.

Plan for everything! If something can go wrong, it will and that’s still okay. We had a lot of rain during our second line and I myself and bridesmaids were drenched upon getting to the reception. I had a bag packed for touch ups and completely forgot to bring it to have at the reception. Don’t forget things! lol

Anything else you want to say?
Studio Tran is the absolute best and we are so happy we had them for our wedding!