The Grand Hall

After visiting several possible venues, Jason and I have found the perfect location to hold our wedding reception! Yesterday Jason and I and my parents went to look at the Grand Hall in the Hyatt Regency at Union Station in downtown St. Louis. I had seen pictures online and had a feeling I was going to love this place. As soon as we walked in and walked up the stairs I was in awe. The Grand Hall is beautiful and ornate and even more impressive in person. We initially became interested in the Grand Hall, because Jason's friend Pat works as the manager of a restaurant there. It also just so happens that Pat's girlfriend, Megan, is the wedding coordinator for the Hyatt. We met with Megan yesterday and she gave us the tour of the Grand Hall and really helped us envision what our reception would look like. She was very professional and knowledgeable and I know she will be great to work with. She had all the answers for the numerous questions my parents had and made us all feel very comfortable. Megan showed us several photo albums of previous weddings to further help us envision what our event would look like. The pictures are all beautiful both inside and outside. Outside there is a big fountain that makes a great backdrop and the building itself is very ornate. As I was looking through the pictures, I said "Oooh it looks like a castle!" which probably did not help my reputation of being a princess. But it really does! As we were leaving and walking down the stairs that we will now walk up for our grand entrance I told Jason I could just see it. I could picture us walking up those stairs as we were being introduced for the first time as Mr. and Mrs. Griesenauer. We all left with a good feeling, but we did have a couple of other places to go look at. We went to another location and it didn't even compare so we immediately crossed it off the list. We took my mom to lunch for her birthday and decided to stop by one more place afterwards. Jason and I had already been to Windows Off Washington and really liked it, but we wanted my parents to see it and get their opinion. It's a great place and very unique as a lot of recycled materials are used throughout the rooms and it's located in the same building as the City Museum. It's totally different than the Hyatt though. So we had a decision to make between the two. Later that evening Jason and I were in the car on the way to my parents house for a bbq and we discussed our options. As we talked it became clear that the Hyatt was really the place we both loved. It offers the convenience of being a hotel, but the Grand Hall is very unique and not your typical ballroom. Apparently my parents had a similar conversation and when we got to their house we compared notes, and found we were all on the same page! Which is definitely a good thing! My mom gave me a huge hug and said how excited she was and that this is what she had envisioned for us and what her mother's instinct told her we would pick the from the start.

Jason and I are both very happy and excited with our decision. Now we just have to work out the minor details and sign the contract and we are set! I am really happy that we have our ceremony and reception sites set and we had no problems with getting the date we wanted (September 12, 2009). I feel really good about where we are in the planning process and hopefully the rest will just all fall into place!