WEDDING DATE: April 27, 2019
CEREMONY: Epiphany of Our Lord Church
RECEPTION: Hotel Saint Louis
ABOUT THE COUPLE: He is an assistant public defender with the Missouri State Public Defender System. She is a financial advisor with RubinBrown. The couple lives in St. Louis’ Southhampton neighborhood.
HOW DID YOU MEET?
Hannah: A friend of mine had met Joe recently and invited me to an event where he would be. I wasn’t going to go because I already had plans with my sister. But once my sister figured out what I was skipping, she suddenly became very busy and bailed on me. So, I went to the event and met Joe. The next day, our friends orchestrated a phone number swap and fixed us up.
WHAT INITIALLY ATTRACTED YOU TO EACH OTHER?
Hannah: Well, he’s incredibly handsome. Also, he treated me so well and still does. I remember texting my mom shortly after we met, “Mom, he’s so nice!” She still brings that up sometimes because it’s probably the only time I’ve ever actually addressed her in a text.
Joe: We disagreed about something on our first date. She made a strong argument for her opinion—I respected her view; she respected mine. Then we kept talking and found other things we had in common. We had more in common than we had in opposition to each other.
HOW HE PROPOSED
Joe: I had the ring and blessing from her father and I just had to find the right day to propose. The day after my brother’s wedding, as we were running around and seeing family before they all left town, I thought, “Oh, today is the day. This is it!” So, I got cleaned up, put on nice clothes and shaved. I went to her house and I realized I had never thought through what I would say. I had no speech planned, but by the point I realized that, I was already standing in front of her with the ring box out. Then I made the mistake of standing between her and the coffee in the morning—it’s a miracle she said yes!
WHAT WAS UNIQUE ABOUT YOUR WEDDING?
Hannah: We were only the second held wedding at Hotel Saint Louis, so it was a blank slate for our own memories. Plus, we knew very few, if any, of our guests who had been there before and it was exciting to do something new.
FAVORITE WEDDING DAY MOMENT?
Joe: I slept for three hours the night before. It was the closest to the feeling you have when you were a kid who just couldn’t wait for Christmas! I couldn’t stop smiling and giving big bear hugs to everyone I saw.
Hannah: About 10 minutes before I was to walk down the aisle, a friend texted me saying this was the most excited he’d ever seen a man right before his wedding, and that I should see him out there making the rounds. I could picture Joe out there doing just that! I thought, “That’s my future husband, all right!” I found out later that the florist thought Joe was going to need a new boutonniere—all the bear hugs had crushed his.
VENUE: Hotel Saint Louis
PHOTOGRAPHY: Nancy Williams Photography / Pamela Schniepp Photography
DRESS: Mikaella, Simply Elegant Bridal
BRIDESMAIDS’ DRESSES: The Dessy Group
TUXEDO: Tommy Hilfiger
RINGS: Palecek Diamond Setting Company
HAIR: Denise Reinwald
FLOWERS: Stems Florist
ENTERTAINMENT: Elite Pro DJ
CAKE: Sarah’s Cake Shop
WEDDING COORDINATOR: Kamber Schlechte of Hotel Saint Louis, and mother of the bride
