Missouri Botanical Gardens

We had our wedding in the Japanese Garden and it was beautiful! The wedding coordinator and other day-of staff were fantastic and really helped everything run smoothly! Would definitely recommend this venue!!

The food was solid, the Catering St. Louis day-of staff were tremendous, and the Spink Pavilion (our reception venue) was amazingly gorgeous. The facility required very little decoration, aside from table centerpieces, which was one of our goals from the start. We were fortunate to be able to use both the inside (dinner, toasts) and outside (cocktail hour, dancing) areas of Spink. We did not get married at MoBot, though another couple got married at the Garden and hosted their reception at Monsanto Hall around the same time as our reception. A lack of direction from Catering St. Louis and/or MoBot folks somewhere along the line meant some of the other wedding's guests attended our cocktail hour for a few minutes before they realized they didn't actually know the woman in the white dress... :) We had some struggles with the office staff at Catering St. Louis not understanding key parts of their jobs (the accounting person should probably be well-versed in the options for paying your bill, including Venmo). We also were a little nervous after our tasting, as the food we were served was pretty standard, unimpressive banquet food - but we'd already paid our deposit and first payment so what do you do? Happily, the day-of food was significantly improved over the tasting samples, and we had a number of compliments from our guests. All that said, Kathy, our day-of coordinator, was SO great to work with, and made it easy to bring in our own dessert and floral arrangements. She's helpful, professional, and a talented event coordinator - just a gem! Despite some of the challenges we encountered along the way, we would choose Spink again and again. It was the perfect setting for our just-fewer-than-100-people reception in early June 2018.

MOBOT was the perfect venue! It’s such a gorgeous space that we didn’t have to decorate at all. I love that it’s a venue we can go back to and enjoy for years to come. I also love the central location in the city and the professionalism of the staff.

We could not have asked for a more perfect venue! Beautiful, historic, vintage... Decorating was effortless as a lot of the decor is built in to the venue! Working with Catering St. Louis made everything so easy & organized.

You really can't get a more historic and scenic outdoor option for spring and summer in St. Louis City. Our wedding was in Lehmann Rose Garden, and it was stunning. The wedding coordinator was great at keeping everything moving smoothly, and everything was set up immaculately. Our guests thought it was such an intimate and beautiful ceremony with the way the chairs are set up at this specific venue. Make sure you have a rain-out plan! Some of the garden locations do not provide one with your payment (through Catering St. Louis). Not much in the way of décor allowed, but the Gardens speak for themselves and require none.

We had our reception in Monsanto Hall at the garden. Although we only had 90 people, it was the perfect setting - not too big or too small and all the servers remarked how intimate and beautiful of a dinner it was. The terrace outside was great for cocktail hour, especially with the fountain in the background. Plenty of room for dancing. Would highly recommend.

Our wedding was in the Gladney Rose Garden and our reception was in Monsanto Hall at the Missouri Botanical Garden. Everything was so beautiful and put together that we cannot even believe it. Our planner, Alaynne from Catering St. Louis, was amazing to work with. We had 170 guests and somehow the ceremony still felt intimate because of the chair set up. Every space was so beautiful and we are so pleased with how everything turned out. LOVE THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN!

When we first started working with Catering St. Louis ( the company that the Garden does their weddings through) we hit a few speed bumps. They actual booked us twice, one girl I think was new or a sub for the regular person, so that was a bit of a mess. They do not have a rain out spot unless you book the Japanese Garden (we went with the Chinese Garden). They do have a wedding planner for each site and they have someone out in the front of the garden handing out maps to wedding guests the day of. The wedding planner was fantastic! She was real easy to get along with and helped make our special day go so smoothly. Another nice feature is that the wedding planner helped keep people out of the ceremony site the day of. We also had someone forget the bubbles for the ceremony and she tried to get us some from the front office but unfortunately they only had one ; appreciated the effort though!

Never returned my email, so I couldn't have my wedding here. Extremely disappointed. I wanted to have my wedding in the Japanese garden because of the replica Monet bridge, since traveling to Giverny France is out of our price range.

Having grown up in St. Louis, I often visited the Missouri Botanical Garden with my family and friends. I never dreamed that this beautiful location would one day be the place where I would be married, but that's exactly what happened on October 24, 2015. My husband and I had our ceremony in the Gladney Rose Garden, with our reception at the Spink Pavilion. The roses looked so beautiful that time of year and the location was simply breathtaking! It was rather chilly that day, but we ordered space heaters ahead of time at the Spink Pavilion and all of our guests seemed comfortable and hit the dance floor! There was a backup plan in case of rain, which I appreciated. Though, I am more appreciative of the fact that we didn't have to use it! The Gladney Rose Garden is perfect for those with a smaller guest list (we had 50). We rented a lavaliere microphone for the pastor (my father) and had a handheld mic for our personal vows. We also had a hookup to play ceremony music from a playlist on an iPhone. Honestly, I cannot recommend this venue enough. It felt so magical, and everyone I worked with was so professional and kind. Thank you, Missouri Botanical Garden for making my wedding day so special!

I got married in the Japense Gardens.The Gardens is the perfect place for having a wedding ceremony. Everything went perfect. The only thing I did not enjoy was constantly emailin back and forth with my wedding assistant. It was hard to get a hold of people to talk to so that was a little frustrating. But when it came down to the rehearsal and ceremony things were PERFECT.

We absolutely loved our outdoor wedding in June at the Missouri Botanical Gardens! You cannot get a more beautiful setting in Missouri.

I started working with Catering St. Louis to plan my ceremony at the Lehman rose garden and the reception at the Spink Pavilion. They were so great to work with and the gardens is a beautiful place for an all inclusive wedding. Unfortunately I had to cancel my reservation on 10/10/2015. The Spink Pavilion is still available if anyone is interested. Such a great place for guests to enjoy.

I grew up in Missouri but currently live in California. Once we decided to get married in Saint Louis we were worried about finding the correct vendors to make planning an out of town wedding as painless as possible. We were happy to discover that the Missouri Botanical Garden worked with Catering Saint Louis to rent out their spaces. We were assigned a wedding coordinator (Sandy) who was absolutely wonderful. She was very responsive to emails and patiently answered all of my questions. Most importantly, they do all of the work on the wedding day. They make sure both the ceremony and reception space is setup and meet with all of the vendors. Basically, it's a stress free wedding day for the bride and the groom (and their family) as everything is taken care of by the staff. The gardens are immaculate and were perfect for our spring wedding. The only downside was that we did not have a backup ceremony location if the weather was bad - fortunately this was not an issue for us. I believe they will rent you an indoor backup space for an additional charge but it was already booked for our wedding day.

We had our ceremony and reception at the Botanical Gardens. Catering St. Louis is the exclusive caterer for the venue and also gives you a ceremony and a reception coordinator. As we were planning it all from across the country I was so happy with how responsive our wedding coordinator was. We managed to do almost everything via email. The night of, she took care of everything. It was smooth and just magically happened all around us. I will say that our ceremony coordinator was a little less responsive until we got closer to the date- I was a bit hyperactive about trying to do things way ahead of time but came to terms with this. The gardens are of course stunning and make for great pictures. The only thing I'd warn perhaps is that they can be pretty strict about what goes out into the garden- not that really any decoration is needed- for example you can't throw flower petals or bubbles etc.

I am only giving this venue 3 stars because of the people I had to deal with. They lacked communication and made things difficult and stressful due to this. BUT the grounds are just stunning. so that made it all worth it to me. The Japanese garden is absolutely breathtaking!! I give the garden itself 5 stars!

My husband and I got married in the Gladney rose garden at the Missouri Botanical gardens. It was August 10, 2013, but it wasnt that hot! Our reception followed at the Spink pavilion in the gardens. Catering St. Louis is the only caterer that uses that venue, and it's evident. The location was STUNNING with hardly any help, and the food was SUBLIME!! Our pictures look like they're out of a wedding magazine :) it was amazing. The only downside is that there isn't really a "rain plan" and it's a little pricey ($80 per person)

We had our ceremony and reception at the Missouri Botanical Gardens. It truly was more than I could ever dream of. It was not only a beautiful site, but I did not have to worry about a thing. They provided a ceremony coordinator and a reception coordinator so that I didn't have to pay for my own. Everything flowed smoothly. They provided the tables, chairs, linens, and catering. The food was amazing. All of our guests told us it was one of the best weddings they had ever been to. My husband and I couldn't have been happier with how everything turned out!

My wedding ceremony and reception were both held at the Botanical Gardens. Wedding = Gladney Rose Garden, Reception = Monsanto Hall. Both were stunning. The garden is immaculate, and the staff with Catering St. Louis could not have been more helpful. I had to worry about nothing during my big day. If you think Catering St. Louis isn't worth the cost, think again. They are an all inclusive group. They set up our decorations, tables/chairs, provided a ceremony coordinator and reception coordinator.. I literally had to worry about nothing knowing their professional staff was there.

Gorgeous location.

My (now) husband and I are not religious, and instantly knew we wanted an outdoor ceremony. We were getting pretty defeated when looking at venues, because many places were extremely expensive or already booked despite looking in advance. We decided to look into the Missouri Botanical Gardens because it was a sight that we have frequented often on our anniversaries, and it would be somewhere special. We contacted and spoke with one of the wedding coordinators, who was extremely helpful. We were originally going to get married in the Lehmann Rose Garden but switched to the Japanese Garden after learning that it was the only spot within the gardens that had a guaranteed back-up option in case of inclement weather. This was slightly more expensive, but we thought it was worth the extra money to be less stressed. We were extremely pleased with our coordinator (Anna) and she was there for not only the wedding, but the rehearsal as well. She made sure everything went as seamless as possible, and was there to answer any logistical questions. The wedding itself was absolutely breath-taking, and was held on a grassy null in front of the pond of the Japanese Gardens. We received many compliments on the beautiful surroundings and atmosphere of our ceremony, and we had absolute NO problems. This really helped make our day stress free and amazing! We decided not to have our reception held at the Missouri Botanical Gardens, as the price was out of our range. The only reason why I did not give the Missouri Botanical Gardens a perfect review is due to the pricing. The cost up front does not seem too expensive, but they did have some fees for the smaller (extra) stuff that you are not informed about prior to booking. If you are having your wedding ceremony in the Japanese Garden and have elderly individuals or individuals with mobility issues attending the wedding, I would highly recommend getting the golf cart. It is quite the walk in heels, and I am extremely thankful that I took advantage of this extra. However, it is a bit pricey. You also have to pay extra for the sound equipment, microphones, and any tables you may need for programs and/or unity candle/sand ceremonies. Despite the additional charges, choosing this venue was absolutely worth it. Please take it from me that finding and booking the ceremony venue is quite possibly the most stressful part of the wedding planning process, and the staff at the Missouri Botanical Gardens makes everything so much easier.

The Botanical Gardens was a beautiful place to have a wedding. The only issue we ran into was transportation to the garden. They offered a golf cart service for an additional $250 for rides to and from the gardens for 30 minutes before and after the ceremony, however only 5 people could be transported at a time. The wedding coordinator was very helpful.

The Botanical Gardens is hands-down one of the most beautiful outdoor venues in St. Louis. There are several locations within the Gardens to choose from for a wedding ceremony location and reception site. We chose the Lehmann Rose Garden and Spink Pavilion respectively for our wedding, which had only about 55 guests. Both were great for an intimate number of people. The required caterer is Catering St. Louis which has a very professional staff and excellent food. Because it is a required vendor, I’d just make sure you are accounting for both the Botanical Gardens venue fees and a total catering quote before committing. For us, the venue was the most important factor, so we were willing to stretch our budget to fit. My only advice to couples considering this location would be to ask beforehand if the gardens will be changing for any reason on or before your wedding date, especially if you are sold on specific backdrops. There are usually beautiful ponds in front of the Spink Pavilion that typically have colorful floating Chihuly drops in them…my favorite part of the gardens and the backdrop I envisioned having. The ponds were drained on our date and giant dragons were being constructed in preparation for the upcoming Chinese Lantern Festival. We didn’t know until we arrived for the rehearsal and were pretty disappointed. Ultimately it was still a beautiful setting, and the kids who attended loved it, but it was something that I would have liked to have known about beforehand.

The Botanical Gardens are gorgeous and the perfect setting for an outdoor wedding. I love the indoor/outdoor aspects of the Sphinx Pavilion, especially that the dancing is outside. Luckily, the weather was perfect for our wedding so I can't comment on what it's like when it rains. People couldn't stop talking about how gorgeous the venue was and we actually had to kick people out at the end because no one wanted to leave. Gorgeous, gorgeous venue!

My wife and I had a commitment ceremony at the Missouri Botanical Gardens in the Gladney Rose Garden and our reception was hosted at the Spink Pavilion. The gardens are one of the most beautiful venues in St. Louis. The flexibility of MoBot to work with your needs was great! Our assistant, Mary Ellen, did so much the day of the wedding like sweeping leaves off the steps, having water available after the ceremony for the two of us, and making sure everyone was in their place. The Spink Pavilion was the most perfect and intimate (but not too tight fitting) location for our reception. The pavilion also provided us a brides' room to do any makeup touches, dress bustling, or just taking a break before our big entrance. This place was special before, and now it will always be special in our hearts!

Amazing!!!! We got married in mid September and the Roses where gorgeous! the staff at the Botanical Gardens were great!!! they knew exactly what they were doing and were very nice about everything. We would highly recommend using any of the available gardens.

I used the Lehmann Rose Garden and it was spectacular! Soo many places within the gardens to get beautiful photos!

The Lehmann Rose garden was the perfect setting for our afternoon ceremony. However, things seemed a bit disorganized while trying to secure the additional rentals we would need. On our wedding day, the 'coordinator' was the most stressful part of the day, she seemed to have her own idea of what how a wedding should go and when we didn't have the same plan, she just kept trucking with her own...which led me steps away from my future husband before we had seen each other that day. Luckily his friends shielded him from seeing me and it all worked out. I am still completely in love with the site, I'm just not sure that to them you are anything more than a number.

I had my wedding on the hottest day of the summer (or one of them) and we had our reception inside Monsanto Hall. Wow, they did above and beyond service. My wedding planner was more than helpful and even set up our namecard easel and candy table all on her own! I added touches of fun apple green and that really brightened the place up! Loved, Loved, Loved my reception!

We had a smaller ceremony at the boxwood garden in June. It worked out perfectly onther than the fact that my bride was 50 minutes late.. we had about 40ish guests standing with us under the gazebo that provided good shade. My bride walked out of the forest and down the path into the ceremony.. was very enchanting.. all for less than $700..

We had our ceremony in the Japanese Garden and it was completely and utterly gorgeous. It was a fantastic place to get married. However, as far as the coordinator given to us and employed by Catering St Louis, we were incredibly disappointed with her attitude. We were finally introduced to her day before the wedding, which was probably the first problem. She constantly bickered with our officiant (who was wonderful), and gave me and my husband attitude the entire time we saw her on wedding day. She was upset we chose to keep the wedding in the garden even though rain was forecast. It never rained, it was actually one of the most gorgeous afternoons of the year. She huffed and puffed as she had to carry our programs and other things to the garden since she thought we should have put it indoors in the completely and utterly terrible auditorium instead. I was under the impression she would guide my wedding party down the aisle, but she did not. So when it was my turn to walk, the music didn't change until I was about half-way down the aisle because the band didn't have anyone to tell them who was next. Luckily I have a smart group and they did a great job walking down the aisle. She was unfriendly and unkind and on someone's wedding day, those are two qualities one might at least try to feign for at least the b&g and parents. Also I had paid for a trolley/golf cart to help out our elderly guests. She asked me for their names so they would have priority on the cart. The two people that we needed to have transportation between the garden and the entrance were never escorted - either way. In fact, one of them stopped the cart and asked for a ride and the driver told her he was "busy" and had to pick up other people. He never picked up anyone. We were completely disappointed with the service (only on wedding day - all the way up until then was great), but the ceremony itself was magical.

The food was the best and the people at Catering St. Louis were very helpful about making sure everything was taken care of. They made sure we got to eat since we were walking around talking to everyone.