Carrie McDonnell and Scott Muehlemann
Saturday, July 13, 2002
St. Louis, Missouri

ABOUT THE BRIDE: I have lived in St. Louis all my life and have just one sister. I graduated from the University of Missouri-St. Louis and I am currently the marketing manager at First Community Credit Union.

ABOUT THE GROOM: Scott is also from St. Louis and is the youngest of seven children. He is a project manager for Automatic Rain, Inc., an irrigation company.

HOW WE MET: I was a junior in high school and Scott was a senior when we met at a mutual friend's party. By the time I made it to school on Monday morning, Scott had already talked to our friend and asked for my phone number. We went on our first date that night. We were together for two years and then decided to try being just friends for a while. But we both soon realized that we were truly meant to be together.

ENGAGEMENT: It was July 4. Scott and I were spending a relaxing day at his apartment before heading to his brother's annual barbecue. With our busy schedules, it was nice to just spend a quiet day together. I did not suspect that Scott was going to propose that day (which was his intention!).

That afternoon, Scott got down on one knee and proposed. We were so excited and couldn't wait to tell everyone! We first told my roommate, and maid of honor, and then headed to his family's barbecue. It seemed like an eternity before everyone was there so we could tell them all together. It was a great day and I love that Scott proposed on the fourth of July. It's always been one of my favorite holidays and now every time I see fireworks, I remember the day Scott proposed.

PLANNING: The planning was a lot of fun, but of course, a bit hectic. During my career, I had been fortunate enough to plan events for my company. So I already knew a lot of what I wanted and didn't want from our event facility. And I tried to stay as organized as possible throughout our engagement.

ATTIRE: Finding the perfect dress was one of my biggest dilemmas. I had tried on what felt like a million dresses and still hadn't found "my dress". Then I went to Bride's House and Lou took one look at me, asked a couple of questions, and came back with three dresses. I loved two of them and chose one as my dress. It was beautiful and comfortable, which is important, because you will be in the dress all day. My bridesmaids' dresses were also from Bride's House. I chose a two-piece strapless dress for them to try on. They all loved it and they chose cornflower blue for the color.

THE CEREMONY: We chose to have a Catholic ceremony, but not a mass. We also wanted the person performing the ceremony to know us well. So we chose a good friend's father as our deacon. That was a great decision because he gave a touching homily with stories of us from our past and our present.

THE RECEPTION: We chose one of the 10th floor rooms at Windows off Washington for our reception. It was perfect! Each table had tiered-candle centerpieces, so the room became even prettier as the night went on. And the view of the city was spectacular from our room and many guests spent most of the evening outside. Scott and I enjoyed the veranda a bit, but spent most of our time on the dance floor.

HOW WE PERSONALIZED THE WEDDING: We personalized our wedding by having people that we truly cared about as part of our wedding. All of Scott's brothers, my sister, and our close friends were in the wedding. We also made personalized favors that contained M&M's (McDonnell & Muehlemann) that also served as seating assignments.

THINGS WE LOVED: We spent most of the reception on the dance floor. We both love dancing and truly enjoyed ourselves. We were also appreciative that our photographer never once interfered with our day and yet captured all the important moments!

VENDORS WE USED:
Photography - CLC Photography
Bride's Attire - Demetrios from Blustein's Bride's House
Flowers - Kirkwood Florist
Reception - Windows Off Washington/Thomas Klein Catering

If you have questions or comments for Carrie and Scott please e-mail them at cmuehlemann@firstcommunity.com.