On the day they became husband and wife, Meredith Conrad and Travis Redmon stood on the balcony of the Chase Park Plaza overlooking a blue sky filled with floating balloons from the Forest Park Balloon Race.
Four years earlier, Meredith, who moved to St. Louis as a child, met Texas-born Travis in Dallas at a college football game. Travis proposed in 2012, when the pair traveled to check out Richmond, Va., where he was to do his medical school residency.
The couple exchanged vows at St. Francis Xavier College Church, which Meredith attended growing up. The officiating priest was Meredith’s great-uncle, who also married her parents and grandparents. Although it was pure coincidence that the Balloon Race took place on the same weekend, it added to the memorable evening. “The Chase has these big, beautiful terraces with views of downtown, the Arch and Forest Park,” Meredith says. “Everyone came to the reception early so they could watch the balloons take off.”
The evening included an elegant meal of petite filet and grilled salmon, a late-night snack of Ted Drewes—and a little impromptu Irish dancing by the bride. “I grew up Irish dancing in St. Louis, and there was a group of guests who had danced with me as a child,” Meredith says.
The Redmons live in Richmond, Va., where both work at VCU Medical Center—Meredith is a nurse in the pediatric ICU and Travis is in his second year of residency in emergency medicine.
[resources]
Gown | Rivini, Carine’s Bridal in Washington, D.C.;
veil and belt, Fleur de Lis Bridal in St. Louis
Caterer | Chase Park Plaza Hotel
Baker | Chase Park Plaza Hotel
Florist | Bloomin’ Buckets
Reception Music | Marvin from TKO DJ
Wedding planner | Ellen Gutierrez, Bride’s Vision
Honeymoon | Aruba
[wedding party]
Maid of Honor | Jillian Conrad
Bridesmaids | Elizabeth Hill, Misty Engelbrecht
Best Man | Ryan Warren
Groomsmen | Robert Wallace, Major Jones
Bride’s Parents | Peter & Jane Conrad of Clayton
Groom’s Parents | Synthia Redmon of Kingston, Okla.
Usher | Keenan Conrad
Flower Girl | Anna Frei
Ring Bearer | Phillip Conrad
By Stephanie Zeilenga
Photos by Cary Klein Photography
