It was a casual outing with girlfriends at Roxane Wine Bar in Clayton that led Crystal Herbosa to her future husband, Justin O’Connor. They sat next to each other and struck up a conversation that ended with the two making plans for St. Patrick’s Day the next week. A little more than a year later, Justin proposed.
“It was Easter, and he had planned to do it at my parents’ house in front of our families,” Crystal explains. “But when I showed up at his place before church, he was standing in a cute seersucker suit holding a big Easter egg with a bow from Ladue Florist, like the ones he got as a child.” What was inside the egg was much better than chocolate! “It was so hard to sit through church and not be able to call people,” Crystal laughs. “We all celebrated at my parents’ house afterward.”
The couple expected a large wedding; Crystal is one of six children, and she and Justin were the first to get married on both sides of the family. “There ended up being 330 guests,” she says. “My dad’s family came in from the Phillipines and my uncles from Canada. It was the first time everyone was together in St. Louis.”
Numerous family influences were incorporated throughout the wedding. Justin’s Irish roots led the couple to choose green for the main wedding color, and a bagpiper played as they walked out of the church and into the reception. “One of my dad’s Thunderbirds is mint green, so we drove away in that,” Crystal says. “The color couldn’t have been better!” Since her mom is Italian, Crystal got a group together to make bags of Italian cookies in the tradition of her heritage.
“The entire day was more than I ever expected,” she says. “I never imagined I would get such an amazing wedding. We are so grateful to our parents.”
wedding party
Maid of Honor | Christina Herbosa
Bridesmaids | Carolyn Herbosa, Anne Aliperti, Mary Clayton, Kaitlyn Erisman, Laura Goltermann, Gretchen Hawley, Stephanie Martin, Michelle Payne
Best Men | Logan O’Connor and Thompson Hollo
Groomsmen | Robert Burkhardt, Travis DeJohn, Christian Herbosa, Christopher Herbosa, Carlo Herbosa, Joseph Trad Jr., Andrew Rowan Jr.
Flower Girl | Ahlana Schnitzer
Bride’s Parents | Dr. & Mrs. Eugenio Herbosa of Town & Country
Groom’s Parents | Ms. Linda O’Connor of Ladue, Mr. & Mrs. Timothy O’Connor of University City
resources
Ceremony | Little Flower Church
Reception | St. Louis Country Club
Gown | Augusta Jones
Cake | Missouri Bakery
Florist | Bloomin’ Buckets
Music | Motown Revue
Honeymoon | Great Exuma, Bahamas
Photos: Claire Bira of Imageclarity