You can tell family is very important to Meagan Arnold and Geoff Theodore. It is interwoven in many of the intimate wedding festivities that made up what Meagan describes as “the happiest day.” She wanted to keep it simple and special, and focused on loved ones. “We have no regrets,” she says. “It was all so relaxed and everything we wanted for that day.”
Even their relationship started through close connections. The two exercised at the same gym but met through friends. “My girlfriend, whose brother works at the same fire department as Geoff, gave him my number. He didn’t want to come up to me when I was working out,” Meagan laughs. After a year of dating, she says they both knew it was meant to be. So during a relaxing weekend at her dad’s home in southern Missouri, Geoff surprised Meagan with a ring while they were watching the sunset on the porch. “I was completely shocked,” she says. Her dad had passed away recently and was buried on the property. “Geoff asked my brother for permission, but it’s like he asked my dad also when he proposed there.”
Many family heirlooms were incorporated into the big day: for her engagement ring, Geoff used a stone in the engagement ring from a promise ring Meagan’s dad gave her mom; Meagan had a piece of her grandma’s wedding gown from 1947 made into a purse; and their cake topper was from her parents’ wedding. “We love to be outdoors, and the weather was perfect,” Meagan recalls. The cocktail-style party included a huge spread of hors d’oeuvres that she describes as “a colorful work of art.” Guests were free to walk around the gardens, and the band kept everyone on the dance floor. “The whole day was like out of a storybook,” she says. Meagan works as a hairstylist at Studio Branca Salon and Spa, and Geoff is a firefighter paramedic in St. Louis County. The couple resides in Richmond Heights.
[wedding party]
Maid of Honor | Carrie Hoelscher
Best Man | Alex Theodore
Flower Girl | Adalyn Theodore
Bride’s Parents | Judy Arnold of Chesterfield and the late Kevin Arnold
Groom’s Parents | Pam Theodore of Wildwood and George Theodore of Chesterfield
[resources]
Gown | Essence of Australia
Ceremony | Trinity Lutheran Church
Reception | Missouri Botanical Garden
Cake | Sugaree
Florist | RW Designs
Music | Power Play
Honeymoon | Italy
Photos: Stephen Seebeck
