When Alexis Zotos and Matt Drobak connected on Tinder, each thought the other looked slightly familiar. Later, they realized their past connection. Just a few weeks earlier, Matt had been tending bar at a Cherokee Street brewery when Alexis stopped in to meet a friend. Her companion was late, so they ended up chatting.

“Once my friend arrived, Matt and I went our separate ways,” Alexis recalls. “Neither of us asked for the other’s number. It wasn’t until well into our first date that we realized what had happened.” Matt wasn’t actually a bartender; he was just doing a good turn for his friend, the brewery owner— a fact that Alexis says impressed her quite a bit. “He also pours a good beer,” she jokes.

Matt and Alexis both grew up in Ladue and went to Ladue High School. She is three years younger, so their paths didn’t cross at the time. “I knew his sister, but he and I weren’t friends,” Alexis says. “We always joke that I was cooler as a freshman than he was as a senior. We certainly had no idea we would end up together later on.”

After they dated for a couple of years, Matt decided to make things official. “He had a secret plan to propose at the Jewel Box in Forest Park, but it rained that day,” Alexis says. “We were supposed to have a staycation at the Four Seasons that evening, so I suggested we go straight there. We were about to go to the hotel spa when Matt took out the ring and asked me to marry him in the room. I hadn’t expected to be surprised when he proposed, but I was caught completely off guard! That made the moment even more special.” Afterward, they celebrated with champagne at the hotel bar, and the bartender snapped some rooftop photos.

Matt and Alexis will marry in August at the Grand Basin in Forest Park, and their reception will be at Wild Carrot on Shaw Boulevard. “We’re looking forward to a lovely outdoor ceremony, officiated by our friend, the brewery owner,” Alexis says.

A Bali honeymoon is planned, and the couple is buying a home in the Shaw neighborhood. Alexis is a reporter for KMOV Channel 4, and Matt is a project manager at Clayco Construction.

resources
ceremony | Grand Basin in Forest Park
reception | Wild Carrot
gown | Cleo Bridal
cake | La Patisserie Chouquette
florist | City House Country Mouse
honeymoon | Bali

wedding party
maids of honor | Brittni Zotos, Krista Zotos
bridesmaids | Jennifer Meckles, Britt Thorson, Julianne Spencer, Carolyn Eady
best man | Ian Ferguson
groomsmen | Derrick Scott, Michael Riney, Kevin Eady, Zach Wood
bride’s parents | Nick Zotos and Kathy Bresnahan, both of St. Louis
groom’s parents | John & Mary Drobak of St. Louis

wedding date | august 31, 2019

Photo: Laura Ann Miller