To get more information on local wedding and planning services, visit myleaderpaper.com/weddings.
By Goldie Lowe
The 31st annual Leader Wedding Fair is a must-attend event for those planning for an upcoming wedding or other special occasion.
The event is slated for 12:30-3:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 2, in the Corpus Christi Event Center at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 6020 Old Antonia Road, in Imperial.
Tickets for the wedding fair cost $3 in advance or $5 at the door. However, a limited number of free tickets may still be available by visiting myleaderpaper.com/weddings/ and after going to checkout entering the code “WEDDINGBELLS.”
Leader Publisher Peggy Scott said each year the Leader donates proceeds from the sale of wedding fair tickets to a local charity. This year, the Leader will donate to the Spotlight Community Theatre organization, which was founded in 2022 and provides opportunities for people of all ages from Jefferson County and beyond to take part in musicals and other productions, both onstage and behind the scenes.
“We have the opportunity to support the Spotlight Community Theatre troupe, which is something we think is a really great benefit to the community. Each year the wedding fair has supported some type of community activity. We like being able to have the event but also support a great organization,” Scott said.
Over the course of the Leader Wedding Fair’s history, the event has raised more than $51,000 for local charities.
Last year, more than 400 people attended the wedding fair.
About 400 people attended the 30th annual Leader Wedding Fair, held Sunday at the Corpus Christi Event Center at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Imperial.
Katelyn Mary Skaggs, digital marketing manager at Leader Publications, said more than 30 vendors will be on hand with products and services focused on planning a wedding or other celebration, such as event planners; dress and tuxedo shops; venues; music; photographers; florists; caterers; decorations; travel agents and more.
“This year’s wedding fair will have everything you need to plan your whole wedding or special celebration, from start to finish,” she said.
Skaggs said many vendors will offer door prizes and giveaways and encourages attendees to bring pre-printed address labels to make it easier and faster to enter drawings and contests.
Skaggs said the first 100 brides to arrive will receive a free swag bag from The Bridal Shoppe in Crystal City.
This year’s wedding fair will include guest speaker Danyelle Stillman, owner of Reflections Medical Spa, who will give tips and tricks to help you look your best on the big day.
The fair will also offer two fashion shows – a wedding dress fashion show put on by Clarice’s Bridal of St. Louis County, and a tuxedo and suit fashion show put on by Savvi Formalwear of St. Louis and featuring members of the Spotlight Community Theatre group as the models.
“We’re very excited to have two fashion shows this year,” Skaggs said.
Complete Weddings and Events in St. Louis County will provide the DJ music during the fashion shows.
A cash bar will be available.
Scott said the Leader Wedding Fair is a great resource for those who are engaged, but it’s also a great event for those planning other special events, or even for those simply looking for a day of fun entertainment.
“Everyone should come to the wedding fair,” Scott said. “People who might be planning any kind of an event – a birthday party, retirement party, class reunion, or any other kind of an event – should come because the same types of services you need for a wedding, you would need for those other events – venues, photos, caterers, all those kinds of services.”
A full schedule of events is planned for the fair:
12:30 p.m.: Doors open.
1:15 p.m.: Savvi Formalwear of St. Louis will hold a tuxedo and suit fashion show, with music by Complete Weddings and Events.
2:15 p.m.: Danyelle Stillman, owner of Reflections Medical Spa, will give tips for looking your best on your big day.
3 p.m.: Clarice’s Bridal will hold a wedding dress fashion show, with music by Complete Weddings and Events.
3:30 p.m.: Expo closes.
For more information about the event, call the Leader office at 636-931-7560.
The 31st annual Leader Wedding Fair will be held Feb. 2.
Leader Wedding Fair to include Savvi Formalwear men’s fashion show
By Teresa Inserra
This year, Savvi Formalwear of St. Louis will give Leader Wedding Fair attendees the chance to see the latest trends in groom’s tuxedos and suits. It will be the first time the Wedding Fair has included a men’s fashion show.
The Wedding Fair will be held from 12:30-3:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 2, at the Corpus Christi Event Center at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Imperial. The Savvi Formalwear fashion show will be at 1:15 p.m., and Clarice’s Bridal of St. Louis County holds its wedding dress fashion show at 3 p.m.
“Many people focus on the bride’s dress and how important it is to find just the right one, but what men wear is equally as important,” said Katelyn Mary Skaggs, Leader Publications’ digital marketing manager. “We are very excited to add Savvi’s fashion show this year. They are an industry leader in tuxedos and suits, so I’m looking forward to seeing what the trends are for colors and styles.”
Richard Craig, general manager of Savvi Formalwear, said eight models from Spotlight Community Theatre will show off a variety of some of the store’s popular styles.
Typically, he said, the groom’s tux or suit ends up being lower on the priority list – behind choosing the bride’s gown and picking the venue. But he hopes the men’s fashion show will remind future brides and grooms that it is important to leave plenty of time to secure the groom’s attire.
Craig said Savvi Formalwear encourages people to purchase their suits or tuxes sooner rather than later, which could result in an early bird discount.
Trends have changed over the years. When he started working for Savvi Formalwear in 1987, there were 30 varieties of black tuxes with different styles of coats. Now there are a variety of colors of tuxes and suits offered.
“Everyone wants more color in their wedding now,” he said.
Craig said the trend now is lighter and brighter. Navy blue has been popular in recent years, and oxford blue is currently trending. In addition to shades of blue and gray, hunter green, olive and cranberry are big. Light tan is popular, too.
He said there was an eight-to-10-year period when there were no black tuxes among the store’s top 10, but that changed two years ago. It’s making a slow comeback, and three black tuxes are currently in the top 10.
One thing is for sure, most men now want a slim fit, rather than a loose fit, he said.
Craig said suits have really taken off since grooms don’t necessarily want a tuxedo as much.
He said the main difference between a tuxedo and a suit is the satin on the lapel of a tux jacket, as well as fabric buttons.
Another change in recent years is the color of the vest, which no longer matches the tie but instead matches the color of the suit, he added.
Skaggs said she’s excited to see the selections available for the guys on their big day and is happy Spotlight Community Theatre is providing models for the fashion show.
“I’m excited to see the runway full of local actors and models,” she said.
Spotlight Community Theatre was chosen as the charity for this year’s Wedding Fair.
Free tickets are still available for the Wedding Fair. Visit myleaderpaper.com/weddings/ and enter the code “WEDDINGBELLS” at checkout. After the free tickets are given away, the remaining tickets will cost $3 in advance or $5 at the door.
From left, Will Hoppmann, Lucky Perry, Haylee Sitz and Nick Rowley perform in Spotlight’s 2023 production of “The Wizard of Oz,” which had two casts of actors ranging from age 4 to 79.
Wedding Fair proceeds to benefit Spotlight Community Theatre group
By Kevin Carbery
Those purchasing tickets for the 2025 Leader Wedding Fair will be helping to support Spotlight Community Theatre, a nonprofit organization that provides residents from Jefferson County and beyond the chance to perform in plays and musicals or work behind the scenes to put on those shows.
All the money from the ticket sales will go to the group.
The Wedding Fair will be held from 12:30-3:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 2 at the Corpus Christi Event Center at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Imperial. Tickets cost $3 in advance and $5 at the door.
Spotlight, founded in 2022, provides opportunities for those with the itch to participate in shows at various venues around Jefferson County. Some members of the theater troupe will serve as models during the Wedding Fair festivities.
“Savvi Formalwear (of St. Louis) will hold a tuxedo and suit fashion show,” said Peggy Scott, the Leader’s publisher. “The tuxedo fashion show is something we’ve never had before. Spotlight Community Theatre members will wear the fashions from Savvi Formalwear.”
Courtney Wisely, Spotlight’s founder and executive director, said that while organization members may not be models, they are comfortable being in front of crowds of people.
“It’s some of the men from Spotlight,” Wisely said. “We have eight men who will model. They all jumped at the chance to model.”
Scott said the Leader has helped promote Spotlight and its productions ever since the organization was formed.
“Spotlight Community Theatre is a treasure in the county, bringing live theater to the community and giving actors of all ages the opportunity to be on stage and others to work behind the scenes as crew members, ” she said. “It’s something the Leader has supported in the past and will continue to support. Having this quality theater troupe makes our community a better place. If you haven’t seen a live production, you should go.”
Wisely said she appreciates the Leader choosing Spotlight as the recipient of this year’s Leader Wedding Fair donation.
“This comes at a perfect time for us because we’ve doubled the number of musicals we’re doing this year to four,” she said. “We are so grateful for the support. We are honored we were chosen as the charity. We are excited to participate in the event.”
Spotlight’s first production of 2025 will be “Shrek The Musical Jr.,” set for March 6-8 at the Contrarian Concert Hall & Theater in Festus. Tickets cost $15 and may be purchased at spotlightjeffco.ludus.com or by calling 636-428-3331.
“It’s hilarious,” Wisely said. “The show can be enjoyed by anyone.”
The troupe’s other musicals this year include “High School Musical,” June 27-29 at Hillsboro High School; “Fiddler on the Roof,” Aug. 7-10 at Jefferson High School south of Festus; and “Tick Tick … Boom,” Nov. 20-23 at a site to be determined.
In addition, Spotlight will put on an “Acting Troupe Showcase,” which will feature two one-act plays on April 4-6 at Crystal City High School; “Rising Star Revue,” featuring a teen talent show and a one-act play on Sept. 26-28 at a site to be determined.
Wisely said there was a lot of interest in the Spotlight troupe from the start, which has remained strong.
“We have about 400 people participating in Spotlight in some way,” she said. “They’re from all over Jefferson County. We also have a handful from St. Louis and other surrounding counties.
“They do set construction, scene painting, sound and light, costumes, props, front of house – that includes ushers and those who check people in and sell items. There are the actors and choreographers, music, stage managers.”
Spotlight has members of all ages and backgrounds, and the troupe accepts new members all the time, Wisely said.
“Our age range is 4 to 96,” she said. “We are never at capacity. We are always looking for new members each year. We do so many shows people can choose their level of commitment.”
For more information about Spotlight, visit Spotlight Community Theatre - JeffCo Facebook page or go to the organization’s website at spotlightjeffco.org.
Scott said Spotlight is the latest in a long list of groups that have benefited from Leader Wedding Fair donations.
Over the course of its three-decade history, the Wedding Fair has raised more than $51,000 for local charities.
From left, Ann Witherspoon, Arnold; Lisa Wulfers, Festus; Darlene Beffa, Festus; and Pam Portell, Crystal City; enjoy the Leader’s Celebrating Women event in 2024.
Celebrating Women event set for March 28
By Teresa Inserra
Leader Publications will once again hold an event to celebrate women.
The Celebrating Women event will be held from 6-10 p.m. Friday, March 28, at the Oak Valley Golf Course and Resort, 1230 Abbey Lane, in Pevely. Admission for the event is $40 per person and includes an open bar and a buffet dinner catered by Andre’s Banquet Center.
Tickets went on sale on Jan. 2 and may be purchased through the Leader’s website at myleaderpaper.com/celebratingwomen and at the Leader office, 503 N. Second St., in Festus.
“Last year was the first year for Celebrating Women,” said Katelyn Mary Skaggs, Leader Publications’ digital marketing manager. “I really think it’s important to come together as women in the community and celebrate each other. It was an exceptional event last year – one of my favorite evenings.”
More tickets are available this year because tickets sold out so quickly last year.
“There was a waiting list,” she said. “We will increase from 152 to 180 tickets, so hopefully we have more women join us in celebrating the evening. So, bring your gal pals for a fun evening. The menfolk are more than welcome to attend, but the event is designed specifically for women.”
This year’s theme is Hollywood Glam.
“You can decide what that means to you,” Skaggs said. “But we all have a fancy dress we feel we never have an excuse to wear. Pull it out of the closet. Think red carpet. If you had the opportunity to walk on the red carpet, what would you wear? I will be wearing a pink floor-length gown with a cape.”
This year, the Leader sought nominations from readers to honor four women with Women of Impact awards at the event.
“The event will honor all the women at the celebration, but we will put the spotlight on these four women,” Skaggs said. “The winners will be announced in a special section published in the Leader right before the event. We had a committee of community members who combed through application after application of fantastic women. It was a hard task.
“I got to read all the nominations, and I was just blown away by the nominees and all the work they have done. I was surprised that so many men took the time to nominate women. I guess I thought only women would nominate women, but a lot of husbands, sons and even some coworkers nominated women.”
Skaggs said nominations will be kept on file for three years.
She said a local charitable group also will be highlighted during the event.
“One of my favorite parts of the event is spotlighting the Aunt Rose Project,” Skaggs said. “It’s run by Renee Gerlach, a Hillsboro woman who provides feminine hygiene products to local teenagers in need.”
Donations for the Aunt Rose Project may be dropped off at the event. The group provides free, unopened boxes of feminine care items to the Jefferson County Foster Children’s Fund, Court Appointed Special Advocates of Jefferson County, Jefferson County Foster Closet, All for the Family, the Homeless Youth Initiative and Hillsboro schools.
She said Leader Publications’ office, 503 N. Second St., in Festus, is a drop-off location for the Aunt Rose project.
Skaggs said the Twin City Optimist Club is back as the title sponsor for the Celebrating Women event. Other sponsors include Precision Dental Care (dinner sponsor); Comfort Cabinetry (bar sponsor) and Nothing Bundt Cakes (dessert sponsor).
“We still have several sponsorships left if you or your business wants to take part,” she said. “In addition, we will take any donation for prizes to be raffled off at the event.”
Steven and Stephanie Robertson dance at their wedding last May.
After decade apart, college friends reconnect, get married
By Steven Robertson, freelance reporter for the Leader
When I was a teenager, I was pretty sure I’d never get married – or if I did, it would be an extremely small affair, maybe at a drive-thru wedding chapel in Las Vegas. Back then, I thought weddings were all about expensive dresses, tuxedos and a whole lot of tightly cinched neckties. None of that was particularly appealing to me. My dreams involved stage lights, not string lights, and road trips, not rehearsal dinners.
After high school, off to Mizzou I went and dove headfirst into the theater department. After nearly four years of performing in plays and musicals, writing scripts and making all kinds of new friends, it was my senior year and I met a new person – Stephanie. She was a sophomore just entering the theater department. I learned she grew up not too far from my hometown of Imperial. I thought of her as a friend, like a fellow passenger on the same Mizzou theater bus, not the love of my life, at least not yet.
After graduation, we both headed off to try our hand at acting, she in New York and me in Los Angeles, and for a solid decade, we both lived out our own separate storylines. Marriage, even more than ever, was nowhere on my radar.
Then came that fateful Instagram message in 2021. The world still felt shut down from the COVID pandemic then, and she was casually checking in on an old college classmate. I was intrigued that someone else from the “Mizzou theater years” had resurfaced, and I really enjoyed getting to know her better. Twice that fall she visited St. Louis, where I was waiting out the pandemic, and that’s when we had our first date.
After that, on a whim, I drove 15 hours to visit her in New York for an unforgettable New Year’s Eve. Then, just a few months later I was driving a packed Chevy Malibu into Manhattan traffic, with boxes of my life rattling in the back. That’s when I realized my teenage self might have been very wrong about this whole marriage thing.
By December 2022, I was down on one knee at Rockefeller Center – yes, the holiday hot spot with thousands of tourists gawking at the massive Christmas tree – proposing to that college friend who’d become so much more. She said, “Yes, I’ll marry you; now get up,” and just like that, I was plunged into the world of wedding planning.
By November 2023, with mixed emotions, we left NYC and moved back to St. Louis. We picked May 11, 2024, for our big day.
The suit I wore for our wedding was a testament to my lifelong battle against neckwear: no tie, top button undone and a jacket I seriously considered rolling up Don Johnson-style. My mother insists there was a mysterious year in high school when I loved ties, but I must’ve lost blood flow to my brain from the too-tight ties and blocked it out of my mind. Meanwhile, my soon-to-be wife looked spectacular in her wedding gown, and when I first saw her that day, I’d never been more sure of anything in my life.
Our wedding party ended up being a fun mash-up of old and new-ish friends. I had four groomsmen (including two co-best men) and one “groomsgal,” a female friend I’ve known since college. Stephanie had four bridesmaids (including two co-maids of honor) and one “bridesboy,” a guy she’s been close friends with since kindergarten.
Instead of a traditional religious ceremony, we asked our good friend, Mitch, to officiate. He, just like Stephanie, had gone to Mizzou and journeyed to the Big Apple afterward. Months before the wedding, he sent us questionnaires so he could craft something personal and meaningful.
I wrote my vows thinking I’d be able to say them without getting emotional – what a foolish assumption. The moment I began reciting them, my voice wobbled, and I felt those pesky tears trying to get out. Turns out, when you’re making major promises in front of 150 of the closest people in your life (a number that still baffles my teenage brain), it’s really, really hard to keep it together.
Then came our big oops moment: We discovered we’d left our marriage license in the hotel room where Stephanie was staying. Our wedding coordinator (who was worth every single cent) went into superhero mode, snatching the room keycard from Stephanie and racing off to retrieve the license while the ceremony was underway. Thankfully, the coordinator returned just in time, license in hand, saving us from the ultimate “I do … oh wait, maybe I don’t” fiasco.
After the ceremony, we moved inside the Wild Carrot venue for a reception that turned into a full-blown dance marathon. We’d hired a DJ and spent weeks curating a playlist specifically to keep everyone moving, especially during our “Jock Jams” power hour, which included “Pump Up the Jam,” “Everybody Dance Now” and “Sandstorm.” I’m not sure my feet and knees have fully recovered.
For dinner, we served Salt + Smoke BBQ, a St. Louis staple, and for dessert, we had cannoli, in homage to Stephanie’s years in NYC, as well as a beautiful wedding cake with the very same Precious Moments cake topper Stephanie’s parents had at their wedding. Friends and family flooded in from all around the country, including from both coasts, and seeing them all in one place was an incredible and surreal reunion of so many different chapters in our lives.
If you’d told my teen self that I’d one day have a big wedding – complete with a professional wedding coordinator, a dance floor crammed with beautiful people and me weeping during our vows – I’d have laughed in your face. But now, I can’t imagine it any other way. I feel like the luckiest lad alive.
Our wedding day was bigger, more chaotic and more emotional than I could have ever imagined. In the end, I realized that the details I once dreaded – dressing up, driving around taking a bunch of pictures, a hundred-plus guests making us feel like the stars of the show for a day – weren’t scary at all. Everything about our wedding day was the cherry-on-top of a much bigger story about two people who drifted apart for more than a decade, living two very different lives, and coming together with all that experience and finally finding someone safe with whom they could give their love.
My teenage self was right about one thing (and probably only one thing) – you don’t need ties to have a great time.
Sky-Ann and Ethan Chandler got married in October last year.
Banged-up nose can’t keep girl from getting her dream wedding
By Sky-Ann Chandler, sales representative for the Leader
I am an extraordinarily “girly-girl” and have always loved getting pampered at hair and nail salons and getting dressed up and made up, all the stereotypical “girl” activities. I was the firstborn girl in a large family, and by the time I was 16, I had been a member of a wedding party or attendee for my parents, four of my aunts and uncles and two of my grandparents weddings. So, it’s no surprise I had always dreamed about my wedding day.
At 8 years old, I met my husband, Ethan, in elementary school. Then when we were in junior high and I was 12, we shared our first kiss on the bleachers under the lights at a Friday night football game. Sorry mom and dad!
After that, we decided to “date,” at least as well as two 12-year-old kids can date. When it came to the end of our eighth-grade year, I moved. Not very far, but nonetheless, Ethan and I no longer attended the same school, so that was the end of us, for then.
I moved back at the start of our sophomore year, and when junior year rolled around, our two worlds collided once again, in American government class. We sat next to each other, and pretty soon that turned into so much more.
In April 2024, when we were celebrating our four-year anniversary, Ethan proposed. I had always wanted a fall wedding, and Ethan had never wanted a long engagement, so we decided to get married six months later, on Oct. 19. Needless to say, when I got home to tell my parents we had six months to plan and pay for a wedding, the blood ran from their faces a bit.
We did not have time to skip a beat, so we got to work. I had my dress picked out two weeks later, our venue booked less than a month later, and then the caterer, DJ, decorations, everything started to fall into place.
While my wedding was a day I had dreamed about for so long, I had no real vision for it. Luckily, my mother was a saint and did a lot of the planning. If it had just been me, our wedding guests would have had chicken nuggets and water for dinner, and who knows if I would have been able to get anything else in order. As the day drew closer, and the bachelor/bachelorette parties, bridal shower and trial hair and nail appointments were over, I grew more and more excited to marry my very best friend.
I am still surprised I was able to fall asleep on Oct. 18, but I eventually did, and I was ecstatic to wake up as a soon-to-be-bride. We got up early that morning, the last time sleeping at my parents’ house, which was bittersweet, but I was determined not to cry that early in the day. Unfortunately, the tears would come about 30 minutes later, when I was walking into the salon and slammed my face into the front glass door, which I thought was open. It was my regular salon, so I had been there a million times before. How could I miss the door? Immediately the tears started flowing. My nose was throbbing, and with my hand covering my face and my hysterical crying, I turned to my dad and told him I had just broken my nose.
At 7 a.m. on my wedding day, I had just broken my nose! Or, at least that’s what I thought at the time. I am a little dramatic.
I was wearing my glasses, so not only was the inside of my nose bleeding, but also I had a huge gash across the bridge of my nose that was bleeding. My dad embraced me and assured me that my nose probably was not broken.
Finally, I made it safely through the salon door and knew I had to calm down, but between what I thought was about the worst thing that could happen to me that day, and the stress and emotions that naturally come with your wedding day, it took about an hour to settle myself. I was puffy, swollen, sore and annoyed.
However, between ibuprofen, Advil and the most wonderful makeup artist, you would never have guessed the event that had taken place just hours before I was fully ready. Everything turned out perfect.
During the entire wedding planning process, I had told people that even if the venue burned to ashes on our wedding day, it would be just fine because at the end of the day, I would be the wife of the man I had always wanted to be my husband. I remembered that, and the whole rest of the day was blissful.
I cherished the time with my family, getting ready with the most important girls in my life – my mom, aunts, mother-in-law, grandmas, sisters, best friends. I do not know if I could ever express the amount of love I have for those women and the love they have for me.
The rest of the day was just as wonderful – putting on my wedding dress, having photos taken and, finally, walking down the aisle and seeing my fiance for the last time before I could call him my husband. My tears stopped and from the second my heel hit the aisle, a smile spread across my face and remained there for the rest of the evening.
The moment I had so longed for was here. The boy I met in elementary school was my husband, and it was our moment. We said our vows, had our first kiss as husband and wife and danced the night away until the bottom of my wedding dress went from white to black as it collected all of the fun from the day.
Now my wedding dress hangs in my closet in the De Soto-area home I share with my husband to remind me of the most wonderful day of my life. So, even if you almost break your nose right before your wedding, that is not what the day is about. It is about the people who surround you and, most importantly, the person who stands before you.