Weddings at Memorial

Once you have familiarized yourself with the information on this page, please call the church office at 314-721-0943 or email Liz.Hatfield@memorialstl.com to confirm if the date(s) you are considering are available.

You are welcome to visit and tour Memorial. Tours are only available by being scheduled Monday-Friday from 9:30am-2:30pm. Please call the church office at 314-721-0943 or email Liz.Hatfield@memorialstl.com to schedule a tour.

We offer four (4) ceremony times at Memorial Presbyterian Church each weekend. The available time slots for ceremonies are:

Friday, 11am-5pm
Saturday, 11am-12pm
Saturday, 3pm-5pm
Sunday, 2pm-5pm

*5pm is the latest that a wedding may start.
**All time slots are subject to availability.

Every couple has four (4) hours total at Memorial which is broken down accordingly:

One (1) hour for the rehearsal that must start at 5pm or earlier on Thursday or Friday before the wedding. Three (3) hours for the ceremony and photos (typically 1 hour prior and 2 hours for ceremony and photos). Extra time beyond the four-hour total is available at $150 per hour and must be arranged at least six weeks prior to the wedding date. Any additional time beyond the four hours that has not been prearranged will be deducted from the security deposit.

***All wedding party members must come dressed and ready to our church. The bride may slip on her dress once she arrives.

Memorial Presbyterian Church is not available on the following dates each year:

New Year’s Eve
New Year’s Day
The week prior to Easter
Easter Weekend
Independence Day (4th of July)
Thanksgiving week
The first Saturday of December
Christmas Eve
Christmas Day (The week between Christmas and New Year’s is subject to availability, as the office and building are closed.) 

Each wedding session includes a one (1) hour rehearsal prior to the wedding. We offer the following dates/times for rehearsal:

Thursday, 4pm-5pm
Thursday, 5pm-6pm
Friday, 4pm-5pm
Friday, 5pm-6pm

**All time slots are subject to availability.

During your one (1) hour rehearsal, you and your wedding party will have access to the church for a complete run through of your ceremony as you and your pastor see fit.

Due to the one (1) hour time frame for your rehearsal, we encourage you and your wedding party to arrive outside of Memorial Presbyterian Church a few minutes before your scheduled rehearsal timeslot.

We will have a facility coordinator present for the rehearsal, however, our facility coordinators do not coordinate your ceremony. We recommend that your pastor or wedding planner guide your rehearsal to ensure you are comfortable with your ceremony at the end of your hour.

The pastors and session of Memorial Presbyterian Church determine and maintain a list of approved local churches. This list will be emailed to you with the Wedding Application.

An initial and tentative reservation for your wedding can be made via the phone or email. These tentative dates may be reserved but are conditioned on approval of your Wedding Application.

Within two weeks of your tentative reservation, you will fill out and submit your Wedding Application, together with your $75 application fee. We encourage you during that time to schedule a tour of the building. We recommend refraining from making additional wedding plans until the approval process has been completed.

Staff will forward your application to our pastoral staff for approval. After approval has been secured, the wedding reservation date can then be made permanent. Your date is not confirmed until we have received your application, $75 application fee and the approval from our pastors.

At the time of your approval, the Director of Operations will appoint three required staff to help you with your wedding: (a) Custodian, (b) Sound Technician and (c) Facility Coordinator.

Custodian: Included in the "Service" portion of your “Usage and Service Fees” to clean up the Sanctuary after the ceremony so you can focus on photos and departing to your reception.

Sound Technician: Included in the "Service" portion of your “Usage and Service Fees”. The Technician will be available 1 hour prior to your wedding and supervise the set up and use of all the sound equipment.

Facility Coordinator: Included in the "Service" portion of your “Usage and Service Fees” and must be used in the planning and execution of your wedding service. A coordinator will be assigned upon final approval of your application, and they are all well-trained in the nuances of our historic building. They are available for a total of 4 hours (1 hour for rehearsal and 3 hours on the wedding day). Our facility coordinators do not coordinate your ceremony. We recommend that your pastor or wedding planner guide your rehearsal & wedding to ensure you are comfortable with your ceremony.

Your facility coordinator will email you an itemized fee schedule. All checks must be provided to the office no later than 2 weeks prior to the wedding date. There is a fee for all returned checks and excess custodial work.

The Memorial Presbyterian Church rental fee for wedding ceremonies is the following:

Early Wedding Day (11am, 12pm)
Application Fee-$75
Church Usage Fee- $1,600
Security Deposit-$300
TOTAL = $1,975 (The Security Deposit of $300 is refundable).

Extra time beyond the four-hour total is available at $150 per hour and must be arranged at least six weeks prior to the wedding date. Any additional time beyond the four hours that has not been prearranged will be deducted from the security deposit.

Weddings scheduled for 3pm, 4pm, 5pm
Application Fee-$75
Church Usage Fee-$1,700
Security Deposit-$300
TOTAL = $2,075 (The Security Deposit of $300 is refundable)

Extra time beyond the four-hour total is available at $150 per hour and must be arranged at least six weeks prior to the wedding date. Any additional time beyond the four hours that has not been prearranged will be deducted from the security deposit.

You must provide your own pastor to officiate your wedding. The officiant is legally responsible to ensure that the wedding ceremony conforms to Missouri law; more so, he is spiritually responsible to insure that the wedding service conforms to biblical norms.

A pastor from outside Memorial Presbyterian Church may officiate, provided he is an ordained minister in good standing in an approved denomination. The pastors and session of MPC determine and maintain a list of approved denominations.

Because a wedding service performed for a non-member of Memorial by a non-Memorial Officiant is properly a service of that Officiant (representing his church or denomination rather than the Memorial community), that Officiant will be responsible for approving all plans for the wedding service.

The Officiant will be responsible to insure that the service is in accordance with the policies and procedures of his church and/or denomination. Please discuss all liturgy and music choices with your Officiant.

Such worship plans shall also be submitted to your facility coordinator for review two weeks prior to your wedding, which they may do in consultation with Memorial pastors and staff.

We encourage that all couples complete at least 5 hours of pre-marital counseling with the pastor that is officiating their wedding or with a licensed (or provisionally licensed) counselor. We believe that all marriages will benefit from counseling.

Chancel and Narthex: The chancel (stage) area and Narthex (lobby) of the church are arranged for the regular Sunday worship services at Memorial. Narthex furniture must be left in place.

Special Care: As you decorate, we ask that you be respectful of the historic nature of the building, as many parts are delicate and nearly impossible to repair due to their age and craftsmanship.
a. No decorations should be placed on the exterior of the building or grounds.
b. Tacks, pins, nails, staples, and glue cannot be used; please do not fasten decorations to the furniture or building.
c. Please keep the chancel walls free from wedding decorations.

Liturgical Hangings: Decorations in place for the liturgical seasons (such as Lent, Easter, Advent, Pentecost, and Christmas) cannot be removed for weddings taking place during that season.

Candles: A pair of candelabras, plus twelve single-candle pew stands are included in your wedding fees. Please note: There are a pair of permanent single-candle pew stands at the start of the aisle that cannot be removed, as they are a fixed part of our beautiful sanctuary.

Unity Candle: We have a holder that you may use but you will need to provide the large pillar candle and two tapers.

Aisle runners: Aisle runners will need to be placed AND removed by your florist.

Sending Off: Nothing may be thrown outside of the building, but ribbon wands and bubbles can be used.

Extensive décor may require additional clean up fee.

Free parking is allowed on both sides of Alexander Drive, both sides of S. Skinker Blvd and both sides of Wydown Blvd. Memorial Presbyterian Church does not have a parking lot. We do have a half circle drive with several parking spots including two accessible parking spaces.

We welcome musicians to Memorial Presbyterian Church for your ceremony.

Included with the rental you have access to the grand piano, microphones, house sound system, music stands and the in-house organ (with approval).

Piano: The grand piano is available for your pianist to utilize without any credential review.

Organ: The organ is available for your organist to utilize without any credential review. If you would like to have the organ played but need a recommendation, please speak with your facility coordinator for a list of organist that are familiar with the organ.

Hiring Musicians: You may hire your own musician, have a family member sing or bring musicians from your home church. If you need a recommendation, please speak with your facility coordinator for a list of musicians that have played in our space.

Playlist Music: We are happy to play music from a playlist. You will need to send the music files one week prior to the wedding along with a program indicating when the songs should be played. Our sound technician will run the playlist from the in house sound system.

• Food and beverage are prohibited in Memorial Presbyterian Church.

• Other than for communion elements, alcohol is strictly prohibited anywhere on Memorial’s premises.

• Memorial seats 500 people on the floor and 100 people in the balcony.

• The main level contains 17 pews on each side.

• The aisle length is 100ft long and 72in. wide.

• As we continue to rebuild from the May 16th EF-3 tornado, you may notice stanchions, floor protection, window coverings, or similar items in place. These are there to protect our 100-year-old sanctuary and cannot be removed or relocated for wedding ceremonies. We appreciate your grace and support as we work to restore our beautiful house of worship. 

(12) 5ft candle stands for the aisle (6 on each side & candles provided)
(2) Candelabras that hold (7) candles and are located on the chancel (candles provided)
(2) Wooden plant stands that match the chancel
(2) Wood & marble plant stands
(1) 6ft communion table
(1) Unity candle holder that holds two taper candles and a large unity candle (candles not provided)
(1) Kneeling bench in gold and white
(1) Brass easel
(10) Music stands
(1) Steinway Grand Piano
(1) Aeolian Company Pipe Organ (condition is good, in regular use)
(1) Accessible entrance into the sanctuary located off of the circle drive

Your Officiant will need to permit flash photography because it can disrupt the worship. Otherwise, we welcome your photographer, videographer and live streaming team into our space.