Missouri Botanical Garden Reviews

Missouri Botanical Garden

Saint Louis, MO

4.4 out of 5 rating, 29 reviews

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4.4 out of 5 rating

4.4

Good

29 reviews

Recommended by 88% of couples

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Quality of service
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Average response time
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Professionalism
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Maddison Sent on 09/02/2021

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Awesome Experienfr

Very flexible! Christina is awesome about capturing all the photos you want and then some you didn’t even know you needed
Regina Sent on 02/23/2019

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Dream wedding venue

Almost all of my family have gotten married here. Its absolutely gorgeous and I will definitely recommend the botanical gardens especially for myself.
Phoebe Sent on 01/03/2018

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Thank you for hosting our magical engagement party! We all had so much!!!

Kay Sent on 01/27/2014

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All the staff with the Botanical Gardens were tremendously accommodating for our nontraditional wedding ceremony. The day of, it rained just long enough to keep us from having the ceremony outside, but as we'd rented the Japanese Garden, we backed up to Monsanto Hall, and it wound up being even more beautiful. The ambiance with our music was perfect. The lightning was gorgeous. Our wedding coordinator from the Garden helped us through the entire process (and the rehearsal the day before) and even cried. Thank you all for an amazing day. <3
User1059431 Sent on 01/04/2013

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Although a bit pricey on the surface, it's an all-in-one venue for the wedding ceremony and reception, which actually makes it a bargain especially if you planned an out of town wedding like I did. Leasa, Lisa, and Debbie were all spectacular. The Lehmann Rose Garden couldn't have been more beautiful and intimate, and the reception in Spink Pavilion was perfect, cozy, and gorgeous. We even extended the party for an hour (for an additional, significant charge but it was worth it)! Thank you, Catering St. Louis, for making my wedding day and evening incredibly memorable.
Laura Sent on 11/02/2010

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Our first choice and contracted site suddenly went under construction and we had to select a different site that was all the way at the back of the gardens, with numerous elderly family members and one handicapped brother this was going to be a challenge, we would of had to pay extra for the golf cart rental which would only be able to make 2-3 runs in the time alotted. to make a long stressful story short, Melissa made everything better, worked us in to a non-usual site only to come out that construction was put on hold and we got to go back to our original site a few weeks before the wedding! all costs were comped to us. Melissa was an absolute delight to work with.
Donna Sent on 11/19/2009

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excellent food & service. better than could have expected.
Elizabeth Sent on 11/19/2009

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The evening was gorgeous and everything was handled very professionally.
Alyse Sent on 07/01/2009

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I had my ceremony in the Japanese Garden at the Botanical Gardens at it was beyond perfect. The staff were all so helpful and really allowed us to have the most beautiful wedding. The beauty of the garden really shown through, and we didn't have to even decorate!
If you are having the Japanese Garden, I would definitely rent the golf cart. We did, and it allowed our older family members to get there without worry.
Stephanie Sent on 05/28/2009

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I would not hesitate to recommend the Missouri Botanical Garden as an ideal venue for a wedding. This location was absolutely beautiful - an jewel in the heart of St. Louis and the most photogenic spot imaginable. We had an outdoor ceremony at the Japanese Garden and our reception was at Monsanto Hall/Ridgway Center. It was absolutely beautiful - the garden is stunning!

I would also not hesistate to recommend the caterer works exclusively with Mobot - Catering St. Louis. The service, professionalism, flexibility and responsiveness to my countless emails and questions was superior. I have had countless guests tell me that the food was the best wedding food they have ever had. At our tasting, we actually met with the chef who prepared our possible selections and spoke with us about each meal. It was also a private tasting, not some huge group of people where you are served buffet style. We sat at a table that was set up as ours would be at the reception and each dish was elegantly presented for us to view in addition to try. It was amazing! I honestly could not say enough nice things about the staff. I was even given a wedding coordinator for the rehearsal and actual event at no extra cost. The service the day of the event was impecable. Absolutely an outstanding experience through and through. I cannot say enough nice things about Catering St. Louis and the Missouri Botanical Garden.
Jenny Sent on 07/21/2008

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This is where we went to have our photos taken after our wedding. Although the gardens did not provide anything other than a beautiful backdrop, everyone was very friendly and helpful, and sweet to us. I was so happy with how our photos turned out and it was in part because the Botanical Gardens were there. The gift shop had lots of momentos for us to take along to remember our day.
Rena Sent on 11/29/2007

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I didn't actually use the Botanical Gardens. But they were very helpful planning what my wedding was supposed to be if I would have done it there. There are some very beautiful place and I would definently recommend it.
Rachel Sent on 05/10/2019

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Beautiful venue

MO Botanical gardens are beautiful. There were plenty of alternative garden sites available. Indoor rain location also available. Bridal suite on site. The food was delicious, healthy and plentiful. I highly recommend this location.
Melissa Sent on 10/10/2010

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We are really glad we chose the gardens for our ceremony.
They are strict on time, but we didn't have a problem staying within the timeframe.
It is a little pricey for a location, but it was beautiful and our guests were really impressed. Definitely worth it in the end.
User2130483 Sent on 05/13/2015

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The Missouri Botanical Garden is so beautiful and is a great place to have your wedding. It is expensive and there are a few things that I did not like about it. You cannot use any outside caters for your reception dinner, there are a lot of rules that you have to follow, and the communication is not so great. You do get a wedding planner, assistant, and coordinator to help so that is a plus. Even though there were a few flaws it was definitely worth it to get married here. I got married at the Japanese Garden and it was beautiful. The only downside is that it is really far away and your guest have an extremely long walk. I would highly recommend paying extra for renting a golf cart. My guest and family are still talking about how beautiful my wedding and reception was. I would recommend the Missouri Botanical Garden.
User1785131 Sent on 08/28/2014

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We got married in the Japanese Garden and had our reception at Spink Pavilion. Catering St Louis handled all of the arrangements for us. I had a great experience working with Rhonda planning our reception. Anna who works for both the Garden & Caterer is very hard to get a hold of. Ultimately everything worked out the way that we wanted, but it took much longer to schedule the rehearsal and other details than it should have. I would recommend this venue to other brides, except I would also suggest hiring an overall coordinator. Everyone at Catering St Louis has a specific job, no one was really there to over see my vision. Luckily I had a wonderful friend who helped out with all the details, but there were some small oversights on my part that I assumed would have been taken care of by the caterer.
Katie Sent on 06/17/2009

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I worked with Leasa from Catering St. Louis to have my ceremony at the Missouri Botanical Garden. I would definitely recommend using this location for your wedding ceremony or reception. The garden is more flexible for you if you choose the Japanese Garden location (and higher price that goes with it). I chose to have my ceremony on a Friday at 2pm in the Boxwood Garden and the rental fee was very inexpensive as compared to the weekend price. Keep in mind, you have to have a membership with the garden (the cheapest is $60) and that is on top of the rental fee for whichever location within the garden you choose. It is a great deal though, for that price you get admission for yourself and all your guests on the day of the wedding (free parking) and also an hour or so of rehearsal time with admission for as many people as you want to bring.
Elizabeth Sent on 09/30/2011

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You get what you pay for at the Missouri Botanical Garden. Just hope for good weather (Unless you're planning a winter wedding).

There was a scheduling conflict with the site but were able to pencil in our rehearsal; I thought this was professionally handled. The reps were always courteous and my ceremony assistant rocked! She was super helpful throughout the rehearsal and the day of event; always with a smile and friendly voice.

FYI, you typically pay the entrance fee for guests for the site rental. It's worth it if you have 100-150 guests if you plan to have the ceremony at the Lehmann (Lay-mann) Rose Garden.

Hope this helps brides/grooms-to-be!
Katie Sent on 05/24/2015

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The Botanical Gardens was more than amazing! Our coordinator was Jennifer and she was so kind and really worked to make our day super special! Loved her and everything about it! <3
Leah Sent on 07/15/2010

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The Japanese Garden is where our ceremony was held. It wasbeautiful! The area makes for gorgeous wedding pictures. The only downfall is that it is a long walk for guest to get to the site.

We were not very happy with the coordinator that was assigned for us for the day. She made comments to my groom and his groomsmen about them going out the night before. minutes before the ceremony was to start she came to me and said not very many people showed up which is the last thing a bride wants to hear before walking down the aisle. And she started our ceremony about 20 mins late. However, the other staff I spoke to through catering st louis during the planning process were always friendly and helpful!
Lisa Sent on 06/05/2025

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Really beautiful and unique, but be prepared to plan a lot on your own!

The Missouri Botanical Gardens was beautiful & I consider us very lucky to have been able to have our brunch wedding here! There's a lot of good things to stay about this venue, besides how beautiful it is, so I'll start with those.

First, there are different venue options within the Garden & Spink Pavilion was the perfect size for our total attendance of about 60 people. It's a beautiful building so I didn't feel the need to have many decorations so I got to save some money that way! The food in general was just alright but we paid a little extra for the lamb option & we got a lot of compliments on that, so that was good! I also loved having an indoor/outdoor component so that guests could hang out outside to look through the Garden or they could go inside if it got too hot. Additionally, the fact that guests could stay all day to walk through the Garden was a fantastic benefit & I loved being able to add to the guests' experience by having that! Lastly, I really appreciate the kindness from the venue. For their ceremony sites, which are all outdoors, they typically don't offer an indoor venue back up plan & that's a risk you take when booking a ceremony site here. But since it was raining our wedding day, they ended up offering us an indoor site after all which was extremely generous & kind of them. I think it's because STL was just hit with a couple tornadoes & they wanted to do something nice which I really, REALLY appreciate! They saved our ceremony.
Julie Sent on 12/02/2009

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I wanted to have a 3 p.m. wedding. There were a lot of reasons behind that, mostly so that we didn't burden our guests with a long wait between ceremony and reception, but still had time to take photos in the gardens. Unfortunately for me, the garden that I chose only offered 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. time slots. Catering St. Louis absolutely would not bend on the start time. Even when we asked for a 2:30 start instead of 3 p.m. After much debate, we opted to book both time slots. Financially, not the best thing, but worth it for peace of mind. And, it gave us extra time to take photos in the garden where we were married after the ceremony.

I will say this, where Catering St. Louis lacked in flexibility, they more than made up for on service. We were provided an on-site coordinator for the day of the wedding who was incredibly helpful. We hired the Gardens' golf cart driver to shuttle our guests, and she was wonderful to work with as well. All in all, what started out (for us) as a frustrating inconvenience turned into a wonderful guest experience. And it also delivered to us the peace of mind we were looking for.
Jeff Sent on 10/15/2017

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The ceremony site was beautiful. It was a perfect day outside and the wedding photos taken during and after the wedding looked amazing.
User2658927 Sent on 06/23/2016

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I will first off say that our wedding day went off without a hitch. I would say that the ceremony was near-perfect and we had nothing go wrong the day of the wedding, which is the most important part, right? That being said... I expected a little better communication for the amount of money that you pay to have a wedding here. It was difficult to get a hold of someone to begin with, which should have been my first clue. Communication from initial contact going forward was SLOW. Also, you pay what I consider to be a pretty large fee to have a ceremony there, and then after you make your deposit, you receive the packet in the mail and they add on a lot more expenses to what you already pay. You have to book audio thru them, and we wanted the room to get ready in which was another fee, the golf cart to transport the wedding party/elderly guest is another fee, etc. They also have a very long strict list of rules. About halfway through the wedding planning process, they seemed to change staff and I will say that the person I was assigned to work with seemed to respond much quicker than the first person that I was assigned to, so maybe that aspect has since improved. OVERALL, I will say that they were worth the money and the stress that I went through trying to get answers, and knowing what I know about them, I would still choose to book with them. Like I said the wedding turned out beautifully and the rehearsal helped ease my worries and answer a lot of my questions. The coordinator that I was assigned for the wedding itself (different from previous coordinators I had talked to leading up to the day) was very nice and helpful and did a wonderful job.
Holly Sent on 06/15/2010

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Loved, loved, loved the Japanese Garden, which is where our wedding ceremony was held. It was the ideal venue for our ceremony...organic, unpretentious, and gorgeous. Nothing bad to say about the MOBOT staff, except that one worker would not let our photog take pictures inside the Climatron, which you wouldn't think would be an issue after paying so much to get married there. Still, for me, I think this is one of the most beautiful venue options in St. Louis, and I'd choose it all over again.
Christine Sent on 08/27/2011

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The garden is breathtaking and is a beautiful place to have a ceremony. However, company in charge of event rentals (catering st louis) is not flexible at all. I received a lot of discounts from different vendors because my husband and I are both military but we were unable to use because catering st louis is so strict. I also think it was a little overpriced just to rent. Also they told me a month before the event a wedding coordinator would contact me. I ended up having to contact the garden myself. The day before and the day of the wedding, the coordinator was extremely helpful though.
Carol Sent on 07/05/2011

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Beautiful place for a wedding. They don't allow alcohol, so no champagne toast. They have a very set way they put the chairs, etc. - NO flexibility. Only the Japanese garden has an indoor option in case of rain. Tought to "hide" before the wedding.
Abby Sent on 09/21/2011

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The Missouri Botanical Gardens was an absolutely beautiful venue to hold our wedding ceremony. However, I had a few disappointments. If your budget is limited, be careful, you will incur additional charges for chair setup, microphones, speaker systems, golf cart rental, and tables for guest book, unity candle, etc. We had our rehearsal scheduled for the evening before for one hour. We arrived promptly and were unfortunately delayed because the rehearsal prior to ours was running late. Twenty minutes into our rehearsal we were hurried and un-prepared by our wedding assistant. This was a major disappointment considering we were offered one hour with our wedding assistant to prepare and had spent the amount of money we had to have our ceremony there. Overall, I was happy to have our ceremony there, but was not thrilled with the "extras".
Lindsey Sent on 08/24/2015

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If you want beautiful wedding photos, the botanical gardens is an obvious choice in the St. Louis area. My wedding was beautiful, however the experience of planning it wasn't as lovely. The original coordinator never responded to emails or returned calls. When I would reach out for various things I never heard back. Half way though the planning process, this person changed and was a little more on top of responding but offered minimal details to the questions asked. For example, when asked if transport is provided for the .75 mile walk back to the garden I was getting married in, just a 'transport isn't included' was listed. At my rehearsal I found out from a different coordinator that we could have rented a golf cart to shuttle grandparents and people who had difficulty making the walk for an additional fee. Everything was an upcharge, which is understandable but after spending extra on a room to get ready in the air conditioning wasn't even working properly and it was just as warm in the rented classroom as it was out in the garden during June heat. I did not see my coordinator once, in fact no one did until ceremony start time when the night before she was stated she would be there to help set up. Ultimately, the scenery is what you pay for, the customer service was very unsatisfying for the cost.

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