Rehearsal Dinner: Booked!

"I think fancy parties are only fun if you're fancy on the inside... and I'm just not sure we are!"  --Phoebe Buffay, Friends

Lance and I decided a long time ago that we wanted a more relaxed atmosphere for our rehearsal dinner.  While we want the wedding to be formal--it only happens once, so we want it to be nice!--we think a laid-back rehearsal dinner will be a nice contrast.  We also had no interest in paying more for the rehearsal dinner than we are for the actual wedding dinner!  The first place we checked with was Lotawata Creek--a beloved local restaurant in Illinois that usually has an hour-long wait for giant portions of Midwestern food (known to the rest of the country as comfort food ;) ).  However, when my mom and I met with them, they said that they couldn't afford to give up the amount of space we would need in December.  After that, we looked around at barbecue places.  We have several good ones in the area, but none that seemed appropriate (nearby, owned metal cutlery :/ ).  Finally, we settled on Zia's on The Hill, my mom's favorite restaurant in St. Louis's Italian district.  The first time we ate there was for Lance's 25th birthday, and we've made several special trips back because their food is ahh-maz-ing.

We met with them on Monday, and we were pretty happy with the way that they structure their private events packages.  We will be able to build our own menu of 6-12 items, and there is no site fee, deposit, or liquor package required.  And, we will be able to serve toasted raviolis, a St. Louis area favorite, as an appetizer!  This is our event space:

I might get adventurous and print the menus myself (although they will do it for you), and I don't think the restaurant has centerpieces, so if anybody has an ideas for something small, portable, and cute, I'd be open to making a few.  Other than that, I'm not going to fuss over the rehearsal dinner too much.  No need for a theme, and everyone can get away with jeans!