Stone House of St. Charles — Attraction in Cottleville

Was not attending a wedding but the private Valentine's Day dinner, which was the first time they have put this on. It was a romantic dinner for two, a wonderful meal and was serenaded by violinist Abigail Stahlschmidt.

Upon arrival we parked in the designated lot and within a few seconds a cart arrived to bring us to the dining hall. There were fire space heaters outside for anyone who wanted to smoke or needed to warm up while waiting to go in, though this wasn't really a line. People all arrived at separate times and it wasn't too much trouble as guests were quickly moved inside where it was warm. The building itself is beautiful immediately upon entering. The hosts, gracefully insisted we explore the house and revel in it's history. Every single member of the staff, catering and even the violinist would greet and help guide people to where they wanted to go. There was a bar available upon arrival that could make or serve you almost anything you can think of and even had fresh fruits for certain cocktails. Beer was available for people who prefer not to drink liquor or wine.

Within 15 min of arrival the meal service began and Abigail began playing a wonderful set and walking around to each of the three rooms that had guests.

The meal began with a roll and butter and the most beautiful salad I have ever seen. Complimented with strawberries, grapes and candied nuts.

Everyone was served quickly and efficiently with any last minute requests handled as well.

For the main course we received shrimp, a fillet mignon cooked to perfection, mashed potatoes to die for and green beans cooked like you would find at a five star restaurant.

For dessert a cream cheese cake topped with a chocolate covered strawberry.

Everything was absolutely amazing. The table was set with red napkins formed into hearts, each table had an electric stick candle and a real tea light accompanied with a single real rose.

Staff were incredibly attentive to everyone's needs despite how many couples were actually there.

I would also like to reinforce that this is the first time they have put this particular event on and for the first time it was nearly flawless.

I have only two complaints and one of them is really my own fault. Firstly, the chairs were not very comfortable. But this is normally a wedding venue and not a dining hall (the particular building we were in I believe is the brides guest house but I might be wrong about that)

My second is that is was slightly noisy for my liking on an event like a romantic dinner for two. BUT I chose to sit directly next to the violinist. People did talk at full volume however and once the music was going it was kind of hard to hear your partner across from you. Again. I chose my own spot and that is more my fault than anyone else's.

The property is gorgeous. Even the restrooms are beautiful.

Stone house provides a unique experience that you will not find elsewhere in the area.

I will be attending next year for sure and recommend that anyone who feels interested should check it out and get your tickets as soon as they go on sale because this is a limited private event and only so many people can go.

I gave it 4 instead of 5 because I think there are some tweaks to make, but for the first time being put on it was near perfect. I look forward to seeing Ruth's dream fully blossom, as her and her partner have poured everything they have into making something beautiful and sharing it with others. I feel confident this will be 5 stars next Valentine's Day

My lady and I had an amazing time and will certainly be back. It was one of the most elegant and beautiful evenings we have had in a long while.

Also they said to check their FB page as they are thinking of doing murder mystery dinners and things of that nature which, given the beauty of the property would elevate this already esteemed establishment to an...

Well, I finished processing Nathan and Ashley Kawalecs wedding video! After watching it over and over to edit out the DIRT from the background, it chaps my backside to read the response from the owner of stone house on this review. My wife and I sat in on the first meeting back in early February where we were told things about the construction and developement of the grounds, it sounded too to be true. Giving the benefit of the doubt we held our tongues and let the kids make their plans. After reading the contract with the $50 minimum per person on catering and all the rules for vetting businesses involved, the kids really busted their behinds to meet this venues requirements. Having limited funds, Ashley and Nathan worked incredibly hard and even made things themselves to help cut costs. After stopping by a few times and looking for signs of progress I was told everything is on schedule. I could only wonder, whose schedule? Certainly not the schedule we were told back in February. I attended the last meeting with the owner in early September where we were told the footing will be poured the following week and the building will arrive the week of the 12th and it'll take 10 days to erect. The owner also added that if the structure isnt finished theyll see if the reception can still be held inside. The week of the 12th came and went and no building. When asked about the groomsmen quarters we were told nothing can be finished until the reception building is up. Personally I couldn't understand why the groomsmen quarters wasn't being worked on internally all this time. Jokingly the owner said my son and groomsmen can get dressed at her house. They ended up getting ready at a hotel. Many things were said in order to reassure the bride and groom that their wedding would be beautiful. The owner said drinks would be provided while the parties were getting ready. We provided drinks for the groom and his party. Champaign was promised at the head table, but after watching the video, the wedding party glasses were empty. The bride and groom were toasting with empty glasses. It was my mother-in-law (grooms grandmother) who was walked to the portable handicapped bathroom by her son only to find it locked. When asked where is the key, it was the caterer that took the initiative to find the owner. Only to find out one of them went home to change, the other owner took a while to find. I was told the reason why the $2400/day portable handicapped bathroom was locked, is because the toilet kept running. Locking it shuts it off????? Some of the guests told me they felt they were getting yelled at while going to use the upstairs bathroom inside the stone house. These are only a few things I'm mentioning. One might think they are trivial, but to the bride and groom along with their families, it was stressful. Telling couples when things are going to happen and nothing comes to fruition, its just disingenuous! With the help of family and friends the BRIDE AND GROOM made their wedding beautiful! The owner mentioned she spoke to the guests about the wedding and they thought the wedding was beautiful, well of course it was. They weren't privy to the things leading up to the big day. She doesn't mention those that were privy told her the kids should get their money back. I guess negative comments remain hidden just like the comments on their facebook page. I'm sure once the $4 million project gets completed eventually, it'll be the place that was touted back...

My wife and I first visited the Stone House in early April and felt an instant comfort with the location and the owners, Ruth and Mike. The venue is built around a beautifully remodeled early 19th century stone house with extensive and picturesque surrounding grounds. And, to quote my wife, Ruth seemed like someone “who knows how to throw a party.” So despite the main wedding hall and groom’s quarters not having been built yet, we decided to go ahead and reserve our wedding date as the construction schedule called for everything to be completed with a couple of months to spare. Unfortunately, a series of construction delays and other issues led to only the foundation for the wedding hall having been constructed by our wedding date. This was certainly a disappointment to my wife and I, and I completely understand the frustration expressed in some of the other reviews.

That being said, my impression of Ruth and Mike is that they are both well intentioned and good hearted people who were caught off guard by the circumstances that created the delays. Their worst mistake in my opinion was being overly optimistic with respect to how long they continued to hold out hope that the delays could be resolved in time to allow construction to be completed before the Fall wedding season ended. However, despite the less than ideal circumstances, both Ruth and Mike stepped up to the plate and did everything they could to give us a beautiful wedding. They rented a very nice tent for us to hold the reception in, opened their home, which is adjacent to the venue, to myself and the other groomsmen to get ready in, made sure sound equipment was set up to allow us to have live music for our outdoor ceremony and, on the day of the wedding, were with us from early morning until late at night making sure all of our guests’ needs were met, and attending to all the small details that go into pulling off a successful wedding including wiping down all of the chairs and vacuuming the grass after it rained earlier in the day so that we could still have our ceremony outdoors.

I will also say that my wife’s intuition was absolutely correct. Ruth knows how to throw a party. She coordinated extensively with my wife on decorations, seating arrangements and a host of other issues leading up to the wedding and on the day of the wedding provided complimentary DJ services for the reception. I could tell that for Ruth and Mike hosting weddings is more than a business, it is a passion. I have little doubt that once completed, the Stone House will be one of the best wedding venues in Missouri and that Ruth and Mike are committed to making sure that all of their couples have beautiful weddings.

In terms of the star rating for this review I decided not to factor in the construction delays because I don’t think it will be particularly helpful or relevant to other couples considering the Stone House for their wedding. My understanding is that the wedding hall will be completed this month and the groom’s quarters shortly thereafter meaning that our unique circumstances will not be an issue going forward. So instead, I am just basing my rating on our experience with Ruth and Mike, the level of service we received in the context of less than ideal circumstances and what we think future couples can expect from booking a wedding at the...