The Best Budget Wedding Venue In Kansas City Missouri!
The Vow Exchange Chapel in The Crossroads is, hands down, the best budget wedding venue in all of Kansas City. When owner Kathryn Hogan opened The Vow Exchange Chapel (or “TVX” as we affectionately call it) over six years ago she wanted to use her 20+ years of experience in the creative arts (including a BFA from The Kansas City Art Institute and almost 10 years as a product designer with Hallmark Cards) to create something that would give back to our city. We are proud to say The Vow Exchange Chapel is one of the only pre-decorated wedding venues in Kansas City. With the high quality decorations already in place, you can keep your money in your pocket (or spend it on what matters most to you)! And since we are proudly located in Missouri, aka “the show me state”, let us show you what we mean by saying our chapel is the best budget wedding venue in the town!
Chapel Furniture
The Vow Exchange Chapel comfortably seats 50 guests in the intimate ceremony space. The furniture is a blend of black metal chairs procured from local antique shops and modern farmhouse style benches with lathed wooden legs. The mix matched seating gives the entire chapel a fun and stylish ambiance perfect for any Kansas City wedding. We searched far and wide to find the perfect black console tables for the entrance of our venue, which can be seen in almost every photo of our brides making their grand entrance. While there are entire companies built around renting snazzy furniture for weddings and events, we say skip that cost and feel at home in our chapel seating!
Lighting
During the day The Vow Exchange Chapel is engulfed in bright natural light that pours in through the windows along the entire east side of the chapel. The sunlight gives our space an almost heavenly feel, perfect for those who want the look and feel of an outdoor wedding without the hassle of one! When the sun sets, our space transforms as warm light emits from the altar chandelier, Edison bulb fixture, and rows of string lighting. The warm glow from the lights creates a cozy and romantic atmosphere in our little chapel. We went the extra mile in finding light fixtures that are elegant without being too over the top - just like our Vow Exchange couples!
Real Wax Candles
We certainly don’t skimp on the candles. Literally every corner of our small chapel is filled with real wax candles that shine bright all day long. We know there is nothing that beats the romance of real wax candles! Instead of expecting our couples to fork out that expense, we cover the cost and stock our venue full of them. Our one special honeysuckle candle fills up the entire space with a sweet, yet subtle scent. Fun fact: your sense of smell is strongly linked to your memory, more so than any other sense. Which is why we searched for the perfect scented candle (found at our local Paper Source) so whenever our couples catch of whiff of honeysuckle they will be transported back to their special day!
Real Barn Wood Backdrop
If you head to Pinterest you will quickly see how much of your wedding budget will get blown on trying to create a backdrop for your wedding altar. Budget conscious couples will try to DIY, but unless you have serious craftsman skills it can look very homemade (and not in a good way). You can find barn wood in most Kansas City wedding venues, but we are proud to say The Vow Exchange Chapel is home to these real barn wood doors taken from an authentic 100 year old barn. With a little love we “upcycled” these century old doors into a backdrop that will stand the test of time, just like the 1000’s of marriages that were formed right in front of it!
Decor
We’d like to reiterate that The Vow Exchange Chapel is one of the only wedding venues in KC that is pre-decorated. The decor isn’t just an afterthought, but rather our first and foremost priority. We only fill our space with things that we really love and that add some sort of meaning to our little chapel. From the hanging lanterns filled with seasonal silk flower arrangements to the handmade “truly madly deeply” chalk art sign, our space is home to the cutest wedding decor in all the world. It would take the average couples hundreds of hours and dollars trying to recreate the decor that fills The Vow Exchange Chapel.
Bridal Lounge CoUCh
Where to begin? The couch currently sitting in the bridal lounge at The Vow Exchange Chapel holds a special place in our hearts. At the beginning of our events, we encourage our brides to take a glamour shot on our comfortable vintage couch that seems to make everyone look good! And at the end of the event, our newlyweds cuddle up and celebrate their new marriage back on the very same couch! We even deck out the couches with the cutest pillows ever (which are perfect for your first pillow fight as a married couple)! Believe it or not, rental companies have started offering couches just like this one for weddings in KC. Why rent when you can come enjoy ours as a standard part of our venue!
Personalization
So many couples make the mistake of breaking their budget when trying to personalize their wedding venue. Yes, our venue comes pre-decorated, but that doesn’t mean we don’t understand the importance of having a space that feels specially made for you! That’s why we’ve taken on the time and expense of creating a bunch of black magnet letters (96 to be exact) so we can hang your initials on our venue entry tables. And that’s just one of many ways we customize our space for you! Every weekend we are proud to write the names of our couples on our vintage gold chalkboard welcome sign, which is the first thing your guests see when they arrive. We also set out our “Mr. & Mrs.”, “Mr. & Mr.”, or “Mrs. & Mrs.” pillow set for our couples to pose (and play) with! Last but certainly not least, we know there are some things we can’t supply for you - like your most prized family portraits. Which is why we found the perfect entrance tables for you to display your personal items on!
Photo Booth Wall
This 2017 addition to The Vow Exchange Chapel has been a favorite of wedding guests visiting our space! Kansas City has dozens of photo booth rental companies that can cost couples hundreds of dollars for just a few hours. We definitely believe in providing guest entertainment at your wedding, but we don’t understand why it has to cost the couple so dang much. Which is exactly why we decided to make our very own photo booth wall! Grab our props, pull out your phone, and before you know it you’ll have pictures that will go down in the history books (or at least your family photo album).
Chapel Character
One thing money can’t buy is character and our venue is chalk full of it! The exposed brick and cement floors are just a few of the things that give our space an authentic industrial look. Owner Kathryn Hogan leaned into this look by creating and installing pipe door handles and a pipe dress hook for the bride’s gown. She also artfully mixed in a farmhouse chic look by bringing in canvas curtains and barn wood, something that resonates with local couples. We can’t take credit for everything though, as we were lucky enough to build our chapel inside a space with the most beautiful vintage square pane windows in all of KC.
The Little Things
It’s all in the little things! And by that we mean all the money goes into the little things! Just kidding (kind of). We’ve went to the trouble of supplying all the small things you might need on your wedding day so you don’t have to. From our beautiful white bridal bouquet to our emergency bridal kit, we’ve got our brides covered on those last minute needs. We even have your “something blue” in the form a vintage blue hanky that we lovingly tie around your TVX bouquet. We’ve got your guests covered too with our handmade “love notes” guest book and “yay” and “woohoo” favor flags. And we can’t forget, our adorable cupid’s arrow cake topper!
VENUE, DECOR, AND FEATURED ITEMS PROVIDED BY THE VOW EXCHANGE CHAPEL
PHOTOGRAPHY PROVIDED BY THE VOW EXCHANGE EVENTS
As if that wasn’t enough “bang for your buck” check out these “DIY done for you” goodies offered at The Vow Exchange Chapel!
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