When Meredith Rodgers was invited as one of the vendors for the Bridal Market at the Venue at Hermann on Jan. 12, she was thrilled to get the opportunity to help future brides plan for their weddings.

“It’s really nice,” the Montgomery City resident said. “I had never done anything bridal before, so it’s a really cool chance.”

Rodgers, who graduated from Lindenwood University in December with a double major in art history and art design, is the owner of Hayloft Artist, which sells portraits, wine bottles, earrings and lucky pennies. She started her business six years ago.

“2019 was when I started taking it seriously and actively pushing for a business,” Rodgers said. “I started selling in ‘21.”

On Jan. 12, Rodgers was one of 22 vendors that participated in the Bridal Market, which lasted for three hours. There were vendors from other communities such as Warrenton, St. Louis and Sullivan. K. Lynn Photography, which is owned by Jonesburg resident Kalli Hernandez, was another Montgomery County business in attendance.

“We’re very happy with the vendor turnout,” said Julie Brookman, owner of the Venue at Hermann.

The Venue at Hermann, located outside of Big Spring on Highway K, was open for business in late June. The building was vacant for nearly 40 years before Brookman, her husband Steve and brother-in-law Darren helped turn it into an event space for weddings, corporate events, special celebrations and reunions. It was a schoolhouse for 30 years before it closed in 1985.

“It was a lot of long hours and a lot of hard work,” Brookman said.

Brookman said there will be several weddings that will be held at the Venue this year.

“We had a lot of people who were very pleased with the venue,” the owner said. “We had something booked and we had some who left their information for us to get in contact with them for possible bookings. We’re pretty excited.”

The Venue at Hermann hosted its second bridal market. The first market was held in August and had 20 vendors.

“It gives the brides a chance to see the venue if they’re looking for a venue space,” Brookman said. “It gives the option for the vendors to show the things that they can do and offer brides.”

Southern Belle Boutique in Warrenton, owned by Kristina Rogers, attended both bridal markets. It will celebrate its second year of business in June.

“Julie and Steve are good friends of mine,” Rogers said. “They invited me to come back.”

Rodgers said she found out about the bridal market from her mother just three weeks before the event. She applied for it in late December.

“It was very last minute, so I was glad that they were able to squeeze me in,” Rodgers said.

Rodgers, who graduated from Montgomery County High School in 2021, said she plans to continue doing her business as a side job.

“All four years in college, I did this as a part time job,” Rodgers said. “I worked on campus and did this on the weekends. I’ve been looking at different art galleries and art museums and things like that, trying to find a full time job while doing this on the side. The goal is to do this full-time, but I have to save up before I can do that.”