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First off, congratulations!
I'm also from the Northeast (upstate NY) and moved to Austin in 2002, so Welcome! :)
As far as venues go, I had my wedding at Star Hill Ranch which is located outside of Austin in Bee Cave. It was fantastic and I cannot even tell you how awesome it was to work with Adam, the owner. It was so stress free and he was flexible about *everything*.
This is a great list of ALL the venues in Austin: http://www.austinweddingblog.com/2009/02/austin-wedding-venues-huge-list-of.html
I bought my dress from Signature Bridal in Bee Cave and they were great! Ashley, the owner is fantastic! It was the last shop at the end of the day of dress shopping and I was just about to throw in the towel and on the verge of tears when Ashley pulled a dress which turned out to be THE dress. She also told me about a trunk sale they were having in 2 weeks, so I could order it with a discount. She was great to bounce ideas off of and just talk to. I was so sad when I wouldn't be coming back on a regular basis! lol
Another great place I worked with was Kenny's Catering and Coffee Co. They were super affordable $10/person for a buffet BBQ (no apps). Kenny was so great to work with and even met me at my venue a month before to go over the layout of tables and the bar, etc. We spent 2 hours talking about all the details! I don't have a single complaint.
I got my cake from Rise and Shine Bakery. They don't do wedding cakes a lot (maybe a couple/month), but their cakes are soooo good. Plus, they were so much cheaper than the other bakeries I looked at. They only do buttercream, so keep that in mind. Their cakes can be super detailed though and beautiful.
PM me if you have any more questions!
Good luck!
I'm having my wedding at Chapel Dulcinea, but there are tons of other amazing (and larger) venues in the area. I personally love Vintage Villas the most of all the venues I have visited (I went to a wedding there). Also Kindred Oaks in Georgetown is super pretty and a great outdoors venue, although it is a bit north. I don't know the prices of them though.
The austin wedding blog @AbbyDabbyDoodleBug posted is amazing for finding vendors. Check out all of it. I found my photographer by clicking through every single one listed. Hah.
I got my dress from Belle Saison, but I visited almost every major store in the area. I liked their inventory and set up the most. They do have a lame $25 appointment charge though.
Any other questions, feel free to ask =)
Well, not where my wedding is but where I grew up and have been to some weddings! What part of Austin are you from? "Austin" is a broad term that usually includes lots of little suburbs that bleed into Austin so that can affect suggestions!
If you are from the north part, I highly reccomend Star Ranch (not the same as above!) It is between Pflugerville and Hutto, they do catering, all the tables, linens, food and set up is included and they have a DOC there for you. The place is lovely, and since all the windows look out to a golf course, it is green year round. The best part was that we took the centerpiece stuff all up to them the day before, showed the DOC how to assemble them and they were together when we got there. It couldn't have been less effort!
The woman who made the cake for a wedding I was in name is Jamine Naiver (I think?) she is also from Round Rock, runs the shop out of her home and was incredible and very reasonably priced. She also only does buttercream but I haven't seen fondant that smooth before. And I don't even LIKE chocolate cake and this was the most amazing chocolate cake I have ever eaten. She did a cake with the bottom half of each layer chocolate, filling then a vanilla layer. There was almost none left when we got done!
Tragically we are really too far to use this photographer but she is great to work with and took what we think, were amazing pictures. She is fairly young but has shot several weddings and lots of portriats but the best part is she is incredibly reasonably priced, something that it seemed like not many local photographers were. Her name is Brittney Melton (http://www.brittneymelton.com).
Sorry this is so long, hopefully it is a little helpful to you! Welcome to Texas! I bet the heat is wonderful for ya... And no, you never do get used to it being 105. :)
Welcome to TX and congrats on your engagement!
I went to a really awesome wedding at Mercury Hall. It's a cool little chapel turned reception venue. They also have a gorgeous yard with a huge oak tree that typically serves as an altar. The only issue I had with it is that it didn't seem to be air-conditioned, but if you're getting married in March you'll probably be okay without it.
Good luck!
@missfenway: Welcome to Austin! :-)
I'm working on planning my wedding down here too, so if you want any help, just PM me. Although we have a ways to go before the wedding, we already have the venue, photographer, catering, and DJ picked out, and I'm hoping to have my dress in my hands very soon.
The list @AbbyDabbyDoodleBug suggested is really good for venues. Do you have a budget in mind? We're going pretty low-key, so we chose Texas Old Town, just south of Austin in Kyle. It's kind of rustic, yet BEAUTIFUL, and the price was almost too good to be true.
Good luck, and we're glad you're here (in Texas and on the board)!
Also, there's a Hill Country Bees Meetup on October 22 at noon in Gruene, which is right near New Braunfels. Definitely check out the post on this board about it! I'm sure lots of other bees will have plenty of advice to give in person! :-)
You guys are awesome! Thank you so much for your input! :)
@AbbyDabbyDoodleBug: I live very close to Bee Cave, as I'm on the south end of Austin. The Star Hill Ranch looks like it would be a fun place to have a wedding. Thanks for the input on Signature Bridal too. I've passed it tons of times, but was wondering if it was worth going to.
@MaiFuture: I've thought of visiting Belle Saison too, but you're right, that charge is totally lame. I'll still probably go at some point lol
Has anyone visited the Blush Bridal Lounge in downtown? They carry some designers I like there. If you have, was your experience good?
@missfenway: I got my shoes at Blush. Their selection is smaller than most boutiques, but they are really nice and the gowns are gorgeous. I got my gown from Alexia Gavela, which is right down the street.
Here's a list of some vendors I used:
Here are the vendors i used and loved!
venue - Mercury hall
catering - whole foods culinary center
cupcakes - sugar mammas
photog - meredith greager http://www.meredithgreagerphotography.com/
:-)
@AbbyDabbyDoodleBug: I went to Signature Bridal yesterday and let me just say, Thank you for the recommendation! Ashley was super helpful...she found a bunch of gowns that could be ordered in pink or changed to pink for me. My consultant Ivana was wonderful as well. I tried on a bunch of mermaid style gowns and one ballgown and of course, the one I didn't think I'd like (the ballgown) I kinda fell in love with!
Has anyone ever been to a wedding at The Inn at Wild Rose Hall? I'm just curious about your thoughts on the location. From the website and pics, it looks really pretty and seems affordable.
I have to say, though, I'm kinda falling in love with the Hummingbird House the more that I look at it!
@missfenway: My DOC did a wedding at Inn at Wild Rose and she said it was great. I'm partial to HH myself. 
Their staff is great and sooo on top of things.
@AbbyDabbyDoodleBug: We might be going to check out Star Hill Ranch next week! My fiance mentioned it over the weekend and he seems to really like it from the website. The owner emailed me promptly after I sent an inquiry on the website and he seems so nice! What did you do for alcohol at the venue? I liked the idea he mentioned of buying it at this one place wholesale, and there is some buyback thing for unopened bottles.
Also, I saw that they do not provide the linens or glassware. Where did you go for those? Did you get them through the caterer?
Thanks again for your help!
Star Hill Ranch is so sweet! It was in my top 3 venues!
You can get glassware and linens through most caterers. Spec's will take back unopened bottles of liquor, but not wine or beer.
I didn't see that you replied to me until just now! lol.
We bought our wine/beer/ice at Spec's when it was on sale. I believe they held on to it for us until the wedding and they also delievered it for us for free! They don't buy back the beer/wine, but my family just gave the extras away(we had beer in bottles) to other family members after the wedding or drank it themselves! haha
@waffle: I just visited Alexia Gavela yesterday! They were the only salon in town that carried this gown that I have been OBSESSING over for months. Geri was so sweet and I adored the gown after trying it on. I'm definitely going back to buy it from there!
@AbbyDabbyDoodleBug: That's awesome! We love Spec's! And I definitely do not think it will be a problem if we have some leftovers after the wedding. They will not go to waste lol
Thanks for all your help and recommendations too!
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Hey guys!
I need some input. I just recently moved to Austin, TX from the Northeast and I am newly engaged (YAY!...sorry I had to). Although I am from Boston and my family still lives up there, we are looking at having our wedding in TX....either Austin, San Antonio, or Houston (where the groom's family is from). I just think it would be a nightmare to try to plan a wedding up there living down here.
Can anyone suggest some cool, affordable venues in the area? I definitely want at least the ceremony to be held outside as well. If you have any suggestions on vendors and bridal shops as well, I'm all ears. :)