We wanted an indoor/outdoor wedding, maybe in a beautiful garden or in a rented bed and breakfast. We thought it would be great to have our families stay all together for a day or two before the wedding; we could go swimming, play with the kids, and then have our wedding. Something family-oriented, elegant, and "summery."
You may have noticed that our wedding is in July... JULY. In Texas. Apparently, our January engagement gave us complete weather amnesia, so we wasted some time looking at outdoor-ish venues. Yes, we could have switched to a different month, but being teachers both, the time of year was more important than the type of wedding. So we gave up that dream.
Maybe our wasted time can be of use! If you're planning a wedding in the spring, here were our favorites:
White Oaks Ranch (in Pilot Point). I saw this wedding, shot by one of my favorite local photographers, and just had to know where it took place. The lady on the phone was so helpful, but I never got to meet her -- upon learning our date, she let me know that this is an open-air facility (I didn't know that from the pictures), and thus has no air conditioning.
However, the fee includes rental of the entire place (venue, catering/staff, and the entire hotel) for two days. There's a pool and beautiful grounds and everything! If it was the right time of year, I absolutely would have been into this place.
We also loved Dallas Heritage Park. This is the photo (from D Weddings) that inspired me to call them:
The look of this place really reflects to me what a Texan summer evening wedding should look like. We did visit, and it photographs beautifully (although it is underwhelming in person).
The ceremony would have been in front of this beautiful house:
It's beautiful, but the pavillion (where the reception would be) was way too big for our little wedding. Also, if your wedding is in the summer, there's an extra charge for air conditioning. (!)
Our most favorite outdoor-ish venue was The Hilton DFW Lakes. The food was good, the prices are great, and Amber, the on-site coordinator, was wonderful. The hotel itself is huge, with two swimming pools. We loved the idea that our families could stay here and hang out for a day or two before the wedding. There were plenty of places for the kids to play, too.
This is where we would have had our ceremony. Check out this sunset -- I'm still disappointed!
Two major drawbacks, the worst being the constant sound of airplanes flying during the ceremony, as this hotel is just "minutes" from the airport. Also, the awkward layout and the atrocious mauve 80s decor in the reception room, but you could transform it with a little (okay, a lot of) creativity.
As soon as July 2009 rolled around, I suddenly remembered that I don't last more than 15 minutes in the Texan sun before wilting (not to mention how cruel it would be for our vendors and guests), and we changed our minds.
How did we finally find the one that was just right for us? We'll share it with you in part 2!
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