Our story starts with a small town Texas girl falling in love with a small town Georgia boy. Our story is truly one of trusting in God’s timing. I was attending a Bible study with a mutual friend of my husband, and they insisted that we meet. From the moment we met, we became inseparable. Our first date was at Gruene Hall where we spent the entire afternoon talking and getting to know one another and then talking smack over a pool table. When we got engaged and were discussing where to tie-the-knot and it only made sense that we get married where it all started- in Gruene, Texas.
Choosing The Chandelier of Gruene
We chose The Chandelier of Gruene because it was genuinely the only venue we toured that got us really excited about the planning process and the only place where our wedding day visions were coming to life. The Chandelier is beautiful in all seasons, but spring at The Chandelier of Gruene is jaw droppingly beautiful.
Once we got to meet the Chandelier team and family we further fell in love with the venue. They answered any and all my questions quickly and were truly so kind and wanted us to have our perfect wedding day. It was such a blessing to have a wonderful team supporting our special day and assisting us in getting whatever it was that we needed.The best part of being a Chandelier couple is probably the love and attention the COG family puts into each couple. We never felt like “just another couple” getting married at their venue. You feel a sense of home and family when you have a wedding at the Chandelier of Gruene. You can tell that they truly love what they do and they all have the kindest, most helpful hearts.
Memorable Moments
There are so many beautiful memories from our wedding day, but I would have to say that during our ceremony we had our family and guests bow their heads and say a prayer over us. At that moment I looked across from me and saw my husband praying over our marriage and looked to see all our guests doing the same. It truly was the most special moment and I find myself replaying it in my head over and over.
Another special memory was when my husband and I were doing our grand entrance into the reception hall and we got to see all our guests in one room cheering for us and looking forward to celebrating our special moment. It was then as a bride I saw all the planning and work of our vendors come together and it was better than I ever imagined.
Get a Planner and a Polaroid!
You need a planner or day-of-coordinator. This is something I originally didn’t think I needed, because I am very Type-A when it came to planning our wedding and I had a lot figured out, but my coordinator, Maria from Lila Lane, was incredible. I truly did not stress or worry about a single thing the day of my wedding because I knew Maria and her team had everything covered, and they did. Everything at our wedding went so smoothly! The day truly goes by so fast, soak it in. My bridesmaids and I brought a Polaroid and took pictures as we were getting ready and it is one of my favorite keepsakes from our wedding day.
Enjoy the Planning Process
One detail I loved while planning was the floorplan designer that the Chandelier uses to design your layout of the reception hall. This allowed me to play with my ideas and rearrange as needed to help me see how the wedding day would look and flow.
I love little details. It doesn’t matter if your guests notice them, but if they are things that are important to you and your soon-to-be-spouse then you should include them. For instance, some of my favorites were: a custom locket on my bouquet with photos of my grandparents who had passed, the groom’s cake was decorated with a custom duck call with our wedding date on it, our getaway vehicle was an old Budweiser truck, which was a nod to my late grandfather who used to call my husband Mr. Budweiser, and lastly, our wedding invitation suite. It was a labor of love putting them together, but was so worth it.
Wedding Day Takeaways
Oh my gosh, our wedding day was seriously the best and I truly wish we could live it over and over again. The day was truly magical, the weather was incredible for May in Texas. I wish I could give a vendor credit for that, but that was the almighty vendor, God (lol). We love hearing our guests say they had an amazing time. I do wish I would have prepared a special dance or presentation of flowers to my mom. Moms truly take on a lot of their daughters’ stress in the wedding planning process and if anything, I wish I would have done something to recognize her during the reception. My mom went above and beyond and was always offering up new ideas and solutions. Fun fact: My mom actually picked out my wedding dress!
Vendor Spotlight:
Wow, how I loved all of my vendors. I absolutely loved working with Lila Lane Events. Maria was my coordinator and she is seriously such a ray of sunshine and also an incredibly hard worker. My husband and I both truly appreciate all the work she did to make our day run smoothly. She is just an absolute rockstar!
Coordinator: Lila Lane Events (Maria Slaughter)
Photography: Christen Cantu Photography
Band: Gary Glenn and the 20x Band
Caterer: Rabel’s Roadhaus BBQ
Florist: Sweet Southern Florals
Bar: Peak Beverage
Marquee Lights: Alpha-Lit San Antonio