Doors Open @ 4
Not to frighten any one away but, wedding planning can be a bit of a bear. As a former Bride I can vouch for this (I think most of us can). No matter how much you try and streamline the process or remove the responsibility away from you there will still come a point where it will get a little grueling. When you are new to this world of shiny new things, party decisions and etiquette, it is so easy to get lost in translation. How do you know what rules to follow, what exactly you need and more importantly how do you find someone you can trust to be there before and on the day of? Weddings are expensive and time consuming- support is mandatory. Excellent support is essential.
I lucked out in the fact that Vista West Ranch included lighting, day of coordinator (Coordinate This...), tables, chairs, DJ (Complete Music Austin) and bartenders (Bar Butlers)- so my list of other vendors was not extensive (thankfully). Now my love and I needed catering, photographer, cake, flowers, mechanical bull technician, hotel accommodations, transportation, string quartet, flatware, etc. *phew* (If you are not a VWR bride there may be more on your list). Let's just say when I started looking for my wedding venders I was overwhelmed with choices, inclusions and pricing... just another thing to add to the stress.
So, where does one go to knock this extensive list out, you might ask? Your venue's open house is a great place to start! The benefits of finding vendors at an open house is that they have worked the location before, they know the coordinator, the owners, they know how things work - it isn't their first rodeo if you catch my drift. They are invited because they have a record of great service and a track record to match. The bottom line is you must find people that you can trust to be there and do the job that you hired them to do. You can easily select ALL of your vendors in one day at the Vista West Ranch open house- I know I did (Hallelujah). The other thing that I suggest is to return to future open houses at your venue, even if you have already selected your vendors. It's ok don't be afraid to go again. I was a serious open house repeat offender (I went to every single open house between the day we reserved VWR to the final one a couple of weeks prior to our wedding). Each time I got excited about seeing our nuptial spot and was reminded of something that I needed to do or change. This gives you a fabulous opportunity to scope things out, touch base with your vendors, and to come up with new ideas or toss some old ones to the curb!
#HappyPlanning (photos provided by PGL Photography)
Join us
This june we want to do something a little different at our Open House (shake things up a bit). We can't imagine a better way to celebrate summer than to have local Texas Hill Country craft beer and our incredible caterers participating in our first ever BBQ Cook-Off.... where you and your guests get to choose the winner!
Take advantage of our lodging special where all onsite lodging is $1056.25 & sleeps 28.
Vendor Listing
THE BETTER HALVES DUO (www.thebetterhalvesmusic.com)
TINY PIES (www.tinypies.com)
THE CUPCAKE BAR (www.thecupcakebar.com)
SIMON LEE BAKERY (www.simonleebakery.com)
CLASSIC CAKES BY LORI (www.classiccakesbylori.com)
THE BIG DRIP ICE CREAM PARLOR
COOL HAUS (http://eatcoolhaus.com/home)
PETAL PUSHERS (www.petalpushers.us)
BAR BUTLERS (www.barbutlers.net)
COORDINATE THIS (www.coordinatethis.com)
COMPLETE MUSIC AUSTIN DJ (www.dj-austin-tx.com)
ANA LANI MAKEUP (www.annalanimakeup.com)
NUTTER BUSTER BBQ (www.nutterbuster.com)
CATERING BY MOPSIE (www.cateringbymopsie.com)
THE PEACHED TORTILLA (http://thepeachedtortilla.com)
HEAVENLY GOURMET (www.heavenlyg.com)
CATERING WITH A TWIST (www.cateringwithatwist.com)
VERDES MEXICAN PARRILLA (www.verdesmexican.com)
SULLIVAN STREET CATERERS (http://www.sullivan-street.com)
POK-E-JOES SMOKEHOUSE (http://pokejos.com)
LIZAMA VIDEOGRAPHY (www.lizamavideography.com)
PIX IN A BOX PHOTO BOOTH (www.pglphotography.com)
THE STATIONERY BAKERY(http://stationerybakery.com)
AJH PHOTOGRAPHY (www.ajhweddings.com)
1778 PHOTOGRAPHY (www.1778photography.com)
JETTER PHOTOGRAPHY (www.jetterphoto.com)
FOREVER PHOTOGRAPHY (www.foreverphotographystudio.com)
JENNIFER WEEMS PHOTOGRAPHY (www.jenniferweems.com)
YOUR HONEYMOON GURU (www.yourhoneymoonguru.com)
BLANCO LUXURY INN & SUITES (www.blancoluxurysuites.com)