The Venue Search {Part 2}

I know you lost sleep over where Clay and I ended up choosing as our wedding venue. :)

We will be getting married in April at The Mansion in Austin, Texas.

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It is plenty large enough, it's inside and it has free parking which in downtown Austin is hard to come by! This venue is more old-antique looking than our style so we will be transforming the space into a modern ballroom.

When we were having a hard time deciding between places, I just felt like my creativity was much greater when picturing my wedding at The Mansion. 

Our ceremony and reception will take place in the ballroom and cocktail hour (although, it won't be an hour!) will take place in the courtyard.

Venue Booked: Big Check

The Venue Search {Part 1}

Yes, I'm the girl that has thought about my wedding since I knew what a wedding was. I didn't however have my wedding planned out as most people thought. Honestly, I didn't know much about what my wedding day would look like, not my dress, the venue or the colors. 


When Clay and I got engaged I was in a rush to select a venue and a date. I knew if we just picked a date, everything else would fall into place.


Venues are one thing that Clay and I had talked about for the past year or so yet we had a really hard time selecting where our wedding would be. I had already emailed several venues to gather information that way when the time came, we had a better idea of where to start. 


Our Venue Wish List
1. Large
2. Inside
3. Not in a hotel


See, our list wasn't even that demanding! 


Knowing most of the venues in the Austin area, surprisingly there wasn't a lot of venue to pick from that met our criteria. 


Initially we started with The Long Center. From pictures on the internet it was beautiful. We really liked how the room had floor to ceiling windows that displayed the Austin skyline without being in the heart of downtown where parking became a problem. After talking to the staff at The Long Center, there was just no way that we could fit our guest list into that room. I was a little sad after crossing this venue off of our list.

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Another option was Mansion at Judges Hill. As you can see from the picture, it is beautiful! It has an outdoor ceremony space and an indoor reception area and from what I have heard the food is amazing! We set up an appointment to view the space but sadly never made it to the appointment. Again, I think the space was just too small and didn't want to waste my time or theirs viewing the space.

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We also considered Villa St. Clair off the toll road in Austin near Manor. There were definitely pros and cons to this venue, just as there are to all venues. We both didn't like the location. No matter where our guest hotels where, it was going to be pretty far for them to drive. I also didn't like how the ballroom overlooked the parking lot. I just couldn't imagine dancing with Clay for our 'first dance' and then looking over into the parking lot. 

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Like Mansion at Judges Hill, they had an outdoor area that would be great for cocktail hour or an outdoor ceremony, weather permitting. In the end I think the biggest concern was the size. At that point in time, our guest list was still growing and with so many people from out of town it was really hard to determine what our final number would be. If it does rain on our wedding day, I can't see 220 people in the narrow hall way while they flip the ceremony space.


All of these venues are GREAT venues but sadly, none were for us. 


So where did we choose? I guess you will have to wait and see :)


Happy Friday!

Video of Clay's Proposal!

Being together for almost 5 years, Clay and I had definitely talked about getting married, what the rings would look like, our engagement, etc. 

Every time we talked about Clay proposing he always seemed to stress out about the whole thing as if I wanted this huge lavish ordeal in front of the world. That was not at all what I had in mind!

I did ask him if he could get pictures and video of it if possible. If not, I totally understood. I also asked him to have my family in town since they live in San Antonio or I knew our first stop would be driving to see them.

I was so glad to have a video of the proposal not only to be able to show my family and friends but to remind me of what happened! It all happened so, so fast that it was hard to really take in everything that was happening. 

Our Engagement Video

We're Engaged!

I definitely have some catching up to do as we have been engaged over two months now but finally after 4 1/2 years of dating, Clay and I are getting married!

{The Proposal-The Long Version}

I had a hint that it was coming sometime during my graduation weekend but never thought Clay would propose in front of our families. Clay had asked me months before if he could propose to me on graduation weekend but I almost took it as if he was trying to throw me off. The other big hint was that he never asked me what I wanted for graduation. Not that I expected a gift from him but....it was a little strange for Clay.

Once my actual graduation day came and went, I didn't think Saturday was an option since we had my graduation party that afternoon and a wedding to attend that night.


{Saturday, May 15}

That morning was really busy and I didn't have time to talk to Clay that much. He was extremely helpful making sure everything was completed before our families arrived. We had planned to sit down and eat breakfast that morning but that didn't happen. A few of us ate bagels as we were cleaning and setting up.


It was finally time for my party and both of our families had arrived at my parents house. Our families gathered in the backyard for a little bit before it was time for lunch.  Everyone grabbed something to eat and after being asked by Clay a few times, I finally grabbed my plate. I sat my plate down next to my Dad and left to get something to drink. When I came back, my Dad had moved and Clay was now sitting next to me. Weird, but I didn't put too much thought to it.


As we were enjoying lunch I noticed that Clay didn't have much food on this plate. When I asked why he wasn't eating he said he was full. Full from the bagel he had 7 hours earlier! I think I lost my appetite because at that point I knew Clay was up to something.


Shortly thereafter, Clay left the table for a few minutes and when he sat back down my Dad started to give a speech. Again, I didn't think anything of it since he did the same thing for my brother at his graduation.


At the end of his speech, he asked if there was anyone else that had anything to say. For a split second I thought, oh maybe my grandfather or uncle was going to say something or maybe I should get up and thank my parents. Like I said, that was only a split second because Clay jumped up, turned to me, and asked me to marry him! 

My parents had engagement gifts for Clay and me (a wedding planning book for me and a bottle of Crown with an aTm cup for Clay). They then brought out champagne and cigars for everyone and suddenly my graduation party turned into a big celebration.

I've said it again but it was absolutely the best proposal ever. Thank you to everyone that was involved, especially my parents for all of their hard work for the party and all of those who knew ahead of time but made sure that I didn't know.

I had asked Clay for pictures of the engagement (check) and if possible a video too (check) and he was able to get both.

Thank you to Amy and Kristen for getting the video and pictures!

Stay tuned for the video of the proposal and the plans we have made thus far!

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