Category Archives: Hill Country Wedding Planning

Hoffman Haus Review- Hill Country Wedding Venue

In my last post I mentioned a venue as an example of how guys and gals think differently. Well, I know that might have been a huge teaser for y’all, so I decided I would do a review of this venue to give you all the dirty details. The venue I am speaking of is called Hoffman Haus and is in the heart of the Hill Country in Fredericksburg, Texas.

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nicholsphotographers.com

The ceremony space. The ceremony is typically held in the garden right outside the Great Hall. Under tall oak trees lit by the light of twinkle lights and two beautiful antique chandeliers, your guests will watch you appear to your ceremony through the ivy trellace. Equipped with ivory padded dark stained wood chairs this space is always romantic, but can evolve to whatever style wedding you choose.

 

 

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heatherrowlandphotography.com

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number9photography.com

The reception space. The guests can proceed to a cocktail hour in the courtyard, just a few seconds walk from the garden. This outdoor space is landscaped with an antique fountain surrounded by covered walkways for shade. Set up an outdoor bar here and have passed hors d’oevres served to your guests. After cocktail hour your guests will be invited in to the Great Hall for dinner and dancing. The Great Hall is an actual 1800’s Kentucky tobacco barn that has been renovated to reminisce Pottery Barn with a Texas charm. The gray timber walls, antique ornate mirrors and paned glass windows make for a dreamy vintage mansion feel. In the center of the room a wood stage framed with ivory linen curtains is perfect for a Texas Country band or can be made into a lounge area with their pottery barn (yes, actual Pottery Barn) furniture. Two large chandeliers with hurricane votives light the dancefloor equipped with dimmers to give you the feel you want throughout the evening. If you choose to do a buffet meal, the serving room is adjacent to the dining room and your serving pieces will be placed on the beautiful antique dining table and buffet. For those that might want to get away for a bit, they can step into the quaint library or right outside onto the patio. The patio. I’ve seen so many great photos of this patio. At night it just feels like Texas summer.

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annemariephotography.com

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hauffmanhaus.com

Why this Hill Country wedding venue is so stinking awesome?

 

Paned windows, large patios, southern charm. Need I say more? Well, I will! Onsite lodging (also basically Pottery Barn cottages) make is easy to get home at the end of the night or run to the room to change shoes. It’s yours for the weekend. Yep. When you have your wedding here, they let you setup and tear down the day before and after the wedding. Hopefully you’re just dropping your stuff off with a wedding coordinator, but you can come and see the setup the day before. Super nice people. Leslie Washburn, the owner, lives in Fredericksburg and inspired the great style of the entire property and established the one wedding per weekend idea to make sure you feel like the only Bride in town. The details. Southern black shutters, farmhouse accent tables, claw foot bath tubs, vintage trunks…. This could go on forever!

The Guy’s Eye

For all of you brides out there, what does your future husband think about your wedding flower arrangements or your ceremony location?  Have you asked him? Did you listen?

As you probably know by now, the perspective between a man and a woman, in this case a groom and a bride, can be a bit bipolar. Complex.  You tell him, “I think we should try this new work-out routine together”, he gives you a half-hearted “sure” that’s totally unconvincing and signals to you he’s not really interested at all. Then, a week later his buddy from college says he heard about this awesome work-out routine, the same one you mentioned earlier, and suddenly in your man’s mind it’s all the rage. He insists it must start tomorrow.

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Maybe your description sounded something like this:

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And his buddy’s sounded something like this:

This phenomena can invade the wedding planning process as well. For example, you are telling him about this gorgeous venue you found today that has, “an elegant farm house vibe, with real vintage tobacco barn timber walls, pottery barn furniture, antique ornate framed mirrors, and an outdoor area where you can have sparkling bistro lights over your reception tables.” Then he says “sounds nice, Honey”. Not exactly the response you wanted. Let’s be honest. Can he really picture “pottery barn furniture and ornate frame mirrors” in his head? For most gals we see something like this (P.S. this is a real venue, check out Hoffman Haus):

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hauffmanhaus.com

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heatherrowlandphotography.com

In the brain of a man it might look something like this:

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Okay, perhaps I exaggerate just a tad. My husband has followed me into Pottery Barn enough times to know it isn’t a store of barns and pottery. But, you see my point!

To make wedding planning a little more collaborative between you and your fiancé, I’ll be including the groom’s perspective on some of my posts. These posts will be called, The Guy’s Eye. The Guy’s Eye will be a little section written by my hubs, Brent, containing topics and opinions from the man’s side. Let’s face it, although different from ours, guys will notice valuable things. For example, in the case of our wedding, the landscaping of the ceremony site and the music playlist were areas where his perspective was valuable. Check out his notes on the blog, and be sure to share with your groom! You may have to get creative to coerce him to the computer to read a wedding blog with you. Just tell him you want him to checkout a picture of Scarlett Johannsen.  Once he is there, it will be well worth his time.

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lyellphotography.com

A little about Brent… So he is pretty much awesome. We have been together almost 9 years, married for a little over 2. He is a really talented writer (his artsy side) and a really talented horseman (his manly side). He loves running, reading, and a good beer. He plays guitar and drums, and collects great music. He taught me how to Texas two-step and exposed me to Texas country (I might never be the same). He helped me conquer my fear of roller coasters, is a great Dad to our pets, and smokes a tobacco pipe on occasion. That’s him in a nutshell. I know you will enjoy reading his perspectives (most people find him hilarious!).

 

Keep an eye out for this handsome fellow on future blogs!

Hi There…

I’m Emily Burgess, owner of Hill Country Bride. You’ve probably already gathered that if you have made it here to my blog page. However, since this is my first blog post, I thought it proper to introduce myself. If we were sitting together over coffee I’d probably be drinking a toffee-nut misto, or perhaps a chai.  I would be sitting with my legs crossed. I notice this about myself because I hear it causes spider veins. And yet, here I sit, legs crossed. I might be wearing a blue and white striped dress with a navy blue blazer and nude wedges, which happens to be the outfit that comes to my mind when I think of my favorite outfits lately. But since we aren’t in a coffee shop together, I’m sitting on my couch with my old faithful grumpy black cat, Rowdy, in my favorite band shirt, a white Switchfoot tee, and wondering who you are. Who are you Reader?

Writing my first blog post on this site feels a little awkward. But then again, aren’t a lot firsts a little awkward? First day of work, first time driving, first kiss… Need I say more!  I have long judged those who obsess over their Facebook, or share their lives to a world they will probably never meet. But here I am, hoping that I’m not that person, and that maybe, someday, I’ll get to meet you!

For starters I would like to tell you about how I got into weddings. The first wedding I ever attended was for a complete stranger. It’s true!  I was working for a photographer at the time, Phillips Mitchell, in a little town of Lexington, Kentucky. I was interning for him. He invited me to come help at his wedding that weekend, you know, carrying around his lights and being his second hands. I was about to be a sophomore in high school, just shy of 16. We were traveling in his Red Honda CRV when he pulled out of the back seat an enormous Canon camera that resembled a nuclear weapon, and said something to the effect of, “Get comfortable with that, you’re going to be shooting with it today.” Excitement and fear rushed through me. The rest of the day was a whirlwind. I remember it well.  The wedding was in this beautiful Cathedral and the bride wore a lace fitted dress with low bun. She was so beautiful. My job with this camera was to practice shooting the details. It was such fun! I fell in love with elegant ribbons playfully decorating bottled bubbles, the classic font on the program cards, the velvet texture of the flower bouquets, and the time-standing-still expression in the Bride’s eyes.

That look. So unique. So once-in-a-lifetime. It is a look reserved for a Bride who is truly in love. Her eyes glitter and smile all by themselves. You can see through those eyes that she feels like the most beautiful and special person in the world. In that moment when the doors are opened, and she emerges to see her groom, she takes a look at him. She often smiles shyly.  And then, almost every bride I have ever seen does this next… she looks down. Maybe she is looking to make sure her feet are still touching the ground. Such a feminine reaction. To feel so beautiful and to look at the man you are in love with, and when you feel his gaze, to have a little blushing moment. I imagine this is where they get the term “blushing bride”.

And that, my new friend, is how I fell in love with weddings. Because, not only are the fonts and flowers so pretty and fun, but even more so the people. What an amazing job, to be a part of the biggest day of someone’s life! I might be the one to fluff out their dress before they walk down the aisle. That dress will become a family heirloom, a symbol of pure love that generations will remember. How can you get more special than that?

I must stop for now. But just know, I could go on for pages and pages. And trust me, many more pages are soon to come!