First I will tell you a little bit about my search for a venue. The first things I did was jump on google and search for all of the wedding venues near Montgomery,TX. As I searched for venues I kept my must have’s in mind.
I had to have.
1. An outdoor ceremony site
2. An outdoor reception under the stars with lights everywhere
Ultimately it came down to two places Hodge Podge Lodge in Montgomery,TX and Rock Lake Ranch in Anderson,TX.
First we went to visit Hodge Podge Lodge. I loved everything about it, but they ended up being booked on the date we decided on.
Second we went to visit Rock Lake Ranch in Anderson,TX. The minute we pulled up we fell in love. It is a large ranch and it is GORGEOUS. We went on a tour of the main office house/grooms room, looked at the ceremony site and the outdoor reception site with pavilion, and even visited the bride’s cottage which was a short drive down their ranch road to a quaint little house. The minute my fiancé and I got in the car to leave he looked at me and said “we don’t need to look anywhere else, we are getting married here.” Lets be honest, I couldn’t deny that what he said was exactly right, we had found the perfect place for our wedding.
Here are a few pictures from our wedding day. Images by Amy Watson.
Our venue search wasn’t too adventurous but I am totally ok with that because I knew exactly what I wanted and found it.
Looking back I am so extremely happy with our experience at Rock Lake Ranch. The owners of the venue Annette & Michael are absolutely the best. We got to know Annette when we were planning the wedding and even met her husband and had a nice chat with him the evening of our wedding. My husband and I are so thankful that these two people, and the fact that they created such a beautiful place for us to start the rest of our lives and share it with our friends and family.
We were even able to rent out the Bride’s cottage to stay in the night of our wedding so that we didn’t have to go anywhere. This was seriously the most peaceful quaint little place, we sat on the porch for hours after the wedding and opened up all of our cards and talked about how crazy fast the night flew by, tried to remember who showed up/and who didn’t show up, and laughed about how we worried about so many little things that ultimately didn’t even matter in the end.
I could go on and on about how much we loved Rock Lake Ranch, but I’ll stop at this. Photographing a wedding at Rock Lake Ranch is on my bucket list for 2015, so if you decide to get married there make sure you give me a call 😉
When you are searching for a wedding venue there are two main categories.
1. Full Service venues: These venues include other services such as your food, DJ, cake, coordinator, etc, etc. The list can go on and on. Often time when you are planning a wedding the initial shock of cost is enough to send you running, but ultimately you normally end up better off in the end. Normally these type of venues run like a well oiled machine and each service is used to working with one another, the vendors that normally work with these venues are the best of the best because these venues reputations depend on them.
2. Space only: There are many venues where you simply rent the space and must bring in everything on your own, some venues like this do not include basic things such as table/chairs so make sure you get all of this information prior to booking a venue like this.
Here are a few of my favorite Full Service Venues:
Ashelynn Manor: I will start out by telling you that I photograph a majority of my weddings at Ashelynn Manor. I am always excited when I receive an inquiry from an Ashelynn Manor bride. I love Ashelynn Manor because they have been around for a long time and been doing wedding for what seems like forever. The ladies that run this place could put a wedding together in their sleep, they are that good 😉 I know for a fact that when I show up to a wedding at Ashelynn Manor that every wedding is absolutely perfect, things just don’t go wrong. From the day of coordinators that keep everyone on schedule and make sure that everyone is where they need to be and ensure boutonnieres are pinned on in time for pictures, to the DJ’s that are always certain to get guests on the dance floor and run the reception like clock work, and the food is always amazing. Not to mention there are countless spots around the property for gorgeous pictures. Ashelynn Manor in Magnolia,TX offers a gorgeous white chapel or outdoor gazebo for your ceremony and a huge carriage house for your reception. They also include services such as a day of coordinator, DJ, food, cake and many more things for your wedding day. Plus they have an amazing area on site to get your hair/makeup done with Exquisite Reflections.
Moffitt Oaks: I was lucky enough to photograph the very first wedding at Moffitt Oaks in Tomball,TX so I have been around since the beginning. It has been so incredibly awesome to watch this venue grow over the past year. They have a large variety of options for ceremony sites, and gorgeous stables and a ballroom for receptions. If you visit Moffitt Oaks I promise you will be blown away by the grounds and all of the things they offer for your big day. One of my favorite things is the area where the bride and her girls get dressed, they have two different areas you can choose from and they are seriously the most gorgeous dressing rooms you have seen in your life. I also adore the Stables, they are truly the perfect setting for an elegant barn wedding. They have day of coordinators, food, cake, DJ’s and lots of other things included with your wedding package. When you visit Moffitt Oaks you will be greeted by some of the friendliest women there are, and even a little white fur baby if you are lucky 😉
Here are a few of my favorite Venues that are not full service:
Rock Lake Ranch: As I mentioned above Rock Lake Ranch in Anderson,TX is amazing 😀 Obviously, its the place I chose to have my wedding. They do include the use of their tables/chairs and have a few other things such as lanterns and shepherds hooks that we were welcome to use, they also set up the tables and chairs for you on your wedding day which was super nice. They met with us prior to our wedding to make sure we had everything lined up and ready for the big day.
Old Dobbin Station: This is another venue that is on my wedding bucket list of weddings to photograph for 2015, so if you decide to get married here make sure you call me 😉 Old Dobbin Station in Montgomery,TX is just up the road from my studio. It is absolutely stunning inside and out. It was once an old pump station and they refurbished the building and brought them back to life. This venue screams rustic elegance with a huge dash of class.
Here are a few more local venues that I love.
Big Sky Barn in Montgomery,TX
The Carriage House in Conroe,TX
Balmorhea Events Magnolia,TX
The Springs Events multiple locations
Rustic Rose Willis,TX
Bernhardt Winery Plantersville,TX
Madera Estates Conroe,TX
The Woodlands Wedding Photographer Designs by Karinda.
