Chapter 10: Planning a wedding in Austin
Almost as soon as the proposal is out of Will's mouth and we've had a chance to tell our friends and family, I think about setting a date. We decide that we don't want to wait long and choose October for our wedding month, because fall is our favorite season and it's not too close to our December birthdays and the holidays.
Will's grandmother, the matriarch of his father's side of the family, is 96 and unable to travel by plane. We decide on Austin as a wedding spot; the elder Mrs. Shaw can be driven to the wedding by Will's parents from San Angelo, four hours by car. And after all, Austin is the city where Will was born and where I met his parents for the first time. We pick a date a few weeks after the engagement to fly to Austin and look at wedding sites, and, as brides-to-be typically do, I dived head first into the wedding planning process.
I am not typically very organized, but I somehow get things done. My style is to set the end goal and get there in a way that may seem meandering and chaotic to someone like my husband, who has everything in his life planned in Excel. And yet, I set up a spreadsheet to keep track of all of the wedding sites I want to see, including costs, pros and cons, and contacts. Making a few phone calls and perusing various web sites, I am able to narrow down the choices to five: The Mansion at Judge's Hill, One World Theater, Barr Mansion, Vintage Villas, and Villa Antonia.
Arriving in Austin for our whirlwind tour of five venues, two photographer meetings, and two cake tastings, we were giddy with post-engagement joy.
As we visit venue after venue, I feel a little discouraged. They are beautiful sites but not exactly what I have in mind. We nearly put off the last one of the day, because it's way out of the way, west of Lago Vista and northwest of Austin. We follow the directions, and as we round the last turn, the view nearly takes my breath away.
It's a gorgeous Italian-style villa set on the crest of a cliff overlooking Lake Travis, and it's unbelievable. Touring the venue, I am agog and excited. Like a bad car negotiator, I tell the proprietor, "I love it. This is the place." I'm practically jumping up and down for joy. She gives Will and I a moment to discuss it, and he takes my hands in his.
"Is this really what you want, babe?" he asks me.
"Yes. Yes. Yes." I say. "It's perfect. I can't imagine a more perfect place for our wedding day."
He goes to the car to get the checkbook, and writes a check for the full amount right then and there. I'm grinning widely, hopping from one foot to the other like a little girl.
We finish the weekend by choosing a photographer I adore, who lives in a cute bungalow with her little family on Annie Street, south of Congress, and negotiate a fantastic Friday night deal for her journalist-style photos. [Note: I can't wait to share those with you] The cake tasting is also a success as we venture down to Manchaca Street for a deluxe appointment with Blue Note Bakery. Will falls in love with the flourless chocolate torte and chocolate ganache, and me with the fluffy lemon cake with buttercream and raspberry filling.
Finally, we picked the top floor of the Hyatt for our morning-after wedding brunch, peering over Town Lake. It was definitely going to be an Austin wedding.
Wedding: planned. Now for the details. I'd better get back to that spreadsheet.
Arriving in Austin for our whirlwind tour of five venues, two photographer meetings, and two cake tastings, we were giddy with post-engagement joy.
As we visit venue after venue, I feel a little discouraged. They are beautiful sites but not exactly what I have in mind. We nearly put off the last one of the day, because it's way out of the way, west of Lago Vista and northwest of Austin. We follow the directions, and as we round the last turn, the view nearly takes my breath away.
"Is this really what you want, babe?" he asks me.
"Yes. Yes. Yes." I say. "It's perfect. I can't imagine a more perfect place for our wedding day."
He goes to the car to get the checkbook, and writes a check for the full amount right then and there. I'm grinning widely, hopping from one foot to the other like a little girl.
We finish the weekend by choosing a photographer I adore, who lives in a cute bungalow with her little family on Annie Street, south of Congress, and negotiate a fantastic Friday night deal for her journalist-style photos. [Note: I can't wait to share those with you] The cake tasting is also a success as we venture down to Manchaca Street for a deluxe appointment with Blue Note Bakery. Will falls in love with the flourless chocolate torte and chocolate ganache, and me with the fluffy lemon cake with buttercream and raspberry filling.
Finally, we picked the top floor of the Hyatt for our morning-after wedding brunch, peering over Town Lake. It was definitely going to be an Austin wedding.
Wedding: planned. Now for the details. I'd better get back to that spreadsheet.
* * *
Next chapter: Finding the perfect dress; premarital counseling
Read the whole story, chapter by chapter, right here.