Monday, February 2, 2009

Three Halls....Three Choices...Our Favorite...

Texas Old Town has three reception halls, each with their own ceremony site provided as part of the rental. They are, Redbud Hall – seating a max of 160 people, Tejas Hall – seating a max of 550 people, and Sage Hall – seating a max of 320 people. And the prices vary based on the number of people and the hall chosen. Tejas and Redbud Hall both rent for the same amount and seat different numbers of people. Sage Hall, which seats fewer people than the Tejas Hall, rents for a higher rate.

This was all VERY confusing before seeing things in person. Now, after touring the place with Mr. CC and Danny German, it all makes perfect sense. So I’ll do a breakdown of the halls, their high points and their low points in my mind and then FINALLY put you out of your misery and tell you which hall we liked the best!

Tejas Hall
This is the original structure on the ranch, and is the older building found. It was designed and mostly built by hand by the founder of Texas Old Town several decades ago. It is a large hall that seats up to 550 people without a dance floor, it has a stage, kitchen area, food service area, bar, and bridal and groom dressing rooms located on the upstairs level. In keeping with the true Old Texas feel of the place, the restrooms are located outdoors, but real plumbing is installed, with a private bathroom in each dressing room for the wedding party. The hall has a “barn-like” feel to it, with gorgeous rafters and wooden beams supporting the entire structure. The area is open, in that it’s all one big room, but there are support beams throughout that somewhat divide the room. All tables and chairs are wooden and the tables themselves were crafted by the owner, so they are all originals. They vary in size and style, from picnic style with attached benches to 4 and 6 person tables. Everywhere you look is wood, wood floors, ceilings, walls, tables, chairs and roof. It is warm and inviting, and the beams that interrupt the flow slightly naturally mark off the best area for the dance floor. The ceremony site for Tejas Hall is located at the back of the hall, a short walk along a slightly wooded path. The ceremony site is cleared out, and the trees are not as full back there to provide full privacy, but the backdrops for the site more than make up for it, as the rolling hills come into view.

Redbud Hall
This was the second structure built for the property. It was originally a covered patio, that was eventually enclosed and furnished. It follows the same basic layout of the other hall, with an entirely open floorplan, which makes it warm and inviting. There are more windows to this area, giving the entire building an overall cottage feel to it. The kitchen area and food service area and bar are all located at one end of the building. There is a stage area, and the restrooms for this hall are located inside the hall. This hall only seats a maximum of 160 people while still leaving room for a dance floor, which makes the overall feel of this hall a bit more intimate than the larger Tejas Hall. This builidng also comes with dressing rooms, but they are located in the adjacent building that also houses the offices for TOT. The hall is also wood everywhere, which gives it a rustic charm and since it is smaller, it seems to have a cozier feel to it, like I mentioned earlier. Here the tables are round tables, standard for most venues, with wooden chairs to accompany. The private ceremony site for this hall is located just across the drive from the hall and is heavily wooded. As you walk into the clearing, you do get a sense of being off in your own private world, which is just what every bride would want for her wedding day.

Sage Hall
This is the most recent structure added to TOT. When Danny told me that it was designed specifically for weddings, I didn’t truly understand what he meant until I saw the hall myself. This building has been added within the last two years or so, and was built after TOT got involved with the wedding business, and was designed just so. The hall seats up to 320 people with a dance floor. Just like the other facilities, there is a kitchen, serving area, bar area, restrooms and dressing rooms for the bridal party. Unlike the other facilities, all of this is located in one building. The dressing rooms sit above the bathrooms and kitchen area, on the opposite end of the building from the stage and dance floor area. Like Redbud Hall, the tables here are round standard tables, with wooden chairs. The building lacks some of the warmth and character of the Tejas Hall, but makes up for it with a more refined sense of rustic elegance. For Sage Hall, the ceremony area is located right next to the building, and features a brook running through the area, complete with a bridge for the wedding party to cross to get to the ceremony site. A wooden arbor completes the backdrop, and a fence along the back provides privacy and a serene feel to the ceremony site. I can easily see why brides book this hall in a snap!

Each hall also comes with its own parking area and attendant to be the “gatekeeper” between halls. There was some concern with the Tejas Hall and Redbud Hall being located so close together, but with the outdoor stage area separating the two areas, and the ceremony sites for each hall being so far away from each other, I think that the concern of not having your “own” site falls out of concern very quickly.

So knowing all of that….Mr. CC fell in LOVE and I do mean capital L, capital O, capital V, capital E with the…..TEJAS HALL!! The character and charm and overall vibe to the hall meets and exceeds our own expectations for our wedding to a T! With that being said, there are some challenges that I can foresee working with this hall, but for the most part they can all be easily worked around or overcome with a little creativity from the bride and groom.

I’m SO excited to have a venue that I cannot contain myself, and I’m really relieved that Mr. CC likes the place so much too. It means a lot to me that he’s so involved in the whole process….just one of the reasons that I’m so lucky!

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