The Texas Hill Country is a wedding celebration hot spot. The area brings beautiful scenery, colors, characteristics and weather conditions. But it also can have its own unique challenges.
Regan Schmidt and Ada Broussard-Schmidt got married in March 2022. Ada is from Louisiana, but met and married Regan, who is from Doss, in Gillespie County.
With a recent experience of organizing and conducting a wedding in Gillespie County, Ada and Regan were able to answer some questions about their engagement and wedding day.
How did you meet?
“I (Ada) was visiting a friend in Fredericksburg and went out to dinner at Hilltop Café. Regan was there that night and was our waiter, and I thought he was really cute. And then, I thought he was even cuter when later in the evening he went up and played some music.”
What was the wedding venue that you picked?
“The wedding venue was Contigo Ranch out there on Lower Crabapple (Road).”
What was appealing about Contigo?
“We picked that venue for two main reasons. One, they had a lot of lodging on site. All of our family and friends from out of town could stay together and turn the event into a weekend affair. We could maximize our time together celebrating. The second reason we chose it, is that it’s a really beautiful space that highlighted the outdoors, and we didn’t need to do much in terms of decoration because the space was just so beautiful.”
How did the wedding go?
“It went great! It was so magical. It’s really cliché to say, but it really was one of the most fun nights of my life just to have all of our friends and family, and folks that I’ve never met, all together.
“We had a huge cold front come in right before our wedding. We had to pivot our plans just a little bit.
But the wedding itself was so fun.
“All Regan’s friends are great musicians and they all played for the reception. Regan ended up impromptu deciding to jump on stage and play a couple of songs, as well.
“My family is all pretty Cajun, so we had some musicians play some Cajun music, as well, which is really fun for all the Texas folks.”
What time of year did you get married?
“We are coming up on our year anniversary. It was March 12. The temperature dropped 20 degrees two days before the wedding. It was fine the day of our wedding, but the day before was freezing cold. We got really lucky.”
Were there any snags or difficulties during the wedding?
“We had to change our rehearsal dinner two days before the wedding. We were supposed to have the rehearsal dinner at our house outside in Doss. But with the cold front we had to pivot. Contigo was incredibly helpful, and we had the rehearsal dinner at Contigo, itself.”
Would you recommend the venue to others, and why?
“I would totally recommend the venue. If it’s within your budget and you have folks from out of town, it really is an incredible venue. The staff is so kind and so professional and very accommodating.”
What advice would you give to anyone planning a wedding in the Texas Hill Country?
“For better rates, you can border the peak seasons.
We got married in March near to Spring Breaks and stuff was full. Guests had to really book their accommodations ahead of time, and transportation was booked up. We were very cognizant about agriculture, so what the outside looked like for our wedding was very important to me. I was very aware that in early March, everything in the Texas Hill Country had a good chance of still being very dormant, so all the native grasses, the colors would be browns and tans and dark greens.”
Any general advice?
“I did a lot of DIY stuff. I would still do some of that. But the details in the end don’t matter. As long as you have the big important things in place, and you have cool friends and family that are going to have a good time, then the rest will fall into place.”
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