Houston Wedding Blog

Venues We Love: The Phoenix Special Events Facility and B&B

Planning a wedding can be a stressful experience. Your wedding weekend shouldn’t be one. We love that The Phoenix Special Events Facility lets you buy out the entire site, including rustic-elegant event space, plus three charming bed-and-breakfast guest rooms, for an entire four days, at a very pretty price.

That means that you get from Thursday to Sunday to put the final touches on, fully enjoy, and even recover a little bit from your special day. And if you want to have all your wedding-weekend events in one place, you can do that, too. And what a place it is: 75 acres of picturesque countryside in Weimar, a mere 80 miles from Houston. You can enjoy a private pre-wedding celebration with your nearest and dearest, and the next day exchange your vows beneath a canopy of leafy oak boughs beside a sparkling lake, then dine and dance the night away, even treat your guests to a spectacular fireworks show, before retreating with your new hubby to the comfort of your private guest room. Without ever getting in a car.

The Phoenix is very accommodating to vendors, too—bring all your own, or use theirs. Owner and event coordinator Bruce Koehn is on hand to help you plan everything from start to finish, or simply help ensure that all runs smoothly on your big day. If you’re looking for comfort, relaxation and oodles of Southern hospitality for your Houston-area wedding, you really oughtta check out The Phoenix. Call Bruce at 979.733.0304 to schedule your visit—and tell him you found The Phoenix on the Houston Wedding Blog!

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I Do Soiree @ Hotel ZaZa: This Ain’t Your Mother’s Bridal Show

…though you’re welcome to bring her–she’ll love it!

Here’s the scoop: On Thursday, Oct. 14, Weddings in Houston is going to turn the concept of the traditional bridal show on its head, with the I Do Soiree @ Hotel ZaZa.

The deets are top secret until soiree doors open at 6 p.m. on Oct. 14—but believe us, they are JUICY. What we can tell you is that this show is going to be unlike any bridal event you’ve experienced. You’ll get to meet the city’s most innovative and fashion-forward designers, vendors and experts, and sip Z cocktails while you enjoy thrilling entertainment (along with cutting-edge bridal fashion, natch). It’s going to be a sensory environment that is as exhilarating as it is inspiring. And, of course, there’s ZaZa itself—one of the city’s hippest, most luxurious places to see and be.

If you’re looking for something beyond pleasing pastels and soothing violins, something truly unique for your once-in-a-lifetime occasion, this is the show you’ve been waiting for.

Tweet it, post it, show your friends who’s in the know. And more than anything,snag your tickets now (this one’s going to sell out fast), and GO.

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Weddings in Houston Magazine Wins Prestigious Design Award

We always knew the print version of Weddings in Houston magazine was a thing of exceptional beauty. And now Graphic Design USA, the country’s leading publication for design professionals, has acknowledged it, too. GDUSA just honored Weddings in Houston with a prestigious American Graphic Design Award in the “Cover Series” category. Congratulations WIH!

The award recognizes the fabulous January 2010 cover, shot at Hotel Sorella CITYCENTRE and featuring a super-chic model in a glorious Oscar de la Renta ballgown with a custom-made floral handbag from Darryl & Co, and the equally divine July 2010 cover, featuring an ethereal bride in a one-shoulder Augusta Jones gown, set in a “midsummer night’s dream”-like forest.

So KUDOS, Weddings in Houston design team. We can’t wait to feast our eyes on the upcoming winter issue!

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To Do This Week: The Bell Tower on 34th Open House (Today!), The Villa Rinata Open House (Tomorrow!)

There’s still time to RSVP for two totally fabulous Open Houses at two top Houston wedding venues. So do it. Now.

Photo by Evoke Photography and Video

This evening from 5-9 p.m., The Bell Tower on 34^t^h welcomes to-be-weds and friends to sip, snack and mingle with vendors in an atmosphere of Old World elegance and grandeur. Which includes a 30-foot-high water wall. Wow!

The Bell Tower on 34^th Bridal Open House

Wednesday, September 15

5 to 9 p.m.

901 West 34th St.

Houston, TX 77018

For more information and to RSVP call 713.868.2355 or e-mail

Tomorrow the Mediterranean-style Villa Rinata (Lordy, do we love those carved-stone arches and bubbling fountains—TOO romantic) invites brides and grooms to an oh-so-intriguing Masquerade Ball Open House. Be there for the magnificent décor, great music and unveiling of the venue’s brand-new Jewel Collection menus.

The Villa Rinata Bridal Open House

Thursday, September 16

5 to 8:30 p.m.

2840 Chimney Rock

Houston, TX 77056

For more information and to RSVP call 713.334.7765 or e-mail

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Real Wedding: Chic, Contemporary & Whimsical in Colonial Mexico

Houston Couple Carolina and Eric returned to Carolina’s native Mexico (where the groom had proposed on bent knee in front of the bride’s entire family the day after Christmas) for their late-spring destination wedding. He owns a hip Houston hair salon and she’s a fashionable public affairs pro, so naturally their wedding was super stylish, with the bride dressed in a custom gown of her own design and slinky Kate Spade sandals, and a fantastic reception at the contemporary Hotel La Purificadora in the colonial city of Puebla. But it was also warm, intimate and full of traditional and playful touches. Like the couple’s ceremony in an elaborate 17^th-century chapel. Or the place-settings decorated with beloved Mexican toys, or the mariachi-fueled after-party… Plus we love that the handmade invites came from a co-op of Mayan artists, and the wedding cakes–a different one for each table–came from the bride’s mom’s kitchen. Big thanks to Trung Huynh of Montage Photographers for his beautiful photos of this unique and magical wedding!

Venue/Catering: Hotel La Purificadora – Flowers: Edith Besenfelder (local artist) – Bride’s Gown: Custom (her own design) – Bride’s Shoes: Kate Spade – Groom’s Tuxedo: DKNY – Photography: Montage Photographers (with additional photography by Rene Grobet, Mexico City)

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