Wedding Scout

Ready to rock? Check out these pro tips before you book a band! 🎸 For more actionable ideas to save money and time, check out WeddingScout.com

Planning your wedding at Canyonwood Ridge? Here’s how couples are using the space in unforgettable ways:

1. Oversized Bridal Suite → Glam Time
Photographers love the natural light and neutral tones, while brides love peeking out the large windows to watch their guests arrive. It’s one of the few bridal suites spacious enough for larger wedding parties so plan to spend your morning getting glam onsite.

2. Front Circle Drive → Baraat
The front circle drive sets the stage for a lively baraat procession or an epic sparkler send-off.

3. Pergola → Mandap or Chuppah
The venue’s gorgeous pergola is included and serves as the ideal framework for a mandap (Hindu weddings), a chuppah (Jewish weddings), or any custom ceremony structure.

4. Oak Grove → Formal Photos
Just outside the bridal suite, the oak grove is a favorite spot for first looks, wedding party portraits, and family photos.

5. Main Hallway → Seating Chart & Photos
A wide hallway runs through the center of the property, connecting the sanctuary, restrooms, and reception hall. We love how this couple transformed the large, neutral space into a backdrop for their seating chart and engagement photo display.

Major shout out to the team at -- these images are gorgeous!

For more venue insights and planning strategies, visit weddingscout.com.

As a wedding planner, I often ask my couples to list their top spending priorities. The most popular categories are great music, full bar and awesome food, and photography.

What are your top three spending categories?

Over the next five years, researchers predict more couples calling the shots (and footing the bill). Unlike previous generations, many couples in the U.S. are covering their own wedding costs.

With dual-income households also on the rise, couples are investing in what truly matters to them—like high-quality catering and destination wedding locations.

The secret to a photogenic wedding setup? Prioritize an experienced wedding planner and photographer who know the venue well. I get that sounds obvious, but hear me out:

I've planned over 30 weddings at Laguna Gloria. Here are my favorite event flow tips...

1. Hydration Station
Guests appreciate a welcome drink at any outdoor venue, especially here. Set the table near the entrance so guests cool off before the ceremony.

2. Bar Inside the Villa
May through September, place your main bar inside to provide shade for your bartenders and encourage guests to explore inside.

3. Accent Pillows
The glass-enclosed alcove is an ideal spot to incorporate accent pillows in your wedding colors.

4. Cake Inside -> Fountain
It's critical the cake is inside so it doesn't melt or attract bugs. At the end of dinner, move it to the fountain so all guests can witness the iconic wedding moment.

5. Dinner on the Path
The long gravel path can fit nineteen (19) 8-foot tables on the level gravel. This setup works for a family-style dinner or plated meal. I do not recommend buffet at this venue.

6. Shade Seating
Some spots on the path get blasted with sun. Place older guests in the areas guaranteed to offer shade.

7. Sneaky Sunset
The fountain is an ideal toast location—slightly elevated so everyone can see the speaker. However, the sun sets in the west (behind the hills) so assume it will get dark 20 minutes before whatever the internet says.

8. Patio Dancing
The concrete patio is ideal for dancing—especially if you have a DJ. If it rains, the raised concrete patio is your best bet for avoiding mud.

Share this with someone you know who is considering Laguna Gloria as their wedding venue!

For even more tips (and a sample event timeline) go to: www.myweddingscout.com/laguna-gloria-austin-wedding-tips/

p.s. I highly recommend as your photographer! Check out her work at https://wisteriajade.com/

🚨SHARE with anyone getting married in the next year! The looming tariff war with the EU could have huge consequences for the US wedding market. Trump’s current threat is a 30% tariff on most goods imported from the EU. He is meeting with EU officials this weekend for additional negotiations. Wine importers and distributors in the U.S. are particularly worried, as European wine accounts for a large portion of their sales.

So if certain brands are important to you, stock up now.
🍷Spanish, French, or Italian wine
🍾 Champagne
🥃 Scotch or Irish Whiskey
🍸 Bombay or Tanqueray Gin

Share w/ your engaged friends asap!

📸 by

In the wake of the devastating Texas floods, many Texas venues open their doors for free to flood victims’ families. These beautiful locations across the state are being donated not for weddings— but for remembrances. For memorials, funerals and celebrations of life… at no cost.

We’ve built a growing directory of compassionate vendors offering free services for those affected. This is not just a list— it’s a movement of solidarity and hope.

🕊️Please share this post far and wide
👉 spaces4solace.org — updated daily
💬 to add your venue DM