How to Plan a Downtown City Wedding in Texas
Downtown city weddings in Texas are some of our favorite types of weddings. The venues, the photo opportunities, the hustle and bustle of the city all make for an amazing wedding experience for our couples. Of course, our main goal is for you and your partner to have fun, and enjoy the entire day! Here are some tips for how to plan a downtown city wedding in Texas.
Natalie Nicole Photo | Texas Wedding Photographer | How to Plan a Downtown City Wedding in Texas
1.) Hire an Experienced Photographer & Videographer Team
First things first. Having an experienced vendor team will make all the difference in the world. Especially when it comes to your photo and video team. They’ll be the ones who can suggest locations for photos, help you create your overall vision, and give the best recommendations for venues. Be sure to hire a team that has experience in the downtown areas of Texas. Shooting in a metropolitan is not the same as shooting somewhere quiet and secluded. Your team will need the technical and overall experience with these types of weddings if you want to have the best memories possible.
2.) Hire a Professional Wedding Planner
If you don’t want to hire a full-fledged wedding planner, our recommendation is to at least hire a Day of Coordinator. A great coordinator will make sure that every vendor has what they need to be successful without much fuss. Your day will feel effortless and come together magically. Isn’t that every couple’s dream? They truly act as the glue seamlessly holding your day together, putting out fires that you didn’t even know were there, and they’ll be two steps ahead of you at all times.
Most wedding venues offer a venue coordinator for the day of your event. They are absolutely not the same as a Day of Coordinator, because at the end of the day, they have the venue’s best interest in mind, not yours. They’re there to advocate for the venue on your big day, so that’s who they’ll be looking out for. We would be more than happy to recommend planners and coordinators that we’ve personally worked with to make sure you have the best experience possible. See my “10 Reasons Why You Should Hire a Wedding Planner” on the blog!
3.) Choose a Downtown City Wedding Venue
Now onto the fun part. Choosing a downtown city wedding venue. There are so many gorgeous venues in Texas, it can be difficult to narrow them down. Here are a few of our favorites to check out:
Downtown Houston City Venues
Downtown Austin City Venues
Hotel Ella (Check out this “Elegant Austin Texas Wedding at Hotel Ella”)
Commodore Perry ( See this “Luxury Commodore Perry Estate Wedding”)
Downtown San Antonio City Venues
DOWNTOWN DALLAS City Venues
Questions to Ask Yourself When Choosing Your Wedding Venue
When choosing a wedding venue, ask yourself these questions: How many guests will we have in attendance? Does this venue match the style of décor we want for our wedding? Is this venue within our budget? Will we need to overextend ourselves or our venue team to make this venue what we want it to be?
This list of venues is just a starting point, and I would be more than happy to give you a personalize list of venues that I think would match the vision you have for your big day.
Make Sure to Think About Venue Accessibility
When planning a wedding in a heavily trafficked area, there are some things to think about in terms of accessibility. You might want to consider planning your event within walking distance from location to location, or hire transportation for your guests. Especially if you have friends and family coming from out of town, hiring transportation might be the best way to go. You don’t want to have your guests stressing about how they’re going to get from your ceremony to your reception! It also gets pretty warm in Texas in the summertime, so keep that in mind if you’re planning on having them walk from location to location. A great way to avoid this issue altogether is by choosing a venue that you’re going to have both your ceremony and reception at.
Schedule Fun Activities for You and Your Newlywed
I’m all about the couples I get to work with having fun. So why not schedule some fun activities for you and your partner to take part in before or after your wedding? After all, if you’re getting married downtown, you might as well take advantage of the amenities that the area has to offer. Here are some things that either our couples have done in the past, or we would love our couples to do in the future!
Schedule time to grab an espresso and run around town with your photographer after your first look. You’ll get most of your portraits out of the way before your ceremony, and you get to have a great time running around with your partner! This will also help calm the classic pre-wedding jitters since we’ll be having so much fun together. Bonus points if you want to make out in the coffee shop, ‘cause those photos would turn out pretty fantastic. ;)
Downtown parks: If you want more nature incorporated into your photos but don’t want to leave the city, we’ve got you covered. Parks in downtown areas can be beautifully designed while still being pretty accessible from your wedding venue. If you choose this route, I’ll give you custom recommendations based on what you’re looking for.
The historic part of the city: Most downtown areas have historic areas that have beautiful and intriguing architecture. This type of location will give the look of your photos so much character that you wouldn’t normally be able to achieve.
Enjoy Your Wedding Day!
Once you’ve done all the planning, it’s time to sit back, relax, and enjoy. Your vendor team will take care of everything for you, and you shouldn’t have to worry about a thing. If you’re ready to have me on board with you, I’d love for you to get in touch with me by filling out my contact form. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. In the meantime, check out my Pinterest for more downtown city wedding inspiration or check out the blog where you’ll find more weddings and tips and tricks for your wedding planning!
Wedding Vendors:
Planner: @eclipseeventco | Venue: @hotelella | Photography: @natalienicolephoto | Videographer: @jankidesaifilms | Hair + Makeup: @mistiquemakeup | Floral: @a2zfloralanddecor | Dessert: @michellespatisserie | DJ: @batcitybeats | Photo Booth: @ohhappydaybooth