Love of Family & Heritage Led Us to Build a Wedding Venue
Photo by Jake Holt Photography
ABOUT CARRIAGE HILLS RANCH
We are deeply committed to our family and the heritage of our family land. The love and ties we have to one another and the beautiful land we’ve been blessed with led to a natural desire to want to share it with others and add to our family.
A little history about our venue:
The owner, Christine, grew up on this “little piece of heaven,” and saw her children and other family members enjoy the land, too. The happy memories that were made by several generations of our family, along with the natural beauty of the land, led her to want to share it with others. As she has always been close to her family, she also wanted to help support her brothers with their carriage business. What better way to help her family, and also share this treasure in the Texas Hill Country, than celebrating the beginning of a couple’s new life together. Thus, our wedding venue, Carriage Hills Ranch, was born.
The first project Christine chose to take on was creating a gazebo overlooking the wet-weather lake with amphitheater seating. Next she designed and created the three-tiered terraces, a waterfall, bridge, and Texas limestone fireplace and patio area. The next loving task came when she transformed the over one hundred-year old family barn into a reception space. She did this by adding 5,400 square feet to the original barn. You can see the authentic Texas history of the past on the tin and wood walls.
You can see other elements of our history with the old tractor that was used by her dad to plow fields and is now used for many special photo ops. Our most recent addition of Texas history is the historic San Antonio streetcar that we refurbished in the spring of 2019. This streetcar, the 205, was used in the 1880’s - 1930’s as an important form of transportation in the city of San Antonio. It was left in ruin and, with a great labor of love by Christine, it has been brought back to life with as much history preserved as possible. Today it is used as an outdoor bar and appetizer area, as it’s equipped for bartenders and caterers to use, as well as a fun and beautiful gathering spot and photo area for you and your guests.
None of this venture would have happened without the love, support, and encouragement of her sweet departed husband, Frank. The two of them saw the venue go from an idea to a reality due to their hard work, vision, and love for each other. It’s truly a family affair, as brothers Kenneth and Dennis continue to lend a hand to Christine, and you may even see them on your special day, if you book a carriage ride.
As a family business you will find her daughters, Michelle and Sara, and their families, working hard for you and your special day. We are a family and staff that truly care for our couples and it’s our greatest honor when they feel that they have become a part of our family. We know how important your special day is, and you are not just another couple or another number to us, but someone we hope will consider us family.
We are thankful and proud to receive glowing reviews from our couples. Many of these reviews have allowed us to be selected as the “Couples’ Choice Award” winner on WeddingWire for SEVEN years in a row from 2017 - 2023. We are so excited and honored to have won the first ever award for “Blanco County - Best Wedding Venue” in 2022 and we’re thrilled to have won it again in 2023, along with numerous other awards for Blanco County. We are happy to announce we also won “The Knot Best of Weddings 2023.” We have also been selected and handpicked as “Best Unique Wedding Venue, Best All-Inclusive Wedding Venue, and Best Affordable Wedding Venue 2020” and “Best Picturesque Wedding Venue 2022” from Here Comes the Guide, and also from Wedding and Party Network as “Best of the Best” 2018 - 2022. We were also honored by San Antonio Weddings Magazine “Brides Favorite” for two years in a row from 2018 - 2019. We have been blessed with sweet and wonderful couples, whom we treasure, and we hope that we will be able to be a part of your special day, too.
Lo Caruthers Photography