Austin vs. Dallas?

TXAnn

I am so torn on where we should have our wedding and am in need of some advice!My fiance and I live in Dallas but we LOVE Austin.  We love the city, the venue we are in love with is in Austin (it's actually quite a ways outside of Austin city limits... like a 30-45 minute drive), and we are getting a great deal on the cake because FI is related to Judy from Simon Lee Bakery.  He has an aunt & uncle in Austin, and I do as well.The main reason we are torn is because of our out of state visitors.  Dallas is an American Airlines hub, so it will probably be easier/cheaper for them to fly in & out of.  I'm sure it will be more convenient to plan, as well.  My parents live in Dallas, so they are very pro-Dallas.  Most of our relatives have never been to Texas, and I think my parents were looking forward to having them see Dallas.We are just concerned we are being too inconsiderate to our out of town guests by having the wedding in Austin.  I know that it's our day and we should do what we want, but I just want to be considerate to those who will be traveling :)My apologies for the lengthy post.  I really appreciate and value what I read on here on a daily basis and wasn't sure where else to go for advice.  Thank you!

somethingsweeting

We're all a little biased here =DIf you're in love with the venue in Austin, do Austin. If people are traveling anyway, I'm not sure it'll make that much of a difference flying from Dallas or Austin. Incidentally, when we were booking our honeymoon flight (AA as well) our flight had us making a stop over in Dallas before heading to Belize. I thought "well jeez, maybe if we just fly straight out of Dallas it'll be cheaper." nope. Definitely a good $80 more expensive. I think it'll mean that your guests may have a short layover in Dallas, but probably not a big deal. They're flying one way or another.From a planning aspect, it probably would be easier to do Dallas. But it sounds like you have some good connections here to help you out. I think it's doable.Woah, I'm rambling. Bottom line: I say that it's good to be considerate, but if YOU want to get married in Austin, you should.

cmb12185

Agreed, if you love Austin do Austin.  I actually live in Dallas but am getting married in Austin as well.  What venue are you looking into?Same with the pp who mentioned flights might not be cheaper.  I have experienced the same thing.  Plus, like she said - if they are going to fly in, Austin or Dallas won't make that much of a difference.  I was worried NO ONE would come since we were getting married out of town and we have actually exceeded our estimated guest count.I've also noticed that weddings are a bit better priced in Austin than in Dallas.  I have friends getting married in Dallas having a hard time finding things in their price range where as I feel Austin is a bit more affordable.  I can also say the Austin boards are awesome and very helpful!

shanwalk2

No one. Seriously, not one single family member lives in austin. Only myself and DH live in austin (and even he didn't live in austin before we married!). I could not imagine it being anywhere else. My family is from the dallas area, his family is from the houston area - and austin was perfect because it made it a "destination wedding" for everyone except me and my close friends that live here. It was important to me for it to be here so I could do the majority of the planning. I knew if I did it in Dallas most of the decisions would have to be made by my mom. Not that she doesn't have great taste -- but I wanted my hands in everything. Austin is an international airport - it's no biggie for anyone to get here. And (in my opinion) it's eaiser to manuver than Dallas. Regardless, if you're hearts in austin - do it in austin. now... also.... none of what I typed above matters much if you're parents are paying. If they're paying the majority of it - my opinion is that they get to have the majority say in where the wedding is held. If you're paying... do what you want and what will make you happy.

erin&andy

Ok, so I'm with the other girls, if you love Austin and that's exactly what you want, then you should have the wedding in Austin.  The last thing you want is any regrets after it's all said and done.  And if the giests want to be there, they will - regardless of where you have the wedding. However, you are right.  Dallas is a hub and yeah, it's probably going to be cheaper to fly into just Dallas than to get a connecting flight to Austin (actually, it really does depend on how and when the guests get their tickets.  When DH and I went on our honeymoon we found out that it was $800 more to add a flight from Austin to Dallas than if we just drove to Dallas and went to Maui from there.  But our friend recently said that he got a flight to England and it was no more to add the connecting flight from Austin to Dallas).  Another thing to think about - you are planning the desitination wedding too since you don't live in Austin.  It is a task, but if it's what you want - it is so worth it.  Ultimately, you are not being inconsiderate to your guests no matter where you have your wedding.  The real question is what would ulitmately make you happiest?  Your FI?  If there are no venues in Dallas that you love and if you've always imagined yourself getting married here - then do it! Sorry that was so long!

LauraUT07

I had a similar dilemma when it came down to deciding where we would get married.  I'm from Dallas, my parents live in Dallas, my FI is from San Antonio and his parents live there and then the two of us live in Houston.  We met in Austin at UT and ABSOLUTELY love Austin.  So, I was really torn between Dallas and Austin.While my parents are paying for our wedding, my mom was very supportive of having the wedding in Austin.  We have a lot of family that live around Austin (or within an hours drive), and she was really looking forward to hosting everyone in a different city, as opposed to having 10+ people staying at our house.Plus, when I started looking at venues in both cities, I was just really drawn to everything in Austin moreso than Dallas.I don't know if any of this helps, but I completely understand what you are going through!  I guess your best course of action would be to talk it over with everyone invovled (your parents and your FI) and make sure you express what you want!

reddie36

I think a good point to make is also, for out of town folks - Austin is a much better city to visit than Dallas! Yeeeessss - I am biased and Dallas does have a lot to offer, but it's just different. Austin is the Capital - it's fun, smaller, but still lots to do and see - a day trip from San Antonio and outlet malls galore...it's like a vacation! Dallas I think would be less fun for your guests for a short weekend trip. So in the end you get what you want and it's more fun for the guests for perhaps a few more travelling bucks and a layover. Just my two cents!

TXAnn

Wow, thank you ALL for your wonderful and encouraging words! I feel much better about having our wedding in Austin now. We are paying for the majority of it ourselves, however our parents will be pitching in. In the end, I know they will be happy with wherever we want Austin is most definitely a better destination for our out of staters than Dallas, and I'm sure everyone will understand why we chose Austin once they visit! I don't know anyone who doesn't love Austin! @cmb12185 - Lakeway is our first choice right now, however we are going to visit with Vintage Villas this weekend just in case things with Lakeway don't work out (Lakeway has been slow to respond lately which we aren't too happy with...). Where are you having yours? Thanks again, ladies!!!

cmb12185

Both of the places you are looking at our beautiful!  We decided to go with The Terrace Club in Dripping Springs.  It's a bit out of town but beautiful.  And the coordinators there are SO very helpful and respond quickly to any questions which is a huge help since I am planning out of town.  If you don't mind being a bit out of Austin, I would definitely take a look at it.