so chancy pants and i started our hunt for the perfect wedding venue a little over a year ago. there are about 4 million and two in and around austin, so i had a feeling the task was going to be more difficult than the standard amount of difficulty one might expect to endure when trying to find the most special spot to have the most special moment on the most special day with all the special peeps... yada yada, special, yada.

the wedding will absolutely be outside. no ifs ands or buts about it. the only problem is, although austin has four seasons, those seasons are summer, summer, winter-ish, and perfect. everyone getting married in austin wants to get married outdoors during "perfect." needless to say, we had to start our search early.

i neurotically visited every single one of those 4million and two venues online, narrowed them down to too many, and we began visiting them in person. i took pictures of all of them and saved them for, like, nostalgic reasons or something.

it's obvious why this venue is fabulous.



it's the chapel dulcinea, over at the old wizard academy. uh huh, we have our very own hogwarts here in austin. kidding. read about them here, they aren't wizards. i don't think.






so yeah, it's beautiful, but the best part, it's FREE. uh huh, i said FREE, and i capitalized it. twice. the free part. well, obviously. you'd like to know why and i did all the work for you... click me.









now, the not-so-best part is this little excerpt from their policies:

"No food is allowed except wedding cakes. It's very important for you to leave the facility clean, so please bring your own trash bags and a broom. DO NOT leave drinks, food crumbs or trash in the pavilion. All rowdy guests will be evicted from the property. So don't let your friends get drunk.  If you want to have a wedding reception with food and dancing, you will need to use a different facility."

i AM the "rowdy" one in my group of friends. at least i used to be in a former life before i dove head first into a sea of baby diapers and up-all-nights. i plan to party like the rockstar i used to be at my wedding and this just won't do.... although being evicted from my wedding would really tickle my grand kids, can't do it. nope. movin' on.



it is gorgeous though, and if you're a person who can get married and not act like a fool afterward, i HIGHLY recommend it. did i mention that it's FREE?