Tom Richey PhotographyNewly Engaged? Let’s Start Planning!
Being newly engaged is an exciting and joyful time for any couple and their families. After the engagement, questions begin about the proposal and the ring. However, a little stress can enter into this Cloud 9 moment as thoughts turn to when and where the nuptials might take place.
Planning a wedding can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. It can be a wonderful time of dreaming of the endless possibilities with your fiance and families. Talk to one another about what you want in your big day to help align your vision.
Are you thinking an outdoor ceremony?
Maybe you prefer an indoor ceremony?
What about the reception?
The same choices loom and, of course, you do need to make sure that your venue has a Plan B.
As newly engaged couples begin to tour venues, many bring along their family and friends to help them with this big decision. They begin to envision their day, but sometimes they forget about a very crucial element. Most are focused on the size and the cost which are important, but the level of service should receive equal attention.
- Does the venue provide planners to help you choose vendors and stay on track?
- Is a day-of wedding coordinator included to help you facilitate your flawless day while your friends and family simply enjoy being together and celebrating?
- Does the venue help with your decor?
- Who is setting up and breaking everything?
Old Glory Ranch has all of these elements and more! Prime Winter and Spring dates are currently available, so book a tour with us today and allow us help you turn your dreams into a reality.
Murder Mystery Dinner Mayhem at Old Glory Ranch
Murder Mystery Dinner Mayhem at Old Glory Ranch happens several times a year. Although we are often known more as a wedding venue, we are having fun seeking out other ventures and creative ways to serve our clients as an event venue.
What is a Murder Mystery Dinner?
A Murder Mystery Dinner is a type of theater where audience members interact with volunteer cast members to solve a fictitious crime. Clues are gathered as suspects are interviewed by the emcee as well as questioned by other characters and members of the audience. The guests try to put the clues together throughout the dinner before the final review. To add to the fun, many people come in period dress even if they are not a suspect or witness.
The Evening’s Agenda:
- Gates Open and Guests arrive to check-in and to enjoy complimentary beverages, appetizers, and a bit of mingling.
- Dinner is served. As you enjoy the delicious meal, the crime is reviewed, suspects are introduced, and the interrogation begins.
- There is a brief intermission while dessert is served. You may mingle with the characters and see if you can glean any extra information. Top-notch detectives are on the watch throughout the night!
There are often a few casualties along the way, but always in fun!
- The plot thickens as the last of the suspects are questioned and the clues are revealed. Guests have a chance to confer with one another and then submit their guesses of who they think committed the crime before the guilty party can get away.
- The Big Reveal and apprehension of the “murderer” at the end!
After much laughter and shenanigans, the night draws to its inevitable end. We hope that you can join us to experience your own Murder Mystery Dinner Mayhem in the near future!
Check out “Murder Most English” on July 27th &
28th!
OGR’s New “Antique Truck”
An Antique Truck as Something Old?
Old Glory Ranch’s latest “Antique Truck” addition allows us to continue the bridal tradition of something old and something new. Our 1954 International Harvester R112 purchased originally by a farmer living outside St Louis was once a farm truck. I am quite sure it did not have an inkling of what the future might bring. It has now become a treasured vehicle at our Texas Hill Country venue, Old Glory Ranch, in Wimberley
Interesting facts about our Antique Truck:
- Bryce Engelhart purchased the truck in December 1985 for $3600.
- In the first four years, Bryce drove the truck 100,000 miles around the United States.
- It visited Steamboat Springs, Las Vegas, California, and all over Texas as well as the Midwest.
- The truck has attracted a lot of attention and has been well photographed and has even received a few movie offers.
- Bryce purchased tires for the truck in 1990 for $95 each and they lasted for 27 years. They had to finally be replaced in 2017 for $265 each.
- The truck was once maroon and at one time lay in pieces before becoming transformed into today’s version.
- Many adventures and memories made before Bryce finally made Wimberley his home in 1994.
The truck then became a popular departure vehicle for our newlyweds at Old Glory Ranch and as even helped a bride reach her ceremony at the Wedding Deck.
One of our most beautiful and popular departures involve the Antique Truck and gerbs.
Bryce recently retired to begin a new chapter in his life. He deemed Old Glory Ranch as a worthy place to leave his antique truck. We are so glad that he did so it can continue send our Old Glory Ranch couples off to their own unique adventures. We warmly welcome our new addition and look forward to all the new memories we will make together.
Bluebonnets Arrive at Old Glory Ranch
Spring is Here!
The bluebonnets have arrived at Old Glory Ranch. We know that spring is here when we peer out the front door of our hill country chapel and see an exquisite field of blue. Our Texas state flower, the bluebonnet, transforms our beautiful venue into a breathtaking portrait that adds a special touch to any wedding or event.
Wimberley brides choose April in hopes of having the field full of bluebonnets at their Texas Hill Country wedding. They do their research and try to lock in the perfect weekend for their dream wedding. Alas, only Mother Nature can choose the lucky one. Bluebonnets may bloom at the end of March or hide until April. It really is a gamble as to which weekend will prove to be the best and which bride is the luckiest. 
Bluebonnets are a huge part of Texas much like the clover is synonymous with Ireland. People love to drive around the hill country to find the perfect field of flowers for a quick photo.
We love the bluebonnets so much that we have “Miss Texas Moobonnet” watching over our bluebonnet field throughout the year.
Indian folklore called the flower a gift from the Great Spirit. Many of the men of the 27th legislature in 1901 wanted to go with the cactus or cotton boll. Instead they bowed to the ladies’ wishes and voted in the bluebonnet as our state flower on March 7, 1901. It was definitely a lady, Lady Bird Johnson, that played a major role in making sure we all have bluebonnets to enjoy every spring.
However it came to be, we eagerly await their arrival each year at Old Glory Ranch and love the unique hill country touch they add to all of our spring weddings and special events.
A New Year for the Wedding Deck Tree
A New Year for the Wedding Deck Tree
It is hard to believe that we are beginning a New Year. New beginnings are often a time of reflection to contemplate what we have achieved and things we have missed. We reminisce about the good times and try to regroup after the curve balls thrown by Mother Nature.
As we begin this New Year, we begin to think of our beautiful tree that has graced the Wedding Deck over the years since Old Glory Ranch was founded in 1997. We wonder about the stories it could tell.
The Wedding Deck Giving Tree
It has seen many beautiful weddings and witnessed the thrill of new and old relationships and whispered dreams and promises. The magnificent tree has also seen the change of many a season and the tragedy these seasons sometimes bring.
It experienced the Memorial Day flood in May of 2015 withstanding the powerful surge of water as it watch the destruction and devastation that followed. On a more positive note, it helped create a Winter Wonderland during the Wimberley “Blizzard” of 2017.
As we usher in the New Year, we hope to be as steady and strong as our beautiful Wedding Deck tree while we embrace whatever the year may bring. It makes us want to better prepare for the future and be the best I can be. We wish the tree could share and hold its own breakout session at our Old Glory Ranch Wellness Reset as we believe it has much to share and we have much to learn. Instead, we will place the future of our health in the hands of the very accomplished professionals that will be presenting on January 24th and 25th.
In the meantime, we hope the New Year will bring all of you multitudes of joy and happiness and endless memories of love and laughter. And if you should have time, please join us for our Old Glory Ranch Wellness Reset and perhaps visit our tree for a dose of wisdom as well. This estimated 500-year-old bald cypress is indeed “The Giving Tree.”
Miniature Donkey – Christopher Columbus
Our miniature donkey, Christopher Columbus, has his own unique story!
While Old Glory Ranch’s main focus is hosting amazing weddings and corporate events here in the beautiful Texas Hill Country, Suzanne McCord, owner of the ranch, also raises and sells miniature donkeys. These adorable creatures have become quite popular and are often seen at events wearing brightly decorated wicker baskets and serving as “beer burros”!
New Addition
A new addition arrived on Old Glory Ranch in the form of a miniature donkey. Named Christopher Columbus since he was born the day after Columbus Day 2014. His mother had a stillbirth in May of 2014 leaving us to believe she was no longer pregnant. A twin birth is uncommon with miniature donkeys. So we were a bit surprised when she gave birth in October to little Christopher. He was a pretty tiny little guy and was rejected by his mother right away. More than likely because of ‘animal instinct’ feeling that he wasn’t the healthiest of babies. In order to keep him safe, we stepped in.
We tried surrogate mother miniature donkeys. However, they also rejected him. This left us with only one option to give the little guy the fighting chance he deserved. Thus, Christopher became a ‘bottle baby’ . He had lots of surrogate ‘Mothers’ in the form of Old Glory Ranch family and staff members. They have fed him around the clock for many weeks.
He has delighted us with warm nuzzle greetings as we entered his pen to feed. In fact, he has stolen a bit of each of our hearts. If he could crawl in your lap, he would [he even tries!]! While his beginning proved to be a tough struggle that included a couple bouts of pneumonia, and other infections which required antibiotic injections several times a day, we felt he was pretty much out of the woods as he neared his 2 month birthday.
We had been told by our vet that he will probably be very small even as an adult. For the first few visits to the vet he rode in the Old Glory Ranch manager’s pickup, not the trailer, but in the back seat of the truck like the ranch dog!
Million Dollar Donkey
Suzanne often refers to him as the ‘million dollar donkey’. He is destined to be a permanent fixture here. One day he will earn his keep by becoming one of our working donkeys. Clients and guests of weddings and events can get to know him at their event. He continues to follow us around more like a puppy than a donkey. He likes to frolic and play with the other baby donkey who is younger than him, yet nearly twice his size!
When this piece was initially started, Christopher gave us an additional scare with yet another infection, so rather than having a sad ending to his story, we wanted to give him plenty of time to become what is ‘normal’ for him before finishing the first chapter of his story. He has proven to be quite a fighter and bounced back from that infection and celebrated his 4 month birthday earlier this week!
Today [2/13/14] he will be completely weaned from the bottle and will continue to frolic and play with his donkey, canine, and human friends. He’s really quite the celebrity even greeted one of the UPS drivers this week who was a bit surprised at the sight! We think he could be the first of his kind, a ‘dogkey’!
See more photos of our adorable miniature donkeys.
Tips for the Perfect Sparkler Exit
Perfect Sparkler Exit
Sparklers not only make a wonderful wedding exit for a Texas Hill Country wedding, but also great wedding photography. Old Glory Ranch found these very helpful tips from one of our preferred photographers, “Photo Jennette”. We wanted to share her perfect sparkler exit tips with you:
Today, we want to take a few minutes to highlight the best strategy for your perfect sparkler exit on your big day!
The big sparklers work best –
The larger sparklers last up to 4-5 minutes, and will give your guests time to light them and then give you time to make your exit before they go out. The shorter ones will do the opposite. Half of them will be extinguished by the time the other half are lit.
Lighters are bad, sparklers are good. –
We are certain if you have a wedding planner, they will already know this, but lighting on all 4 ends of the line with a lighter, and then having your guests light them off one another is the most effective way to spontaneously light 100 sparklers. For some reason, sparklers light each other almost instantly, while lighters take far to long!
Bride and Groom should be ready, but hidden.
Before anyone lights a single sparkler, all of your guests should line up and be ready to light their sparklers, and you (The Bride and Groom) should be in a designated, hidden spot that gives you easy access to your exit.
Have good help.
If you want to have a successful sparkler exit, you must have help. If you choose not to have a wedding coordinator, that’s O.K. but you still need good friends with organizational skills to help everyone get ready and lit.
BEST PRACTICE – Have at least two people from your wedding party who are “designated lighters.” They each light two sparklers and then put away their lighters. “Designated lighter one” starts at the front and “designated lighter two” starts at the end.
Using their lit sparklers, they should light a sparkler ever 6-8 guests and inform your guests to light off each other until they meet in the middle. Note: They should also let people know to hold the sparklers up and not to wave them around.
Make sure everyone is standing back.
These two helpers should know when their job is done, they need to give you the thumbs up and step into the line! It’s best not to start walking until your designated lighters are free and clear and you can have a clear path for your exit.
GO, GO, GO.
NO, NO, NO. Take your time!! Take all the time you want. You should happily mosey through the sparklers (soak it up and enjoy!), maybe stopping to smooch along the way if you feel like it.
This gives your wedding photographers plenty of time to capture the sparkler exit photograph that you are expecting. It also ensures you will safely make it through the line for sparklers.
So these are our most important tips for having the perfect sparkler exit from your wedding. Will they work perfectly every time? Maybe not, but if you follow these steps, your bride and groom exit will be far better than if you don’t. In the end, you will have an amazing memory from an amazing day and all will go safely and smoothly.
Take a look at Meredith & Toby’s wedding through Photo Jennette’s lens as she photographed a sparkler exit at Old Glory Ranch!
For your Old Glory Ranch sparkler departure, we recommend the ’36” Gold’ for a longer burn time. Our staff distributes the sparklers to your guests and assists with getting them all lit, providing instructions along the way. During that process, our day-of-coordinator has the couple tucked away awaiting their cue that the sparklers are all ‘sparkling’ and the guests are instructed by our staff to ‘hold them high’ for the couples safe exit on their wedding day!
