Laguna Gloria Bridal Photos
These photos were captured during several different photo sessions this year at the beautiful Laguna Gloria, a part of the Austin Museum of Art educational center, located near Mount Bonnell in West Austin off of Mopac and 35th Street. The AMOA Laguna Gloria web page states that the grounds include a 1920s style flat located on 12 acres of park land with approximately 1 mile of water frontage on the Colorado River. It’s a beautiful place, inside and out including statues, lots of plant life and a feeling of calm just around the corner from the bustling downtown Austin.
Bride Relaxing on Antique Furniture at Laguna Gloria
About Laguna Gloria…
“I have placed in what I consider a proper setting a number of really beautiful and graceful statues, which I was fortunate to obtain from one of the finest gardens of Old Italy, this to give an Old World touch to an incomparably beautiful Texas landscape and contribute a little dignity and formality to the riotous caprices of this violet crowned vale. ” – Clara Driscoll
According to the official AMOA – Laguna Gloria Brochure, Laguna Gloria offers a selection of historic sites, including…
A. Historic Wrought Iron Gates from the Texas Capitol
B. Putto Fountain from Rome
C. Amphitheater
D. Wishing Well From Tuscany (c. 1925)
E. Location of Old Cannon
F. Location of Old Sundial
G. Mission Bell
H. Garden of the Four Seasons
I. Sunken Garden
J. State Archeological Landmark (Native American Site)
K. Temple of Love
L. Historic Wrought Iron Gates From The Texas Capitol
[See Map at AMOA Laguna Gloria website]
Bride Gazes Out Glass Doors at AMOA Laguna Gloria in Austin
As the Austin Museum of Art’s original home, AMOA-Laguna Gloria Offers a unique experience of history, art and nature. This beloved site has been declared a national treasure and is on city, state and national registries of historic places. Visitors are encourage to tour the restored Driscoll Villa, stroll the lush 12-acre grounds overlooking Lake Austin and view the outdoor sculpture.
Inspired by Clara Driscoll’s Italian travels, her passion for gardening, her love of antiquity and her native state, the grounds of Laguna Gloria have been revived to Driscoll’s landscape plan of 1916. The interest in aesthetics over function in the garden is in keeping with an 18th century notion that landscape gardens be appreciated as three-dimensional, living works of art. In the early 20th century, it was fashionable to organize gardens around a particular concept with poetic references to antiquity meant to stir the intellect and emotions. In this tradition, Driscoll filled her garden with classical references to the passage of time – including the Garden of the Four Seasons, the Sundial Garden, and the Wishing Well, as well as the bas-relief Aurora, which originally hung over the exterior of the Villa above the east doorway.
Driscoll also transformed the site from its rough natural landscape to a carefully designed garden laid out in two distinct manners – the “beautiful” and the “picturesque.”
Bride Poses as Wind Catches Her Veil at Laguna Gloria
Information on booking and tours:
512.495.9224 X313
email: tours@amoa.org
Public tours occur each Saturday and Sunday at 1pm
Austin Museum of Art – Laguna Gloria
3809 West 35th Street
Austin, TX
Couple (bride & groom) Posing in Driscoll Villa of AMOA Laguna Gloria
Bride at Laguna Gloria
Bride Posing Behind Driscoll Villa at Laguna Gloria in Austin, Texas
Bridal Session Inside Driscoll Villa at Austin's Laguna Gloria
Bridal Photo Session at AMOA Laguna Gloria
Poll: Brides Use Internet For Wedding Vendor Searches
Where do brides go to find a caterer, photographer or other wedding vendor? In the past they’ve used the Yellow Pages, visited brick & mortar stores, attended bridal extravaganzas or asked a friend. But today the answer is clearly “The Internet”!
Jeff Kear and the gang at My Wedding Workbook (an online resource for wedding planning) recently conducted a poll that surveyed over 800 brides. They discovered that when searching for wedding ideas and information, brides go online. In fact, the top three kinds of pages that brides visit when researching for their wedding are wedding websites, wedding blogs and search engines (like Google).
flowers captured at an Austin, Texas Wedding
Here’s some great information taken from the My Wedding Workbook article:
Generation Y and the Millennials have been using computers and the Internet practically their entire lives, so it only makes sense that these are the first resources they use when they start planning a wedding,” said Jeff Kear, owner of My Wedding Workbook.
In fact, when brides were asked what will be their main source of aid throughout the wedding planning process, the Internet (17.8%) ranked just behind brides’ fiances (28.4%) and their mothers (21.3%) – one of the more interesting statistics from the survey.
And what do brides specifically look for when they are surfing the Web? The top items are wedding advice and how to’s, planning tools, wedding attire, floral and decor, and photography/videography.“It’s no surprise that wedding guidance and shopping are definitely the two areas of most interest for online brides,” says Kear. “However, the recent recession has made brides even more reliant on the Internet for assistance in these two areas. Brides are more budget conscious than ever, so they are planning more events and details themselves and need more guidance. They are also spending more time comparison shopping and browsing for bargains, and the Internet has become the default venue for comparing prices and vendors.”
Likewise, it’s also critical for brides to do their homework in evaluating vendors they have discovered online. “Don’t just rely on the ratings on websites, as they might be unfairly weighted toward positive or negative reviews,” says Kear. “Instead, ask your friends who have planned weddings, pose questions in local online forums and even talk to vendors who you have already found and trust. I guarantee a caterer has already worked with a florist they admire, or an officiant knows of a great wedding coordinator who they would recommend. The Internet can be helpful, but there’s no substitute for word-of-mouth.”
The complete online system for planning a wedding, My Wedding Workbook offers a step-by-step process for planning and sharing your wedding, from the proposal all the way through the honeymoon. Included in the system are dozens of wedding planning tools, a wedding website, guest email communications center and dozens of tip sheets and checklists that walk you through the whole wedding planner process.
You can contact Jeff by email at jeff@myweddingworkbook.com or by phone at 1-877-266-3885.
Source: My Wedding Workbook
Finding A Wedding Dress In Central Texas
If you are newly engaged and you’ve already secured a location for your wedding, then your next step will probably be gown hunting. You may have been dreaming of an elaborate, fairy tale wedding since you were a girl or you may be looking for something a little less formal; Either way, before you begin there are a few questions you’ll want to ask yourself:
1. What kind of bridal gown do I want?
2. How much do I want to spend?
3. What is my body style?
Wedding Dress Waiting To Be Worn
First, let’s address our self-imposed questions. Do you want a formal gown or just an elegant, informal dress? How you answer will likely determine how and where you shop. These days you have endless options for where you buy clothing and there are advantages and drawbacks to where you shop. If you shop online you may have a wider variety of dress/gown options; however, one major disadvantage of shopping online will be determining whether you and your dress/gown are a good fit.
Next, include your estimated gown cost in your wedding budget. If you are patient, flexible and shop around there are great deals to be found. I recently heard a bride tell of finding a $900 designer dress on clearance for $75. Was the dress her first choice? …probably not, but in all likelihood she was open-minded, tried on the dress because it was beautiful (or heavily discounted) and perhaps she liked the way it looked on her – which is of the utmost importance.
Finally, know your body type and aim for a dress that will accentuate your shape and style. I’ll leave this topic to the fashion experts. Here’s a great article that briefly touches on body types and dresses styles that match by the knowledgeable folks at I-do.com – Australia.
Wedding Dress Illuminated By Natural Sunlight
If you live in a medium-sized or large city you’ll have more options. I encourage my clients to shop locally, but don’t settle for less. The media blitz of negative news about the economy has everyone scared to leave home in fear that they’ll lose their job or spend money that they should be saving. But that doesn’t mean you have to settle for a dress you don’t like. Be sure to check out all your bridal boutique options. Consignment stores are very popular amongst brides who want to save these days and although consignment is often a euphemism for “used”, consignment stores typically have a high standard for the merchandise the peddle.
List of Online Bridal Stores:
Romantic Gowns, House of Brides, Wedding Dress Online, Isabella’s, Bargain Wedding Gowns, the list goes on and on…
List of Brick and Mortar Bridal Stores:
David’s Bridal, Alfred Angelo, Nordstrom, Georgio’s Bridal, Priscilla of Boston, Bridal Mart (North Carolina Only), and others…
Local Bridal Designers (Central Texas):
Unbridaled, Adelle’s Bridal Boutique, Balina Bridal, Serendipity Bridal, Alexia Gavela Bridal, Melange Bridal LLC, Belle Saison Bridal, Coutures by Laura, Designer Exchange, more…
Unbridaled unbridaled.com - (512) 444-2743
Adelle’s Bridal Boutique adellesbridalandquinceanera.com
Balina Bridal http://www.balina.com - (512) 719-5900
Serendipity Bridal http://www.serendipitybridal.com
Alexia Gavela Bridal agbride.com - (512) 419-7818
Melange Bridal LLC http://www.melangebridal.com - (512) 345-8780
Belle Saison Bridal bellesaisonbridal.com - (512) 452-1199
Some minor details to remember:
-Not all dresses are sized the same; some vendors like David’s Bridal use European style of sizing, which varies from what you might find elsewhere. In all likelihood, your dress will be a size or two larger than you expect because of size discrepancies amongst designers.
Black & White Wedding Dress W/ Long Train
-You can engineer a dress using an online dress creator here: Wedding Dress Creator
-The Knot has a Wedding Dress Cost Calculator based on inputs such as dress style, price range, designer and more.
Bride Showing Off Dress At The Driskill Hotel
Bride Poses Between Barn Doors In Country Setting
