Our Rehearsal Dinner || Hoffman Haus in Fredericksburg, Texas

our rehearsal dinner // hoffman haus in fredericksburg, texas

George and I tied the knot in my hometown of Fredericksburg, Texas on New Year’s Eve 2020. I’m a tad tardy writing about our wedding experience, because I have so much to say about our special day! Every time I sit down to write, I get overwhelmed with memories (I’ll probably publish this blog post and go back to re-edit at least four times).

George proposed in September of 2019 on a rooftop in downtown Auburn and the wedding planning started quickly afterwards. As we discussed trying to set a date, we were juggling collegiate sports schedules, Marine deployment schedules and work schedules. It was quite the work-around, but we eventually settled on New Year’s Eve. New Year’s Eve has always been a special holiday for us, so it seemed like the perfect date!

Planning a wedding long-distance is a challenge. Thankfully, my parents still live in the Fredericksburg area and were able to tour venues for us and I was able to lean on some of my local resources (AKA: co-workers and friends who are well connected in the community). When it came time to plan for the rehearsal dinner, my in-laws flew in from Kentucky to tour different venues around town. After a number of venue tours, Hoffman Haus was the clear winner.

And our rehearsal dinner at Hoffman Haus was an absolute dream!

Hoffman Haus is located just off of the east end of Main Street, so you’re within walking distance of all things shopping and wine. Hoffman doubles as a B&B and venue, which was perfect for us as we had family and friends fly in from all over the U.S. Everyone was able to stay together in the same place! Logistically, this was incredibly convenient.

The day before our wedding, the temperatures dropped 50 degrees in two hours. George and his groomsmen ended up buying all of the pullovers available at Lady Bird Golf Course during their round of golf (meanwhile, the girlies stayed warm at the bridesmaid luncheon - no outdoor activities for us). The weather in Texas around NYE is always unpredictable. We joked during the wedding planning process that it could be either 70 degrees or 30 degrees. The week of our wedding, the weather forecast predicted snow on our wedding day. IN TEXAS! Growing up in Fredericksburg, I saw snow a grand total of MAYBE three times. George and I were thrilled at the possibility of snow.

As one can imagine, being a bride of the year 2020 was incredibly stressful. Much of my December month was spent in tears. The day of our rehearsal dinner, I finally felt a sigh of relief. We could finally enjoy the celebration.

Everything about the night was twinkly and magical. My mother-in-law is a MASTER planner and worked with Emily Burgess from Hill Country Bride to make sure everything was beautiful and ran smoothly. Emily and I actually worked on a blog post together - Design Tips for a Bride on a Budget. Her tip “you should be the guest of honor at your wedding - not the host!” is one every bride should remember!

After our church rehearsal at St. Mary’s, we hopped back over to Hoffman Haus for a cocktail hour and beautiful dinner! Cartewheels catered our dinner and the food was FABULOUS. After dinner, we invited friends and family to share words of wisdom or give a toast. George and I were misty-eyed seeing all of our favorite people come together to support us in the sacrament of marriage. Although we had some friends and family members celebrating from afar, we felt the love!