The single full star goes to the owner, the prior manager, and the beautiful venue itself--the very people and place that made us fall in love with The Gardens at Old Town Helotes in the first place. Every other part of this review is a full-on warning about the new management company, Bluebonnet Events, and how their mismanagement, poor communication, and disregard for agreements ruined our wedding day. When our original venue canceled with less than six months to go, The Gardens felt like a blessing--it was stunning, close by, and run by kind, professional people who truly cared. We worked with Vickie, who was everything a bride could hope for: responsive, flexible, and understanding. She helped us stay within budget and even got approval from the owner to use our own caterer and self-serve setup, which we had already paid for elsewhere. Everything was perfect--until three weeks before our wedding, when I received an unexpected email from Amanda at Bluebonnet Events, introducing themselves as the new management and informing me they would now be my only point of contact. The email claimed all existing agreements would be honored--that turned out to be false. Within days, they demanded an additional $600 for security, which was already included and paid for, and also a cleanup crew, which had been previously approved to not have. When I challenged the charges and showed proof, they removed the fee for the security but insisted that our catering approval was invalid since it wasn't in writing. Despite our prior verbal approval directly from the owner, we were forced to pay another $400 for their cleanup crew, just weeks before the wedding. They knew we had no choice at that point--they had us cornered. Then came the wedding day itself, which should have been joyful and stress-free. Instead, Amanda interrupted us ladies while we were getting ready to complain about parking (for cars that weren't even ours). Then a "day-of-coordinator" appeared, also interrupting me getting ready, even though I had been told that a day of coordinator would not be provided unless we paid extra. I was happy to have this help, but unfortunately she didn't follow my instructions at all. She was either unaware of or completely ignored my plan to walk down the flat, accessible pathway to the aisle and forced me, in heels and a ballgown, and my uncle, who was escorting me and should not be going up or down stairs, to climb down a steep set of stairs and an uneven set of rocks they considered stairs. It was awkward, unsafe, and humiliating. The ceremony itself was lovely thanks to our family and vendors--but the reception quickly became chaos. From the moment we walked in, we were rushed nonstop. It made no sense until later, when my husband explained to me that he was told that "by contract," the event had to end at 9 p.m. or we'd need to pay another $400 to continue--even though our signed contract clearly stated we had the venue until 11 p.m. By then, we were exhausted and out of options. The staff began pushing guests out early, ruining our last dance and cutting short the night we'd dreamed of for years. We had definitive plans to pack any leftovers to bring home to our house, but we were so rushed (as if we were expected to not only end the wedding at 9 but also have all cleanup done at 9 as well) that we didn't even get to do that. We just had let one of the vendors take it, which in hindsight was probably close to several hundred dollars' worth of food. When we looked back at the contract later, our suspicions were confirmed: management had simply scheduled their crew until 9 p.m. and tried to pressure us into paying more so they could leave early. Our guests felt uncomfortable, our timeline was destroyed, and one of the happiest nights of our lives now carries a permanent stain. In short--the venue is beautiful, but the new management is absolutely not trustworthy. If you're considering this venue, I strongly urge you to verify every detail in writing and triple check who you're dealing with. read more

My husband and I had the most amazing wedding at this gorgeous venue a few weeks ago!! Vicki was so nice and super responsive to all of our questions. The bride's house was a really nice touch and a great place for my bridesmaids and I to get ready before the wedding. Everyone had an amazing time and I'd highly recommend this venue for weddings! Also, I'd highly recommend going with Thirsty Bear Bartending, the preferred bartending service for The Gardens At Old Town Helotes. The bar was full all night! read more

Gardens at Old Town Helotes - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Helotes, Texas

Amazing experience. Natasha and the 3 gentleman that were there all evening were absolutely great! This venue is gorgeous. read more

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Such a beautiful wedding venue with a beautiful garden area which is perfect for beautiful photos for an outdoor ceremony. So happy to have had the opportunity to check this place out for one of my friends wedding not too long ago and was impressed with all aspects of the venue. read more

Gardens at Old Town Helotes - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Helotes, Texas

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This place is small but quaint. It's a great gem hidden in Old Town. Honestly this whole town is a gem, the owners are so friendly and helpful. It's quiet here which is great. I recommend stopping by and checking it out as well as the rest of Old Town. read more

Gardens at Old Town Helotes - Old Town Gardens :) - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Helotes, Texas

I am so sad that I am the first person to review this wonderful space! This is a hidden gem in the Hill Country. I am originally from this area, but my husband and I live in Dallas. I wanted to originally get married in Boerne, but it was too far spread out for all of our out of town guests. We were going to get married in a Catholic church so this place in location to the Gardens was less than a mile drive, which we arranged for shuttles to get from hotels anyway. I used the outside area of the venue and it was exceptional. We had a count of a little over 200, but with the end number around 180-190 it was perfect to use the round tables with 8 chairs instead of 10! The number one compliment we received from our wedding was how gorgeous the venue was with the background and ambiance. The GOTH family was wonderful, especially Vicki. She even went out of her way to send us a gift from our actual registry. I will be attaching some photos and honestly they speak for themselves. I would give this place 10 stars for everything. Price, Service, Venue and amenities. This place played one of the largest parts in our wedding and it truly was the best day of our lives. The most important thing to us was to have great food, photographs and location and this place made our dreams come true. read more

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We had our wedding at the Gardens on October 7. Vicky and Ken were SO helpful, polite, accommodating, and easy to reach. We had a large wedding with over 200 people in attendance, and they made sure everything went perfectly. Their contract is very clear, and you get SO MUCH with the cost of the venue rental- they don't nickle and dime you like other wedding venues do. They were also very flexible, which meant that we could choose all of our own vendors (though they did provide an excellent list of vendor recommendations, some of which we did choose). The grounds and house are beautifully taken care of, the bridal cottage is to die for- and most importantly, Vicky was always available when I needed to ask her a question. Planning weddings can be so hectic. Gardens at Old Town Helotes truly made my wedding a smooth process on their end, and it turned out beautifully. My new husband and I would choose the Gardens all over again. Good luck! read more

This place is a hidden gem. I went to a wedding on Saturday and had a terrific time. It was an outdoor wedding with lush landscape and mature oak trees keeping everything nice and shady. There is enough room for at least 100 people and a good size dance floor. The catering staff, bartender and the owner were very nice and accomadating. Highly recommended. read more

GO CHECK OUT THE VENUE MORE THAN ONCE! Check out their open house. It's beautiful! Jamie was our wedding venue coordinator and I cannot rave about her enough! She made sure everything fell into place and scheduling times were met. Jamie, Vicky, and Kent do a wonderful job of keeping the place as lush and colorful as can be, with the Texas Hill Country background adding that final outdoor-country feel. I love the venue. I couldn't have asked for a better place to have our wedding. The pergola is the focal point for the bride to meet her groom. It's surrounded by beautiful scenery and plenty of seating to accommodate guests of all numbers. I had a summer wedding and was able to provide guests with chilled water outside of the seating area. The deck is perfect for the cocktail hour and both outdoor and indoor hold 250 people. The outside land has a swing bench and little bridges, cute enough to take pictures. Go with Gardens of Old Town Helotes! read more

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We had our wedding at Gardens on Sept 23. Working with Vicki was easy, she is so sweet and caring. She didn't mind our million questions, and always was there to help. The Venue itself is amazing. We received so many compliments about how beautiful it was. The indoor/outdoor setting was perfect for a early Fall wedding. The Bridal Suite really sold the place for me. We had 10 ladies getting ready all at one time and we never felt cramped. The guys had a little sun room off the main room to get ready in and it worked well for them, as they could then keep an eye on schedule and vendor deliveries. After dark this venue truly shines! The lights in the trees, outdoor dance floor, music system in the trees... Amazingly romantic! Sara worked our event and was so sweet and helpful. She kept us on schedule and was amazing! Thank You Gardens Crew for an amazing event! It truly was the Best Day Ever! read more

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