Gardens at Old Town Helotes — Attraction in Helotes

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...

If I could give ZERO stars, I would...hence the one-star rating. They do not deserve a one-star rating. This place has not been very supportive of their customers during the Covid19 Pandemic. They have not taken into consideration the fact that more vulnerable patrons should not be exposed to large groups because of what is happening in the world at this time. I was a bridesmaid in a wedding that was supposed to take place on May 30, 2020. The bride contacted this venue in plenty of time in order to cancel and request a refund because she knew that it was not feasible to have the wedding because no one would show up due to health concerns. The bride paid for this venue in advance - CASH - and the owner at this property did not offer her any dates in the future, nor did he offer to give any of her money back. He simply said, "I will be here May 30th with the doors open." Basically stating I am not giving your money back and you can come have the wedding even if it is only the bride and groom although you have already paid cash for almost 200 guests. Please keep this in mind as you are choosing a venue in the future. We never know what the outcome will be with Covid19 and I advise you not to do business with people or companies that were not flexible during this time and are o.k. with keeping thousands of dollars from a fully paid customer who did not want to risk health concerns for her guests. DO NOT DO...

We had our wedding at Gardens at Old Town Helotes and the site is amazing! From the Brides House, Ceremony Area, Dining Reception Area, and The Gardens Grounds, will all blow your mind away! We received so many compliments on how the area was well lighted with sparky lights around the trees. It was romantic and classic! Perfect intimate setting with our guest count of 100 people. We opted in for outdoor ceremony, indoor dining, and outdoor dance reception all on the same site! Vickie at the venue was a pleasure to work with! She was very kind and gave a lot of great ideas when it came to setup! She has a preferred vendor list of numerous vendors in all areas that are top notch! I hired my caterer, decorator, beauty services, and coordinator from this list and they performed at 100%! My wedding day was not perfect but I didn’t even notice any of the mishaps which didn’t ruin any part of our perfect day , because Amanda our coordinator and Vickie took care of it all! I recommend This venue for all bride’s any time of the year! It was our...