Gruene’s One of a Kind Chandeliers
We truly love what we do. Our initial vision when we created Gruene Estate was to create a one of a kind wedding venue in the heart of the Texas Hill Country and Historic Gruene. As it turns out, creating the venue was the easy part! The wedding venue market is extremely competitive and copying other people’s innovation seems to be the norm. The hardest part is continually finding ways to re-create your brand and offer brides a one of a kind experience. This applies to all aspects of the business: customer service, the feel of the venue, and the overall experience of our brides.
About a year ago, we were looking for a new project and different ways to improve Gruene Estate. There is a large hackberry tree on the back fence line of the historic Gruene family home’s backyard, and this space has gone unused in past events. We wanted to create another piece of usable space in the yard area that would be unique to wedding venues. The 60 year old branches are spaced perfectly to hang lights on. Simple Edison bulbs aren’t innovative. The more we looked at the spacing of the branches, we realized that they would be perfect to hang chandeliers from.
The search for the chandeliers was long and thorough. We looked for a full year throughout the state and were able to find three chandeliers in Round Top that were roughly the same size and shape. Each complimenting the other and all of them being antiques. One chandelier in particular was significantly heavier than the others. Bigadyke Lighting Company rewired them for us and discovered that the heavier chandelier was actually made of solid brass! It dates back to the mid 1800’s and is a true gem. It is unclear who the manufacturer is, but the chandelier’s orgin appears to be French, as it has Rococo, Renaissance, and Gothic design elements which is characteristic of French chandeliers in the 1800’s.
The addition of these one of a kind Chandeliers at Gruene Estate created the perfect multi-use space. In the six months that they have been added to the venue, they have been used in a myriad of different ways. We have seen brides put a cake table under them, an additional food station, a boho hang out lounge area, a second bar area, and a photo booth. They are free for brides to use and are included in Gruene Estate’s wedding packages.
Our vision for Gruene Estate is to create a unique one of a kind wedding venue in the heart of Central Texas. Our staff and managers are consistently looking for ways to improve the overall wedding experience and historic venue. Our chandeliers at Gruene Estate have provided a multi-use space that is truly unique to wedding venues. We look forward to many more years of events and weddings and being a leader in the industry and market.
