Today we’d like to introduce you to Stacey Hogge.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’ve always been an event design creative. Dreaming up a space, setting a table, making a room feel like a moment: that’s what lights me up. After 9/11, I opened my first business, Petal Pushers, and that creative work is really how our wedding businesses got started.
The Creek Haus property belonged to a friend of my dad’s, and growing up I always dreamed of buying it. Years later, Joe and I finally did.
Joe and I have been married 30 years, and we’ve built a handful of businesses together here in Dripping Springs: Vista West Ranch, 12 Fox Beer Co., and The Creek Haus. The Creek Haus sits in a quiet valley off McGregor Lane, about a mile from Vista West Ranch. We wanted a place where people could actually stay, not just show up for a few hours and leave.
When we opened in 2015, there really weren’t options for weekend-long wedding gatherings. The concept was new to the wedding industry, and people loved it. We booked 34 weekends our first year.
Our very first wedding was Memorial Day Weekend 2015, the weekend of the huge flood. It was a baptism by fire (well, water!), and it taught us right away that what matters most is taking care of people when things don’t go as planned.
Today The Creek Haus is a 4-day, 3-night retreat with indoor and outdoor event space for up to 150 guests and lodging for up to 70 on site. We host weddings, wellness retreats, and groups who want the Hill Country to themselves for a few days. It’s also the place we see ourselves growing old, so we treat every guest like they’re coming to our home.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not even a little bit smooth, and we wouldn’t trade it! Our very first wedding landed on the Memorial Day flood of 2015. Nothing tests you like watching the creek rise with a wedding party on the property. We got everyone through it, and that weekend set the tone for how we run things: stay calm, take care of people, and figure it out together.
Beyond that, the hardest part has been wearing a lot of hats. Joe and I run several businesses at once, and for a long time I was the one holding every piece of it together: bookings, contracts, bookkeeping, marketing. Learning to build systems so the business doesn’t depend on me answering every single email has been a big lesson.
Marketing keeps changing too. What worked on social media a few years ago doesn’t work the same way today, so we’re always adapting how we share our story and reach couples and retreat groups who are looking for something different.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
The Creek Haus is a Hill Country retreat in Dripping Springs built for weekend-long gatherings. Instead of renting a venue for a few hours, our guests get the whole property for a 4-day, 3-night stay, with indoor and outdoor event space for up to 150 and on-site lodging for up to 70. Your people wake up together, eat together, celebrate together, and nobody has to drive back to a hotel at midnight.
We host weddings, wellness retreats, and groups who want the Hill Country all to themselves. We pioneered the weekend wedding concept when we opened in 2015, and it’s still what we’re known for.
What sets us apart is that we’re almost all-inclusive. Bartending and month-of coordination are built into the rental, not tacked on as extras, so couples and planners aren’t nickel-and-dimed. And because we’re a family business, you’re dealing with Joe and me, not a corporate events team.
We’re also part of a little Dripping Springs family of places. Our sister venue, Vista West Ranch, is just down the road, so couples can have their wedding at the ranch and keep everyone overnight at The Creek Haus. Our brewery, 12 Fox Beer Co., is a favorite spot for rehearsal dinners and welcome parties.
What we’re most proud of is the feeling people leave with. Guests tell us it felt like coming home, and that’s exactly what we want.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Build systems from day one. When you’re small, it’s easy to keep everything in your head and answer every email yourself. I did that for years, and it works until it doesn’t. Write down how you do things, put your pricing and policies in one place, and set things up so the business can run even when you step away. I wish I had started that much sooner.
Second, don’t be afraid to do something nobody else is doing. When we opened, weekend-long weddings weren’t really a thing, and people told us it was too different. It turned out to be exactly what couples were looking for.
And protect your time with your family. The business will take every hour you give it. Decide what’s sacred, whether that’s mornings, dinners, or time with the grandkids, and guard it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thecreekhaus.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecreekhaus
