Today we’d like to introduce you to Marilyn and Bill Orr. Them and their team share their story with us below:
Marilyn and Bill met online 13 years ago this April. It was during that time in their courtship that they realized they shared a dream for a wellness venue! They wanted to create a place for guests to rest and be restored, a place to heal and let the land rejuvenate them. At the time Bill was living in western Massachusetts and Marilyn was in Eastern Canada (New Brunswick).
Fast forward 13 years and the dream has become a reality!
Bill’s daughter met a Texan and they wanted to be married in the Texas Hill Country. Bill and Marilyn flew into Austin from Canada to help with picking a venue and fell in love with the Hill Country. It also made incredible business sense to create a venue designed for both wellness and weddings.
In 2016 they secured the 20 acres that is now The Cedars Ranch. Then started the design work for the whole property and for the buildings, clearing land, creating the business plan and dreaming about how the land could support the wellness of individuals, couples and organizations.
By the fall of 2019 construction for Phase 1 was complete and the first few weddings were hosted.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road has not been smooth. There were challenges with financing. We are grateful for local banks that are willing to support their local community!
As is so often the case construction costs went over budget. There was pressure from many angles to cut out some of the sustainable aspects of our design – e.g. solar panels, Tesla batteries, and rainwater collection. These are core values for The Cedars Ranch and we are grateful that we found a way to stay true to building sustainably
Five months after our first wedding COVID hit. Weddings went on hold – some were canceled, many postponed, etc. Being able to market our venue became exceedingly difficult. Due to our financial structure, we were not eligible for any government funding.
What was such a lifesaver was that in Phase 1 we had constructed an Eco Luxury Yurt. Once people felt comfortable getting out a bit more the yurt became very popular and was booked at 100% capacity. That demand and the need that the yurt was meeting for people led us to more quickly add additional accommodations. First, we added a Coleman-equipped Tentrr site with a platform safari tent. Next we added two geodesic glamping domes.
Once again, construction proved challenging since “snowpocolypse” happened early on in constructing the domes. This meant quite a few extra months before construction was finished and doubled costs.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about The Cedars Event Center, LLC (dba The Cedars Ranch)?
The Cedars Ranch is situated on twenty acres of Texas hill country land with meandering live oak and cedar trees outside the charming hill country town of Wimberley, TX. It is a short 45-minute drive southwest of Austin, The Cedars Ranch is a beautiful nature-focused venue for celebrations, and both personal wellness retreats and corporate team building events. It features inspiring modern architecture and gorgeous green design, in a beautiful rustic setting.
The Cedars Ranch has been thoughtfully designed to include a range of unique indoor and outdoor spaces for your special event. Designed by award-winning architects, our venue includes our gorgeous modern great hall, beautiful tree-lined plaza, high character event bar, luxury eco yurt, geodesic domes, camping, an enclosed flower garden with gazebo, and picturesque outdoor ceremony/gathering sites under majestic live oaks.
We love that the venue highlights the natural beauty of the hill country, including native plants, prairie grasses and incredible trees. Intentional design around the land’s features is something we are so proud of. Each building has biophilic features connecting guests to nature – natural light, airflow, hearing nature and close connection to the land. Our green design elements also mean that on a regular basis we are contributing energy to the local grid – this was so important and powerful to see when Texas grid was in jeopardy during the big storms of 2021.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Don’t be shy about asking people questions! We came to this business from very different lines of work (Bill was a Cadillac dealer, Marilyn is a business coach) and knew we needed support. That saved us. We found people both inside and out of our new industry so very willing to help.
To us a good mentor is someone with experience but also willing to ask us questions and draw the wisdom out of us. We had those people – it did not come in one person but many.
We made use of having a team coach and we surrounded ourself with very smart people!
Contact Info:
- Email: MarilynandBill@TheCedarsRanch.com
- Website: https://www.thecedarsranch.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecedarsranch/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheCedarsRanch
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpylBeMpOBfaMLz_LRqLfyg
