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Wedding Guide publisher offers shelter from the storm
 
San Antonio Business Journal by Tricia Lynn Silva on April 13, 2007

For more than two decades, Robert Lowman has been helping future brides find the perfect locations around town for their special day.

Lowman is the president of Wedding Guide Inc., which is the general manager of San Antonio-based Texas Weddings Ltd. -- which publishes the Wedding Guide in San Antonio and in Austin. Texas Weddings is also a sponsor of several Bridal Extravaganza events that are held in Austin and San Antonio throughout the year.

The guides and the extravaganzas draw in a myriad of businesses -- from hairdressers to caterers to event planners -- all wanting to lend their talents, perhaps even their place of business, to the wedding celebration.

"There are some great settings in San Antonio," says Lowman, as he walks the grounds of one of the city's latest venues that is vying for a bit of that bridal business: Granberry Hills.

The owner and creator of Granberry Hills is Lowman himself.

Granberry Hills is located on roughly 10 acres of land at 6390 Granberry -- about a half a mile east of Interstate Highway 35 and Weidner Road in Northeast San Antonio.

From the site itself, however, the interstate seems a million miles away.

It's just like being in the country, a place where a person can still look out at the stars, Lowman says.

And on those rare occasions when Granberry Hills isn't hopping with giddy brides, nervous grooms and their families, Lowman says he and his wife, Kristin, like to sit out there and watch the sun go down and enjoy the serenity of Granberry Hills.

It is that serenity that truly sells Granberry Hills, Lowman says.

"There's not that many unique venues in San Antonio," he says. "We offer something beyond the four walls of a hotel. The flowers, the landscaping -- people book here because they love the setting."

Granberry Hills features two glass-enclosed ballrooms, an outdoor arbor for the ceremonies -- even some pavilions complete with drop-down tent walls to protect guests from inclement weather.

The price for booking a wedding on the grounds starts at around $2,475 per event. That cost includes all of the set-up and clean-up chores. Wedding parties can also choose, for an added fee, to serve meals through Granberry Hills, which works with various contracted caterers in town, Lowman says.

The bridal parties also get something that's a little tougher to put a price on: Peace of mind.

Where does that serenity come from?

According to Lowman, it's about offering brides-to-be advice on the many details of staging that special day.

"(A wedding) is not necessarily the drama it's made out to be on these new reality shows," says Lowman, who, to date, has already hosted 150 weddings since Granberry debuted in 2003. "When people are educated (about their options), they can make a better-informed decision. That gives them a lot of peace of mind."

High-wire act

Behind the scenes, however, it's a whole other story.

"My people about kill themselves to do the weddings," Lowman says. "It's all about the attention to detail -- picking up cigarette butts from the party from the night before, picking up branches from last night's storm.

"Behind the scenes, we're scrambling," he continues. "But hopefully the guests never see that."

Not that Lowman would have it any other way.

"It's a labor of love," says Lowman, who also admits to thriving on the pressure of these events. "It's a high-wire act without a safety net. You either strive on the stress or it kills you." There's something else that keeps him in the game.

"My wife tells me it's temporary insanity," Lowman quips.

But so far, there's only been one wedding that has left Lowman a little -- as he puts it -- "frazzled." And that was the wedding last summer of his only child, Matthew David.

"It was my own excitement (about the event)," Lowman says. "I had a blast."

Just like Coca-Cola

A native of Baltimore, Lowman describes his background as a mix of sales and entrepreneurism.

In high school and college, he owned and operated a painting business. His employees were fellow students and teachers.

In June 1973, he joined Houston-based Gordon's Jewelers -- a job that ultimately brought Lowman to San Antonio.

After 13 years of working for somebody else, however, Lowman was ready to go it alone again.

In 1986, he established Wedding Guide Inc. and started the San Antonio publication.

Two years later, Austin's Wedding Guide was born.

Both magazines are published from Texas Weddings' headquarters: a 3,000-square-foot home on the grounds of Granberry Hills.

The guides come out twice a year. Each guide has a circulation of roughly 10,000 copies annually. Revenues for Texas Weddings -- which includes the guides, the extravaganzas and Granberry Hills -- in 2006 were in excess of $2.5 million, Lowman says.

And there's still more that Lowman wants to accomplish -- including branching out into the corporate arena with Granberry Hills.

"I'm not content with one piece of the pie," Lowman says.

The weddings and associated catering services, however, are a big piece of the pie, according to others in the business.

"(Weddings) are the hub of the future catering jobs," says Richard Ojeda, president and CEO of locally based Black Tie Affairs Catering Inc. "Those are the fabric of your future."

Ojeda is also the owner of Magnolia Gardens on Main and the manager of Leon Springs Dance Hall.

As for his own future, Lowman says he is content with his two Wedding Guides and focusing on making Granberry Hills a place for more than just bridal parties.

But never say never.

"I don't know if we'll expand. I never know if I'll get another wild hair," Lowman says. "I'd like to spend a little more time with my wife, do some traveling. My son and daughter-in-law are expecting their first child."

Lowman pauses, and adds: "But I've been a workaholic for 30 years. We'll see."

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