The old oak survived.

No one knows for certain how old this stately tree on the bank of the Blanco River near Wimberley is—estimates range from 300 to 700 years—but it survived the devastating Memorial Day Flood of 2015. And so did the most unique wedding and special events venue in this neck of the woods: Old Glory Ranch.

Old Glory had about $700,000 in damages from that flood. Owners Charles and Suzanne McCord did what they had to do to survive and make the ranch thrive once again.

“It was so overwhelming and daunting,” Suzanne says. “But we have made peace with the river. We’ve had several dove releases at the river. We’ve even had some weddings at the Wedding Deck since the flood and we are very proud our old cypress tree survived.”

That ancient, huge cypress looms over the Wedding Deck, adjacent to a scenic rapid on the river providing soothing sounds.

“We are milling trees that were knocked down in the flood—cypress, pecan and some black walnut,” Suzanne says. They will be made into small items like salad bowls.

That repurposing is something the ranch has had from the very beginning.

The McCords, of Houston, bought the 2,200-acre ranch as a second home in 1984. They moved to Wimberley and Suzanne started the wedding venue in 1997.

The couple’s friend, Hila Murchison, wanted to get married at the ranch. They built a deck on the Blanco and a pavilion. Due to flooding the week of the wedding, the deck couldn’t be used for the ceremony and Hila was married to Jody Graham on the spot where the Chapel Hall and Chapel Patio are now located.

“Weddings were held at the pavilion for a number of years until we built the chapel,” Suzanne says. “I wanted to have the same class of wedding as a country club. I wanted to move a chapel in but we couldn’t get one down River Road so we built one with old materials to look like an old church.”

She and Laura Weems, a life-long friend and business partner, designed the Chapel.

They got wood from three old houses to build the Chapel. Some of the items inside are antiques, like the baptismal font at the entrance and some of the stained glass windows.

The first window they acquired came from an old country church in Louisville, Georgia, and is at the end of the bar in the Chapel. The inscription on this window became Laura and Suzanne’s motto at the completion of the project: “She hath done all she could.”

The window over the front door and the window over the altar are both from a church that was demolished in Chicago. The only new art glass windows are the one’s in the entry, but they contain antique Tiffany roundels of cherubs taken from some old windows. The cloverleaf on the front tower and the lamb window at the end of the hall came from an old church in St. Louis.

The Shakespeare and Byron windows over the cake table, along with the transom window over the Main Bar, came from an old Knights of Columbus meeting place near Detroit.

The Chapel was finished in 2000.

The hall is expansive and may be used for used just about any event, from weddings to company retreats to concerts. The facility has a well-equipped commercial-grade kitchen, walk-in cooler, spaces for bride and groom dressing rooms, an office, two fireplaces, well-equipped bar facilities, and a state-of-the-art audio/video system complete with stage lighting for small productions.

It will seat 340 people for productions, meetings, or weddings, or accommodate in more than 250 inside for a seated dinner and even more people for a dance event.

“This building has a lot of integrity. The wood flooring came from a variety of old houses, including some from an old brothel in Brownwood,” she explains. All the white wood is old longleaf pine that they have repurposed.

“There are many wedding venues around the Hill Country, but they don’t provide the service we do,” Suzanne says. “We started in 1997 and we’ve never had anyone married here who went away dissatisfied.”

Here is an excerpt from a thank you note for a recent wedding:

“I am still on Cloud Nine from the beautiful and meaningful wedding the staff at OGR helped create for my daughter, Meg... It was simply magical. I have received so many compliments on how wonderful the property is at the ranch, plus raves about the decorations, flowers, donkeys and OGR’s helpful staff. Once again, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for making my daughter’s dream wedding come true. —A very grateful Mary Lou”

Old Glory hosts more than weddings. They have a variety events here, too, like the recent benefit for victims of that Memorial Day Flood. One of the featured performers was Sarah Jarozs, a nationally renowned musician and Wimberley native.

The ranch hosts business meetings, parties, carriage and wagon rides, hay rides, dances, and more.

And Old Glory is also home to the Republican Donkey Company. The miniature donkeys are used in numerous celebrations and special events, including wedding receptions.

“I’m stuck with it and proud of it,” Suzanne says of Old Glory with a broad grin. “We put forth a first class product.”

Old Glory Ranch is located at 3633 River Road in Wimberley.

For More Information: 512-847-3636, www.oldgloryranch.com