We recently got married at Los Encinos Hill Country Estate and I must say that we had the most BEAUTIFUL wedding! Bertha and her staff went above and beyond what we had expected. Initially, when we calculated the cost of the venue and services it seemed a bit much, however in the end we saved on all the little things such as linens, decorations, lighting and floral. This venue provides just about everything which saves you time and is less stressful than hunting down a million vendors on your special day. It was worth every last penny! Our guests and family absolutely loved the place, the food was delicious and the entire set up was exactly what i had imagined it to be.....GORGEOUS! I must add that the bartender on staff makes killer margarita's, probably the best I've ever had. I loved everything about the place and I recommend it to anyone planning their special day.

-Dalia and Sean Almond Married 3/19/2011

Seeing all the photos helped us so much. Bertha was so very helpful to us. We had so many compliments on our wedding. We could not be happier.
http://www.photoshow.com/watch/CT5Yz7kf

We were at a wedding for my best friends recently at Los Encinos. Everything went off absolutely perfectly! It was beautiful!! Love, love, loved it!

Los Encinos Hill Country Estate was the best choice I made for my wedding. I held my reception and ceremony there and everything went as planned. Bertha, the owner made things less stressful for me. She works like a wedding planner and does her 100 percent to make sure the bride is happy. I was nervous about the ceremony songs but she helped me pick out the most amazing songs. The property is in excellent condition. Everything from the castle like entrance to the perfectly trimmed trees made this place top of my list. The food was also very good. We chose the fajita steak/chicken dinner which I would recommend to anyone. The portions are huge; you definitely get your money’s worth. Ask for the lights around the room for the ceremony. If you’re having a nigh wedding like I did it makes the place look magical. Not to mention the pictures came out perfect. Overall Los Encinos was the perfect place for my wedding and I got everything I asked for. Happy bride here and would recommend this place to anyone. Thank you so much Bertha for making my wedding day a night to remember!

Diana Solis married on August 7, 2010

Being that I provided the majority of the table decorations and aisle decorations, I don't think the price matched the product. I think the owner offers too many "upgrades" on decorations, but I never priced seperate vendors, so I could be wrong. The day of the wedding was a little chaotic, I was led to believe the owner was to be the "day of coordinator", but I didn't really see her until the wedding was actually starting. My bridesmaids had to hunt her down, or her employees to get answers to questions we had and it was frustrating. Overall, it turned out beautifully (mostly thanks to my bridal party) and even though I was not able to taste the food before hand, it was delicious! Lots of compliments on the food.

There is no denying that Los Encinos is an absolutely beautiful venue, both scenic and elegant. Upon first meeting with the owner Bertha, we felt that it would be perfect for our wedding. However as the wedding approached, my now husband and I both found that Bertha, as well as the staff at Los Encinos are incredibly disorganized and unprofessional. The day before we were supposed to have our wedding, a wedding was being held at Los Encinos that was being filmed by MTV. Because of this, our wedding was completely disregarded. We had to move our wedding rehearsal because the MTV wedding crew would be filming there. The only reason that we even knew that we would have to reschedule is because the month prior to the wedding I called to confirm the rehearsal day/time...Bertha NEVER bothered to call and tell me herself. The next problem that presented, again had to do with our wedding rehearsal. Our rehearsal was scheduled at 5:00 p.m., and Bertha called us at 1:30 p.m. that same day to inform us that we would be unable to have our wedding rehearsal at that day and time. Bertha told me that the reason why was due to the fact that she scheduled the MTV wedding in our rehearsal time because "they needed it". This was incredibly disappointing because we had all of our family and friends, some from out of state, in town and ready to rehearse. Bertha's way of trying to make it up to us was to offer us a rehearsal time the day of our wedding! We NEVER had a rehearsal at the venue, and were NEVER offered any type of reinbursement or credit for this! The next problem that occured was during the reception. One of our guests was an elderly woman with a medical condition who needed to eat in order to take her medication. The wait staff denied the woman to jump ahead in the food line, and because of this she became sick and vomitted all over the floor in the reception hall. One of the ushers in the wedding party approached the Los Encinos staff to come and clean up the mess and it took them over 20 minutes to come out and begin cleaning. The staff attempted to clean the mess with a dry mop only! The same usher had to approach the staff a second time and remind them of the infection control and sanitation issues involved before a staff member came out with a mop bucket and disinfectant. LUCKILY, our wedding went well despite all of the problems that we had with this venue, specifically Bertha. My husband and I were extremely worried that the wedding would be disasterous because of Bertha's negligance to honor her comittments she made with us, not to mention honoring the contract we signed with her. Many of our guests complained to us after the wedding that the Los Encinos staff were rude and unprofessional. My husband and I firmly believe that if you choose to have your wedding at this venue that you are taking a serious gamble.

I had my ceremony and reception at Los Encinos on September 12,2009 and everything was perfect! Bertha was accommodating, pleasant, and such an ease to work with. The ceremony was exactly what I hoped for. The outdoor ceremony was held at dusk, flocked with huge oak trees, and the epitome of natural beauty. My mother expressed concerns of mosquitoes to Bertha, and 30 minutes prior to the ceremony, she fogged the area herself. There was enough time to clear the mosquitoes and remove the fog. I received countless compliments from friends and family-even just yesterday. My single friends have already decided they want to marry there as well! I'm really unsure what the prior review is about, seeing how my experience was the complete opposite. The only thing I can imagine is perhaps the bride is a 'bridezilla' or just a fluke occurance. At any rate, I have nothing but thanks and compliments for Los Encinos and would highly recommend it for a romantic hill country wedding.

Bertha is a total disaster! When we met with her she seemed like she had it together and would do whatever it would take. In the next few months; after she already had our money, she was absolutely awful! Bertha told us we could be there at 2 PM to set up for our 5 PM wedding. When we got there, the 10 AM wedding was still going on. Our cake and flower vendor had to wait outside while our cake melted and flowers wilted! She yelled at my father when he came in and asked what we should do. Finally, at 3 PM when the other wedding left, she interviewed another couple, trying to cheat them out of their money, instead of cleaning and prepping for our wedding. She yelled at my mother because Bertha herself miscalculated the totals and wanted more money. My parents were paid in full way before our ceremony date. Bertha delayed our ceremony by 30 minutes with our guests waiting in the blazing heat because she couldn't figure out how to play her CD player! She came to the bride's room/bathroom (YIKES) and blamed the delay on my husband instead of taking ownership of her mistake. She was rude to guests, brought out the kids food an hour late (and charged my mother $50 for 7 slices of pizza), and shorted guests on beef. She also gave the left overs ($40 per plate) to the staff instead of serving it to our guests. At the end, workers were clearing tables and walking through our dance floor an hour before it was suppose to end. They asked guests to move out of their way! We went back the next day to find lost items and none were recovered. She kept/threw away/stole 2 candles ($20 each), all of the garnish from the bar (lemons, limes, cherries), and a flower basket. Also, this place cannot seat 300. It barely fit my 150 and is fire coded for only 120!!! This place is unorganized, dishonest, and they completely ruined my wedding experience. Bertha takes no responsibility for anything once she has your money. There is no amount of money that she could reimburse me and my family to undo the stress, heartache, horrible memories, and ruined wedding day with Los Encinos.

I have had the pleasure of working with Bertha, Los Encinos Hill Country Estate and her staff on many occassions. My company has coordinated weddings all over Texas and in several other states and Los Encinos by far is one of my favorite places. This estate is set on a secluded estate with beautiful oak trees and it makes for a dream outdoor wedding. I have done brunches, sunset and candle light weddings all to magnificent success at this lovely wedding venue. Bertha allows the couples a lot of freedom to have a horse drawn carriage, dove and butterfly releases, the children can run around the grounds and enjoy her kid's corner. It is so different than being inside a hotel. If you have always wanted a charming, elegant outdoor wedding, Los Encinos is the place in the beautiful Texas Hill Country. Julia, Exquisite Events by Julia

December 8, 2010
Chosen a favorite by local brides in the http://Knot.com for two years in a row, Los Encinos Hill Country Estate is my favorite San Antonio venue for outdoor weddings. Call me, I can plan an event there that suits your personality. Check out the weddings on youtube Exquisite Events by Julia or Los Encinos Hill Country Estate to see photos of the fun weddings, from elegant to rustic. We have held many gorgeous receptions and other celebrations of the grounds of the perfectly beautiful, wonderful Los Encios Hill Country Estae. It is venue for the epitome of the garden wedding you always dreamed of. You can have a horse and carriage ,butterflies, doves or balloon releases, dinner and dancing under the stars, a live band or Texas favorites like an outdoor bar, mariachis to add to your festivities. The sky is the limit! The photos turn out amazing and the guests will rave about it for weeks to come. If you always wanted to marry outdoors, Los Encinos is Texas Hill Country at its finest! Julia ( 210 ) 380-3981
San Antonio Wedding Consultant Exquisite Events by Julia

I just had my ceremony and reception at Los Encinos about one month ago, and my expectations to have the most memorable day in my life were met, if not exceeded. Bertha assuaged my pre-wedding jitters when we filled out my questionnaire as all the details were tended to. The exterior's beauty compliments the "homey" feeling inside. I would recommend to any bride wanting a cozy and tranquil environment. Los Encinos was just listed in "The Knot-Best of weddings 2008" as a winner chosen by real brides as one of the best reception sites in the Southwest Texas area. *my emails were not responded to promptly, but I reached her immediately by phone

If you wanted to have your wedding at home, but your home isn't exactly made for hosting a wedding reception, Los Encinos is what you're looking for. It made for a beautiful wedding; I got tons of compliments. So if I were making recommendations based on the wedding day alone, I would say go for this place hands down. The waitstaff was very nice. However, planning a wedding at this facility could have been more pleasant and easier. The owner did try to accommodate some of my special requests, but on some things was not very flexible. For instance, I was told if we wanted the facility to set up our linens (as I chose to rent instead of use theirs) we had to have them delivered to her the Saturday before the wedding because they set up next week's wedding when they're cleaning up the previous Saturday's. So we ended up setting everything up ourselves. The food was overpriced and you can't bring outside catering. The food was good though.

Upon 1st visiting Los Encinos I was very happy. Everything seemed like it was going to be so easy. However, as the wedding approached I began to worry. I was told that everything would be set up for me. 2 days before the wedding I was at the venue having to set the tables. Bertha, the owner of the venue, did not show up for my rehearsal. How were we supposed to know what was normal practice for wedding day? I was also worried b/c the grass had not been cut in what looked like weeks. When I asked her about it I was told it would be mowed in the morning, THE DAY OF THE WEDDING! What if it had rained? Then I was supposed to just have knee high grass to great my guests? On the day of the wedding my wedding party was moving tables that were supposed to be moved by the employees of the venue. Bertha showed up approximately 30 min before my ceremony and moved everything back, even though my contract stated that they should have been where we placed them. The icing on the cake was the an 11 year old girl found a twisty tie in her pasta, and when Bertha was approached about it by the girl's mother, she took it from her hand and said, "Don't worry about it!" and walked away!!! Not only is that unsanitary, but she could have swallowed it. I was so unhappy with Los Encinos. I wouldn't recommend them to anyone. Also be aware that Bertha owns another venue that is an Italian Villa...I would stay away from that place as well.

Reception was beautiful, dinner was delicious, though the bar service was very slow. The bartender (a family member of the owner) was always wandering around and was not always around to serve drinks to guests. The owner is disorganized, and after I had schedule my wedding 9 months in advance and submitted my deposits, called me less 6 months before my wedding to let me know she had double booked the site and would have to cancel mine. After some negotiation, she got the other party to move their wedding back a week. Also, the owner promised several things before we signed the contract and unfortunately, I went by her word. One week before the wedding on our final walk through she took back all of these things (free table runners, chair covers, etc.). It left a sour taste in my mouth. I would recommend the place for its beauty and good food, but I would make sure to have a seperate wedding planner to run thing.s