Pflugerville Pflag contributing writer

For hundreds of couples, bonds have been fashioned at The Plantation House in Pflugerville.

Sixteen years after staging its first wedding, The Plantation House — a stately three-story, five-bedroom residence at 3603 Kelly Lane evoking the Southern charms of a bygone era — was officially dedicated recently as a returning Pflugerville Chamber of Commerce member.

Nestled amidst the beauty of the Central Texas landscape, the home is used as a wedding venue with a flair reminiscent of “Gone with the Wind” with its attendant design evocative of the Antebellum/neo-classical architecture of Scarlett O’Hara’s beloved Tara estate.

And frankly, there’s milestones to mark other than just a ribbon-cutting.

“We also just celebrated our 800th wedding in May,” co-owner Joanna King said in an interview. “We’ve done about 810 now.”

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Originally built some 30 years ago as a private residence inhabited by a couple with 10 children, the 6,100-square-foot home is now owned by King and her husband, Tanner King. The young couple — both 29 years old with a newborn baby — decided to take over the family business after its longtime operation by her parents.

“My parents were part of the chamber for ten years and recently rejoined,” King said during an interview punctuated by the cries of the couple’s 8-month-old. The three live at the residence year-round while operating portions of it as a wedding venue. The spacious first floor and its surrounding acreage have become a favorite spot in which to stage nuptials and wedding receptions.

“The Austin area has become a really exciting place for weddings,” she said in explaining the site’s appeal. “The weather is pretty temperate for garden-style ceremonies on five acres of mature landscape for a Southern classic feel.”

The site is immediately welcoming, with meticulous landscaping fronting a cozy porch with requisite rocking chairs that all but demand visitors take in the beauty of surrounding landscape while sipping on a mint julep. The mature flora and fauna of its wide open spaces — mature oaks, Italian cypress, ash trees, crepe myrtles, magnolias — only add to the appeal.

Aside from the beauty of the indigenous landscape are a number of man-made amenities designed to further complement a romantic ceremony: A 20-foot grand gazebo amidst resplendent gardens; a 1,800-square-foot-glass carriage house equipped with a fabric-lined ceiling; a pair of high-peaked tents to house food and beverage stations and outdoor dining areas; a bridal suite with attached parlor and full-sized mirrors.

King herself has personally succumbed to the charms of the place. Growing up, she was expected to help her parents run the site in staging wedding ceremonies. She recalled the first few ceremonies at the site as a 14-year-old girl, silently wishing she were somewhere else. After graduating from Pflugerville High School, she plotted her escape by enrolling at Abilene Christian University to study music.

“I wanted to get as far away from the business as I could,” she recalled with a chuckle. “It felt like I was being forced to do this growing up. I wanted a set salary and schedule.”

So she took a job in the Dallas-Fort Worth area after college graduation, teaching music to fifth- and sixth-graders. Along the way, she married her Tyler-raised college sweetheart who earned a master’s degree in divinity and is now a practicing minister.

But she soon found herself missing her Central Texas childhood home. The couple decided to move back, and took over ownership from her parents, who now run a thriving floral arrangement business that often supplies floral decorations for Plantation House weddings.

So you can go home again. King, the eldest of three children, said her parents’ entrepreneurial drive spurred her own interest in running the business. And she said watching people embarking hopefully on their own lives as newlyweds adds to the personal fulfillment. One of the 10 children who once lived at the house before her parents bought it ended up tying the knot there too, reinforcing the community-centered lure of the old house.

“We love it,” she said. “It’s really exciting. Every wedding is very different, and we never get bored.”

So the Kings happily run the place knowing that tomorrow is another day — for a Southern-style wedding. The Plantation House offers a range of booking rates with a 200-person capacity, from a six-hour rental of $3,750 Monday to Thursday to weekend rates of $4,250. A $500 discount is offered for wedding parties using Plantation House-preferred caterers.

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