SAN ANTONIO -- Couples are choosing unusual and extreme locations to tie the knot in the Alamo city.
Of course, there's classic venues to choose from including La Villita. Bride on a Budget wedding coordinator Mitzi Villalobos has helped plan numerous weddings at this location. She said the space bodes well for couples who want to have a large party.
"I know for us, we get a lot of New York and California brides. They come here all the way from those states to get married here because they feel like in their home state they don't have this culture and this tradition," said Villalobos.
Another favorite location to get married is on the Riverwalk. Yvonne and Brian Beets said their "I do's" on Marriage Island the day after Thanksgiving Day. They said the Christmas lights and the Christmas parade made the evening more beautiful.
"It was a special night. I've always wanted to have the wedding that she wanted. The dress, everything," said Brian.
"For us this was great! It was perfect," added Yvone.
The Beets received the wedding for free, including the dress, through a giveaway held by Everlasting Elopements. Wedding coordinator Kari Esparza said while Marriage Island and La Villita are favorites, more couples are choosing different locations for their big day. She helped plan Frank and Jill Ruttenberg's ceremony at the San Antonio zoo.
"The zoo had just installed its brand new giraffe feeding deck. So, what better place than to get married than sitting on that deck and feeding the giraffes," Frank said.
"They had violinists, a wedding cake, they had o'deurves out, champagne, and they set up the arbor. It was beautiful! They just made it so wonderful," Jill recalled.
Esparza has also organized weddings in the Cave Without a Name in Boerne, inside helicopters and at the Natural Bridge Caverns where couples can go on a zip line after their vows.
"They won't let them go down in pairs. It's one-by-one. But we always say ladies first! So, brides zip down, groom zips down, and sometimes our officiants like to zip down as well," Esparza said.
She's soon launching 'Extreme Elopements' where she will provide options like hot air balloons and sky diving as venues.
"Especially with the millennials coming up, a lot of them want to do something that's cool and different- More about them and not doing the traditional thing," Esparza said. "A lot of them aren't wanting to spend a lot of money on the big, huge weddings so they want to do something unique to their relationship."
Esparza is holding another free wedding giveaway for Extreme Elopements. Couples can send a picture of being "extreme." The winner will be announced March 10th.