Say I Do Here

8 top Fort Worth wedding venues to ensure yours is an affair to remember

All that really matters on your wedding day is saying "I do" to your special someone, but having an unforgettable ceremony and reception is like icing on the (wedding) cake. Therefore, we present you with a list of eight amazing places to tie the knot around Fort Worth. Given that country clubs and hotels aren't that hard to find, we've left them off this list.

Ashton Depot
Originally known as the Santa Fe Depot, this restored Beau Arts-style train terminal is a classic beauty offering more than 10,000 square feet of wedding reception options. Should you choose, this venue has a 3,200-square-foot courtyard that would be an ideal location for a ceremony. Wedding packages start at $99 per person and include a four-hour bar package, tray-passed signature drink, butler-passed hors d’oeuvre, a plated buffet or food stations for dinner, wait staff, culinary staff, bartenders, and a butler for the bride and groom for the evening.

Bass Performance Hall
Any bride who has had the privilege to check out the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra at this beautiful venue will be happy to know that it can also be rented out for your nuptials. Whether you choose to utilize the Founders Concert Theatre, Van Cliburn Recital Hall, McDavid Studio, or the Canteen, the venue will work with you to make sure that the beauty of the vibrant Fort Worth art scene shines as brightly as you want it to on the big day. The starting rental fee for a Saturday wedding is $1,200.

Benbrook Stables
Rustic-chic weddings have officially hit their stride in Texas, and what better place to plan one than at a full-service equestrian center? Located on the banks of Benbrook Lake, this property boasts 100 acres. In other words, even though you're just a short drive from downtown Fort Worth, you feel as if you have been transported to your own rural paradise. Unlike most venues, wedding packages include all of the essentials — tables, chairs, tablecloths, setup, take down, and a rehearsal time. The starting rental fee is $250.

Fort Worth Botanic Garden
Those with an affinity for the outdoors are bound to fall in love with this venue, which just so happens to be the oldest botanic garden in Texas. With 110 acres and 22 specified gardens, the property has a variety of indoor and outdoor venues that will fulfill any dream you have in mind for the big day. Plus, you can save on floral as you are bound to be surrounded by beautiful, natural scenery. Ceremony and reception combination packages start at $2,500.

Fort Worth Club
Located high above the streets of Fort Worth, this storied social club offers an unforgettable wedding experience for the bride and groom who dream of a regal reception customized to perfection. Offering one of the best views in town, this venue hosts weddings that range from 50-1,200 guests, and it offers food by Timothy Prefontaine and a personalized wedding cake by the in-house pastry team. Food and beverage minimums for a Saturday wedding start at $3,000.

T&P Station
What is it about Fort Worth and train stations? The Texas & Pacific Station is a part of the historic 1931 Texas & Pacific Railway Terminal, and it brilliantly showcases 1920s Zigzag Moderne architecture. The main lobby and women's waiting rooms of this building were restored in 1999, making wedding ceremonies and receptions a possibility for the space. Rental fees start at $1,800 and include round tables and chairs for up to 250.

The Brooks at Weatherford
Although this venue isn't technically in Fort Worth, we had to make an exception for it. Attracting both Fort Worth and Dallas brides alike, this Weatherford venue is way more than the country chapel that it claims to be on its website. Among the unique features here are a 115-year-old farm house and design elements that range from 300-plus-year-old doors to gables, mirrors, tables, rustic wagons, gates, and benches sourced by the owners from both Texas and Santa Fe. For pricing info, email info@thebrooksatweatherford.com.

The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
The art-inspired bride is bound to lust after this sophisticated venue with rental options for both the cafe and the lobby. Let the art and craftsmanship of this stunning facility entertain your wedding of up to 250 seated guests. Bon Appetit is the exclusive in-house catering company, and it focuses on feeding wedding guests with fresh, local sustainable foods. Rental fees start at $2,000 and include a membership to the museum.

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The art-inspired bride will love the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

Photo courtesy of Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth

The art-inspired bride will love the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

weddings

Death Penalty

Tarrant County man gets death for murder of convenience store owner

Tarrant County Sheriff's Office

Christopher Turner

A man received the death penalty for his 2020 cold-blooded execution of a convenience store owner.

According to a release from the office of Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney Phil Sorrells, a Tarrant County jury sentenced Christopher Karon Turner, 48, to death on November 20 for executing convenience store owner Anwar Ali during a robbery. Tarrant County Assistant District Attorneys Charles Boulware and Allenna Bangs represented the state.

On March 27, 2020, at around 6:15 am, Turner, a convicted felon, wore a surgical mask and a glove and entered the Super Big Country Mart in an unincorporated area of Tarrant County south of Fort Worth. There, he held a gun to the back of Anwar Ali, the 62-year-old store owner, and walked him through the store.

Ali did everything Turner demanded, including opening the cash register to give him money. And yet Turner forced Ali into the bathroom and onto his knees, and shot him in the neck. Ali was discovered, dead in the bathroom, about an hour later.

Turner fled the store in Ali's Toyota minivan with the money from the register and Ali's wallet. In the van, he found more than $50,000 cash in a black bag. Over the next few days, Turner went on a shopping spree, buying cars, jewelry, drugs, clothes, and more. He and others used cash and a credit card that belonged to Ali.

Turner fled to Colorado where U.S. Marshals arrested him. On his body they found a firearm which was determined to be the murder weapon.

"This was a premeditated, cold-blooded murder," Boulware told the jury. "From the moment he was charged with this crime, he has tried to escape responsibility."

Bangs noted that before this trial began, Turner obtained the names of jurors and their telephone numbers, and gave them to an inmate charged with murder. At the trial on November 20, as Bangs addressed the jury, Turner tried to hold up a sign to the jury but was handcuffed by Sheriff's deputies who removed him from the courtroom, while he yelled out "she lied."

Ali came to the United States from Pakistan decades ago to pursue the American dream. Ali's son, Hussein, spoke in the courtroom after the death penalty was announced. "Thank you for giving us justice," Ali said. "I hope there are no more devils like this person."