Cherished Lane Events owner Brittani Shepherd has been planning weddings across Central Texas for 15 years.

What’s special about it: A self-proclaimed “people-pleaser,” Shepherd started by coordinating her sister’s wedding in 2009 and has built her business on precision and connection.

After successfully planning many weddings for family and friends, she said, her services grew into a full-service planning business offering four packages from day-of coordination, $1,500, to full planning, $5,000-$8,000.

Staying local: Beyond planning logistics, Shepherd offers DIY floral assembly and custom dessert bars for additional fees, drawing on her cottage baking background. She provides complimentary content creation, shooting and editing wedding footage that couples receive the same night—a service others charge over $1,000 for. Based in Leander, Shepherd only recommends vendors she’s personally worked with at least three times.

Quote of note: “I get really attached to my couples,” Shepherd said. “Once I get her down the aisle and I see the groom crying, then I can breathe.”

Liberty Hill City Council is slated to vote on water and wastewater rate hikes following a public hearing May 13.

What you need to know: The proposed changes will raise utility rates across the board. Inside the city limits, the monthly minimum charge for a standard 5/8-inch or 3/4-inch meter would increase from $45.36 to $50.12, and the volume rate per 1,000 gallons would increase from $5.96 to $6.59 for the first 10,000 gallons.

Outside the city, the monthly minimum charge for a standard 5/8" or 3/4" meter would increase from $56.70 to $62.65 and the volume rate per 1,000 gallons would increase from $7.45 to $8.23 for the first 10,000 gallons. Monthly residential wastewater rates would increase from $66.65 to $70.98 inside the city limits and from $72.36 to $77.06 outside.

Should council members approve the measure, the new rates will go into effect in June and be reflected on July bills, Armstrong said.

A new ice cream shop is coming to Cedar Park. Melto Ice Cream Shop is slated to open in the Centro Plaza shopping center near the Leander-Cedar Park line, according to a permit filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

Zooming in: The interior finish-out of the 1,500-square-foot shop is expected to be completed by December 2027, the filing states. The work is expected to cost $200,000.

• 14300 Ronald Reagan Blvd., Ste. 203, Cedar Park

From a new Target in Austin to elementary school construction in Leander ISD, here are five of the most expensive projects filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation in the Austin metro this week.

1. Leander ISD Elementary School No. 32 ($65 million): The new elementary school will be 117,000 square feet. According to the district, the school is projected to open in 2028 and follow the same design used for recent elementary schools.

2. Paramount Theatre Restoration ($21.7 million): This project includes a partial renovation of the existing theater, and will be completed in the summer of 2027. 

3. Target ($19.3 million): A Target will anchor The Village at Dripping Springs shopping center. 

4. Lake Travis Fire Rescue ($8 million): This project involves the demolition of the existing fire station and construction of a new one.

5. Conner Tract Parking Addition ($2 million): This project involves an overflow parking addition for Liberty Hill ISD north of the existing Liberty Hill High School campus.

On May 26, Democratic voters will choose their nominee for Texas lieutenant governor in a runoff election between state Rep. Vikki Goodwin, D-Austin, and union leader Marcos Vélez.

The big picture: The Democratic race for lieutenant governor is one of several statewide contests that advanced to May runoffs after no candidate received more than 50% of the vote in the March 3 primary election.

Goodwin and Vélez were the two highest-performing candidates in the three-person primary race, with Goodwin collecting 48% of the vote and Vélez receiving 31%. The winner of the May 26 overtime round will face incumbent Dan Patrick and potential third-party candidates in the November midterm election.

Some context: The lieutenant governor leads the Texas Senate and can exercise the powers of the governor if the governor dies, resigns, is removed from office or is absent from the state, according to the Texas State Historical Association.

At the polls: Texans can vote early from May 18-22, and runoff election day is May 26.