Brenda Abbott Floral Design, a locally owned studio just outside of downtown Bastrop, treats floral arrangements as works of art—part of a full-service approach that has helped the business build a reputation for weddings and events across Central Texas and beyond.

About the business: Owners Brenda and Scott Abbott combine years of experience with a keen eye for color, texture and seasonal blooms to create designs that bring their clients’ vision to life. The Abbotts said it has been their business model since their first customers in 2001.

“Our Bastrop production facility is unparalleled,” said Brenda Abbott, who harvests their flowers locally.

Also of note: Brenda Abbott Floral Design takes appointments and also accepts walk-in customers during its regular business hours of 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m.-noon Saturday.

• 1914 Main. St., Bastrop

From Bastrop to Smithville and Cedar Creek, these seven wedding venues offer a range of settings, capacities and amenities for couples planning their big day.

1. Golden Pine Village in Smithville (capacity 500): bridal suite, indoor and outdoor wedding spaces, lodging, wedding coordination

2. Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort & Spa (capacity 1,000): indoor and outdoor wedding spaces, micro weddings, resort lodging, wedding planning

3. Red Ridge Receptions in Smithville (capacity 125): bridal suites, indoor and outdoor wedding spaces, indoor rain plan, micro weddings

4. RoseBridge Estate in Smithville (capacity 300): in-house bar, indoor and outdoor wedding spaces, private suites, signature bridge aisle

5. Shiraz Garden in Bastrop (capacity 225): bridal suites, indoor and outdoor wedding spaces

6. The Mansion at ColoVista in Bastrop (capacity 275): in-house vendors, indoor and outdoor wedding spaces, lodging, wedding coordinators

7. Willow Riverside Retreat and Event Center in Bastrop (capacity 160): bridal suite, groom’s prep room, indoor and outdoor wedding spaces, lodging

Check out the latest Austin metro transportation project updates.

Upcoming projects
Lakeline Boulevard shared-use path
Project: A 10-foot paved shared-use path is planned along Lakeline Boulevard in Cedar Park between New Hope Drive and Little Elm Trail to improve pedestrian and bicycle connectivity.
Update: According to city officials, design is 90% complete. Plans have been revised to modify an existing roadway bridge rather than construct a new pedestrian bridge, with final design and permitting ongoing.

• Timeline: 2024-26
• Cost: $10.5 million
• Funding source: Texas Department of Transportation

• Timeline: 2026-29
• Cost: $68.4 million
• Funding source: Austin 2016 mobility bond, TxDOT

More than 53,000 students will be invited to join Texas’ education savings account program this week, the state comptroller’s office said May 4.

The details: Families will be notified by email between May 4-6 if they were awarded funds in the second round of the Texas Education Freedom Accounts program, per a news release from the comptroller’s office.

To date, nearly 96,000 students have been selected to participate, with these students set to receive about $820 million of the $1 billion state lawmakers allocated for the program, an agency spokesperson said. Of the 53,000 second-round awardees, over 51,000 are from low-income families. The other 2,000 students accepted this week were found to qualify for disability-related funding, the agency said.

The background: Families accepted to the TEFA program will receive state funds to send their children to private schools or homeschool them for the 2026-27 school year.

Proponents of the new program have said it will expand educational opportunities, while critics have expressed concerns that the program will unfairly benefit students already enrolled in private schools.