Texas gets a bad rap. It's the politics more than the people. And like most gerrymandered states Texas's rural vote is greater than Houston and Dallas. I lived there for six years, the people were great and Houston was very LBGT progressive.
To each his own I guess, I wouldn't pay for it but obviously many are using it and the peeps can make some money, especially these days when getting together is much less common.
I prefer a seasoned pro, even if just a little seasoning. Newbies were never big bangs for me. I've never had to prepay, doubt I would unless arranging for travel.