Has anyone looked into the Caswell House? Opinions?

Sarahlove06

Hi ladies!  I used the knot three years ago to plan my wedding, but I only just discovered the local message board recently. I'm helping a friend plan her wedding for next year, and I was wondering if you all could help me out with a question or two.  My friend mentioned wanting to see the Caswell House.  She has an appointment to view the house next week I think, but I was wondering if anyone here had any feedback.  From the pics on the website, the outside of the house is lovely but the inside looks really dated.  I am wondering how that's going to look in photos... it also doesn't look very big so I don't think they could have the ceremony and reception there...So if anyone has looked into it or is getting married there any info you have would be a big help! Did you/are you having both ceremony and reception there? Are they easy to work with?  What are the pros/cons? Do you know if they can do anything with the decor?  I'm sort of cringing at the floral walpaper...Thanks a bunch for any advice you have!

jlmowris

My FI and I thought about using it but went to visit and were turned off by how dated the inside looked. I didn't get anymore info because of that but so you know the pictures of the inside are very accurate. Also, they don't have anywhere for an outdoor ceremony or reception.

sheaday

I took a tour a few weeks ago and it had its pros and cons.I actually liked the decor but it's pretty small. The upstairs main area only seats about 60-70 for a seated dinner. The tour person told me that you could do the ceremony upstairs and have the cocktail hour downstairs while they're flipping the ceremony into the reception area. There really isn't any room for a dance floor- if you have about 5 or 6 people dancing, it would work but there def isn't any room to bust out the YMCA. And the downstairs area is divided into small rooms so you really can't utilize the space well for the reception but it's a great area a cocktail hour.The price is very reasonable and easy to find in downtown Austin but there wasn't much parking- maybe 15 or so spots? Your guests will probably have to park on the street.Overall, the lady who gave me the tour was more than helpful and nice but it just wasn't for me. But they do get alot of bookings- when I went, they already had quite a few Sept-Nov bookings just in case that's what your friend is interested in.

sweetscarlet

The Caswell House is lovely, but not really my style - plus I was deadset on having everything outside. However, if she likes historical houses downtown, I highly suggest my venue, The Allan House. The inside seems much brighter to me than the Caswell House (went there once for FI's office holiday party). Now, if my wedding was indoor only, it wouldn't be the highest on my list (still love it, but it's not what sold me). But we fell in love with the courtyard and the balconies. There's such warmth to it. And the downtown location could not be beat. Anyway, just a suggestion!

abh1977

I'm having my reception at the Caswell House in December, and I actually like the coziness of it.  But as PP's mentioned, it's not for everyone.  There's not really an outdoor area other than the porch and balcony (fine with me since it's in Dec.).  The decor is a bit dated and very victorian - I would never want it in my house, but for a wedding I think it's kind of charming.  They mentioned that they can reset the 2nd floor from a ceremony to a reception, but I'm going to do the ceremony at a church.  Depending on the set up, I think there's plenty of room for a small-ish dance floor.  But we're not doing a seated dinner - that might present a space problem if that's what she's looking for.  All of the people I've worked with there (mostly Brian) are super-nice and laid-back.  There are really no restrictions to work with, and you can choose all of your own vendors, which I like.  Also their price is great, and I love that it's a non-profit, meaning the money goes back into the community rather than lining someone's pocket, which is right up my alley.  I would definitely go look at it - what's the harm in that?  She can always keep looking if she hates it.    Feel free to email me if you have any questions.....abh1977 at yahoo dot com.  HTH!

annabellfarrar

For what it is worth, I visited with a friend of mine who was interested in the site last year, and I believe they only have one bathroom. Not completely sure on that, but it stuck in my mind for some reason, and that could be uncomfortable/awkward if you have more than a couple dozen guests. Also, there was a real issue with the parking, as previously mentioned - the street is narrow and the lot is tiny. The added expense of a valet service on top of everything else would be something to consider.

may2005

Yikes, I was really surprised with the misinformation about the Caswell House.I was married there in 2006 -- yes, it is a Victorian home decorated with many furnishings from that period. That may or may not appeal to some. With my guests there the furnishings & wall paper really didn't 'stand out', either in person or in our photographs.We were married upstairs -- that room held 100 chairs, plus there was room at the back for additional guests. We did the cocktail reception downstairs where there were a number of rooms for people to mingle & sit down, before the dinner reception moved upstairs.However, the large reception room upstairs is basically empty, with only a Steinway grand piano in a corner. That room has beige wallpaper & can be set up with regular round tables for guests to sit around. (They also rent cocktail-height tables for stand-up receptions.)  Right outside the reception room is a wrap-around balcony with several chairs & tables overlooking the state capital. There are 3 restrooms at the house, rather than 1 as posted before.The only con I saw would be for doing a dinner where you would need to have all guests seated at once, if you had more than 90 or so guests. Any guests over that number would either need to be seated on the balcony off of the reception room or elsewhere in the house where there are more chairs, tables, & sofas. We did a dance upstairs with the seating arrangement that we worked out with their caretaker. There was plenty of room for guests to dance -- we had about 30 or so on the floor at a time, rather than 5 - 6.Also, there was plenty of parking available.  The house has a lot around it.  And there is an arrangement for guests to park at St. Martin's Lutheran Church lot.  On our wedding day, there was also plenty of parking on the street.My pictures came out beautiful. And the reasonable price of the Caswell House allowed us to spend more on the items that were important to us. For anyone who is doing a small or mid-sized wedding, I think the Caswell House would be a good choice. My husband was told later by one of his co-workers that it was the nicest wedding that he & his wife had attended, because of the intimate feel of the venue.It may not be for everyone, but I actually found it to be one of the hidden jewels in Austin.