Location Help!

Baylorbrandy

Hi..I'm orginally from TX, but live in KY and want to have my wedding in the Austin area.  Most of my guests will be from out of town.  Small wedding 75-100 ppl.  So I'm thinking either providing a shuttle or finding a place close to downtown Austin.

I want somewhere that is unique and has a good backdrop so little decorations are needed.  Unfortunately, I am having to work around the sports season due to the fear of no one attending the reception if there is a game on  

Question.... where is a good place to have a ceremony/reception in the months of June/July/August???  Worried about the heat and the drive for my guests. 

Any help is much appreciated!  If anyone knows of a wedding coordinator who will do the research in finding a location, please let me know!  Everywhere seems to be booked!

rerawalt

Are you looking for summer 2011 or 2012?

Baylorbrandy

I am hoping to get married in 2011. Otherwise, I will have to wait till after March 2012. My possible dates are: JUNE JULY AUGUST SEPT 3-4 (labor day) OCT 15

mom2mere

It will be very hot in Austin at that time. Are you thinking outdoors?
Shoreline Grill in downtown Austin is very nice.
Judges Mansion
some of the nicer downtown hotels, Four Seasons, Driskill, W

p1001

most of my guests were from out of town as well, so finding a reception site close to downtown was a major consideration.  we chose mercury hall and couldn't have been happier.  we still ended up getting a shuttle, just to make sure that everbody was safe.  summertime will be hot for sure, but there are plenty of brides who had their ceremonies outside and kept all guests comfortable with fans, lemonade stands, etc.  good luck! 

Future Ramsey

Our venue was The Mansion (Texas Federation of Women's Clubs) www.themansion.info. It was beautiful and had plenty of space and a great back up plan in case of rain/heat/cold.  It's on 24th & San Gabriel, so I don't know if that will be close enough to downtown for you.  We also considered the Caswell House heavily, but decided it was too small for us and it didn't have an outdoor ceremony option which is something we really wanted.  Since you're having a lot of guests from out of town, you might also consider having your whole event at a hotel.  We were working with the Hilton Garden Inn downtown before deciding not to go this route & they were really helpful.

As far as coordinators go, I used Kristi with Buon Affare Events.  She's great and would probably be able to help you narrow things down.  You could opt for your October date and see if that helps free up availability for you since it is a longer time frame, but as I discovered last year, October seems to be a big time for weddings in Austin as well.

BirdsongBell

Contact Jennifer with J. Renee Events (www.JReneeEvents.com). She and her team are absolutely perfect, especially with out of town brides and guests. THey can coordinate everything at a very affordable rate adn do all the ground work and execution of your vision. 

She can also help narrow down ideas for venues that really showcase Austin at its finest!

JReneeEvents.com, 512-947-0301

jrenee@JReneeEvents.com

Hope this helps

may2005

Try Caswell House.  It's a historic home in downtown Austin off of 15th Street.  When I had my wedding there, I hardly needed to decorate because the interior and grounds were so beautiful.  They are running a special right now for Summer, 2011 weddings.

tabbychris

We have booked the TFWC Mansion as well because we are having a July wedding and I wanted to have lots of options for a/c, rain, etc. We also have all of our family coming from out of town as we are both from other states as well. My mother's only request was air conditioning lots of air conditioning if we were going to get married in the summer. There is actually both the AT&T hotel & conference center right next to UT campus which you could look into booking a block of rooms (which I reminds me I need to look into their prices) as well as Pearl St Inn just & the Mansion @ Judges Hill have rooms are just a few blocks away. Pearl & Judges both only have a handful of rooms but hey a few always helps. There is also a nice hotel fairly close right at 15th which is still only blocks.  Downtown would a pretty cheap cab ride as well.  The Mansion at Judges Hill  would also be a great option. There is also Allan House, Caswell House, Chateau Bellevue are all close to downtown. But on the smaller, more intimate side. So really depends on how big your list is but with 75 to 100 you'd be ok.  There is the Austin Club which is right downtown that could accomodate a lot of people and they hand all their own catering. Driskoll or Stephen F. Austin same but much pricier.  Bob Bullock History Museum, Blanton Art Museum which are both closer to campus but literally could walk from that AT&T conference hotel. I really, really wanted the Blanton but was just not in our budget. Some friends suggested Scottish Rite but I never looked into it really so don't know how big or expensive it is.  

As for a planner we just started interviewing planners. We've talked to 2 so far, one being J. Renee. Definitely felt better about her than the other and her price was killer and actually just emailed to ask her for her prices to actually do a more involved package and not just day of.  Meeting with a few more this week though before we make a decision. I am a control freak so I have to feel good the person I am handing everything over to.

AnneR15

If you're worried about football or other sports seasons, my friend just had the big game playing at her reception. I know some people might find that tacky, but she decided she'd rather have everyone at her wedding enjoying themselves than have them leave early to watch the game. Honestly, I barely noticed it was on, but it was at a large venue, so that probably helped. Bottom line: I thought it was a creative solution to a scheduling issue, and in a way it helped show their personalities, since her husband played football in college.

tabbychris

So we ended up going with J.Renee and now I feel like an idiot!! She was just fine at first but now after a month of trying to track her down seems she's closed up shop, disconnected her phone and taken off with our money!!

Stay away!!