Austin Wedding Venue Help

Maltayg · February 2010

Hi! My fiance's family is from Austin so we are going to get married there in March 2011. We are heading down the weekend of Feb 20-21 to start looking at venues and hopefully book a place and date!

Right now, we are planning on visiting Villa Antonia, Villa St. Clair, Allan House, Mansion at Judges Hill, Chateau Bellevue, Winfield Inn, Natures point and Vista on Seward Hill.

We are thinking about 150-175 guests and do have a budget we are trying to stay within. We want a fun venue with lots of charm and want a ceremony/reception in the same place type of site. We want our guest to be able to drink and have fun too. Anybody have any advice on these venues or know of a great one we have to check out? I am not from Austin or Texas orginially but I am hoping to find something great for us!

hildeedee · February 2010

do you want a place where you can bring in your own catering and alcohol? or do you want it supplied?

meganrosej · February 2010

I got married at The Vista on Seward Hill, and I have absolutely nothing but positive things to say about the place. It has both beautiful outdoor and indoor areas, which you'll see when you visit. I really wanted an outdoor ceremony, and picked the Vista because of the beautiful grounds. But it ended up raining all day and we had to move the ceremony indoors. It was still beautiful though, and unlike a lot of other outdoor venues, I didn't have to worry about renting tents or anything like that. They just moved the chairs into the 100 year old dance room and it was pretty much stress free for me. And everyone commented on how cozy and intimate the ceremony was. The Sewards are great, really know what they are doing, and have created a really perfect venue.
Here is a short video of my wedding (just got it today!!) that shows you the grounds.
http://vimeo.com/9173537

Hope this helps!

Maltayg · February 2010

Thanks so much! We are open to places where we bring our own or places where its supplied

kellster22 · February 2010

I visited several of these locations here is some of my observations - for what they are worth! AKA my two cents:
Villa Antonia-really pretty - nice chapel area or can used as a dance floor. Nice rain plan and if you can get married overlooking the hill country - weather cooperates - they have a beautiful deck. My feeling is they have many options but kind of had a disjointed feel to me. Like I could easily lose track of my guests and they could be in many different areas.
Villa St. Clair - pretty large reception area, but was confused because the website looked like they have a chapel area and they really don't. One large area.
Allan House - there was little that I liked about this place and I know many brides have and do get married here - and love it. You have a tent option for outside and you must decide pretty far in advance - that is the rain plan. You must flip the court yard from wedding to reception, the inside is small and old. Looks up at the jail and parking is horrible. However the outside courtyard is really pretty.
Mansion at Judges Hill - not much I could say bad about this place. Beautiful, great space, garden, reception hall, they just recently aquired parking, just out of my personal price range.
Chateau Bellevue - did not visit.
Winfield Inn - nice place. Pretty area, covered area for reception, gazebo and ground beautiful, house is old but you only get ready there. Too far south for me.
Natures point - did not visit
Vista on Seward Hill - awesome place, pretty, plenty of room, lovely outside area. I got a really good vibe from the owners. They were already booked on my date by the time I made a decision.

hildeedee · February 2010

my friend got married at villaa st. clair. i think they pretty much provide everything vendor wise. one downfall is it was pretty hard for guests to find. it is a huge ballroom and really nice courtyard.

i really liked allan house at first, but then when thought more about some of the points kellster22 mentioned made us decide against it.

villa antonia is gorgeous, but quite a drive from austin and you have to go down 1431, which is incredibly windy.

haven't visited the other ones. you might want to check out the Mansion (http://themansion.info/) it has a similar feel to some of the other places you are looking at.

utsweetie520 · February 2010

You should check out The Plantation House. I am getting married there in June, and you can have the ceremony and reception there as well. The place is really beautiful, and the owner Luanna is so sweet and is wonderful to work with. Check out their website: http://www.plantationhouse.us/

Linds4241 · February 2010

I really really really wanted to get married at Nature's Point but it was out of my price range. It's beautiful and I think (not positive, I visited a lot of places) that you have your choice of a few cateres they work with and can bring in your own alcohol.

Villa Antonia is beautiful as well, but I agree with the comment before - it's very sectioned. A friend of mine got married there in Aug and while the wedding was beautiful, we had to eat outside while the bride and groom ate inside. And she had about 200 at her wedding and the dance floor (which doubled as the ceremony site) was CROWDED.

I'm getting married in May at Star Ranch Golf Club in Hutto, TX (www.starranchgolf.com) and so far have no complaints!

kelseymw · February 2010

I am getting married in May at Star Hill Ranch. It allows for all outside vendors, which I have really enjoyed because it's saved us money and I can pick everything that I want on my own without being limited to certain choices. The place definitely has lots of charm, especially if you like a rustic feel. It might be too Texan for some peoples' tastes, but it fits perfectly with our vision and style. Adam, the owner, is super helpful and pretty much the nicest person ever, haha.

I have pictures of the place in my bio, link in signature ("The Plans!"). The website is www.starhillranch.com.

atlantic · February 2010

We were married at Star Hill and LOVED it! So much charm, lots of flexibility with the space. I know that no one that attended our wedding would ever get it mixed up with another one in their head! But agreed, it depends on what you're looking for. If you know what feel you want, you may be able to better narrow down your choices -- you've got a wide variety on your list now. There are lots of pictures in my bio.

Vista on Seward Hill -- Love -- really romantic at night. I wonder if it might be a bit small in the indoor spaces for your wedding?

Allan House -- didn't love this place either and I definitely think it's more appropriate for smaller weddings.

Mansion at Judge's Hill -- Great for a wedding with a ballroom feel. The courtyard could be described as charming...but i wouldn't really classify the reception space that way (that isn't too say it isn't really nice, just wouldn't call it "charming").

Nature's Point -- this place is gorgeous, esp. if you can take advantage of the outdoor space. It's far out though.

The other one on our list that made the top three was Barr Mansion. It's really gorgeous.

Good luck!

Maltayg · February 2010

Thanks so much for all of your advice everyone!! I am just so nervous that, since we will only be there for one weekend, will miss visiting some awesome venue that would be perfect for us. I really appreciate the help!!

purrler · February 2010

I just checked out your look book and it looks like we have very similar tastes! I was going for a very classic style in black and white with touches of apple green, and my inspiration was the party at the end of the movie "Meet Joe Black". When I visited the Austin Museum of Art - Laguna Gloria I knew it was exactly the right venue, so you might check that out too. Hope that helps!

MnMShaw · February 2010

My friend got married at Villa Antonio and it was GORGEOUS! We loved it there and the food was excellent. The only downside I think she had and I saw was that it was a little difficult to find. Also, the stairs leading to the bridal suite were SUPER steap. They are stairs that go down in a circle and the right side is basically impossible to walk on. Everyone walked around the bride and helped hold her dress up to just get her down the stairs. Also, her aunt was walking down, tripped and fell down the stairs.

Maltayg · February 2010

Ohh thanks everyone! Purrler, you will have to keep me posted with your planning! Are you having an evening wedding? I am getting excited about visiting Austin in a little over a week and hopefully finding our perfect venue!

Erickag · February 2010

Hamilton 12 is a good venue to check out that allows you to stay within a budget. The coordinator their was willing to give me a break on price when I thought it might be out of my range, and you can bring your own alcohol, which helps.

I ended up going with something that I missed in my initial searches for a wedding venue: Green Pastures Restaurant. It is a beautiful old home in South Austin - for a Saturday event you have to spend $12000, which was way too much for me - but their sunday events you only are required to spend $5000. Prices are reasonable for their food - which is UNBEATABLE, and they provide both cakes. If you are open to a Friday or Sunday wedding, this is a great venue that can be done on a budget. They also count holiday weekend Sundays (Memorial and Labor days) as a regular Sunday... so you get to only spend the $5000, but no one has to go to work the next day! It also allows your guests to stay in the Austin area, so no one has to drive back from the lake or dripping springs after they've had lots to drink!
www.greenpasturesrestaurant.com

Ann.T · February 2010

Vintage Villas has it all! Beautiful view and Villas for your out of town guests to stay in. It is about 15 min from downtown Austin.

rach0686 · February 2010

You should check Memory Lane Event Center out! What makes us a little different is the fact that we have over night accomidations for your closet family and friends! We also let you bring in all of your own vendors. We will be open on Sunday, Feb 21st from 12-5 for priviate tours. Give us a call at 512-894-0700 to make an appointment! We would love to meet you, and also give you chance to see what Memory Lane is all about!

erollis · February 2010

I just started looking at venues and the only place off of your list that I have seen is Villa Antonia. Over all it is a beautiful place but the attention to detail is nonexistent. It is handicap accessible but still would seem difficult for someone with disabilities. The last portion of the drive is on a very rutty dirt road plus its not easy to find the road to begin with. There were nails sticking out all over the place. The foam that you use to fill in holes in homes was easily visible. The dance floor inside is at a slant. We went to look at the venue on a day it had rained earlier and there was a very small stream of water running down the slanted dance floor. The room that the bride would get changed in is smallish but if you have an expensive or pouffy dress you can forget about going to the bathroom in that room. The bathroom is beyond tiny.

If you want to look up north Kindred Oaks was very nice. I also have noticed Round Rock and Georgetown area seem to have some nice places if you are able to make a second trip to look at venues. My fiance and I no longer live in Austin so we try to do something wedding every time we visit.

Good luck. The other locations you picked seem nice.

[Deleted User] · February 2010

If you're still checking this forum this weekend, I hope it is going well! If you're short on time, I can tell you you can cross Allan House off your list. Way too small for 200 people...at least if it rains. There just wasn't enough room in that tent for 50 people, let alone 200, if you ask me. I went to an open house and saw the tent set up. Also it's downtown which means you constantly hear the hum or nearby traffic and can clearly hear the local bus stop and let people on and off.

Maltayg · February 2010

Thanks for the advice everyone!!! I totally agree with the Allan House comments, it was very small in the tent and just didnt seem to have the space we would need if it rained, plus, I am a bit against eating outside, i hate bugs. We LOVED nature's point and villa antonia, but we just didnt think alcohol and the distance outside of town and the windy roads would be a good combination. I love Vintage Villas, but one of my close friends is getting married there this summer and I kinda just want my own venue if that makes sense I think we are going to go with Vista on Seward Hill, so if anyone has any advice, can you send it my way?! Thanks!!!
~Mallory

decjunkie · March 2010

Hayhay43 you are so right about Allan House. I was at a wedding there last year and there were 150 people in that tent. You could not move between the tables, the terrain is uneven and I twisted my ankle. Not a good choice for that many people. I also didnt like the way that you have to move out of the tent after the ceremony for the tables to be set up. For a smaller wedding of no more than 75...maybe.

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