The Allan House

We just had our wedding here in December. The decorations that came with the house are tasteful, the bride and grooms rooms are nice and roomy. The wedding was beautiful and all of our venders were great, but we had quite a few issues with venue.
1. They claim to be handicap accessible, but there is really no option but to walk up and down very steep stairs to go in and out of the house. This was not the impression we were given when booking. Some of our loved-​ones who were not able to climb the stairs were left out of many moments during the wedding. The outside has no level surface and is very challenging for anyone who trouble walking. Plus very hard to dance on with the sloping brink.
2. You have to play extra for an on site manager who doesn’t do anything. My videographer let me into the house the day of because they didn’t unlock the door leading to the tent. The power went out for about 10 min during the wedding. Im not sure were the manager was, but my photographer fixed it.
3. Poor communication leading up to the event. There was construction blocking many of the streets including the one in front of the Allan House. This is not their fault, but we didn’t feel we were properly informed and the situation was very much downplayed.
4. During the rehearsal I needed to go to the restroom, but all the doors were locked to the outside restrooms and the house. We planned our rehearsal date many months in advance and no one was there. I tried to go across to the church, locked. I had to drive to a Starbucks just to use the restroom. This also happened the morning of the wedding because they let you decorate out side at noon, but wont let you in until 3 or 4.
Overall the Allan House is beautiful, but poorly managed, has bad communication and the staff is really not friendly.

we attended a family wedding here on a Friday night and had a fabulous time. The venue is beautiful and the food was very good. We all had a fantastic time, the only negatives were that some of the staff were a little odd, the bar setup caused a very crowded cocktail hour, and most of all, the entire patio is on a very steep hill, which made me worried the whole night about falling. The photographer almost cracked her head open, falling from standing on a folding chair that collapsed over her. Thankfully, a family member caught her in his arms, otherwise it would have been a horrifying scene. Our family & friends had a fantastic night overall, beautiful ambiance and yummy cocktail apps, dinner& desserts! Loved our first Texas wedding

My daughter and new son-​in-​law had their wedding reception at the Allan House on Valentine’s day. It was the perfect spot –close to St Mary Cathedral where they were married, hotels housing the many out-​of town guests, and the sixth street area for after party celebration. The venue was absolutely beautiful (loved the clear tent with the oak trees and twinkling lights within) and comfortably accommodated our 140 guests. We especially appreciated the fact that we could hire our own bartenders and provide our own liquor. Those considering using Allan House for their event need to be aware that the basic time package is shorter than what we felt was adequate (we added an hour) considering set-​up and take-​down time required, parking is a real issue unless you rent the church parking lot across the street ($ 300), and if your wedding ceremony is elsewhere, there may be timing issues with deliveries since the management is very strict about the hours for that. Even with that said, bottom line is that the venue was magical and very, very special. Loved it!

We were married here on Sunday, March 1^st, 2015 and it was wonderful! We had a small wedding of 70 guests. Juliana was great through the entire process, reminding us of what needed to be done as time drew closer, but never bugging us. Tent was well heated and comfy, atmosphere/​lighting was romantic perfection, and guests loved the beauty of the home. Ground is slightly uneven but that was no problem for anyone since we let them know ahead of time to wear the right shoes. I also would have changed that the time slots aren’t really long enough for the amount of money you have to pay but over all we had a beautiful wedding! I would book the Allan House again.

The staff at The Allan House is incredible!!! They are on top of everything and have great recommendations for vendors for the actual wedding day! The house is just beautiful and the winter tent has the best heating ability that I have ever experienced! The only problem was that it poured during the wedding and there were a few holes in the tent, which allowed water to come in and the bridesmaids and my wedding dress got a little wet on the bottom. Other than that– spectacular venue with a wonderful staff!

We had our wedding at the Allan House this past weekend, and it was the perfect winter wedding venue. The tent is so beautiful that it doesn’t require much decorating – a huge plus when planning from out of town. The staff was great to work with, and all of the recommended vendors were wonderful. Highly recommend.

We attended a wedding in the courtyard this weekend. The vendors all did a fine job. But we will not recommend this facility if you value your health. The floor is extremely uneven and very treacherous to walk on. There were many stumbles and near-​falls, especially among the elderly. Very poor rest room facilities. We do not recommend this venue under any circumstances. Use it at your own risk.

My husband and I got married here just about 2 years ago in December of 2011. We visited only one other venue before we stumbled across this gem and KNEW it was the right place for us. The location is convenient to downtown and made finding hotels fairly simple. The venue has both indoor and outdoor spaces, which is great when you’re trying to flip the same space for ceremony and reception. It also allows for a variety of picture opportunities, which i appreciated.
The patio outdoors is so gorgeous with cobblestones and plenty of space for our 90 guests and food service. We had an evening wedding and the patio was lit up with lights and lanterns, just perfect. There is a clamshell in the corner for a live band which (tightly) fit our 10 piece jazz band, and ample dancing space. Also, one of the biggest perks IMO is the tent that is included with winter space rentals. Renting a tent for an outdoor space in the winter costs thousands, and (at least when we got married) having it included was a tremendous plus. You can bring in your own food and alcohol (with a bartender), and the food was hot and ready for us. Most everything was awesome and seamless, and the staff was pretty receptive to my barrage of emails.
The only reason I’m not giving this place 5 stars (really it should be 4.5) is because the wedding packages are budgeted for short time periods. I can’t remember exactly what it was, but we ended up extending our time there (against the recommendations of the staff) and we STILL had to cut the party way short. I felt that they weren’t too accommodating about the timing issues either and would have appreciated a bit more flexibility on their part.
Other than that one hangup it was perfect. I am sooo happy we chose the Allan House for our wedding. The flexibility for food and drink, the space and the nice staff made that aspect of our wedding very easy. Our guests loved it too.

I recently attended a wedding at the Allan House, which is what I base my review on.
Ups:
Outdoor area was enclosed in a giant plastic tent shaped like a house, and it was actually well heated and comfortable for jacket removal. It turned what would have been a frozen outdoor dinner into a pleasant experience.
Downs:
Despite the heating, the food on our plates (served family style per the happy couple’s wishes) got cold VERY fast. I realize that it’s outdoors and 40dg outside, so I’m not much sure if anything could be done about it.
The interior of the house itself is TINY. There was room for less than 40 chairs, and the rest of us kind of shoved in the backroom. I realize that the couple knew this and I can’t blame the venue for the overcrowding, but at the same time, it’s really, really small. I would imagine most ceremonies take place outside.
It’s next to the jail, and it’s very visible from the outdoor area. I don’t think there’s anything to be done about that, but it’s kinda oppressive.
The bar was upstairs from the outdoor seating, and the stairs are both steep and not perfectly level. I don’t know if the placement of the bar was on purpose, but the steps are DANGEROUS.
On a whole, be specific and think things out, and I think the venue is beautiful and well laid out. Just watch out for the pitfalls.

I loved this little gem in Austin for my October wedding of about 70 people. All the guests are still raving about the location and the outdoor reception under the stars and twinkle lights. The layout is perfect for a wedding allowing special areas for the ceremony, reception, cake and cocktail hour.
The staff at the Allan House is more than professional; they are quick to respond to emails or phone calls and can help you with anything. Juliana was a lifesaver for my wedding. She spent tones of time with me on the phone and via email the week of the wedding and after the wedding as the weather started misbehave for my wedding.
Pros:
1) Downtown Austin — everyone can take taxis or walk back to the hotels/​6^th street.
2) Perfect layout. Guests flow was perfect during cocktail hour and the reception.
3) Little decorations needed. The place is the true focus.
4) Amazing photo opportunities
5) Flexibility in choosing wedding vendors including stocking the bar.
6) Amazing staff that listens to you, helps you and cares. Everything I talked to them about during the final walk through was perfectly executed by their staff.
7) Staff was extremely flexible in my last minute/​day of requests to be on standby for setting up the chairs and hanging the white paper lanterns.
Cons:
1) No rain plan. Tents are expensive (about 3k, make sure you work with Juliana before you sign a contract and tent sharing is not always an option).
2) Set hours. You do not get all day access to venue.

We recently hosted our annual Chef Auction at The Allan House. It was a beautiful space and was perfect for our event. Juliana and her team were very organized and wonderful to work with. She took care of all of our needs and was very detail oriented making sure that everything was perfect for the day of the event. I’d absolutely recommend The Allan House for any event or wedding. It’s the perfect mix between historic and trendy!

I was at the Allan House for a wedding, and let me tell you, it was an absolutely beautiful set up. When I showed up for the dress rehearsal, I couldn’t quite picture in my head how it was all going to be put together, but once we were there for the big day, it was better than I could have imagined.
The lighting was perfectly set, fans were running to offset the unusually humid Austin day, and placement of the bar, food, tables was perfect.
I had a wonderful time and the Allan House did a great job in putting it all together! Congrats to Matt & Amy too for their special day!

My daughter’s wedding and reception were held at the Allan House, May 11, 2013. Every detail of the event went off perfectly. We especially enjoyed getting to know and working with the staff. We could not have been more pleased.

The Allan House was an amazing venue for our 150 guest wedding. It was perfect weather in April and the outdoor ceremony looked gorgeous, especially with their new chandeliers. The staff was very easy to work with and very accommodating. It was a totally beautiful setting and I highly recommend it for weddings of about 150 people or less– any more and it would have been a tight squeeze.

Great location, beautiful outdoor setting with lovely building.
The venue isn’t full service, so there are pros and cons. Pros, you can bring in your own vendors. Cons, you have to do everything yourself.
Venue holds about 150 very snuggly. It’s purely an outdoor venue. You have the building as well, but it is just for housing the welcoming elements and the cake.
Also, the building is shared with a law office, so it’s a little weird.
Parking — street and the option to rent out the lot across the street.

My good friends were recently married at The Allan House, so take this from an outsider’s perspective. That being said, I was the best man for this wedding, so I DID have a good amount of involvement with programs and operations.
I appreciate the help of The Allan House staff not only during the wedding, but also the moments the day-​off. The females that answered the phone were often very friendly and extremely knowledgeable about the premises. I was tasked with sound equipment and acoustics for the wedding, so we had to be extremely technical in our understanding of the venue. Their patience and explanation of exact distances between power sources, band shell, congregation, and stage all went a long way.
Generally speaking, the city requires that all amplification sources must be placed within the band shell, which is in the corner of the courtyard. We didn’t really have any issues with instruments or voices being heard, because the setting was so intimate. The Allan House also did a great job of not making shell appear flagrant or tacky – it’s completely covered in white cloth.
Inside the house, there were multiple rooms to give the gentlemen and ladies the space that they needed. My girlfriend, who was a bridesmaid, indicated that there was A LOT, and really more than enough space in the restroom for the bride to get ready.
One drawback of the venue was that they were very strict with their times. They indicated that we were not allowed to show up prior to the reserved time – which was 8:00am. Apparently there were additional charges for showing up and setting up slightly early.
All in all, for a person that rarely uses the word beautiful, this was a beautiful venue. When the sun was out, it lit up the courtyard well, which still had very nicely maintained trees for shade. Inside the house was super cozy, and was a great spot for cake cutting and speeches. There was little need for audio equipment once inside the house because its acoustics were so great. I also heard very positive remarks from the bride and groom regarding the pictures that they took on-​site.

If you are looking for a quintessential Austin wedding, this may be the perfect place. Right in the heart of Austin with such a cool, historic Austin feel start to finish. Huge, winding trees in a beautiful courtyard.
I loved this venue, but there were a bunch of reasons I didn’t get married here. There is a time (10:30 or 11?) that live music needs to shut off. Parking was a bit difficult. You can rent another parking lot as I recall, but I remember feeling stressed out thinking about how I could make this work. If it rains, you need to have the tents reserved and ready.
Overall, my feeling was that it would be a lot of work to have a large wedding here. I also felt the pricing is a bit high, but the place certainly warrants it. You can also bring in all your own vendors — awesome.
Allan House should absolutely be on your venue tour — check it out. I really liked this venue, just couldn’t make it work for me.

The Allan House was the ideal venue for my husband and me, however, I could see how it might not be for other brides who want to be less involved in the details of their reception. The venue is beautiful and is essentially a blank slate, which was great, because I wanted to design the décor.
My one slight criticism is that The Allan House is really intimately tied to their preferred vendor list and in one particular case, was a source of frustration. We were the first spring wedding without the «winter tent», but the weather was still chilly in Austin. We were at the mercy of Marquee Rentals, the owners of the tent, who are expensive and a bit snippy over e-​mail. They wanted to charge us $ 1K NOT to take their tent down, another $ 250 to replace the walls of the tent they had removed and $ 500 to take down the tent after our Saturday night wedding, since there was a Sunday wedding at Allan House. It left a bad taste in our mouth. We made the decision to forego the tent and pray for sunshine and we got really lucky. We saved $ 1750 and we had really beautiful weather.
On the other hand, the preferred vendor list included our awesome DJ and our bartending service, who were completely buttoned up and true professionals. They knew exactly how everything worked at The Allan House, so I had total peace of mind.
I would highly recommend The Allan House to any bride that wants a beautiful, simple venue (with a great downtown location) and the ability to put her own touches on it.

I recently got married at the Allen House on 1÷1÷11. It was absolutely beautiful. We used the winter tent and it made the place sparkle… the pics came out beautifully. If you do a winter wedding, the tent is included and for the most part is plenty warm. We had seating for about 150. The very back corner by the kitchen was a little chilly with the door opening and closing. But the Allan house had a heater they were able to hook up and blow warm air in to the tent. The house manager that worked that night was so helpful! Whitney was also very helpful throughout the process. Overall, it was a wonderful venue and beautiful, elegant wedding. Thank you, Allan House.

My husband and I were married at the Allan House in May of 2010. We had a great experience from the beginning of the planning process all the way up until our exit from our reception. The venue and grounds are beautiful! There is a lot of old-​fashioned charm in the house, but it also has the convenience of being right in the middle of downtown.
We enjoyed working with Whitney at the Allan House as well. She was very courteous and quick to reply to all our emails and phone calls. Everything went off without a hitch on the day of!
We even had some guests who were recently engaged say that they were thinking of changing their venue choice to the Allan House after attending our wedding. It’s a great versatile space for weddings and private events!