My husband and I booked the Desert Door for our New Year's Eve wedding and we are so glad that we…read moredid. Jessica, the event coordinator, was amazing to work with and she was extremely helpful throughout the whole process. The space has an amazing chic desert vibe plus the drinks are delicious. The staff the night of our party went above and beyond to make sure everyone enjoyed their night. We are so thankful we decided to book this space and we HIGHLY recommend them to anyone looking for an unforgettable experience.

Let my start by saying not all of the photos for Thurman's mansion are truly this event space…read more This is the building with the large front lawn and large columns. It has a semi large ballroom that would easily house 125. The floors are a nice terra-cotta tile and this space has large windows. On the right hand side there are a few windows with stained glass. Check the photo I posted they are very lovely. At the very end of the room is a distinctive wooden bar. The wood is stained dark and it has an aged look to it. There are double doors that lead to the 1st floor patio. This area is a very nice space for cocktails, I would date say you could get 50 to 75 people out there. Beyond the patio are red brick stairs that lead to the large lawn. The large lawn is where you can play lawn games and or hold a ceremony. I will be honest you can hear some of the traffic on the main road. I am sure that would be less noticeable if soft music was playing.the next thing I noticed about this place is that the upstairs are dedicated to the wedding party. There is a suite for the bride and the groom both with their own bathroom. There is also an elevator and a sitting area outside of the suites where a quick meal might be had. All and all I think this is a cute venue. It's an attractive property and all the chartering is handled by Salt Lick.

Hand me a parasol, lace up my corset and find me a Mr. Darcy--this place was from another time!!…read more *contented sigh, I was fortunate enough to be invited to a wedding held out at Thurman's Mansion this past weekend. What a beautiful venue!! I had never even heard of it until I got the invitation. Thurman's Mansion is part of the Salt Lick Family--located just East of the Salt Lick on 1826. Gorgeous iron gates pique the curiousity of drivers and beckon guests in. The venue is a large mansion overlooking well manicured grounds and vineyards. The view of the mansion from the back is just breathtaking. A huge porch covers the back of the building--dramatic pillars hold up a second story balcony. Wide steps lead up from the grounds to the back doors of the reception hallf/main room. I saw the mansion on two different days in two very different ways--Friday afternoon for the rehearsal, I saw it set up for an outdoor wedding. The sun shining down, bride practicing her walk from the sweeping steps of the mansion down to the corner of the lawn where the trellace waited, people lining the stone walls around the perimeter of the lawn watching the practice. I felt like I stepped into a Jane Austen movie--my friend had planned a glorious outdoor wedding on the grounds. Much to her dismay, God and the torrential downpours decided that it would be better to have the ceremony indoors. Rather than ceremony outside and reception inside, both ceremony and reception were inside. The staff had set up about 40 chairs where the dance floor would have been. Double doors were open at the back of the small seating area allowing the pitter-pattering of the rain outside as the background music while they exchanged vows. The reception was a seated dinner for about 150 guests. Salt lick does catering--very fun to have the family style dinner Texas Style w/ cobbler as dessert. A nice alternative to the traditional wedding scene. The porch was a great place for conversation and mingling--they had the bar and some hors d'eouvres set up out there while the guests waited for pictures to be taken. The rain let up for exactly an hour--enough time for outdoor pictures! I honestly think that my friend got the best of both worlds...a unique, beautiful, romantic and intimate indoor wedding ceremony complete with rain and tears. Then outdoor pictures overlooking the vineyards with the mist hovering over the land. I swear I could hear Mr. Darcy beckoning to me while I watched from the porch... My hat goes off to you, Thurman's Mansion. You successfully transported me to another time. Bravo.

Stunning experience…read more This place has to be some of the best food my wife and I have EVER had. We came here to celebrate our anniversary recently after a close friend recommended it. Normally when I hear Italian I think of American Italian - heavy, one note, and leaves you feeling terrible after. Trattoria Lisina was none of those things. First, the location is beautiful. The entire restaurant is surrounded by Texas hill country beauty. The restaurant balances class and cozy in a way hard to explain. The wait staff is excellent and knowledgeable on the menu. Even the small details like their uniforms were excellent. The food is hard to describe. My wife spent an hour post dinner discussing how incredible it was. Every dish we tried was perfection. The fried elements were crisp. The raw elements melted in your mouth like butter. The entrees were executed in a way I've never had pasta! We will absolutely make this our "special place" for life occasions moving forward.

Located in Driftwood, which is a pretty drive on its own , worth it just for the scenery. Heads up:…read moremake reservations if you're going on a weekend, we went at 6pm on a Saturday and the place was already packed. The menu has a ton of great options. We started with salads, crab cake, and some focaccia bread that honestly disappeared in about two minutes, soft, warm, exactly what you want before a big meal. For mains we ordered several dishes: the mezzanine ravioli (hands down the winner, don't skip this one), spaghetti and meatballs, and the spaghetti bolognese. All solid, but that ravioli stuck with me. Do yourself a favor and save room for dessert. The gelato is fantastic, and the classic chocolate cake with salted caramel is the kind of thing you end up fighting over the last bite of. Overall, great spot, and the service is excellent!!!

I fell in love with this venue online, and our first time at the venue I fell in love even more!!…read moreThis venue is so unique and stunning. It's not your typical looking venue at all and that's what caught my eye and that's what I loved the most. This venue is beautiful in every single way, we had our ceremony outdoor and the reception inside. Everyone was blown away!! The venue needs minimal decorations because of the interior design throughout the whole venue. The reception area is stunning with the most beautiful chandeliers and the most amazing natural light shining through. We were obsessed with the big tables and how they really didn't need any table cloths. We absolutely loved our big day and got so many compliments for the beautiful venue we chose. We will forever recommend this venue!!

My daughter's wedding was there this summer and the staff was very professional and accommodating…read moreand they truly led us through the day with no hitches. In the months leading up to the wedding, they were very responsive to questions and knowledgeable about the area and had great suggestions for caterers and other services. It's a beautiful venue, and the dining room/dance floor is the central highlight of the venue - spacious and easy to maneuver and still able to accommodate a wedding party of 150+ people. Great venue, but what truly makes it special was the kind and professional staff who helped everyone have one of the most memorable days of our lives.

Vista brewing is a nice spot in Driftwood to come and hang! I came out here for father's day with…read moremy parents which happened to be during the World Cup. They had it playing on the TVs inside and the place was PACKED -- I'm sure both for the World Cup and father's day. They also had a live band playing in the afternoon outside; it was hot to be out there but the music coming into the covered area was still really nice. Of course it's a little pricey for what you get (both the beer and the food), and they sell out of things which is why I took off a star since the one thing I came to try was actually sold out that day sadly... but the schnitzel hot dog I had wasn't bad. Overall you come here for the ambiance and music, anyway. I'm sure they do beer tasting/tours, but we didn't sign up for that. They also have a very large gravel lot that fits everyone fine -- we got a parking spot within a few mins of arriving despite how busy it was.

Vista is one of my favorite local-ish breweries. Day tripping to Dripping Springs for good…read morebreweries and wineries is such a fun thing to do. So, if there's a place I like, I'm gonna go again and again. Vista is one of those places. I like their approach to beer making. They are vigilantly local when it comes to ingredients and offerings. The brewery/restaurant sits on over 20 acres in hill country. Large, clean, and modern interior with large outdoor seating areas and patio setups. Picnic tables, fire pits, etc. The food is good, gang. Love the grilled sausage board and the cheese board (all local cheese). Soft pretzel & cheese also super good. Lots of other items in the menu that look incredible. Sunday brunch too. Farm to table. The pours...oh, the pours. Excellent beers! I love the black pilsner (Dark Skies), the chocolate notes come through in such an aromatic and roasty manner. The pale ale (Driftwood Pale Ale) is the perfect summer pour. It's light, crisp, and refreshing. In addition to the regular pours, they've got a lot of seasonal offerings too. They also serve wine/wine cocktails and n/an options. Spending a day in hill country? Vista makes for a nice stop!

This review is specifically about The Wildflower Barns Photographer Amber!…read more She is the sweetest women ever, and let me tell you the girl knows how to take some pictures! We pushed back our wedding due to the pandemic, and therefore have not had our actual wedding reception yet, and therefore that is why this review is only about Amber for now...even though everyone at The Wildflower Barn has been so amazing in our wedding planning so far! Even though we postponed our reception, my husband and I still wanted to be married ASAP! Therefore we reached out to Amber to see if there was anyway we could still use the Wildflower Barn for a quick ceremony with me, my husband and our officiant, along with having her take some photos of us! She was more than accommodating and got everything set up for us right away! And for a reasonable price might I add! I showed up on the morning of our elopement, and I'm honestly not worried about getting married, but instead worried about getting photos taken of myself because I have always thought of myself as not photogenic! Amber immediately made us feel so relaxed and at ease, and made sure to give us lots of guidance to make sure we were posing in the best way possible! She is someone I will keep in mind for any potential photos my family needs taken! I am so happy that she will also be there to photograph our wedding reception, and I know already those pictures will turn out better than expected!!

This is such a beautiful, intimate venue. The GPS is a little off on the address, but just keep…read moredriving on the left dirt road to the end. There is lots of parking but wear good walking shoes because the lot is gravel. Once you're in the venue it's dirt, and the dance floor has flooring. There are beautiful trees everywhere and it's lit up really nicely for the evening.

Everything was perfect. We got married on 9/30/18…read more I will say if you plan on getting married anywhere in Austin, this is the place. It was very affordable, AND the food was amazing. Salt Lick is a staple in Austin. All the staff was helpful. The site coordinator (Rachel Agin) was amazing and always very responsive. I was nervous about everything and we had plan A-G and she walked me through it all. I saw another review who was unhappy on the way it looks, but I will say it depends on when you go and how you decorate it. When we visited in December/January... in the winter... there was no greenery... because it was the winter... We were very simple with our decorations (mason jar flowers with 3 votives around the table as centerpieces and a table runner down the middle - that's it) and it was amazing. The chandeliers and lighting were perfect, and I didn't need to be extra. Externally I felt like a princess walking towards the arch and my goodness it was amazing. We just had flowers on the arch and I have seen some people leave it bare (your choice) I think it is beautiful either way. My guests RAVED about the food and ate SO MUCH. They couldn't stop talking about how perfect my wedding was with the location, the food, and everything else. I've gotten comments like "This is probably the prettiest wedding I have been to" and "I went back for 3rds". I will say none of this would have been possible without the incredible staff. They were very patient with us, and there were a few things that I was going to get charged extra for, but they didn't. They didn't rush us out, and made sure we were comfortable and told us to leave whenever we were ready to. So, it was a hectic night but we got to enjoy every moment of it. Here is a link to my wedding video, I am not shy to share it because it was amazingly beautiful. https://vimeo.com/293017813/description I will also post some pictures as well.

We went to the Pecan Grove open house this past weekend and were in awe with the venue. The staff…read moreprovided great customer service and the complimentary food and drinks were all very good! The venue Is located on Onion Creek. It is beautiful! We are looking forward to getting married at Pecan Grove spring of 2019!

We (two couples) were traveling through from California to Florida and stayed here for several…read moredays. The place is absolutely beautiful and very roomy and private. We met the owners and they were very gracious. The private lake and canoes and the tennis court were lots of fun and the location is close enough to Austin for visiting downtown yet far enough out to enjoy quiet star gazing. We found the beds to be to soft...we tried to different rooms sine we had the whole house, and they are very soft. Other than that we loved the place and the location. R. Bama

We stayed here recently and had a great time. Check in was a bit confusing we (12 of us) were all…read moreupset but the property manager fixed the problem which was actually the previous guests left over problem and then we had the most wonderful time ever. Nonostante is a like being a private little wooded valley resort yet being close to everything. We were attending a wedding in Driftwood and thought this place was to expensive but once we looked at what was near there (nothing) and the price of the econo-lodge it turns out not be expensive at all. The private lake was great for swimming, kayaking, fishing etc. The tennis court and the basket ball hoop kept the young at heart busy and rest of us lounged in the spacious, roomy, cozy home. The three living areas are great and we never felt crowded. The home is like something from Southern Living. It is so relaxing. The owner left us some of his home made moonshine and a bunch of cigars for the men for outside use.

Elizabeth and the whole Wild Bunches team did an incredible job at my wedding this past weekend…read more Through the planning process Elizabeth was incredibly patient and kind. She took the time to explain things to me, and she made the whole process very enjoyable. I planned my wedding from out of town, but communicating via email and with inspiration photos worked really well. I was particularly in love with the bridesmaid bouquets they put together. :D In addition to floral arrangements they supplied wooden crates that we used for our cupcake table. I highly recommend Wild Bunches!

Wild Bunches provided beautiful floral arrangements for my wedding day. They were very professional…read moreand easy to communicate with when creating my floral proposal, and they were fantastic on the day of my wedding. I can't recommend them enough for weddings or any other event.

In two months and 10 days my daughter will be marrying her beloved. Carrie and John have been so…read moreaccommodating for all of our questions, and more questions in preparation of the wedding. They make you feel like you're at home on the ranch. It's a beautiful open area with a gorgeous iron pavilion, beautiful bridal trailer and warm groomsmen quarters. Can't wait for the upcoming 2mos and 10 days!

From the owner: Ranch + garden wedding venue west of Austin, TXread more