Austin Women’s Club

This is a gorgeous historical building, and the club meetings are so fun. I am a fan.

Château Bellevue came up on my planning radar because of its location. We wanted a downtown venue for about 100 guests that had space for an indoor reception, and the free parking was an added bonus. We scheduled a tour with Mandy, and knew we were in good hands. Mandy was helpful and quick to respond – she even recommended our officiant when we were chatting with her about planning progress during our food tasting.
Speaking of food, yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. After tasting Jeff’s delicious creations, I immediately contacted my planner to make sure she knew it was a priority to box up a meal to be sent to our hotel after the wedding. Our guests were wild about the buffet we served (apps – chicken salad sandwiches, risotto balls, sides-​green beans, potato gratin, entrees – herb-​crusted beer, pecan chicken), and my first post-​reception action included eating potato gratin (from both of the boxes my planner sent with us – sorry husband).
On our wedding day, we knew we had a stream of storms heading our direction, and CB staff was so perfect with their weather radar apps to determine if an outdoor ceremony was possible – they knew exactly how much of a window we needed to put out chairs, seat guests, and get through our 18 – 20 minutes ceremony without soaking everyone. With a 7 minutes delay, we hit the window they calculated perfectly, got married under the sweet magnolia, and even had most of the cocktail hour on the lawn before CB staff gave us the 7 minute storm warning to get inside. 8 minutes later we were enjoying the torrential storm from our comfortable ballroom.
Additional notes:
–free 2 hours for bridal portraits before the wedding – I highly recommend using this. My husband and I decided to take photos together 2 weeks before the wedding, so we did first look photos at this private session with our photographer, and it eliminated a lot of wedding day stress because we knew we had great photos going into it. Now we have sweet first look photos, and we still had the cool experience of seeing each other for the first time on the wedding day at opposite ends of the aisle.
–though they said they wouldn’t have a room for the groomsmen to get ready, we were surprised day of to have separate spaces for both sides to get dressed. Excellent adjustment.
–Gorgeous venue. Really. Perfect for simple décor. We didn’t do anything to decorate the ceremony courtyard because it didn’t need it.
–It’s worth upgrading for the Chivari chairs they rent. It hurts if you’re trying to scale back your budget, but they’re so pretty and they make a big impact.
–Their staff is great, flexible, and easily accessible. –Our younger guests loved being able to walk a few short blocks to West 6^th to continue the party.
–You are required to have at least a day of wedding coordinator, but it helps the day go so smoothly that it’s a worthwhile expense.
There’s nothing I would change about choosing Château Bellevue. We had an amazing wedding because of their attentive, thoughtful staff, and I know we’ll have a stunning backdrop for ceremony photos. My only complaint – I don’t have easy access to Jeff’s cooking. I’m planning to crash a wedding here in the future for the food. (Or you could invite us – we’re sociable and decent dancers.)

I’ve been putting off this review because I like to think on it quite a while before writing a negative review. However, I feel compelled to help other soon to be brides avoid the situation that happened to me.
While I found the venue quaint and lovely in many ways, and I’ve read the food is great, I will never know because they sold my date out from under me after I put it on hold. It’s hard to imagine having your entire wedding planned around a venue and getting an email saying that they’re sorry, but they sold my date.
Besides the clear neglect and lack of organization on their part, it was handled poorly — very poorly. The email telling me the date had been sold was not apologetic at all, but peppy and very inconsiderate. When I asked how it happened, they feigned that they did not remember our in person meeting when I put the date on hold for a week — which is their policy — only 4 days after I placed a 7 day hold on the date, they sold it.
Many contracts that are associated with a wedding are non-​cancellable or non-​refundable. I was extremely lucky that the vendors with which I contracted for the wedding at Château Bellvue were very understanding and allowed me to cancel. However, because of the complexities of getting everything needed on a specific date, I can’t imagine how badly this could go for someone else who might find themselves in a similar situation.
There are many good if not great reviews here. I did not have the same experience. Get it in writing ladies. They require an in person tour to hold a date, but please follow up with an email and make sure your date is truly held while you’re nailing down other details! This was a nightmare for me and I wouldn’t want to see any other bride to be go through re-​planning a wedding because the venue sold their date out from under them because «they didn’t remember» that you wanted the date held :(

Having rented out this venue about 10 times in the last 2 years, I can officially give it my 5 star Unilocal review! The best thing about this venue is that it truly is the whole package:
Location– Absolutely, Amazingly, Beautiful. Historical. Centered in downtown Austin. Convenient parking. Those four qualities are rarely seen together in Austin!
Staff– Mandy and Jeff on staff at Château Bellevue are kind, easy to work with, and detail oriented so you can feel comfortable that your event will go off without a hitch (or with one if a wedding be the occasion)!
Food– I’ve eaten here with every event, and each time I order the meal as «chef’s choice» because I know the head chef, Jeff, is going to come up with something amazing. Every time without fail it has been a gourmet surprise at a reasonable price.
Great for weddings, parties, photoshoots and filming!

I attended a wedding at the Château Bellevue, Home of the Austin Woman’s Club. It was a beautiful little venue with a quaint outdoor patio where the ceremony was held. The ballroom had room for about a dozen tables of 6 people with plenty of room for the dance floor.
If you’re worried about noise from the surrounding downtown area, the wedding reception was held during the middle of FunFunFun Fest without any hint of a festival taking place a few blocks away.

I am so glad we went with Château Bellevue for our wedding reception and ceremony location. It is in a beautiful area of downtown, with it’s own parking lot, and a lot of nearby hotels. It’s beautiful and unique with a multilevel courtyard and intimate ballroom. My guests raved about how good the food was, and how beautiful the venue was.

Château Bellevue hosted our wedding ceremony and reception in early March of 2014. We were extremely happy with the pre-​wedding communication, flexibility, helpfulness, and knowledge of Mandy, the events coordinator, and Jeff, the head Chef. Although our ceremony was supposed to be held outside in their lovely courtyard, Texas weather kicked in the morning of, the temperature dropped 30 degrees and it started raining in a matter of hours. Mandy and her team moved the ceremony inside, rearranged everything, and the whole night was flawless (the guests never knew it was to be held outdoors). Let me tell you about the food… the appetizers are delicious and the dinner was remarkable. I am a foodie, I grew up helping my mother cater weddings, and I cook the dinners at home, so I appreciate a great meal, and even more a great meal served plated with a variety of food choices, and all allergies accommodated. Jeff, the head Chef, and his team are skilled, hard working, and friendly as heck.
The historic beauty of the venue, 80 parking spots for your guests, the proximity to some great after party bars, the quality of food and service, and the reasonable fees make Château Bellevue an immense value. Our guests had an amazing time and my bride and I are greatful to the staff at Château Bellevue for making it all happen.

What an amazing place! Château Bellevue is romantic, inside and out. Every room is beautiful from top to bottom. The rustic furniture, the stained glass, the carved woodwork, the French arches, the balcony view, the quiet courtyard, are all what makes this venue really special.
They have security that will shoo any bums that want to crash the party. Don’t get confused with the parking. You’ll have to go through a ‘pay to park’ lot, but then you’ll enter the venue lot which is free. If you’re looking for a wedding venue with history, this place is it.

We have chosen to have our wedding reception at Château Bellevue and I can’t say enough about Mandy and the whole team there. I am an out-​of-​town bride, meaning I can’t just come by and see the space whenever I want, and they have been absolutely accommodating and helpful about letting me come by whenever I am in town.
I also really appreciate how detailed their wedding packet is… it includes floorplans, menu upgrade options and details down to the linens and chairs. I feel 100% confident that our wedding will go off without a hitch in March and I owe much of that to the CB team!

I used Château Bellevue as my bridal portrait location and cannot be any more pleased with the venue. It is soooo pretty! At first, I had a hard time paying $ 250 for 2 hours just to use the facility for my bridal portraits, but it was so worth it. I look at my bridal portraits a lot and still can’t get over how gorgeous the house and the grounds are.
The only drawback is most of the furniture cannot be moved. I so wanted a picture on a pink couch outside, but we weren’t allowed to move the couch outside, although I’ve seen that couch outside before for bridal portraits. (I was told the ladies of the Austin Women’s Club did not want it moved outside anymore.) Despite this rule, we were still able to get a ton of amazing shots.

I filmed an event last Tuesday at Château Bellevue put on by The Traveling Photo Booth. It’s not a massive location by any means but I do enjoy historical landmarks and the venue itself is pretty. I do wish there was more photogenic locations with the Austin Skyline in the background (maybe if there was roof access?).
It would be fun to film a wedding here. :)

I held my wedding reception at the Château Bellevue on Saturday, June 2 2012. This review is terribly overdue; much of that delay can be attributed to (i) general burn-​out on all things wedding-​related (I haven’t even gone through every single one of our wedding pictures yet, if you can believe it) and (ii) concern that I would not be able to adequately articulate how grateful my husband and I both are to CB for everything they did for us up to, and during, our reception.
I frankly can’t recall at this point how far in advance I booked the CB for our reception (the wedding Mass itself was held at a nearby Catholic church). It was probably about 9 months in advance. As other reviewers have mentioned, the venue did go through some management changes during that time. However, thanks to the GM’s (Jeff Christianson) caring oversight, those management changes had no negative impact on our planning process. Stacy, the manager that the CB was eventually lucky enough to find, was absolutely wonderfully kind and understanding, especially considering how she had to on-​board not only for our wedding but many others at (relatively) the last minute.
This is probably a good time to mention that I might have been one of the more exacting, and nervous, brides that they have had to work with. Nothing fazed Jeff or Stacy, however, and they always took as much time as I needed to address any questions or concerns that I had. Planning my wedding reception at the CB, I felt unequivocally listened to and taken care of.
With respect tot he venue itself, I think any bride looking for a downtown location to seat around 150 (give or take) would be hard pressed to find a better location. I know I couldn’t. The downtown location itself is amazing — a prime location in itself, and our guests were able to walk about 2 blocks south to West 6^th area (J Blacks, Molotov area) to keep the party going after the reception ended. They could even leave their cars overnight in CB’s parking lot if they wanted. Everyone had high praises not only for the venue itself but also for the staff. My other vendors (wedding planner, florist, DJ, etc) said that Jeff and Stacy were great to work with. The venue rental fee and price per plate were a steal. The structure made for some breathtaking photography shots, and my guests themselves felt like they were in a castle for the evening (which, they kinda were).
Did I mention the food? Out of this world. Honestly. Every bride owes it to herself to select Jeff’s au gratin potatoes as one of her side dishes. I might be tempted to crash someone else’s reception there just to have them again. We had our dinner served family-​style, which is kind of a cross between (i) buffet and (ii) formal table service. It was a hit. Jeff had never specifically done family-​style service before; but, we wanted it and Jeff met with us numerous times to make sure that everything was just as we were picturing. In addition, my husband and I had some very specific requests with respect to our passed appetizers during the cocktail hour to represent the places where we grew up (me, St Louis; him, Puerto Rico). Jeff researched the representative dishes from our hometowns and made them a couple of times for us t make sure they were just right (and they weren’t just right — they were perfect). He didn’t even blink an eye when my dear husband brought by a specific Adobo for use on the tostones.
I just don’t know what else to say to express what a wonderful experience it was to hold our reception there. My husband and I will always be grateful to Jeff and Stacy for the experience. If there any questions that readers would like to ask about the Château, please don’t hesitate to message me!

March 24, 2012. One big day in our lives, and one very important location at which to spend it.
AWC /​Château Bellevue ended up being a fantastic choice for our wedding venue. We reserved approximately one year in advance, and (let me get it out of the way) our term of engagement outlasted most of the staff of the venue. There were some changes in management, including one manager who made some promises she couldn’t keep. That said, it was handled with grace and fairness by her replacements, and though a little stressful at the time, our event was in no way affected, and we couldn’t have been happier with the staff we got.
Our GM, Jeff Christensen, and he deserves the individual shout-​out, took point man role for the couple months leading to the event, and did a fantastic job in making sure all the (numerous!) details were ironed out. Quick follow ups and overall competence, not to mention a great attitude — wonderful guy to work with.
Events manager Stacy Payne, the newest member, was on board for just the last couple weeks, but she did a wonderful job on our big day, adding such thoughtful touches to the event, ensuring a super smooth turnover between ceremony, dinner, reception, and even setting up a «quiet» room with drinks and snacks for us to take a breather post-​ceremony at only a simple mention of how nice that would be.
Now, the venue itself. The Château is a gorgeous old stone mansion with a fantastic interior courtyard and ballroom — it’s a really great layout for a wedding. There are tons of nooks and crannies for quiet conversation, and plenty of space for dinner and dancing. Not to mention the courtyard is. dare I say. an idyllic setting for a wedding ceremony. The entire thing lends itself to an entertaining evening. Period furniture and features abound, and the venue is very well kept. very pleasing to the eye and a hard place to take a bad picture!
I also want to mention the food. Oh, the food. We went with Cobb salads, pecan-​crusted chicken, bacon-​wrapped filet, and numerous delectable appetizers. The kitchen pulled it all off without even the tiniest hitch (impressive for 100 individually-​served seats!), and we received tons of compliments on the food. Nailed it.
There are many other little details I could go in to, but the bottom line on this review is that the staff put tons of hard work into pulling everything together flawlessly for our big day, and helped create the memory of a lifetime. We would gladly choose the Château if we had to do it all over again, and they are definitely worth a look in your venue shopping.

From the standpoint of a musician, performing in a given venue, I have to say my recent experience at Château Bellevue was one of the most enjoyable ever! Ordinarily, when playing for a wedding, I find it good policy to get in, set up, play the music and quietly tear down and get my equipment out of there and STAY OUT OF THE WAY! There’s just too much going on and too many stressed out people trying to pull off the event of a lifetime, to be trying to help the piano player solve his problems. But I had a big problem this time. I was to begin playing at Château Bellevue at 12:30 on a Sunday afternoon. I was also performing the same day at a venue an hour away, and that performance didn’t end until 11:30. So I had just enough time to drive from one spot to the next and start playing. Hauling in equipment just before the wedding wouldn’t cut it. So I needed my equipment already there, and pretty much set up and ready for me to play.
I showed up on their doorstep during off hours and rang the doorbell. I recognized the person who came to the door immediately as the Executive Chef, Jeff Christenson (from the website I’d visited to get their address). Ohh Geez! I’d just interrupted the Executive Chef and I knew for a fact he had food to prepare for two weddings coming up! Yet, he couldn’t have been more gracious and accommodating. He showed me through the building and the best possible places to position my keyboard and amps, where all the electrical outlets were, making every helpful suggestion imaginable, and offered to stow my equipment in «the vault» and have it moved out for me before my arrival to play for the wedding.
Because of his helpfulness and assistance given me by a friend who was also performing, it all came off without a hitch and I was able to start the music right on time with no problems. What this really communicated to me was that here was a person whose sole interest was in making sure every aspect of the wedding was as perfect as he could help make it.
I can’t wait for another opportunity to play at Château Belleveu, and would definitely book it myself for an event, given the choice.

My husband and I got married at Château Bellevue (home of the Austin Women’s Club) earlier this month. We booked the venue back in May, and at that time dealt with Manager A.
The venue is beautiful. It is an old mansion tucked away on 8^th between San Antonio and Nueces. The location is fantastic for guests who might want to do a bit of bar hopping after the reception (as mine did :-) We were married in the courtyard, and had the reception in the ballroom inside.
In the middle of planning for the wedding, Manager A left the Château. I was a bit upset, as I was informed that Manager A had told us some incorrect things (like that we would be able to have a cocktail hour in the upstairs parlor area). However, Tracie, the new manager, and Kristi were so incredibly helpful and flexible. We were able to decorate the exterior and interior how we liked. We went ahead and had a cocktail hour on the small lawn and patio upstairs, and it was beautiful. The Château helpfully set up a bar on the lawn, and allowed us to hang lights and other decorations.
I have received so many compliments from our guests about the food, especially the bread. There was a wonderfully cheesy topping on the rolls that was amazing. We had queso and Tiff’s Treats for our guests later in the evening, and I was happy that the the Château accommodated us in bringing out the queso later.
Thank you, Tracie and Kristi, for helping make our wedding one of the best days of our lives. I would recommend the Château to anyone having about a 100 person wedding. It’s beautiful and has a castle-​like feel. We even had my sister and her daughter sing during the ceremony from the balcony above. It was magical.

We had a small (60 – 70 guests) wedding reception here this past weekend and we couldn’t be more pleased with our experience. Kirsti, Amber’s replacement, is kind, funny and competent. She was on-​site and helpful throughout, as was her very professional and attentive staff.
The food deserves special attention – if I could give it six stars, I would! Our guests enjoyed the buffet to the point that many went back for second and even third helpings. Luckily Jeff, the head chef, is aware of the effect his food has on guests and had prepared plenty for all to enjoy.
Our reception included a slide show. There is a stage with a screen that rolls down from the ceiling. Our DJ, Joel from Greenbelt DJ Productions, hooked us up with his laptop, projector and excellent sound system resulting in a truly professional show.
Because ours was a small wedding, the dance floor was big enough to draw most of our guests out to try their moves.
The beauty of the venue, the helpfulness of the staff and the fabulous food would lead you to think the price might be out-​of-​reach for the average patron, but we found it to be a very good bargain.
Clean-​up was made as easy as possible for us. We took the flowers and left-​over alcohol with us that night, but they were willing to put aside all other things (pictures, candles, table cloths, soft drinks, etc.) and let us come to collect them on Monday. They couldn’t have been more accommodating to us.
I cannot recommend this venue highly enough!

I own Greenbelt DJ Productions and have provided DJ services at Château Bellevue at least 30 times. I’m there regularly and have nothing but positive things to say about the venue and the staff, especially the on-​site manger and coordinator, Amber. She is awesome and easy to work with and works real hard to get the job done right. Plus, aesthetically, the venue is beautiful inside and out. You can’t beat the price, either! i highly recommend this venue for weddings or other events.

People are still talking about our wedding at the Château Bellevue. We were married in Sept of ’08 and we did the wedding in the outdoor area. The staff had great recommendations on how to set up the chairs to limit the amount of people who were standing. It was a big wedding with a very intimate feeling.
The areas to get dressed allow for a very relaxing, what could be stressful, day. We had family and the wedding party upstairs in the rooms and dressing areas and it was great to be able to get away too once the reception started.
The staff was so great that our food was slightly delayed, but no one knew (including the bride). The staff rolled out more hors d’oeuvres and then the food.
Parking was great! Food– fantastic! And the photos are fairy-​tale. I highly recommend getting married here.

Amber at Château Bellevue can be hard to communicate with. She doesn’t always return calls or emails extremely quick. Honestly, she needs more help. She’s almost superwoman — but she needs a sidekick! That’s the only reason for 4 Stars instead of an 5 Star rating. The beginning was a bit rough. I’m not sure how much of that was because of my previous Wedding Planner, though. (I was working with Buon Affare and they were unequipped to plan weddings. They may have caused problems with my venue due to their ineptitude.) It’s hard to say now.
Amber’s brutally honest, upfront and at times abrasive. (So am I, which is why things were a tad rough at the beginning.) That being said, she knows what she is talking about — and she’ll tell you it quickly! Listen to her and be patient. She’s worth it.
She knows her venue extremely well, so she can easily help you map out how to get the most out of it.
She can also be extremely flexible, which we were grateful for. When our first wedding planner (as mentioned above) backed out unjustly TWO DAYS BEFORE OUR WEDDING, Amber was appalled. She jumped in and brought on extra staff to make sure our day went smoothly. Even though we found a day of coordinator, Amber was there to take over that role had we been unlucky. She ran our rehearsal, since our DOC couldn’t make it (short notice and all).
As a wedding venue, CB is amazing. It is a photographers dream. It has perfect lighting, numerous picturesque locales for great photos, lots of antique furniture. It is not ideal for a wedding larger than 150 people — truth be told, 150 is the MAX allowed. We ended up with 100 people due to all the inclement weather — so we got lucky!
We held the ceremony in the courtyard and the reception indoors. They have a little room which is perfect for buffet style meals. They also have a stage which our DJ loved.
All in all, this is my dream venue and I couldn’t imagine getting married anywhere else.

The Austin Women’s Club/​Château Bellevue is a wonderful event space. We had our wedding here with about 100 people in November. We got married outside in the courtyard — a truly unique and intimate setting. We then had the reception indoors, which included catered buffet food, drinks (from a local wine vendor) and dancing. Amber, the Wedding Coordinator, is great to work with. She’s honest about prices and what she thinks you need and don’t need. This space was ideal for out of town guests, too, because they could stay downtown and did not have to rent a car. The house is GORGEOUS and lends itself to wonderful photos. I can’t recommend this venue enough!