Barr Mansion, Ballroom, and Farmstead, Austin TX

A beautiful, certified organic, special place. Lovely grounds and killer wood- fired pizza (and other outstanding food).

What a beautiful location with rich history. Came here to shoot a few outside senior pics. The place has plenty to off for any event/wedding. People were very nice and treated us like family. Thank yall very much for the hospitality. Means a lot to this cowboy.

We can start with the Pros:
-the venue is beautiful
-Per my wedding planner, all of the Barr mansion staff was great to work with day off except for the kitchen
-Barr was pretty good about working with us to allow for the vendors and installs we wanted but we still paid a pretty penny for it

We started to get nervous about the food when we attended the Winter Tasting. Barr only includes an “all couples getting married that season” tasting. There was widespread dissatisfaction after that tasting. It wasn’t good. Barr said it was a new chef and then fired that chef shortly after. We were given a makeup tasting over a month later but it still left some couples dissatisfied. Ultimately we chose our wedding menu after many stressful weeks. Barr prides themselves on being a “Farm to table” venue that sources local foods from Texas. This is something I loved about the venue when I chose it. They boasted during our tastings that they were extremely conscious of allergies/ different food lifestyles. Even saying they’ve hosted completely vegan weddings in the past. Barr was sent a list of guests' allergy restrictions and event timeline well in advance and we still had very prominent issues.

Fast forward to the wedding day, our ceremony was wonderful and cocktail hour ran smoothly. Our wedding layout was to have a family style meal in the iconic ballroom and transition to their “farmhouse” pavilion after dinner for the band/dancing.

This is where everything went wrong. Guests promptly sat down per the timeline. Dinner began with the salad/bread and everything was going okay. We were fed a sample plate of all the dishes we had chosen which was a nice touch. Dinner took longer than expected to come out and when it finally did everyone ate and seemed happy. Then we continued to sit and sit and still sit. The quartet we hired to play for the 2 hours of dinner finished playing, packed up and left and we still sat in the dinner space with no music. My planner finally came over and informed us that we could not transition out of dinner into the reception because the kitchen had not fed the band yet. The timeline clearly stated that the band had to be fed at 8: 30. (The band was not fed until past 10pm) We sat for 1hr+ past our timeline transition waiting on the kitchen to feed the band. Our band attempted to make up lost time by skipping all scheduled breaks but we still missed out on time. Having multiple vendors sitting in that room with no guests for over an hour of time we paid for was infuriating. We had a photo booth, espresso martini/coffee full bar, & sketch artist, all waiting in the other room and couldn't get that time back.

It really bothered me that the kitchen wasn’t able to feed our band remotely on time for the event to run smoothly but what really bothered me was finding out at the end of the night that the kitchen NEVER fed our allergy guests their special meals. We had guests attend our wedding who weren’t fed at all. Our planner asked and reminded the kitchen multiple times and kept asking about all of the missing meals for not only the allergy guests but also the band. After the band was finally fed and it got closer to midnight and the special allergy meals still hadn’t been fed, the kitchen informed our planner that it was impossible for the kitchen to complete the meals even though they had the list of allergies for weeks and had all the time in the world to prepare.

It still makes me sick to my stomach to think of our guests who never were fed and went without food. So horrifying for a bride who planned for years to make the day absolutely perfect for everyone and the venue just didn’t feed people.

After sending a debrief the day after and after multiple email follow ups and reaching out to the venue for any kind of explanation they have chosen to completely ignore us and give no answers. I find it pretty horrifying that they could not feed guests at a wedding where they require us to use their kitchen and then ignore us when we seek answers.

This place is amazing. It's not usual to find a place with an incredible venue and food to match.

The owners tried to say that “confused” them with a regular bar. I most definitely did not. Their negligence ruined my sister’s wedding, which was burglarized. The venue had other break-ins in recent history leading to my sister’s wedding which they did not disclose to us. The owners took no responsibility for the tens of thousands of dollars of loss. No integrity or moral business sense.

Great venue for our wedding. They really do a great job maintaining the property. Coordination team was easy to work with and helpful throughout the process. Food was amazing. Thanks for everything Cori and Barr Mansion team!

Beautiful old Texas mansion built around 1898 and additional modern ballroom on property in back all is gorgeous & well maintained. Fabulous food. Excellent for wedding or fabulous events!

Travel from New York to Austin, Texas for a wedding. It was held at the Barr Mansion. Absolutely gorgeous and the food was delicious!

Barr mansion was absolutely amazing! The venue and staff were absolutely fantastic! Especially Cody. He was a big help in making sure everything ran smoothly. As a dj, wedding coordinator, Photo Booth, videography, photography business, it is important to have staff like this at venues. Thank you Barr Mansion, and thank you Cody.

My fiancée and I found them to be discriminating to her religion. They denied further communication and any contract with us service because we asked questions about not wanting to serve alcohol at our wedding. It’s kind of sad and erratic of them to say they want to work with us then deny us when we inquired about beverage service fees without alcohol at a potential wedding. Unfortunately, religious discrimination still exists and it’s sad to see it at a place where people unite and commit to each other. I hope to only warn future couples serious about practicing their religious beliefs about working with this location.

I am a little late in posting this review because I do not like to give negative reviews. However, having now hosted two weddings one year apart, I can give an honest review here, and I think it is important for future brides to have good information before booking a venue for their dream day.

My youngest daughter got married at Barr Mansion in 2021. The setting was beautiful and the wedding was fun, but I was very disappointed with the execution of the evening. We were promised things that were not delivered. The coordinator, Margaret, was MIA most of the time. We constantly had to look for her when questions or needs arose. She was a hot mess to say the least. She did not give good directions to the wedding party, she did not keep things moving on time, and she was generally not helpful.

The florist we chose, Earl Grey Floral, was incredible! I cannot say enough good things about them. They were professional, creative, and attentive. They made the most beautiful arrangements and bouquets. The colors really popped! They offered creative ways to save money without compromising extravagance. Since they had worked at Barr Mansion for other events, they were more helpful to us when we had questions and couldn’t find Margaret. Sad. But we were grateful for Earl Grey Florals. I highly recommend them for your wedding or event!

The food was delicious, BUT the portions were TINY. Our guests and wedding party were hitting the fast food restaurants that were open at midnight because they were so hungry. That was embarrassing.

We were promised two bars, HOWEVER instead, we were given two bartenders. ONLY TWO BARTENDERS. Needless to say, the lines for drinks were very long.

The band was Hot Sauce ATX. They were amazing! But even they were frustrated with Margaret. They literally played dinner music for almost two hours because the bride and groom were caught by guests who wanted to visit with them. That happens. It’s natural and it’s nice, but the job of the coordinator is to keep things moving. We were supposed to have cake cutting, toasts, and the first dance around 7pm. I was still looking for Margaret at 8pm to get this going. Instead, I had to step in and steal the bride and groom away from guests. It was awkward and uncomfortable. I felt like I was being rude. It was not my job to do. Margaret put me in a position I shouldn’t have been in.

So, I’m going to end it here. If Margaret is still on staff at Barr Mansion, choose another coordinator OR choose another venue entirely. If your heart is set on using Barr Mansion, I suggest having a sincere meeting and being very clear with them about your expectations. For the price you are paying, you deserve to get what you are promised.

The reason I chose to go ahead and write this review at this time is because my oldest daughter got married at a very similar venue in Nashville, Tennessee in July. That venue handled everything with style and grace. We received everything we were promised. It was truly a magical experience and I was able to enjoy every minute of the evening. Now that I’ve seen it done right, I can say Barr Mansion did it all wrong.

This concludes my very first negative review. And now I feel crummy all over again. But it needed to be said.

DO NOT DO BUSINESS HERE! YOU WILL BE DISAPPOINTED! YOU NEED TO READ THIS! I’d give them negative stars if possible. My best friend had his wedding venue here. BEAUTIFUL on the outside, everything was set up for perfection and the day set sail without a hitch. However being surrounded by your best buds can make a not so nice place seem nicer than it actually is; and that is Barr Mansion. Nothing but a tourist trap and typical underperforming/over promising Austin area business trying to hype itself up. I won’t get into how unprofessional the groomsmen were spoke to/treated bc honestly you wouldn’t believe it…. Keep reading please, I’ll get to a point.

After the event kicked off finally, speeches were made, things were taking a turn for the better… and the electricity went off. Lights, microphone, the band (that was paid
For before and hasn’t performed), everything went to the stone age. There was not ONE person to go to, contact, ya know, the wedding person that fixes problems. They made it seem like it was up to the wedding party to find a journeyman electrician and magically fix everything. The beautiful innocent bride was having to solve problems outside of her realm while trying
To remember this was her wedding day. They eventually landed on “it’s ok we have a solution” to putting lights up outside with a DJ to have the first dances and rest of speeches. Imagine your perfect day and you get the electricity cut off- and they ended up not wanting to pay you some of
Your money back. This wedding venue is content with thinking they should still be paid for A+ service and accommodations when they should be paid the latter. Don’t ever do business with this place, unless they start advertising on Groupon for 99% off. These people are unprofessional and not qualified one bit to have the slightest thing to do with the most important day of a couples relationship. I wouldn’t trust these money taking, over promising and seriously under delivering unprofessionals with my child’s future 3 year old birthday party; Chuck E. Cheese would blow them out of the water when it comes to customer service. Don’t do it people, don’t even think about doing it. Just research venues west of 35 on Hwy 290 if you want an Austin wedding. There are other places out there that even have baby Donkeys that serve wine, not adult donkeys that pretend to run wedding venues. Facts.

First the positive, our planner Caryn did a wonderful job helping us through the process. Unfortunately she has left for a better job. Cocktails were good. She has not control of the kitchen.
The lawn ceremony was well set up and looked beautiful. Cocktail hour in the farmstead in hot weather is NOT good. Fans are weak and your food does not hold up. Food was weak and not as was explained and not plentiful.
The reception area is organic looking and once decorated looks much better.
I would not suggest more then 125 guest or the space will be too crowed and you'll have a small dance floor.
If you choose a buffet as we did, very poorly executed and NOT attractively set up, Very disappointed. Not a decoration, greenery or attractive table coverings for the buffet tables. Another thing, the food we chose at the tasting, the way it was prepared was NOT the way it was served at the wedding. They switched out the type of pasta that we chose and did not prepare it like we tasted it. The same with the lentil salad and the bread, not as we tasted it.
The salad that we asked to be plated and served at the table was pitiful, Barr Mansion should be embarrassed, after all they are an Organic facility, the produce should have been beautiful! If you order pizza make sure your guests are aware that it's there and not cold.
I know things can and have been difficult during these last few years due to Covid, but, their staff should have been neat and tidy and not wearing dirty clothing, I was appalled. Smile people, and make the weddings you are working at not seem like a funeral.
Barr Mansion is not on their game!

Beautiful place! Attended a wedding here and had a great time, the venue was nice and staff very helpful and friendly!

I had the honors of escorting Chandler to his masters big day…Dustin and Hannah were getting married and Chandler walked down the aisle too. Upon arriving the manager helped us to get parked close by the area we needed to be. She even got a bowl of water and a chair for us to sit and wait until time. So pleased they are dog friendly and was allowed inside for the air conditioning. Chandler knew he was there for a reason and he did his part in style and with lots of love from many that knew him from his younger days growing up right by Dustin’s side for 15 years. Today was no different and Barr Mansion helped by being very accommodating with this wonderful wedding. Great place and wonderful memories forever️

Nancy Woods, wedding officiant with I Pronounce You. Today, is completely blown away by Barr Mansion. The historic mansion, the gorgeous gardens, the abundance of green rolling lawns, the reception areas, the ceremony sites…all exceptional. The staff is on top of every detail and is dedicated to catering to the needs the couple and the comfort of the guests. I highly recommend Barr Mansion to couples wanting something out of the ordinary, something historical in which to start their story.

Getting married at Barr Mansion was an incredible experience from start to finish. The wedding would not have been what it was without the help of Molly, who guided us through the entire wedding planning process, helped us put together an all-star lineup of vendors, and made sure that our wedding was truly the wedding of our dreams. She went above and beyond to ensure everything exceeded our expectations, putting immense thought and care into the days leading up to the wedding and the wedding itself.

Barr Mansion itself is a gorgeous venue if you are looking for something upscale yet rustic. Also, it is a bonus that it is a zero-waste facility and is constantly working towards becoming a more sustainable venue.

We also have to give a massive thank you to Chef Nicholas and Pastry Chef Sarah. The food was outstanding! Our guests are still raving about the food and how delicious everything was. Every dish was unique, tasty, and filling. The late-night pizza, served fresh from the brick oven, was also some of the best we have ever had.

The team at Barr did a phenomenal job. I want to especially thank Hollie for always answering questions quickly and making me and my family feel so special, Debbie for creating incredible cocktails, and Bella and Claudia, who both offered extra day-of support that was positively flawless.

We were so happy we chose Barr Mansion for our wedding. We used Barr’s standard coordinator package which included prep meetings, availability to answer my questions along the way, and rehearsal and day-of coordination. It was perfect for someone who is a planner and organized but needs someone who knows all the questions to ask to get all the details right. Our coordinator Keena was fantastic and kept everything in order and on time on the day. All our guests loved the food and drinks and I loved how flexible Barr was with helping us provide an option for guests with specific dietary/allergy needs. We also chose Barr because it minimized the total number of vendors we had to coordinate. Our coordinator, food, cake, alcohol, catering & bartending, etc.were all provided through Barr and made my life so much easier. We even used some of Barr’s rentals as well. If you are getting married in Austin, definitely check out Barr Mansion!