Austin's Inn at Pearl Street

My daughter was married in April at The Inn at Pearl Street. The setting outside was lovely and we were lucky enough to have a beautiful evening, full moon and all.Our dealings with Jill Bickford, the owner and manager of the Inn were anything but lovely. From the very start of our dealing with The Inn, it was one of the most difficult relationships I have ever had. I did not meet Jill when I first viewed the venue for my daughter’s upcoming wedding. I met with Shannon, who was supposedly in charge of weddings held at the Inn. She was pleasant, but unable to answer any specific questions, as she told me that the final answer would have to come from Jill. After having signed the contract, I did read quite a few negative reviews online which should have given me a red flag.The following are some specific things that occurred during our Inn at Pearl Street dealings:1. Our final bill states “last call for alcohol 1 hour prior to end of event, bar closes ½ hour prior to end of event.” We had paid an extra $250 so the event would end at 11:30 PM. There was a sign on the bar that said “bar closes at 10:30”. The bar should not have closed until 11 PM since the party lasted until 11:30 PM2. We also paid for an extra bartender ($105). There was only one bartender. Shannon stepped in because the bartender was late, but there was not an extra bartender.3. I also paid for the “Twilight Candle” package and was charged $195. I only purchased this package because we were not allowed to use our own candles. My concern was that the tables would be too dark if I did not purchase this “Twilight Candle” package. I was told that the candles would be scattered on the tables as well as around the venue. There were, in fact, no candles on the tables and very few votive candles scattered around. One of my friends who helped to clean everything up gathered all of the votives at the end to help out. She said that there were only a handful of these votive candles. 4. I was also charged $175 for extra set-up. Jill stated that we were charged this amount because extra help would be required to reset the tables. There was no extra help. When we asked for the extra hour to set up (3:30 PM), we were told that all of the tables and chairs would be set in their places and tablecloths would be put on the tables before we arrived at 3:30. That is not what happened. When my vendors arrived, the process of putting up tables and chairs had only just begun so my people had to work around what was supposed to have been done before they arrived.5. The bride and groom were to be provided two hours before the event, in other words, from 4:30 to 6:30. My daughter was given the Library with a tiny bathroom. This was the bathroom that was also used by all of the guests. I paid for 125 guests and I do not believe that this tiny bathroom was adequate for that many people, besides the fact that the bride had no privacy. The groom was finally given a space at around 5:20, which was not even a room with a bathroom and only after he said that he needed to put on his suit to get ready for the pictures which were beginning at 6PM. The room was shown to him but he was not able to use it at 4:30 because Jill said that she needed it. Basically he had no place to go to relax and get ready for the wedding. These are only a few examples of what it was like to have a wedding at The Inn at Pearl Street. Jill is impossible to work with so I recommend that you save yourself some anguish and celebrate your occasion at one of the other beautiful venues in Austin.

My husband and I recently had the reception for our daughter's wedding at the Inn at Pearl Street. Since we live out of town, I relied on Jill Bickford to arrange everything. The party was PERFECT! I received many compliments on the Inn and the party. Jill worked very hard and with much expertise to insure that the party was stress free for me adn lots of fun for our guests. Her staff was superb. My husband and I, and the bride and groom spend the weekend and the Inn as well and really enjoyed it.I would highly recommend the Inn at Pearl Street weather you are looking for a nice place to stay that feels more luxurious than home or weather you need to have a nice party. Breakfast was fantastic!

My husband and I had a hard time searching for the right venue for us. We needed something that was in our budget, but at the same time beautiful and memorable. We called around and looked at a lot of venues and the prices where looking grim. Yes, they were gorgeous places but $3,000.00 for just the place was just not an option for us. So, finally I found Austin's Inn at Pearl Street and I had to go and see the place. I met with Claire who is just so amazing and supportive. We talked about what I was looking for and she gave me a tour of the place which is just so beautiful. I asked about dates in October and when she said they had a Saturday available, I just had to grab it. My husband was not able to come and see the place with me. But after I told him what a good deal it was and how I thought it was the perfect place for our special day, he said that I should go for it.Now, I was able to keep it a little under $2,000 by not buying the food from them, not paying for the candle or flower package. I kept it really basic and simple. My whole motto for the wedding was "Simple but Elegant" and it really was. If you look around the place you realize that most of the decorating is done. There are amazing white lights that are on all the trees, water fountains, a gazebo and much more. Instead of candles we had water resistant LED lights that went into the vases of flowers and we did our own flowers which we got from a local floral shop a day before the wedding. Back to the place, Claire was great about answering all of my questions and getting right back to me when she did not know the answer. She really is such a kind person and you are going to love working with her. On the actual day, I arrived and things were looking great. They provide a room for the bride and the bridesmaids to get changed and even though Claire was running around working to make this day perfect, she still had time to come and drop off ice water to us as we were changing. I could go on and on about that terrific night but I am just going to say that it is worth the money and if you are going to have a small wedding on a small budget then this is the place for you.Plus, my photographer Caroline Ulbrich said that this was her favorite place to take pictures. She said that the lights provided the best atmosphere for great pictures.So, I hope that this helped and you should definitely go see the place. I think you will fall in love with it just like I did!

Jill and Crystal do a great job and take care of absolutely everything! We were able to sit back and just enjoy our day.

The Inn was a wonderful place to have our wedding. We were told by our friends that it was the best wedding they had attended, and our mothers both were told that our wedding was like a fairy tale. The white Christmas lights in the trees make it gorgeous, and help make absolutely beautiful pictures. I highly recommend this location for a wedding. My family also stayed the weekend there, and they loved it.

Everything was so beautiful, I loved it.

Jill Bickford at Austin's Inn at Pearl Street is an absolute nightmare. Austin's in at Pearl Street is truly beautiful, but the negative experiences I experienced at the hands of Jill completely outweigh all of that. I originally was working with a wedding coordinator by the name of Sherri under Jill's employment. Sherri was very nice, but I found her to be rather scatter-brained. I was planning the wedding long distance which made the idea of working with the Inn to coordinate my wedding very appealing, however, Sherri tended to forget details from one appointment to the next. She was a very nice lady, however, and I could overlook those moments. Unfortunately, Sherri left the Inn and I was passed off to Jill, who was just terrible. I think that she resented having to take over my wedding and it showed. She caused one problem after another. She was completely unfelxible and unreasonable. The day before my wedding we were having the rehearsal run-through and were asking about an arch that was supposed to be provided. This was stated in the contract and we merely wanted it moved from off to the side where it was sitting to the aisle where my then fiance and I were to say our vows. She caused all kinds of grief for us a day before we were supposed to get married. I don't know about all of you brides out there, but I was under the impression that wedding coordinators were supposed to make life easier for the brides. Jill made me miserable and made life so much more difficult. On my actual wedding day, after the ceremony she had my mother cleaning up and taking things home...my mother! We, again, had been told previously that there would be a clean-up crew provided. On top of that she sent my wedding dress hanging bag home with my mom which had my lingerie that I was going to wear for my new husband that night (my husband and I stayed there for our wedding night which was part of our package). I don't know why she did that. I obviously was going to need the hanging bag to change out of my dress. I had to call my mother on my wedding night to get my lingerie. My wedding was still beautiful and memorable no thanks to Jill or Austin's Inn at Pearl Street, but I would never recommend this business to anyone!