Villa Antonia

Shelley, at Villa Antonia, was invaluable help to us on our daughter's wedding day. She is very sweet, helpful, and accommodating and bends over backward to make sure everything goes smoothly. When a decoration can't be found or the placecard set-up is missing, she calmly goes to work and somehow figures out an alternate plan. She also keeps the night on schedule and makes sure all of the important players are where they need to be. Shelley is a delight to work with and is a wonderful addition to Villa Antonia. (Her boyfriend is very helpful, too!)

The Villa Antonia was so absolutely beautiful, if it wasn't so far out it would have been the perfect venue. We went to see the venue about a year before the wedding. It was beautiful and different, but far out of Austin and a bit on the pricey end of the venues we looked at. We decided that it was out of the question, especially because at that time they had an exclusive contract with one catering company whose cheapest buffet package was way more than we wanted to spend(especially for their Italian buffet, bc we like Italian, but not for a wedding). I also was totally annoyed by the on site coordinator Mikaya. She walked us around the property talking and talking about her sons and what she would spend on this and that for their wedding and how she would treat me like her daughter in law...frankly I wished she would just shut up. I'm not a person who likes to be sold on something. Tell me what it has and let me make the decision. I know that is what she is there for, but there are ways to sell without being annoying.
A few months later we needed to make a final decision and I just couldn't get the Villa Antonia out of my mind, so went for it. By then, they had opened their catering contract up to a few more caterers. Even with the $850 payment to Mikaya for day of coordinating, bc the $5000 we dropped on just the venue wasn't enough, we still decided to go with it. The only problem was, I don't like being lied to, and I very much felt like I was being told what I wanted to hear until I handed that first check over. I was told I could change the time of the wedding, we had 7hrs at the venue and I wanted to be there later than 11, which I was told I could do in January, but when we went back to visit in May, I was told that it really wouldn't work. That's fine, but why was I told I could change it? I didn't want to start earlier, I wanted to start later so that I wasn't sitting at the venue for 2 hrs doing nothing waiting for the wedding..which was sort of what happen. Needless to say, I went on to look at reviews for the Villa Antonia at that point, and found similar complaints. People were annoyed with the 4hr bar service, the coordinator, the in flexibility of the site.
A few weeks before the wedding I was contacted by the new coordinator Shelly Gay. I was told by the venue that the other coordinator left due to illness, which sounded like a standard statement. (I was told later by someone that after the owner died, his daughter came in and found Mikaya had been pocketing money by referring vendors, whether or not it is true, I don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me) Shelly and I talked for about an hour going over everything about the day of. She seemed nice and organized over the phone. My only complaint is that she didn't contact my vendors with much time(or at all in one case that I know of). The week before the wedding I was already getting emailed from vendors about getting in touch with the venue, which I thought Shelly was supposed to have done already, but giving her the benefit of the doubt and the fact that they probably have 2-3 weddings a weekend, I figured it would get done the week of the wedding. I called Shelly on Monday to ask a question about the liquor and she said she would be back to work Wednesday and contacting vendors then. My wedding was on Friday, so I was a bit worried. When we met her on Wednesday, she told me she had been calling my vendors all morning. We went over everything a second time and went on our way. A few hours after the meeting at the venue, I went to pay the caterer. They said they had not been called yet, and they also needed to know if they could come 30 min earlier because of the set up time. I emailed the venue asking if that was ok, and telling them that the caterer had not been contacted. Shelly said it was no problem for the, to show up 30 min early which I thought was nice and flexible of them. I emailed the response to the caterer who told me they had still not been called. I didnt mindogging between the two people, but wasn't that what I was paying Shelly for? It wasn't a huge deal, but it is something that fell thru the cracks.
The other thing that really annoyed me is that 2-3 weeks before the wedding, after I had spent months talking about the bar service with the caterer, Shelly informed me that I had to use a bar service separate from the caterer. I don't think this is Shelly's fault as it was the first time I had talked with her, but why in the 10 months and several site visits and many talks about catering and bar did no one at the Villa Antonia tell me anything about using a specific bar service and not going thru the caterer? That kind of stuff annoyed the crap out of me when dealing with the Villa Antonia.
My fiancé was ready to ask for the coordinator fee after the wedding bc he was so annoyed with the venue. Luckily the day ran perfectly. I could not be more happy with Shelly that day. She kept the wedding on schedule, put together a quick last minute bouquet for a jr. bridesmaid, she was helpful, but not in my face all night. She earned her fee for sure. Everything that night ran smoothly and I'm sure it was due to her and my wonderful vendors.
Needless to say, the Villa Antonia was a great choice, everyone talked about how beautiful and unique it was. It was a bit of a headache getting there, and maybe if I was a crazy bridezilla it could have been a lot more stressful. In the end, I'm happy with the choice of having my wedding there.

Okay, well I'll be honest, when me and my fiancé, now husband were looking for a place to get married, I went out to Villa Antonia and fell in LOVE with the venue!! It was breathtaking!!! I live in Dallas, so I like everyone else went and read reviews about Villa Antonia, which were not very good. However, we chose to have our wedding there any way despite what we read....and let me tell you....it was AMAZING!!! I actually had a issue with my florist not showing up and Shelly the new wedding coordinator bent over backwards to help set up, order me new flowers, and make sure that my wedding went off perfectly!!! She and Maria were absolutely the best!!! Luckily my flowers showed up but Shelly and Maria had to place all the flowers and in a short amount of time. Everything turned out great and largely in thanks to the staff at Villa Antonia! If you are wavering at all about having your wedding there due to reviews, please do not! You'd be making a huge mistake! It is by far the most beautiful venue I've ever seen and the staff is AWESOME!!!

Villa Antonia is so beautiful and Michaja and Tedi were extremely helpful! The only issue we had with VA is that because they try to schedule as many weddings as possible, there is often a HUGE conflict and struggle with trying to plan your rehearsal and any other meetings, like bridal portraits. They often have two weddings there in one day, which makes it difficult to feel comfortable and relaxed on your wedding day. Not being able to get to the venue until 4 when your wedding is at 6 can be very stressful. While it was a wonderful location and we are extremely happy that we chose it, we did somewhat feel like just another number or event since they try to get as many weddings in as they can in one weekend. It would be a better experience if they would only have one wedding per day. I understanding making money, but it also takes away from feeling like your day is relaxed and special. Overall though, the venue is absolutely beautiful and the management does a very good job of getting things in order and making sure everything is taken care of.

Our wedding ran so smooth thanks to Michaja and her assistant, they are wonderful! Most of our family and friends are from Houston and they could not stop raving about how beautiful & romantic this venue is. Michaja and her assistant were so helpful during the entire weekend; from rehearsal to the day-of, they made sure my groom and I were well taken care of. Even making sure we ate! Cannot say enough good things about this venue. We fell in love with the pictures on the website at first sight. We had our ceremony in the chapel and reception in the main house. Though you can opt to have your ceremony outside, we just did not want to rely on the weather, so we chose the chapel. I do not regret choosing the chapel! It was intimate, romantic---just what we had wished for. The photos turned out beautiful and this venue is every photographer's dream! You can't go wrong with this place, well worth it!

First of all, the ONLY reason I am giving this place any stars is because the venue itself is gorgeous! I just returned from my sister's wedding there. Although I tried to warn her against this venue after reading the bad reviews on Michaja she insisted that everything would be fine. Well it wasn't!

On the day of the rehearsal, her appointment with potential clients were late which made her run late which caused the rehearsal to start 30 minutes late! So unprofessional! The day of, she was no where to be found until 5 minutes before we all walked down the aisle. My cousin should have received her so-called coordinator fee since she was retrieving things for the bridal party, helping out the photographer, etc. At the reception, people were having difficulties finding a place to sit since they did not have assigned seating and the odd layout of the room keeps majority of the guests from seeing the dance floor and hearing the DJ. It was a Sunday wedding and since majority people left, they rushed my sister and her husband to throw the bouquet/garter and well...leave! This was at 9:30 when the ceremony was at 6 and we did not sit down til at least 8! They had paid for the venue until 11 and we were shooed out of there and they were almost completely cleaned up by 10:30! My cousin tried to get a cold beer at 10pm and she couldn't! Fastest reception I have ever been to!

If your heart is set on having your wedding here, hire your own coordinator...you will be glad you did! Or save your money and have bridal portraits taken here and ceremony/reception elsewhere.

This venue is gorgeous... unfortunately I had to cancel my event. If anyone is interested, October 10th is available...

The Villa was a beautiful place for our wedding! Our guests loved being there, and everything came out lovely. However, sometimes e-mails were not responded to in a timely manner which can be stressful when you are planning a wedding. However, the closer we got to our date the more punctual the Villa was with getting back to us. The layout of the Villa was very open and allowed for our guest to be able to move around easily and socialize and dance.

Aside from providing the most beautiful views of the rolling hills of Austin, Villa Antonia itself is absolutely gorgeous. The atmosphere created at this venue is one of beauty and elegance. It offers amazing ceremony and reception options, indoor and outdoor. In addition, the day of services provided by Villa's manager, Michaja, exceeded my expectations. We opted for an outdoor ceremony and reception. A freak, 30 minute monsoon rushed in just before my ceremony, wiping out my hopes for a ceremony overlooking the hills and most of my centerpieces. Villa rushed to action immediately, carefully making sure to leave the decisions to me, and quickly moved everything, including my guests, indoors. They salvaged what they could and set up tables for everyone inside. They were amazing! I literally felt no stress through the chaos, because they handled everything so swiftly and smoothly. I still had the fairytale wedding that I always hoped for. Without Michaja's help, it would have been a disaster. Because of her, my wedding day was perfect!

Villa Antonia was a beautiful location for our Wedding. The Villa itself is the gorgeous Italian style house with imported tiles and beautiful water falls, fountains and ponds. I fell in love with this location immediately. It gives one the feeling of a destination wedding here in Texas. Machija was very organized, friendly and orchestrated the flow of the entire pre- wedding, wedding and reception very nicely. Our outdoor ceremony had to be moved indoors at the last minute due to rain, but we had made all back up arrangements ahead of time so it went flawlessly. The food was catered by Sterling Affairs was expensive, but very good and fresh and Tedi was very nice and flexible with the wine list. We were very happy with all of the vendors that were referred by Machija.... except one... our photographer....Aimage Photography by Lisa Shepard was the worst experience one could ever have! She needs to be removed from their preferred list. She was rude, disorganized and completely stressed the bride, groom and guests out on the wedding day! REMOVE her from the list, there are many wonderful photographers and this lady is terrible and will ruin your credibility if you keep referring her to your clients who are trusting that you know the best in the business. This venue is very upscale with friendly people, Aimage does not fit the mold:(
The Chocolate Cup provided a wonderful Gelato Bar with five flavors to choose from, it was a special treat. Pete with DJ's unlimited was the best I have ever heard, he totally felt the vibe of the wedding guests and made it a wonderful dance party with great energy, friendliness, lights and sound!

This is a beautiful wedding venue in Lago Vista, Texas..just out side of Austin. It is a wedding and reception site. The place itself is beautiful. It reminds me of a Tuscan Villa/Mansion. It has two outdoor wedding areas, on is on the edge of a clift and all you can see is the green belt and hills for miles. It does advertise to be on North lake travis, however the lake is hardly visible and off to the left of this first outdoor area. The second outdoor area has palm trees that you can stand in front of. They also have a beautiful new chapel for rainy weather. It has iron chandaliers and is off white stone. This area can also be used for the reception if desired. The main house is very open. The reception area holds around 200 people and is two leveled. Towards the back of it, you can look out and see a waterfall. Upstairs there are a groom's room, bridesmaids' room, and bride's room. All are equipped with restrooms and showers. There is a beautiful winding stairway with plants and such that surround this area.
The only downside to this venue is that they require you to use Sterling affairs catering, Sterling affairs alcohol, and the manager, Michaja, requires you to use her as a wedding coordinator-which adds on $895 on top of the $4994.

Villa Antonia is a stunning venue! We wanted a destination wedding, but knew many people wouldn't be able to attend. We opted for Villa Antonia because it feels like you're in a different country! So amazing!

The downside is (1) price and (2) lack of flexibility. You cannot choose your own caterer. Sterling Affairs is pricey although the food was fabulous.

I would definitely have my wedding here if I had to do it all over again, despite the few annoyances.

Beautiful venue but very expensive

Michaja, the so-called wedding coordinator, single-handedly ruined our wedding this past July. We booked with Villa Antonia because the entire compound is so beautiful, and Michaja was polite and promised to take care of everything the day of our wedding. What happened, in fact, was that she was rude to us, rude to our guests, and did almost nothing.

I have read a handful of similar reviews about Michaja, and I've barely started looking.

Parents of the bride and groom, as well as the wedding party, were scrambling to get everything ready because Michaja was nowhere to be found at the time she said she would be there. It turned out she was having lunch with a friend. She then proceeded to take half and hour of time?literally half an hour?to try to present and try to sell to the make-up person a weight loss patch product that she was wearing. Then, when the reception was running a half hour late, she told the bartender to start charging for drinks because the time we had paid for was up, even though it was not because Michaja had delayed the wedding half an hour by doing her weight loss patch ?pitch? as the bridesmaids were getting their make-up done.

Michaja was rude and bossy to so many guests that throughout the evening, and in the days that followed, we had our parents, family and friends telling us she ?yelled? at them like they were insubordinate children when it was time to get the party and guests moved toward the chapel for the ceremony. One friend, who flew in all the way from Denver just to attend our wedding, couldn?t find his seating place card on the place card table. Michaja asked him why he was there, and accused him of being a wedding crasher. She was not kidding, and my friend walked away from her. (It turns out his place card had fallen on the floor next to the table).

Michaja is the mandatory ?coordinator? and charges $750 for this service. Her typical response when asked to take care of something, such as finding a wedding party member or making sure something was ready, was, ?I don?t deal with that.? Then, throughout the reception, she enjoyed herself by sitting on the couch in the lobby, chatting with the vendors, and eating our food. She had promised to make sure food and drinks were brought to me and my wife throughout the evening. While there was food for us when we got to our table from the ceremony, we were abandoned after that. No one ever asked us if we needed anything.

Despite the beauty of this location, I would not even consider having the wedding there if given a second chance. I would sooner get married at a bowling alley (not joking) because of Michaja. She insulted our guests, ate our food, breached about seven of the ten ?items? she was supposed to take care of according to her contract rider, and tried to charge us for drinks that we already paid for up front.

Don?t get married here unless Michaja is gone. I cannot stress this enough. If you?ve already paid a deposit, try to get it back. If you can?t, it?s still not worth getting married there. If Michaja is locked into this place by relationship or tenure, it should crumble down the hill upon which it sits, because no couple should begin their life together with such an experience.

Beautiful venue, professional service, awesome people! We had so many compliments from our guests about this fabulous place! Michaja, the wedding coordinator at the Villa was available anytime I needed her for anything both months before and during our wedding. It was like having a fairy godmother! She made us feel so taken care of and confident that everything would go smoothly - and it really couldn't have been any better.

This venue is absolutely stunning and so picturesque! The scenery is to-die-for! Upon arriving, it carries you away to another time and place...an Italian villa in Europe perhaps. When I first stumbled upon it online, I couldn't believe how beautiful it was, and once I saw it in person, there was absolutely no way that I could get married anywhere else. It is just gorgeous.

I'll be the first to admit that Villa Antonia is a rather expensive wedding venue, but it is seriously worth every penny! The photos and video from our wedding are amazing, and we'll treasure the memories and the beauty of Villa Antonia for the rest of our lives. You have to decorate far less at this venue because the views and scenery are already breathtaking, so you'll definitely be able to save some money on decorating!

Villa Antonia is not flexible. There are three things that initially annoyed me about Villa Antonia, but there is no room for negotiation - take it or leave it. The first thing was that you must only use their designated caterer, Sterling Affairs (they are quite expensive as well, but the quality of their service and food is admittedly terrific). The second thing I found rather disturbing was that you are required to pay an additional $750 for the event manager, Michaja's, services solely for "the day of" wedding services/coordinating. $750 is a big chunk of change to pay someone for not doing anything (other than making a short appearance at our meeting with the caterer at the venue), which was quite unsettling...until our wedding day! Wow! Michaja was phenomenal on the day of...running a rehearsal prior to the ceremony (this is the third thing that is annoying about Villa Antonia - no rehearsal dinners are allowed on Friday night), putting the flowers on the groomsmen, mothers and grandmothers, checking with us to see if we needed anything, taking care of the grandmothers, whipping everyone into shape to get ready for the ceremony, and calling shots in general left to right. I was so very thankful that Michaja was there and decided right then and there that she is worth paying the extra money.

I received a ton of compliments about our venue and Michaja! Everyone who sees my photos asks me where we got married. They say that it looks like a wedding that you would see in professional wedding magazines. Some of that is due to the quality of the photos from Alamo Photographic, but mostly it's due to the gorgeous venue. I highly recommend Villa Antonia! I honestly believe it's the most beautiful venue in the Austin area.

I cannot say enough about Villa Antonia and Michaja, the coordinator. It's stunningly beautiful there with so many options for setting up the ceremony and reception.

Thanks to the weather day of, we had to make some last minute changes to our plans (dinner was supposed to be held outside, but it was turning out to be a bit too chilly). When I arrived at the venue, the staff met me and gave me a list of options. Based on their recommendations, I decided to have the dinner tables moved inside into the ballroom/chapel, where the dancing was already planned to be held. This arrangement ended up working fantastically, and they took care of everything to make sure the new arrangement was set up correctly. It was completely stress-free for me, and it looked so beautiful!

And I have to rave about Michaja. She was on top of absolutely everything, and made sure everything happened when it was supposed to, and that everyone was where they were supposed to be. Everything ran like clockwork, not a single snafu! In addition to preparing our plates for dinner and bringing them to our table, she also went to the trouble of doing this for my grandparents (who aren't so mobile). They really, really appreciated this!

Micaja is probably a nice lady, but she was unhelpful to us until the day of our wedding - I know she's busy, but she was flat out rude to us when we asked questions. The day of my wedding, she was awesome....just up until that point, we had trouble communicating with her. The venue is absolutely the most amazing place I've ever seen...and our wedding was GORGEOUS because of it - the guests had a great time, and the pictures and videography are incredible - they had so much to work with there! (c:

The venue was absolutely beautiful! The wedding coordinator Makaiya was exceptional- extremely organized and ran a tight ship with a smile. I would recommend this site to anyone! The only minor issue we had was the staff was suppose to light the candles on the tables and they didn't. Otherwise it was amazing!

We were very disappointed with Michaja, the coordinator. Since the first meeting with her she was always in a hurry. She did not allow the mariachi band to play outside during the cocktail hour. If we would have known this we wouldn't have wasted our money! She never took the time to tell us that we had to pick everything up after the reception. She should also suggest more options for transportation such as renting buses, etc. Most of the guests got lost.With her experience she should know better. For a formal wedding she should also dress up more. She was not very nice at times.

The venue is beautiful however the catering service did not comply with some of our requests, such as serving the wine, etc.

I loved the couple who runs this place. Both are very personable and care about each wedding that they do. Plus the place is beautiful!

I wouldn't have had my wedding anywhere else. The guests absolutely loved the location. It had a beautiful scenery, even in Texas and despite the rainstorm earlier that morning. The coordinator there, Makaja, was a wonderful asset on the day of the wedding. She helped us make the wedding and rehearsal so much easier. The website doesn't even do the place justice, which is saying something considering how beautiful the pictures on the website are. This is the perfect location to get married.

Absolutely Wonderful! The facility is breathtaking! The staff is kind and very helpful, I dreamed of having my wedding at a mediterrean paradise and that is what I got with Villa Antonia, I would reccommend this facility to ANYONE! It is rather expensive but it is worth it. One insider tip: book a morning wedding so you can see the beautiful hill country during the wedding and it saves money too!

We absolutely loved the venue, but it is a little hard to feel "special" and there are a lot of rules to follow.

Beautiful location! We felt as though we were in a Mediterranean villa in Europe - the setting was so picturesque and the facilities were stunning. Everyone commented on how much they enjoyed the location.

Book your spot early!! This place is very popular. Pictures will turn out great and you have a variety of options. And there's indoors A/C too! Don't need too much decoration at this beautiful venue!

Michaja was incredible!

This venue is gorgeous. I had so many compliments on the view and view. The only down side about this venue is that they require you to use their caterer, which is good, but on the pricey side. They also require you to pay their day-of-coordinator $500 to come turn the lights on and unlock the venue, even if you don't want to use her. We did decide to use their day-of coordinator since it was only a little more than the required fee, however she didn't do much at all. She basically stood there. We ended up having a friend act as a day-of coordinator because she simply wasn't doing much. The venue though, is amazing and I would get married there all over again simply due to its beauty.

A favorite venue and the view is so awesome. Michaja is the best!