ABOUT THE PROPERTY

 

Step inside Wish Well House, its stunning high ceilings, original hardwood floors, natural light warmly streaming through the two stories of windows and what you’ll find is that, behind all the beauty around you, is quite the history.  

1920 was the date.  And Sheriff Lee O. Allen was the man behind the building, constructing the then, 8 room home, into a refuge for his growing family.  Sheriff Allen, one of the counties first, was in the midst of helping the future Governor of Texas, Dan Moody, investigate the Ku Klux Klan in what would eventually help bring the downfall of the Klan in the State of Texas.  

Sheriff Allen moved on, eventually becoming the Sheriff for Travis County.  Leaving the home to his son, he would transform the Prairie Style mansion into overnight accommodations, dubbing it, The Texas Hotel.  The hotel would then be sold to the Dixon Family in the 40’s.  Coco, the matriarch, and her family would add onto the rear of the house to make more rooms for the hotel, bringing the total rooms to 15.  

Upstairs in what are now the sophisticated bride and groom’s quarters were 2 of the original Texas Hotel rooms.  The original pine floors and windows look out onto the Most Beautiful Town Square in Texas, just as they did so long ago.  

Back downstairs, in what is now the reception hall, stood a single story building that was used as the washhouse for the hotel.  Coco and her helpers would do the laundry and make preparations for the day’s guests here. 

Coco would eventually shut the hotel down and pass the spectacular property onto her nephew who had begun his own legal career, setting up the Bryce Law firm that would remain until it started its new chapter as the Wish Well House.

Paige Vaugh Photo

  • Katy

    Katy’s introduction to the wedding industry in Austin started when she took over a part of her family business and revamped the event rental business into Sweet Sunday Events in 2009. As a complete design firm, Katy was written up in local publications such as Austin Monthly and Tribeza magazines, as well as national write ups. Later she launched her own floral and design business, Without Wax, Katy.

    But Katy always had her eyes set on something more, on creating a wedding venue that was a modern, industrial warehouse feel that didn’t exist in Austin or Central Texas at the time. A venue you could walk in to and the building told a story and did most of the work for you. Something industrial enough to be different, but romantic and soft enough to create an intimate space for a wedding.

    And then, the Austin area’s very first industrial venue, The Union on Eighth, was born. Fast forward, Katy was ready to take another historic property and breathe life back into it. In August 2021 the Wish Well House was introduced and the rest is history.

  • Maggie

    Maggie has been a part of the Wish Well House team since our first wedding in August of 2021, worked with us at our previous venue - Union on 8th, and has been involved in the Austin Wedding Industry since 2015. After being an integral part of her sister’s wedding, she started her own event coordination business - Eleven Roses Events, which you may recognize as a participating vendor in our Inclusive Package Weddings. With a knack for problem solving and a calming presence, Maggie has built a career off making sure weddings and events go off without a hitch. Her love for the wedding industry is unwavering and her knowledge, experience, and hard working nature make her a valuable part of our team. When she’s not working, Maggie loves binge watching true crime, creating art and spending time with her two amazing kiddos, her husband Andey, and their goofy oversized pup, Rev.

  • Amy

    Amy has been working at Wish Well House since 2023. She graduated from the University of Missouri in 2022 with her BS in Elementary Education. After her sister’s wedding in 2021, Amy became interested in learning more about the event industry. She googled “event coordinators near me” and DM’ed the first company she found asking if they took interns. She went on to intern and become an assistant coordinator for the company and also began working at a wedding venue in the Mid-Mo area. Amy moved back to Texas to be closer to home and taught first grade, however she missed the atmosphere of the event world. After hearing from a coworker that Wish Well House might be hiring, she sent yet another DM. That second DM led to Amy becoming a day-of venue manager in March of 2023. She continues to fall more in love with the industry after every wedding. The space has quickly become her (Wish Well) Home.