Georgetown has about 20 wedding venues and a number of other businesses that support the industry. The businesses drive hotel occupancy tax and sales tax revenue to the city.
“If we have a client who wants to keep everything [in] Georgetown, you can source pretty much everything you need directly in Georgetown,” local wedding planner Alyson Desha said.
At a glace
Home to a bridal shop with its own signature line, and with businesses offering services from custom flower arrangements to personalized wedding invitations, residents and guests alike have chosen Georgetown as their wedding destination.
There are larger venues in Georgetown accommodating up to 650 guests, and smaller venues like Lincoln Chapel that allow for more intimate ceremonies. Additionally, the variety of venues aims to serve guests at all price points, with budgets starting at $400 up to all-inclusive venues.
Desha owns and manages Mockingbird Lane Weddings and Events. She said she’s seen an increased interest in people getting married in Georgetown.
“There’s plenty of places to eat [and] plenty of places to stay. It’s really easy for me when somebody’s getting married locally to be like, ‘Oh, I can give you great recommendations for rehearsal dinners that are right on the square.’ It’s just very easy to entertain people and have things to do,” Desha said.
Digging deeper
For couples like Rachel Vaughn and Mitchell Pham, who are getting married in November, it wasn’t only Georgetown’s businesses, but its location and character, that secured their booking.
Living in Pflugerville, Vaughn and Pham prioritized venues their friends and family could easily travel to and stay near.
“I think that Georgetown is close enough to be close to people in Austin, but it’s also far enough to be somewhat of a destination,” Vaughn said.
Although they considered venues in Dripping Springs, they ultimately chose Georgetown because they sought an “older home that had a little bit of character,” contrasting with the “modern look” they saw in other cities.
Vaughn and Pham found a venue that checked all their boxes in Garey House, a city-owned property in west Georgetown.
Other prospective couples also value the historic, small-town feel of Georgetown, Desha said.
“It’s away from that hustle and bustle of Austin,” she said. “So, it’s a little bit [of a] slower pace for your guests.”
The local impact
Hotel occupancy tax revenue—or the money generated from the 13% city and state tax guests pay on their hotel rooms and short-term rentals—has seen year-over-year increases in Georgetown.
While seasonal travel affects trends seen in HOT revenue data, there are cyclical spikes particularly in April and October, which correspond to the local busy seasons for weddings, said Rita Healy, Sheraton Austin Georgetown Hotel & Conference Center manager.
Healy said wedding season generally runs from March through June, and then picks up again from October through December. During these times, her hotel might accommodate as many as six to eight different wedding parties on any given weekend.
In addition to supporting wedding parties through hotel blocks, Healy’s hotel also has event venue space available to book.
“Because there’s so many great wedding venues in Georgetown ... we host a lot of room blocks for weddings that are being held in another venue somewhere in Georgetown,” Healy said.
Healy said the Sheraton hotel is the only full-service hotel option in the Georgetown area, which makes it attractive for out-of-town guests.
A larger trend
The volume of marriages in Williamson County grew significantly in and after 2020.
Following the pandemic, the city also saw larger gatherings, Healy said.
“People were so happy to be able to get together and had put such a high value on spending time with friends and family that those wedding gatherings got much bigger,” Healy said.
While marriage licenses issued in Williamson County reflect this spike during and immediately after the pandemic, it also shows a steady increase in marriages over time. The number of marriage licenses issued last year was 27.3% higher than the number of licenses issued in 2019.
In related news
Garey Park, the 535-acre city property that includes Garey House, underwent Phase 2 of renovations at the beginning of the year. Set to open before Vaughn and Pham’s wedding in November, the renovations will make improvements to the wedding venue, including:
- Interior renovations of Garey House
- Paved parking
- Enclosed outdoor space to add seating for 75 guests
- Increase house capacity from 125 to 200
