Working with the Galveston Historical Foundation to help secure our venue, the legendary 1859 Ashton Villa was a breeze and thrilled that the resources support the upkeep of such an important historical building. The Foundation was incredibly easy and fun to work with and we cannot imagine getting married anywhere else. Thank you! - Kelci and Joseph Z.

As soon as my husband and I set eyes on this venue, we knew it was the place we just had to get married. Going through the Galveston Historical Foundation for venue rental was so affordable compared to other wedding venues and it made us happy to know our money would give back to the community and the overall preservation of historical sites. The 2020 & 2021 years were incredibly turbulent, and so we experienced quite a few hiccups on the way-- COVID19, the Texas ice storm, etc threw all of us for a loop but GHF was so incredibly understanding and flexible throughout the whole process. While we originally had plans for an outdoor ceremony and reception at the Elissa, last minute issues ended up causing us to relocate our reception to the 1859 Ashton Villa (another absolutely GORGEOUS venue), therefore we had only our ceremony here. This ended up working out perfectly because the venue is much better suited for smaller events; given that the site is an important working dock, the construction cannot be hidden easily and there are firm timelines for set-up, so you have to plan your event and layout space accordingly. We ended up doing wedding party and parents seated on the ship, older guests seated below on their pier, and younger guests went up to the balcony and watched from up there.
One unfortunate surprise was that the restaurant next door has an outdoor area that continuously plays loud music even when nobody is seated outside; as a result, radio music played throughout our ceremony and likely would have played through our reception as well if we had ended up having it there. When we asked if they would mind turning it down just for a few minutes since no guests were eating outside, they flat out refused. However, this isn't the Elissa's or GHF's fault at all. Honestly when we did our own walkthroughs of the venue it did not cross our minds that this would be a problem until we got there the day of and a rap song was blaring lol. If you are set on this venue, perhaps arrange something with the restaurant beforehand or make sure your DJ has absolutely amazing equipment that could possibly drown it out. Another heads up is that the ship occasionally flips directions every once in a while; there a lot of really pretty pictures where the ceremony is against the ocean view, however on the day of our wedding the ship was facing the restaurant building instead. This is another thing that due to the nature of the venue just cannot be controlled.
Our day was still beautiful and special despite all of its challenges. We have gotten so many compliments on what a unique and memorable venue this was, and I also had an amazing time doing my bridals here as well. I will forever be grateful for the Galveston Historical Foundation and my husband and I are excited to become lifelong members. Check out all the venues they have to offer!

I had to contact them 2 weeks after Ike because my first wedding was 6 weeks after Ike (2008). I hadn't mailed the invitations, and we didn't know if it was still standing. I didn't know if my contact was okay or if her family and staff were okay. But she was amazing. She asked if we still wanted to get married there even though the building was perfect. I said of course. I had picked it because it was gorgeous, fit my needs, and I wanted to give my money to an historical society. All the rest of their properties sustained damage, so they really needed my business. She told me to come see it to be sure, and she was right, the building was perfect. It is an historical building because it survived the 1900 storm, and they raised it after that.
Tips: The kitchen is small, so make sure your caterer knows what's up. The beautiful windows cast weird shadows, so make sure your photographer is familiar with it in advance. The tape on the floor stays on the floor. No balloons, no rice, no sand, no flames (historical building!). Be sure you reserve the park from the city so you have the parking lot to yourself and no loud music outside and the outside areas clear for photos. Generally they will want to put the DJ on the stage, not the ceremony because it is too easy for people to fall off of it. Also, if you have a summer wedding, don't put the cake in one of the bay windows on the sunny side! It will start to get warm and the frosting will start to melt and slide. Just set a table against the inner railings or along the side where it won't get direct sunlight. Chair and table rental was very inexpensive. Rules were reasonable and laid out clearly in advance before booking. 100% recommend to people all the time.

Venue was perfect for our Wedding Day!!! Thanks so much for making our day special!!! Quality of service and cooperation with other vendors was fantastic.

Loved having our reception here in July. Lauraleigh was very responsive and helpful. We ended up stringing up a few lights and bringing in our own chairs, but the venue is so beautiful on its own you really don't need to do much to decorate. I was worried about the heat in July but the AC held up! Highly recommend.

Truly a unique and one of a kind venue.

Included in the rental was the dock which we utilized for our ceremony AND reception space, the museum which we used for our cocktail hour and 'getting ready' pictures before the ceremony started, and the boat where we got married and exchanged vows. There are lights set up around the venue and around the 1877 Tall Ship Elissa that turn on automatically at night and really help to set a wonderful atmosphere rich in history! The guests loved getting to tour the ship and inside the museum during the reception!

We had about 150 or more attend our wedding and this venue fit everyone! It's also very budget friendly and right on the water! The sea breeze during the ceremony and reception felt so refreshing.

The staff in charge of rentals was very easy to get ahold of and always answered all our questions! It also pleases me to know that by booking our wedding here we are aiding the Galveston Historical Foundation to keep pieces of history all over the island such as this venue running! We even got a complimentary GHF membership after the wedding in the mail as a thank you for using this venue. Love it!

We love this venue so much we had a special dog collar made for one of our dogs that she wore during bridal photos!

We looked at a ton of venue locations here locally. But most locations were extremely expensive, just for a basic DIY package. The Galveston Historic Society has several venues they rent out. The money goes directly back into the venues. We used the Menard House, Hall, and Yard. There was very little decoration needed thanks to the design of the buildings. We pretty much did tablecloths and centerpieces. Everything looked great!

We did not have our wedding at this venue, just the reception.
I think we jumped on this venue at the right time because renting it was incredibly low. We definitely got our money’s worth. With renting this venue, we were able to utilize the dock, the museum, and the boat. It was a great crowd pleaser and everyone seemed to love it. The lights the venue has up all the time set the mood. I have heard nothing but good things said from our guests about the location.
The boat itself was going under some construction. Our guests were still able to walk around on the boat but the boards were on the Dock. The manager was able to combine some of the piles before the event. They also had a huge dumpster that he had removed also for the reception. That made us very happy as you can imagine.
It was difficult at times to get a hold of anyone at the museum to answer questions but then came to find out they were going through personnel changes. Once we figured out who the correct person was to contact, there were not any more issues.
All in all it was a great venue, different, and very romantic.

DO NOT GET MARRIED HERE. We had the most beautiful wedding here and that is thanks to every other vendor we hired to make our day great. The event coordinator first sent a contradictory contract that states you can add time for a fee but also cannot arrive before 5. We fought tooth and nail to get more time and we received confirmation that we could load in 30 minutes earlier. However, we arrived yesterday and they wouldn’t let my vendors load in because they chose to schedule a sailing training which also ran past 5pm regardless of the agreed upon earlier start time. My fiancé went to speak to Tanya who is an employee at the museum and she SCREAMED at him saying he needs to get over himself and can wait. Great treatment of guests who paid to use your venue on their wedding day. On top of this instance, every other time we visited there has been cat feces all around the outdoor areas and they keep unsafe conditions with tools and hardware and other items laying around every time we have visited for venue walkthroughs. We have asked about it a number of times and the excuse is always “it’s a working dock, it is what it is” Okay fine, but if you’re renting it out to guests you should take it upon yourself to remove these items for events due to unsafe and unsanitary conditions. This is the only regret I have about my wedding day. I lost precious time for photos I’ll never get back and I feel that this venue robbed me of that. I think if you’re having a smaller, casual event it would be better because set up may not be as much but I do not recommend it for a wedding. They need to figure out something more professional, flexible, and train their employees on customer service before continuing to rent out.