The Sanctuary Event Space

We chose Sanctuary Event Space for our small wedding in May 2018 because we wanted to throw a Lord of the Rings-themed ceremony/ reception. The moment we stepped over the threshold and saw the massive old oak, the treehouse loft, the intimate and well-maintained grounds, we fell in love. No other venue stood a chance.Sanctuary is both close to downtown and the South Lamar bar/restaurant scene, and somehow completely nestled away into its own little world- the thick canopy really cuts down on a lot of the noise in the area. While parking there isn't great (mostly street parking), it's location makes easily accessible by Uber/Lyft for out-of-towners staying downtown or other hotels in the area. There was a train that went by periodically, but it didn't effect our ceremony or the reception in any way. Our wedding was only 45 people, and honestly I wouldn't try to squeeze 150-200 folks in there (as the website suggests this is the max occupancy), but it was more than enough space for our small group. Unfortunately Sanctuary is not wheelchair accessible, but three older family members with mobility issues didn't have any trouble getting around.Not only was Sanctuary the perfect location for us and convenient for guests, but it was super reasonably priced compared to other venues in the area! All proceeds from the venue cost go to the Amala Foundation, which hosts youth programs, volunteering projects and scholarships for disadvantaged children, and it was gratifying to know that we were putting our money towards something meaningful, as frivolous as wedding expenses can sometimes feel. I definitely recommend shelling out the extra cash to rent the upstairs loft for the bridal suite- it was the perfect place to relax and get away from the insanity of everything on the wedding day, and coming down the stairs post-ceremony makes for a really sweet "grand entrance." Although we didn't end up going there for our after-party, the Gibson Street Pub and the Highball cocktail bar are both within 1-2 minutes walking distance (not to mention Luke's Inside-Out for late-night munchies...). Special thanks to Jessica Ryan of 3 of Cups Collective, who works intimately with the Sanctuary and the Amala Foundation, was an outstanding wedding planner. The moment we told her about our theme-- worried that she might roll her eyes or put on a fake smile and say "oh, greeaat..."-- she grinned from ear to ear and said "HELL YES!" We knew right then that she was the wedding planner for us! Not only did Jessica work with us on our budget- which was stupidly low due to our total inability to visualize how expensive weddings are!- but she hooked us up with the greatest vendors ever! Sanctuary has a close relationship with a long list of incredible caterers, bartending services, etc, so interested couples have no shortage of options. She was 100% organized and on top of every possible issue, making sure the wedding ran smooth as butter, and never missed an opportunity to remind the Bride and Groom to just relax and let her handle it already! By the end, Jessica was just as much a part of the family as all our guests, with the added bonus of having kept us from going insane from stress.In short, the Sanctuary is a magical, beautiful place and it was an honor to get married there. Thanks to Jessica, Maureen and the Amala Foundation for making the most perfect wedding we could ever ask for come true.

We had our wedding at The Sanctuary in November and it was the perfect place for our special day!The location is amazing, it's so close to some of the big Austin spots, while feeling so secluded and private. One caution is there is a train that passes nearby and can cause some interesting sound effects. ;)Jessica was very helpful during the planning process and provided a detailed handbook that outlined all the venue policies. We opted to reserve the bridal suite as well which provided such a unique experience for me - I could see the ceremony from there before I walked down the stairs!If you're looking for a venue that allows you to customize your event, would definitely recommend The Sanctuary.

I've been a regular member at Sanctuary Yoga for years, and my fiancé (now wife), and I were so excited to have our wedding in the space. It is an incredibly special, beautiful place and means the world to me and my wife - before our wedding and after. Jessica and all the staff were terrific. Thank you Sanctuary Event Space for an absolutely perfect day!!! We love you!

This space is absolutely a hidden gem. It's nestled in the heart of Austin and is surrounded by restaurants, hotels, and attractions for your guests. Most of the folks in our wedding were located less than a mile away. The price was great, there are chair rentals on-site, and the staff was super-helpful in brainstorming with us on solving difficult problems. We also resonated with the space because both my husband and I felt moved to give to a charity (The Amala Foundation, which owns the space) rather than a for-profit organization. Their mission is wonderful.Also, the venue is absolutely STUNNING in the evening time. They already have string lights set up for you, so you just flip them on and have gorgeous lighting the entire time. Wow.There are three things to watch out for should you choose this as your venue, from experience:1) If you're doing the ceremony at the Sanctuary, you will not be able to fit 150-200 people. We had a wedding of 91 people, and even then, we had to "flip" the venue, meaning that we asked folks to move chairs from the lower terrace where the ceremony and set up tables/decorations during the reception. It went just fine, but it was an extra stressor on us for a while.2) Because the venue is within the city limits and also next to a residential location, sound must be kept at 75 decibels. This wasn't a huge issue for us, but it did require the DJ to do some extra finagling of the speakers to make sure everything pointed away from the residential area and into the studio, and that the studio doors had to be kept shut at all times when music was playing (which can get you and your guests mighty steamy).3) There is no smoking at the venue proper, and no high heels allowed in the studio. We thought this was going to be the biggest issue, but it ended up being a non-issue; most people wore wedges, flats, or went barefoot when on the studio floor. If you or your family tend towards smoking or high heels, just an FYI that with the uneven ground and no-smoking policy, it may not be for you. We also, when mentioning the uneven ground, got a fair amount of cancellations from our older guests due to the fact that we couldn't guarantee their safety on the stairs and that there is no ramp/wheelchair accessibility at the venue. Just a heads up.Other than those three things, working with the venue was fantastic. We were able to flip the venue during the ceremony, turned the speaker inwards and kept it quiet and had lots of happy guests. Bringing the chairs back to the Sanctuary was so easy, and the wedding party tore everything down quickly.All in all, it was a fantastic wedding brought to you by fantastic people. Thank you so much!

This space is magical and has a life of it's own. We were lucky to have our wedding at the Sanctuary this past weekend and even in the midst of a wedding...I felt so smitten by the beauty of the grounds- with it's huge oak trees, climbing vines, string lit canopies, and the overall glow of the space. I am so grateful to have had such a beautiful and majestic venue as the setting for all of our wedding memories. What an amazing night that we will never forget. Jessica and Willow were awesome...they so calmly navigated us through the uncertainty of the day and worked hourly in a paced and mindful way to create a seamless and effortless feel to our wedding- which allowed us all to relax on what could have been a chaotic day! I will recommend this space to anyone looking for an affordable, beautiful, and local venue.

I normally don't write reviews (created my Yelp account just so I could write this one), but I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't let others know about the great people at The Amala Foundation.Background InformationMy sister and I had already picked out a place for our Mom's 50th birthday party. We were getting everything together when she decided she didn't want a party. So naturally, we cancelled. But on Mother's Day, unbeknownst to us, the party was still supposed to be going on! What?! With less than two weeks and a VERY tiny budget we scrambled to find a venue to host the party. We could have gone back to our original venue, but my mom decided she wanted children to be able to come.... Our original venue spot was a club so you do the math. We tried Parks & Recreation but all of there spots were booked and even if they weren't you had to give them a two week notice in order to host an event with them. We had less than two weeks. Frantically, I looked EVERYWHERE and I do mean EVERYWHERE to find a place. That's when I talked to a sweetheart named Katie who worked for Parks & Recreation and she recommended some spot called The Amala Foundation. So I did a google search and lo and behold I found a spot called The Amala Foundation. 5-star reviews??? Don't mind if I do. ReviewSo I called and asked (begged lol) if they had any openings for NEXT SATURDAY (that's how last minute this was). The woman on the phone told me I had to speak with a guy named Jessie. When I spoke with him, he said that they did have an opening and gave me a number price. Defeated and frustrated, I told him I couldn't do it because I had catering and decoration costs to consider. Willing to work with me, Jessie told me to get back with him and give him a counteroffer after I had taken care of the other costs. When I gave him my counteroffer he agreed and when we met he was just one of the coolest people I've ever encountered. I thought he had some kind of trick up his sleeve, but he was just a genuinely nice person. He told me about the foundation (you should seriously check it out. NICE NON-PROFIT) and that the money for the party was going towards said non-profit. #Pimp. When we met at a coffee shop to do the deposit, he actually paid for my coffee. Might not seem like much to anyone, but to me it's the small things that count. Now about the space. It's great. I don't know if you've seen the pictures, but this place is beautiful. There's a front house/office area, the AMAZINGLY beautiful backyard area, with two strings of lights, a tire swing, nice greenery, and an awesome tree, and then there's the yoga/reception area, with its peaceful presence. We hosted the party in the front area, with some people hanging out in the backyard (sidenote: It rained the entire day before and the morning of our party. So when we got there I was surprised that it wasn't muddy. Jessie and company went through the trouble of laying down fresh mulch for us. Again, going that extra mile, my friends). There were hula hoops there so the children hula hooped in the yoga area (... okay, I did too). I brought a bubble machine so it looked great in the backyard with the lights. All in all, the event was a great success. The event space was phenomenal. The people who we worked with were exceptional. I would recommend this place to anyone (unless you're shady and looking to con people. If that is you, BE GONE FOUL DEMON!). Its quite the quiet gem of Austin that more people should know about. Also it's rare that you actually get to work with such nice and caring people. When I thanked them for renting this space to me Jessie told me "I think its great that you're trying to do something nice like this for your mom. I wanted to help." Great people, great space. If you're having trouble deciding where to host your party, I hope this has helped.

Wow, just wow! We were trying to locate a venue for our wedding, and upon first stepping into this space, the energy was instantly captivating. In the heart of South Austin, you could not ask for a better location. Jessica, Jonathan, and Willow were just AMAZING! They all had such care-free vibes, all the wedding stress just melts away. I rented the entire space, including the tree house. We were there all day getting ready for the wedding. Our guests were comparing it to a fairy tale. The string lights at night, coupled with the grandfather trees that grow and crawl throughout the space just made for such an unforgettable evening. I honestly don't think there will be a day I don't promote the Sanctuary. It breathes perfection.

I first contacted Amala because I was looking for a large, available space to teach some early morning yoga classes. Kerry was quick to get back to me, and always courteous, kind and professional. I was blown away when I saw the space. It's simply gorgeous. One wall of the room is entirely windows, looking out on a beautiful back-yard setting with massive oak trees and the most hypnotic windchimes I've ever heard. The room itself has sprung hardwood floors, perfect for any type of movement, and plenty of facilitation amenities, including candles, an ipod dock, yoga mats, sitting cushions and an earthen jar water cooler.I love teaching at Amala, and I look forward to continuing to do so.

As soon as we pulled up to the driveway to tour the venue, my husband's reaction said it all. This was the first and only venue we looked at and after Jessica gave us a tour we were sold. It was charming, truly a hidden gem and had that "backyard" and "forest fairytale" combo vibe. The venue is very very affordable and we loved knowing the proceeds went towards The Amala Foundation. We had our dream wedding here on December 17, 2016 (most beautiful Austin-Winter day for a wedding). Jessica was so helpful and knew all the answers to all the questions, made the planning process easy and replied very timely (keeping in mind she manages many events). We rented the space for a full day, full grounds (Outdoor Grounds + Studio + Front House + "bridal" loft). One of the things I loved about The Sanctuary is that we weren't married to the vendors on their preferred vendors* list and we weren't penalized for it either. This was important to us because each "vendor" that we used was a friend that we wanted to give business to (bartender, photographer, DJ, plus my in-laws were going to be cooking the food and their friends would be "catering"). Jessica talked me through (via email) the process to rent tents (which we ended up not needing and cancelling, but it's good to make sure you have them as a backup if your event will be using the outdoor space). *besides Premiere for tables/etc., but they were amazing and accommodating, so no complaints thereMy one and only grievance is that if you are dealing with anybody but Jessica, they may not all be on the same page. There was only one instance where a miscommunication happened with someone else on the staff and from then on, I made sure it was only Jessica I got answers from. A few last things from other reviews: 1) Our wedding was 97 people. We did have to move the chairs from the ceremony to the dining section in-between the ceremony/dinner, but it was no big deal. We had our groomsmen take care of it and it was done quick. 2) Sound must be kept at 75 decibels since the venue is in city limits, but this also was a non-issue. The music was VERY loud in the "dance studio" and we did not pass the decibel limit once. 3) There is no smoking at the venue, and no high heels allowed in the studio. We thought this was going to be the biggest issue, but it ended up being a non-issue; most people wore wedges, flats, or went barefoot when on the studio floor. The venue is very strict about both things, so I made sure to include it in our invitation, on the website, etc. and that anybody asking for specific details heard this ad nauseum. 4) There are conveniently 2 lots available for parking right across the street, however make sure to get the message across to your guests early on. The lots say "towing enforced" but your guests won't realize they can park there. Basically, if The Sanctuary fits your needs (think guest count and time of year) I highly highly highly recommend it.

The Sanctuary Event Space was everything we wanted and more! Jessica Ryan from 3 of Cups helped answer all our questions and ensured we had a best day! The venue is absolutely breathtaking. The giant oak trees and whimsical grounds make you feel like you stepped into a fairy tale. The venue is conveniently located in the heart of South Austin. Many of our guests came from out of town so we loved that the venue would not require an expensive cab to or from our wedding. All of our guests were simply blown away that such a beautiful space exists right in the center of such a busy area. We had a smaller wedding and had a difficult time finding a venue that wouldn't feel ridiculous with a small number of people. I would recommend renting the upstairs loft. It was a wonderful space to get ready as well as have some alone time after the ceremony. If you're looking for a beautiful and unique space for your wedding I would definitely recommend checking out The Sanctuary. It will take your breath away!