The Houdini Estate
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About This Vendor
About This Vendor
A Dream Wedding at a Dream Location
The Houdini Estate, located in Los Angeles, CA, is a historic wedding venue. Nestled in the Hollywood Hills, this five-acre property offers an unforgettable setting for your milestone day. You are also invited to celebrate showers, proposals, and vow renewals here. Nestled in Laurel Canyon, guests will remember a celebration in The Houdini Estate for years to come. The mansion was built in the Edwardian style by owner Ralph M. Walker, a friend of iconic magician Harry Houdini. The grounds are dotted with caves and hidden tunnels, as well as beautiful terraced gardens. Houdini used this property as an escape, as well as somewhere to rehearse his daring tricks. His wife, Bess, lived here for years after his death. The estate was then lovingly restored and renovated, combining the mystery of Houdini's life with luxurious modern amenities. Guests from out of town will love the glamorous environment, with Beverly Hills and the Sunset Strip just minutes away. The Houdini Estate is perfect for grand gatherings and can comfortably accommodate up to 1,200 guests. There is also on-site parking for 80 cars. The beautiful grounds offer countless spaces where you can celebrate your love story. This includes romantic gazebos with views of the canyon, a landscaped lawn, and plenty of private gardens. Stunning photo backdrops can be found near the waterfall and natural spring pond. Tables and chairs and a dance floor for 75 people can be supplied. Your caterers can use our kitchen - four burners and an oven. Food trucks up to 16 feet long are welcome.
Amenities & Details
Ceremony Area, Covered Outdoors Space, Dressing Room, Handicap Accessible, Indoor Event Space, Liability Insurance, On-Site Accommodations, Outdoor Event Space, Reception Area, Wireless Internet, Hispanic or Latinx-owned Business
Guest Capacity300+
Ceremony TypesCivil Union, Commitment Ceremony, Elopement, Interfaith Ceremony, Non-Religious Ceremony, Religious Ceremony, Second Wedding, Vow Renewal Ceremony
Venue Service OfferingsDestination Weddings, Rentals & Equipment, Tents
SettingsBackyard, Estate, Garden, Historic Venue, Library, Mountain, Museum, Park, Tented, Trees
Business AttributesHispanic or Latinx-owned Business
Pricing for The Houdini Estate
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| Starting Cost | Moderate |
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Browse The Houdini Estate pricing PDF below for sample services and estimates.
View PricesThe Houdini Estate Reviews
Cecily Anaraki (other) 4 out of 5 Rating
BEAUTIFUL VENUE! Literally such a wow factor here. Everyone loved it, there are so many nooks and crannies for guests to explore. Honestly, we visited this venue on a whim. My husband and I were not keen on having to visit the venue on a weekday, and we didn’t want to pay the tour fee. Also, their website design leaves much to be desired. Look at their Instagram and tagged photos to get a better idea of the space. If you’re on the fence for these reasons, definitely go see what it’s about in person. Adriana conducted our tour and she was fantastic! She was very communicative and affable during the tour, and even after we booked she would check in on us every so often. I’d say a major downside of this venue is it’s not as budget-friendly. The venue fee is high and includes nothing. You will have to spend a decent amount on rentals (tables/chairs/plates/staff etc) and you will have to build a kitchen for the caterer. I had 120ish guests and spent around 40k on rentals and staffing, granted I went with a lot of premium items. However, I would not expect to spend less than 25k extra on rentals/staff for that many people. I personally think this was VERY worth it because the venue was just stunning. Everyone loved it. A month later I still have people telling me how much they loved the venue. There really is no place like it, and we looked at over a dozen venues. If you do go with this vendor you will need a good planner, and one that Houdini knows is highly preferable. We went with Three Little Birds event planning on Adriana's recommendation and that made everything a breeze. Our planner handled most communication with Houdini. That being said, I could DEFINITELY see how issues would arise if you didn't have a planner who was intimately familiar with the venue as there are a lot of rules they want you to comply with that aren’t clearly stated that can very easily become pain points. I personally did not have any problems, but my planner did all the heavy lifting here. All in all, I still think it was 100% worth it. I would book this venue again; you just can’t argue with how magical it is. We also got all our security deposit back, which I was initially worried about.
Reviewed on 19-10-2023
BEAUTIFUL VENUE! Literally such a wow factor here. Everyone loved it, there are so many nooks and crannies for guests to explore. Honestly, we visited this venue on a whim. My husband and I were not keen on having to visit the venue on a weekday, and we didn’t want to pay the tour fee. Also, their website design leaves much to be desired. Look at their Instagram and tagged photos to get a better idea of the space. If you’re on the fence for these reasons, definitely go see what it’s about in person. Adriana conducted our tour and she was fantastic! She was very communicative and affable during the tour, and even after we booked she would check in on us every so often. I’d say a major downside of this venue is it’s not as budget-friendly. The venue fee is high and includes nothing. You will have to spend a decent amount on rentals (tables/chairs/plates/staff etc) and you will have to build a kitchen for the caterer. I had 120ish guests and spent around 40k on rentals and staffing, granted I went with a lot of premium items. However, I would not expect to spend less than 25k extra on rentals/staff for that many people. I personally think this was VERY worth it because the venue was just stunning. Everyone loved it. A month later I still have people telling me how much they loved the venue. There really is no place like it, and we looked at over a dozen venues. If you do go with this vendor you will need a good planner, and one that Houdini knows is highly preferable. We went with Three Little Birds event planning on Adriana's recommendation and that made everything a breeze. Our planner handled most communication with Houdini. That being said, I could DEFINITELY see how issues would arise if you didn't have a planner who was intimately familiar with the venue as there are a lot of rules they want you to comply with that aren’t clearly stated that can very easily become pain points. I personally did not have any problems, but my planner did all the heavy lifting here. All in all, I still think it was 100% worth it. I would book this venue again; you just can’t argue with how magical it is. We also got all our security deposit back, which I was initially worried about.
Reviewed on 19-10-2023
Kate Gollogly (bride) 2 out of 5 Rating
Wedding Date 04-06-2022
While I am happy overall about our wedding hosted at the Houdini, I would strongly caution ALL people from booking an event there.Put more directly- DO NOT BOOK THE HOUDINI. Ella (our main contact), often treated us as an annoyance. We never felt any kind of hospitality on par with a venue of this caliber. The beauty of the venue is NOT worth the stress.Some objective information:-Gardens are incredibly well kept and absolutely gorgeous - definitely the reason for booking.-House is dated: A/C didn’t work for some time when we were there, and the two bottom bedrooms still smell STRONGLY of smoke (there was a fire ~2 years ago?). It’s unpleasant enough that we did not want to sleep in the master bedroom or leave my wedding dress there overnight in case it took on the smell.-Logistical challenge: difficult to load in/out rentals, only one street so we had to stage who came when. Also there are truck height limitations that also make rentals a challenge.-Like most of LA, there are severe noise ordinances, and sound is very carefully regulated.Problems:1. We were told we have full \"freedom of choice\" for all vendors. Later we were scolded that the houdini needed to \"sign off\" on vendors. We complied and would send over approval emails. Ella would not respond to these for months (some she NEVER replied to!), making booking vendors very challenging.2. The Houdini sprung an additional $5k fee if we wanted to have a band, over 7mos after booking with them. We were very up front from day 1 about our intention of having a live band, and nothing was communicated or listed in our original contract. We pushed back on this fee, and then the houdini/ella proclaimed that the band we had booked was banned from the venue. The band manager had _no_ information regarding this status, and houdini never produced any evidence in writing. Clearly there is a lot of hearsay in this conversation, but I feel pretty confident that Ella/the venue lied about our band being banned, because they simply didn't want to allow a band to play on the property.3. Venue walkthroughs were very difficult to schedule, as the venue refused to hold any of our walkthrough appointments. They stated that they would only confirm our appointment 24 hours before, as they might book something last minute. With travel from SF, work schedules, and vendor schedules, this made walkthroughs incredibly challenging. On one such occasion, the venue cancelled our walk through the day before, only after frantic calls and emails, agreed to move up our walkthrough by an hour. Why that wasn’t suggested initially is beyond me, but clearly indicates an unwillingness to support people who have contracted them as a venue.4. Communication with Ella (our main contact) was incredibly challenging. She would not respond to emails for weeks or months (she would also ignore or refuse to respond to many follow up requests (via email, phone, AND text), both from us and our wedding planner). When Ella did communicate with us, she also often gave conflicting information, and always with a ton of entitlement. She treated us like gum underneath her shoe that was an irritation, not people who were spending top dollar to rent out their wedding venue.
Reviewed on 10-06-2022
Wedding Date 04-06-2022
While I am happy overall about our wedding hosted at the Houdini, I would strongly caution ALL people from booking an event there.Put more directly- DO NOT BOOK THE HOUDINI. Ella (our main contact), often treated us as an annoyance. We never felt any kind of hospitality on par with a venue of this caliber. The beauty of the venue is NOT worth the stress.Some objective information:-Gardens are incredibly well kept and absolutely gorgeous - definitely the reason for booking.-House is dated: A/C didn’t work for some time when we were there, and the two bottom bedrooms still smell STRONGLY of smoke (there was a fire ~2 years ago?). It’s unpleasant enough that we did not want to sleep in the master bedroom or leave my wedding dress there overnight in case it took on the smell.-Logistical challenge: difficult to load in/out rentals, only one street so we had to stage who came when. Also there are truck height limitations that also make rentals a challenge.-Like most of LA, there are severe noise ordinances, and sound is very carefully regulated.Problems:1. We were told we have full \"freedom of choice\" for all vendors. Later we were scolded that the houdini needed to \"sign off\" on vendors. We complied and would send over approval emails. Ella would not respond to these for months (some she NEVER replied to!), making booking vendors very challenging.2. The Houdini sprung an additional $5k fee if we wanted to have a band, over 7mos after booking with them. We were very up front from day 1 about our intention of having a live band, and nothing was communicated or listed in our original contract. We pushed back on this fee, and then the houdini/ella proclaimed that the band we had booked was banned from the venue. The band manager had _no_ information regarding this status, and houdini never produced any evidence in writing. Clearly there is a lot of hearsay in this conversation, but I feel pretty confident that Ella/the venue lied about our band being banned, because they simply didn't want to allow a band to play on the property.3. Venue walkthroughs were very difficult to schedule, as the venue refused to hold any of our walkthrough appointments. They stated that they would only confirm our appointment 24 hours before, as they might book something last minute. With travel from SF, work schedules, and vendor schedules, this made walkthroughs incredibly challenging. On one such occasion, the venue cancelled our walk through the day before, only after frantic calls and emails, agreed to move up our walkthrough by an hour. Why that wasn’t suggested initially is beyond me, but clearly indicates an unwillingness to support people who have contracted them as a venue.4. Communication with Ella (our main contact) was incredibly challenging. She would not respond to emails for weeks or months (she would also ignore or refuse to respond to many follow up requests (via email, phone, AND text), both from us and our wedding planner). When Ella did communicate with us, she also often gave conflicting information, and always with a ton of entitlement. She treated us like gum underneath her shoe that was an irritation, not people who were spending top dollar to rent out their wedding venue.
Reviewed on 10-06-2022
Suzanne Keilly (bride) 5 out of 5 Rating
Wedding Date 16-10-2021
Everything about the Houdini Estate is as magical as the name implies. The grounds, the house, the Estate manager, Ella. It's such a beautiful property and Ella is so wonderfully helpful and supportive. The entire property is also yours, no other events will be happening while you are there. You can even stay at the property which we did for the weekend which made it even more lovely. I recommend staying an extra day if you can to relax and enjoy. We also had our rehearsal dinner here (a last minute decision as the other venue cancelled on us last minute). Be mindful that most things need to be brought in, they have heaters and certain amenities, however if you are looking for a place that has everything ready to go on site, this isn't it. It's not a wedding factory kind of joint. They know what they are doing and handle everything fast and efficiently, but you will need to provide most things yourself (unless you have a great wedding planner familiar with the venue, which we did). We had a very specific vision and feel that we wanted and the Houdini gave us that in spades. If you want an incredibly unique experience, this is the place.
Reviewed on 29-12-2021
Wedding Date 16-10-2021
Everything about the Houdini Estate is as magical as the name implies. The grounds, the house, the Estate manager, Ella. It's such a beautiful property and Ella is so wonderfully helpful and supportive. The entire property is also yours, no other events will be happening while you are there. You can even stay at the property which we did for the weekend which made it even more lovely. I recommend staying an extra day if you can to relax and enjoy. We also had our rehearsal dinner here (a last minute decision as the other venue cancelled on us last minute). Be mindful that most things need to be brought in, they have heaters and certain amenities, however if you are looking for a place that has everything ready to go on site, this isn't it. It's not a wedding factory kind of joint. They know what they are doing and handle everything fast and efficiently, but you will need to provide most things yourself (unless you have a great wedding planner familiar with the venue, which we did). We had a very specific vision and feel that we wanted and the Houdini gave us that in spades. If you want an incredibly unique experience, this is the place.
Reviewed on 29-12-2021
Hilary Beck (bride) 5 out of 5 Rating
Wedding Date 09-10-2021
We had our Rehearsal Dinner and Indian Wedding at the Houdini Estate at the beginning of Oct. Booking the estate was our first big decision for our wedding as we fell in love with it and knew it would be a unique experience for our friends and family in LA and from out of town, and it did not disappoint. Ella was amazing to work with especially when navigating have to change our dates due to Covid, and we and our guests could not have been happier with the experience that is unique to this venue. We have heard from many of our guests that it was their favorite wedding that they have been to and we hope to go back to Houdini again for up coming anniversaries, parties :) Highly recommend this venue!
Reviewed on 29-10-2021
Wedding Date 09-10-2021
We had our Rehearsal Dinner and Indian Wedding at the Houdini Estate at the beginning of Oct. Booking the estate was our first big decision for our wedding as we fell in love with it and knew it would be a unique experience for our friends and family in LA and from out of town, and it did not disappoint. Ella was amazing to work with especially when navigating have to change our dates due to Covid, and we and our guests could not have been happier with the experience that is unique to this venue. We have heard from many of our guests that it was their favorite wedding that they have been to and we hope to go back to Houdini again for up coming anniversaries, parties :) Highly recommend this venue!
Reviewed on 29-10-2021
Andrew Jennison (bride) 5 out of 5 Rating
Wedding Date 29-05-2021
The Houdini Estate is truly magical (no pun intended). A one of a kind venue in the heart of the Hollywood Hills. The ground of the estate are gorgeous and truly blew our guests away. My wife and I had toured a few different venues before seeing Houdini and we were immediately blown away. It's huge and there's so much to explore and so many cool little nooks and crannies with sculpture, art pieces etc throughout..The added bonuses of being able to stay on property and have our dogs with us (who were in the ceremony) made this place so perfect for us.It truly is breathtaking and I cannot think of a better place to have a wedding. We had so many people that told us afterward that it ruined all other weddings for them. I can't say enough good things about The Houdini Estate and Ella, who helped us along the way with our booking and made sure everything at the estate was perfect.Highly, highly recommend.
Reviewed on 01-06-2021
Wedding Date 29-05-2021
The Houdini Estate is truly magical (no pun intended). A one of a kind venue in the heart of the Hollywood Hills. The ground of the estate are gorgeous and truly blew our guests away. My wife and I had toured a few different venues before seeing Houdini and we were immediately blown away. It's huge and there's so much to explore and so many cool little nooks and crannies with sculpture, art pieces etc throughout..The added bonuses of being able to stay on property and have our dogs with us (who were in the ceremony) made this place so perfect for us.It truly is breathtaking and I cannot think of a better place to have a wedding. We had so many people that told us afterward that it ruined all other weddings for them. I can't say enough good things about The Houdini Estate and Ella, who helped us along the way with our booking and made sure everything at the estate was perfect.Highly, highly recommend.
Reviewed on 01-06-2021
Melanie Kirschner (guest) 5 out of 5 Rating
Wedding Date 10-08-2019
The best wedding of my life. I when to Jose Luis and Katheelen Nazar wedding at houdini state was magical.Camels mermaids dancers beautiful flowers all around the property. Amazing homemade ice cream loved entertainment but more than anything the venue is fabulous it’s so many beautiful spots and that place the energy is magical. I will do my wedding there is the most beautiful place to have a beautiful celebration of birthday
Reviewed on 17-08-2019
Wedding Date 10-08-2019
The best wedding of my life. I when to Jose Luis and Katheelen Nazar wedding at houdini state was magical.Camels mermaids dancers beautiful flowers all around the property. Amazing homemade ice cream loved entertainment but more than anything the venue is fabulous it’s so many beautiful spots and that place the energy is magical. I will do my wedding there is the most beautiful place to have a beautiful celebration of birthday
Reviewed on 17-08-2019
KASH HOVEY (guest) 5 out of 5 Rating
I had such an amazing time celebrating my friend Brooke Lewis and Mark Bellas' wedding at The Houdini Estate.
Reviewed on 04-06-2019
I had such an amazing time celebrating my friend Brooke Lewis and Mark Bellas' wedding at The Houdini Estate.
Reviewed on 04-06-2019
Camila Dizon (bride) 3 out of 5 Rating
Wedding Date 11-11-2018
Ok. This venue is beautiful and amazing. You feel like you’re in an Italian Villa somewhere not in the middle of LA. Here are the issues: 1) they canceled my rehearsal 2 days before because they booked a last minute event. I booked them a year in advance and they canceled my rehearsals 2 days before! 2) load in day of- the previous party was supposed to be our by 11am. They weren’t no out until 12:30pm. Since there’s only one way in and one way out my rental company couldn’t get in to unload. They charged me for waiting, not to mention my wedding was running over an hour behind. Lori- the venue person passed me off to the other event coordinator to get reimbursed instead of taking it out of her deposit. 3) load in is a pain in the ass. While 3 levels are beautiful, they are not great when you are an hour and a half behind and have to dolly and carry everything either down a ramp, or up a flight of stairs. You need MANY able bodies to help do thisAll in all the venue is gorgeous but difficult to navigate when on a time crunch for same day load in. If you have the money book the venue for 2 days so you can set up the day before.
Reviewed on 20-05-2019
Wedding Date 11-11-2018
Ok. This venue is beautiful and amazing. You feel like you’re in an Italian Villa somewhere not in the middle of LA. Here are the issues: 1) they canceled my rehearsal 2 days before because they booked a last minute event. I booked them a year in advance and they canceled my rehearsals 2 days before! 2) load in day of- the previous party was supposed to be our by 11am. They weren’t no out until 12:30pm. Since there’s only one way in and one way out my rental company couldn’t get in to unload. They charged me for waiting, not to mention my wedding was running over an hour behind. Lori- the venue person passed me off to the other event coordinator to get reimbursed instead of taking it out of her deposit. 3) load in is a pain in the ass. While 3 levels are beautiful, they are not great when you are an hour and a half behind and have to dolly and carry everything either down a ramp, or up a flight of stairs. You need MANY able bodies to help do thisAll in all the venue is gorgeous but difficult to navigate when on a time crunch for same day load in. If you have the money book the venue for 2 days so you can set up the day before.
Reviewed on 20-05-2019
Dusty Hess (groom) 3 out of 5 Rating
Wedding Date 12-12-2018
The venue is absolutely beautiful! Picture perfect!! The fact that you get to stay at the Estate for 2 nights (or more if you want to pay extra-I wish we would have) during the wedding was amazing. It took a lot of stress away from our families who stayed there with us. Unfortunately the venue is lacking in communication. Emails would go unanswered for weeks, there were a few times they forgot our wedding date and needed to be reminded. The communication with the estate management was one of the biggest stressors during our entire wedding process, but once we got there, everything was a-ok!
Reviewed on 20-02-2019
Wedding Date 12-12-2018
The venue is absolutely beautiful! Picture perfect!! The fact that you get to stay at the Estate for 2 nights (or more if you want to pay extra-I wish we would have) during the wedding was amazing. It took a lot of stress away from our families who stayed there with us. Unfortunately the venue is lacking in communication. Emails would go unanswered for weeks, there were a few times they forgot our wedding date and needed to be reminded. The communication with the estate management was one of the biggest stressors during our entire wedding process, but once we got there, everything was a-ok!
Reviewed on 20-02-2019
Adam Glass (groom) 5 out of 5 Rating
Wedding Date 04-08-2018
We threw my 50th birthday there and everyone loved it. The atmosphere is both warm and fantastic. What a special and beautiful evening. We can’t recommend it enough. A perfect little bit of Hollywood mixed with magic and beauty. A unique experience that you, your family and friends will never forget.
Reviewed on 15-12-2018
Wedding Date 04-08-2018
We threw my 50th birthday there and everyone loved it. The atmosphere is both warm and fantastic. What a special and beautiful evening. We can’t recommend it enough. A perfect little bit of Hollywood mixed with magic and beauty. A unique experience that you, your family and friends will never forget.
Reviewed on 15-12-2018
Kari Carter (professional) 5 out of 5 Rating
Wedding Date 22-12-2019
This is a NEW listing, please see the 35 reviews in Yelp!https://www.yelp.com/biz/houdini-estate-los-angeles
Reviewed on 25-10-2018
11 Reviews, with a Rating of 4.27 out of 5.0Wedding Date 22-12-2019
This is a NEW listing, please see the 35 reviews in Yelp!https://www.yelp.com/biz/houdini-estate-los-angeles
Reviewed on 25-10-2018
Contact Info for The Houdini Estate
| Contact | Value |
|---|---|
| The Houdini Estate | |
| X (Twitter) | The Houdini Estate |
| The Houdini Estate | |
| houdiniestate | |
| Website | www.thehoudiniestate.com |
| Phone | (866) 948-2732 |
| Address | 2400 Laurel Canyon Blvd, Los Angeles, CA, 90046 |
| info@thehoudiniestate.com |
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Meet the The Houdini Estate Team
Ella Leber (Director of Sales) Call Ella to inquire.
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