Alexis A.
Yelp
This review won't do our experience justice, no matter how hard we try. Nicola and Chris, the owners and operators of La Villa, helped give us the wedding of our dreams this past September. Our gratitude knows no depths.
Highlights:
Hospitality: Chris and Nicola are funny, warm, down-to-earth, responsive, thoughtful, and -- most importantly -- experts at their craft. They are relentlessly focused on quality service -- from an excellent breakfast service and incredible wine pairings with dinner, to helping coordinate activities off the property -- not a beat is missed. Their team is family to them (many of them have been around since the early days of La Villa!), and every single person is focused on ensuring that La Villa guests feel valued, appreciated, and set up to have fun. Now, compound that over five days and 100 attendees -- and still not a beat was missed.
Planning: Nicola knows how to get things done. We were planning our wedding from New York City, not knowing the language or the vendors. We'd give Nicola some high-level ideas and thoughts over Skype, and then she'd masterfully turn them into a stunning reality (and even make them better, in many cases). From tracking down sunflowers outside of sunflower season for our rehearsal dinner, and constructing a chuppah for our ceremony, no detail was missed. As a bride planning a wedding from so far away, knowing that you're in capable hands is critically important for everyone's stress level :) I trusted Nicola implicitly, and she delivered -- and then some. (One of my favorite moments was walking into the reception after the ceremony -- I hadn't yet seen the tablescape and was literally jaw-dropped at how Nicola and her team had perfectly transformed the space, beyond my wildest expectations.)
Involvement: Nicola and Chris treated our wedding as if it were their own. They were there every single second, answering questions, carefully directing the flow, comfortably mingling with guests. The amount of responsibility they felt for the entire weekend was deeply comforting to us -- and, I have to imagine, exhausting for them. Before the ceremony kicked off, Nicola noticed my husband was perhaps a little anxious (compared to my room of bridesmaids, where we were laughing and drinking mimosas and playing board games). Despite needing to set up for the ceremony, cocktail hour, AND reception, she took time to bring him and his groomsmen a shot of whiskey to settle down. These little moments are among my favorite to remember.
Property: The property is stunning, and the rooms are incredibly comfortable. It's a shame there's so much to do and see in the area -- you never want to leave La Villa!
Food: You can't talk about Piedmont without talking about food. Chef Ian is a magician. Whether it's a meal for two, 20, or 100, the food is thoughtfully constructed and masterfully executed. Our favorites include: frito misto, chocolate souffle, and agnolotti. And our Friday night pizza party was a total hit with all of our guests -- incredible pizzas, cooked outside at the pizza oven, and served hot. But my favorite? The cheese board of my dreams at the reception.
Value: Chris and Nicola helped us stay on-budget without cutting corners or making sacrifices. We ate well, we drank well, we were able to transform the space with the decorative details we wanted. We were able to host the wedding of our dreams -- five days of events! -- at a shockingly reasonable price.
Chris and Nicola, we can't thank you enough for being alongside us during the best weekend of our lives. We are forever grateful. Like it or not, you're family to us now. We can't wait to come back and visit again soon. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
