Villa Montalvo at the Montalvo Arts Center

an absolute joy to work with. Even MONTHS later, she is just the same. I looked at this venue originally for my wedding, but in the end, I moved forward with another venue. It was such a tough decision to make and it wasn't easy, I loved everything about this space and knowing I would be working with Caitlin was such a plus. In the end, I still got to experience the magic at Villa Montalvo through my engagement/pre-wedding photoshoot and I am so grateful to Caitlin for helping me make the photoshoot happen. The venue is spacious, the love garden is beautiful, and in general, you really feel like you've escaped to another place at the Villa. All of it is amazing. I recommend for anyone to look at this venue as a wedding option, but know that there are no pressures by Caitlin and it is clear, she just wants whatever is best for you -- even if it isn't Villa Montalvo. Searching for a wedding planning is stressful, but know it should also be fun. Knowing that you can come to this place and have your wedding here all while knowing that you'll be taken care of, is a huge relief. But also knowing, you can look and not feel pressured and know that they are looking out for YOU first, is also such a great experience.

s. We were thrilled by the photos and the staff was so friendly as well!

venue years ago and guess which one it turned out to be!) Needless to say, navigating our wedding through Covid has been tough, but Caitlin (Manager of Sales and Events) has managed to keep us excited! We postponed our big church wedding and reception to 2021 and, in the meantime, held a micro-ceremony here this past month.  First off, Caitlin is ah-ma-zing. She's very thorough with questions, open-minded with ideas, and knowledgeable at her craft. Most importantly, she truly cares about her clients and has a tendency to go above and beyond. Especially in this pandemic, she continually pivots and makes recommendations based on ever-changing county and state guidelines. Not only were we able to seamlessly reschedule to 2021, we also executed a beautiful, socially-distanced micro ceremony in under a month. (Complimentary!) In regards to the venue, I'm sure its beauty can speak for itself. We wanted a local venue with a "getaway" feel and Villa Montalvo definitely fit the bill. It's surrounded by gorgeous landscaping and woods -- kind of like Jurassic Park but just nature and no killer dinos, lol. Anyway, with multiple event spaces/rooms, the design possibilities are endless. They rent the whole villa to only one client per day, so you can really feel like the king and queen you are and not run into any other couple or strangers.  Montalvo has been a major POSITIVE in a year full of negatives, and my husband and I can't wait for round two next year!

stunning. I used to come to Villa Montalvo as a child all the time with my parents so it was really cool that I was able to celebrate such a milestone at this historic place.

on for shoots, parties, wedding, anything!

ontalvo helped us to have the fairytale micro-wedding of our dreams. Even with just 8 people present, and the event being increasingly short notice, the moment was magical and the photos were stunning. Their coordinator was so friendly, helpful, and flexible. I would highly reccomend Montalvo.

ical it was. We only had 14 guests seated (and socially distant by household), yet over 100 of our loved ones watched us via live stream. They got to experience our special day with us and we got all the music, the walk down the aisle (6 ft apart), the flower girl, the tears in my eyes as I watched my beautiful bride enter through the black gates and walk that surreal walk towards me. There’s no way I think this special day happens if we booked anywhere but Villa Montalvo. Caitlin, the venue coordinator, put so much effort in making this happen. We were able to postpone our reception date to next summer (and they implemented a very fair policy to make sure we still got that precious summer Saturday wedding date). When we expressed that we were still interested in doing the ceremony this year, Caitlin was supportive. We got regular updates on what was legal and not legal. We discussed in depth how we could make it safe (safety was our #1 priority, we only wanted to do this if we could do it safely). She set up the chairs and umbrellas, jumped on calls with us, was on site on the day of, we had a rehearsal. And she did it complimentary 😭 We are so grateful. When we did our wedding venue search in January/February 2019, we went on tours at 16 Bay Area wedding venues. We wanted the place of our dreams. It came down to Nestldown and Villa Montalvo. Boy are so glad we chose Villa Montalvo. Yesterday was quite the magical special day. And because Villa Montalvo is open to the public, it is a place we can take our future kids to on our anniversary and relive this day over and over again.

th and have been beyond accommodating as we navigate these times! That aside, the grounds are stunning, well kept and the villa is in pristine condition--we plan to take advantage of every gorgeous space on the property & could not be more excited to have our wedding at such a gorgeous venue!

time for them but they were always able to get back to us within a few days with recommendations, referrals and answers to all our questions. What really made them so spectacular was their response to what could have been a devastating moment to a couple. The Friday before our wedding we were give 24 hours notice that PG&E would be shutting off the power at the Villa. Within hours it was resolved - Caitlin and Linette found battery operated uplights and candles and helped us as we had an oversized generator delivered to make sure that we'd have enough lighting for safety. Despite all my fears, it was unbelievably beautiful and I felt 100% supported by the team. As we told the team after the wedding, almost everyone we spoke to, (completely unprompted!), said that the Villa was the most gorgeous venue they've ever seen! We could go on and on and on - you all rocked it! We are extremely grateful that we had the opportunity to get married in such a beautiful setting and had such amazing people making it possible.

g this place to host an elegant and romantic event. From the beginning, the entire staff was very flexible and accommodating. At first they may seem a little strict but after our experience, it all makes sense. This team knows what they’re doing because they have seen enough events to know what needs to be done. Not only were they friendly and responsive, they were very understanding of how chaotic wedding planning and organizing could be. With stress about how to move large decorative pieces, they were great in helping us find solutions so that we had one less item to worry about. Throughout the entire event the staff was very helpful and made sure guests were happy and comfortable. With about 200 guests roaming around, I am sure that was not an easy task. I would do it again in a heartbeat!

m. There is such a nice flow from the love temple to the courtyard and then the veranda for dinner. We used the indoor library for a whiskey library which was a huge hit. Caitlin was always very accommodating and a pleasure to work with. So happy we chose this venue!

first choice. However, after doing a site-visit, we knew this was our place. Elegant and without pretension, the Villa Montalvo mansion utilizes the natural beauty of the area intertwined with the beautiful aesthetics of the early 20th century mansion. We incorporated each area of the mansion into our wedding by having the ceremony in the oval garden, cocktail hour on the west lawn, dinner on the veranda and the reception/dancing in and around the inside of the mansion. The transitions were natural and our guests enjoyed the functionality of the venue. In addition to the venue, Villa Montalvo’s staff was very professional and responsive. We appreciated Caitlin and Linette’s dedication to making sure our event went off without a hitch.

de guests the chance to explore, and the Villa itself is stunning. We worked with Caitlin, who was a delight throughout the process! Not only was she was professional and a fantastic resource, but she was also such a kind and genuine person! We really appreciated her help to make our day so perfect! The venue rental is expensive, but it is truly one-of-a-kind and provides such a gorgeous and romantic atmosphere.

were amazing, they helped so much to make our dream day come true. From the beginning Caitlin was so helpful and professional, she was thorough and thoughtful with the information we needed about the venue and was available and open to our timeline and special events throughout the wedding day (i.e. dances, songs, specific requests). We loved working with her and all the staff; everyone was so sweet and helpful throughout the process and on the day! We definitely recommend looking at venues early especially this one; because of its natural beauty it fills up quickly. The moment we stepped onto the site we knew this was where we wanted to get married, and I'm so thankful that we were able to make that happen!

ld not have been more perfect. A bit pricey, but it is a day you will remember forever. So worth it!

rvice at all. I was promised that people wouldn't be walking around on the lawn on my wedding day and there were tons of people I didn't know doing just that, Kathleen (the lady in charge) is super rude to my guests, at 10pm she actually yelled for people to "get out". The majority of my vendors actually complained about her personally. They also had some stupid giant pink carnival seating thing on the lawn... hello this is a black tie wedding and we paid over $12,000 for this venue that came with nothing, the least you can do is not add a bunch of stupid lawn garbage right before my big day

here, however, the location is so gorgeous and antique that less is more here - don't need to be as extreme with the floral details or add-on elements you may think you need to incorporate. loved that at this one venue, I had three different locations for my wedding: ceremony in the oval garden, cocktail hour in the courtyard, reception inside the villa and on the front veranda. very inviting for guests, seems like a "Cinderella" wedding because of the environment. when it comes to service, they need help. my emails and calls went unanswered multiple times (and I was not bugging them all the time), they missed helping me and my wedding party for the rehearsal which was inexcusable - they double booked. if you have a wedding here, make sure to hire a wedding planner as well, as you will not get the event management you need with their current staff. very nice ladies just not up to par.

place. It was Amazing.

Oval Garden for our ceremony, had cocktail hour out back in the Spanish Courtyard, and did dinner out on the veranda. Dancing and cake inside! There were lots of places for people to be so it didn't feel too crowded, but it was also somehow very intimate. I couldn't ask for anything more, I would do use Villa again in a heartbeat!

e had troubles though with miscommunication during our wedding process with the planners at the Villa, that lead to the non 5 star rating.

cause you need to provide all your own venues... but it was worth it!