If you only read the first few lines of this and ignore the rest of the details, hear this - Villa Festa is the most well-thought out venue run by people who are seasoned with events, have made incredible vendor partnerships of the same quality, and never make you question of second of the wedding process. Book them now. If this fits your vision, book them now. We would rehire every single vendor, and tell each other at least every week how perfect our day was. We would go back and redo every single part if we could…..seriously, move your date if you have to, just get. Married. Here.

We first found this venue before we were even engaged. Our dream had been to get married in Positano, Italy. We wanted to rent a big house and tell everyone to just get to Italy and we would provide the rest. But with lots of siblings with kids of their own, it was unlikely everyone would be able to make the time and expense. We decided to look at getting married in the Orlando area where we were planning to move, but wanted to find something that felt like Italy and could give us the old-Hollywood, backyard garden party wedding we were dreaming of. We set off to understand if it was possible…..then we stumbled on Villa Festa. It checked all of the boxes - a big house to sleep us all (which my husband lovingly let my parents, four siblings and their spouses, overtake), an Italian vibe, a weekend retreat, and the perfect backdrop for the wedding of our dreams.

As soon as we were engaged, we reached out to Beth McIntyre with our 1 million questions. It was our top priority to be married here (even sight unseen, we just knew). She never made us feel like we were asking too much, being too needy too early (even though we may have been) and helped us lock in our date. Villa Festa’s required caterers (and all of their preferred vendors) were of the same caliber. The team is professional, kind, supportive, responsive, and perfection. We visited the venue with Beth to see all of the pieces and ask another thousand questions about everything from ceremony to the best hotels in the area. She shared the contract later that day, and we were locked in by the next morning.

We added an extra day to our stay, so that we checked in on Thursday and out on Monday. There is no pressure on you in any sense throughout the weekend, outside of wedding day (and maybe rehearsal if your coordinator comes) it feels just like you are at an Airbnb. It was a great place for friends to stop by as they got into town! We had our rehearsal on Friday and then did a cookout for our dinner. When wedding day came, the Villa Festa staff arrived and got straight to work! They asked no questions and simply started on the plan that we had confirmed at our final details meeting. While we were getting ready upstairs in the main building, I didn’t even know they were there until I looked out the window. After the wedding they swooped in, cleaned up, and were gone by the time our final goodbyes to our guests were said. It was incredible to not have to think of a thing, and simply walk into the carriage house with my husband. The next morning we woke up, met the rest of the family in the main house and spent the day enjoying Deland before slowly organizing and packing cars to drive back on Monday.

Here are the details I would have wanted to know as a bride:
* Coordinator - Yes you have to book one. I didn’t want to spend the money on it originally. I am the youngest of five kids, four of us girls, so I figured that we knew how to run a wedding. THIS WAS ONE OF THE BEST THINGS THAT WE PAID FOR! I kid you not, I would have paid five times the price because of how little I thought about anything except getting married that day. We hired River City Catering for our food and bar, and we also hired sweet Kayleigh Hernandez through them. Between her team and the Villa Festa team, our wedding was flawless - Literally one of the best things of Villa Festa are their vendor partners!
* DJ - Same thing, yes you need that or a band. There isn’t a speaker system to plug in your own playlist (what I wanted to do). Again, this is where the incredible vendor team of Villa Festa comes in handy! We didn’t want someone who was too much and too often on the mic. We used Win Show Events as recommended and they listened to everything we wanted.
* Rain Plan - One of the best things is that you have to ensure all guests are covered while eating dinner at Villa Festa. This ensures that if worse comes to worst, you have a rain plan. I knew that if it was sprinkling, I had purchased umbrellas for the ceremony and they’d be covered for dinner. If it poured, we would get married under the pavilion with everyone at their seats. For someone getting married in Florida, we had zero concerns for rain.

Truly we could not have asked for a more perfect day. We will be going back in ten years to renew our vows here because we loved our day so much. Thank you Villa Festa team for everything!! We love you so much!

Love,
The McGowans

Every great story has a memorable setting. Whether it's my favorite film Stars Wars A New Hope or a Disney princess movie, their environment and location sets the tone for how the voyage unfolds. As old souls, it's only fitting that our biggest day becomes historic within the walls of a venue built in 1925. The exquisite detailing and structure brought us and our guests awe on our wedding day and throughout our stay at Villa Festa. The venue transformed us into icons inviting folks from far and wide to partake in our curated galla. The historic house treated us with such love and care and I hope we gave back the same. Beth, her husband, and their staff welcomed us into their pride and made us feel at home. They were kind throughout the wedding planning process and answered the many questions we had. We thank them for making our day feel magical and love felt. For a venue to remember and a day no one will soon forget Villa Festa is the perfect, timeless choice.

We had the most amazing wedding weekend and could not have picked a better venue. A lot of our guests traveled from out of town so it was the perfect city for everyone to gather and stay close to each other. We also held our rehearsal dinner & welcome party on-site and had our wedding party stay here for the weekend. Best wedding day ever! Best venue owners! Best everything. We are so grateful and would do it all over again!

Deland has such cute places to eat and it's not far from the beach if you need some time by the water. The small town reminds us of where we met.