The Villa Del Sol Reviews

We had our wedding on November 2019 at this gorgeous venue.
We looked at three other venues before seeing Villa del Sol, and we made the decision to have our wedding right away. We were incredibly happy about how our wedding turned. With the set up and all, it was beautiful and far exceeded our expectations.
Venue - It's a historical place with a Spanish vibe and lots of character. It has market lights across the place making it very romantic at night. At sunset the venue is absolutely gorgeous. We have an 85 person wedding and it was the perfect size, not too cramped or bare. Our guests were very complimentary of the venue. At the day of the event, Shawna hires two security guards to prevent the public from coming in while the party is going.
Venue coordinator - Shawna is amazing. She is so accommodating and flexible. She helps you plan the design of the place, and helps with placing the order for tables/chairs. She's got great tips for helping you save on cost. My husband and I had a very positive experience with her.
Catering - Villa del Sol has their list of approved caterers and alcohol vendors. We went with Fullerton Brew Co. The food was delicious and we had plenty of alcohol to lasts us through the night. From our past experiences as wedding guests, the food was never memorable or good good food. I couldn't really eat the day of my wedding because of the craziness, but my husband and guests were very complimentary of the food.
We wanted a very intimate wedding, have our closest friends/family be active participants and witnesses to our marriage and love, and this venue with all its character was the perfect setting for it.

The Villa del Sol was the perfect place for us to have our wedding reception. The tradion and history of this building only made our celebration more classic and entertaining. Many of our guess said the Spanish look of the venue made them feel like they were somewhere else far from the OC. We strongly recommend The Villa del Sol for a wedding celebration.

This venue is perfectly perfect for an outdoor memorable event hacienda style. We had our wedding reception here in late September and I must say Shawna’s assistance and coordinating skills made for a perfect wedding reception. Highly recommend this beautiful affordable venue.

BEST DECISION MADE (second to saying yes to my husband)! All our guests were stunned by this venue. Many had thought we spent tons of money, but actually we were on a budget! This place was affordable for the location and sheer beauty of this venue. Because it has so much greenery, you didn't need to spend a lot for decor/florals. Everything went perfectly smooth all thanks to Shana! The whole process was easy, and she was so responsive. We booked the venue 3 months before our wedding date because of last minute changes, and Shana made it so easy that we weren't stressed about it at all. Out of all the other venues I visited in the area, Shana was definitely the nicest, most helpful, and most genuine. Would HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend!!

Absolutely! Shawna was incredible to work with from the beginning and everything could not have been more perfect. We danced five hours straight. We had so much fun and the venue was perfect. In total we had 80 guests, dinner was served buffet style, we rented the dance floor, the barn tables were perfect for our style and everything was just super easy! The greenery around the venue makes it easy to decorate for your big day and you do not need a lot of flowers. When the sun goes down it is even more beautiful. The lights hung across the venue create a beautiful soft lighting for your guests. I definitely recommend this venue.

The Villa Del Sol met ALL of our needs. Shawna is wonderfully skilled at her job. She gives the best advice from experience so trust her. She responds accordingly to texts and emails.
She has a great rapport with her surrounding neighbors/vendors as well as having great resources. Take advantage of "Open House". That's how I found a local dessert vendor for GF cupcakes.

From the minute we stepped foot into the Villa's courtyard, we knew this was our wedding site. Shawna, the Events Coordinator for the property, has you visit during an event to allow you to actually visualize what your event could look like (unlike most places that you have to use your imagination). She is flexible, friendly, informative and a genuine blast to work with. Have a crazy idea? She'll help you see it through. Not sure how something works? She'll be there.

We were more than pleased with our wedding day and it's large in part to the entire team that came together to make our day the best day. Thank you Shawna, and to our entire team, for all you do!

We used Stadium Tavern (aka Fullerton Brew Co) for our caterer and they knocked it out of the park. The employees worked so hard and Tom Dow was very accommodating whenever we needed anything. The food was soooo good. We had such high expectations for them and they delivered to the max.

Shawna was so professional and helpful planning our wedding at this venue. She made everything move smooth and even came into town from a family trip a few hours away just to make sure everything went smooth the night of the wedding. We were so happy with the venue and Stadium Tavern.

The Villa Del Sol is an amazing venue. When we first saw it we knew it would be the perfect place for the most special day in our lives. Shawna was awesome and always available for us. The venue has so much character and very romantic. Our family and guest were so shocked as to how beautiful everything was. I cannot imagine any other place for our wedding. Our wedding pictures were absolutely gorgeous! Highly recommend this venue.

We got married here and I cannot put into words how beautiful, magical, and well organized it was. It was seriously a DREAM. We looked at several historic venues in Orange and LA counties, and for the price VDS topped them all. Shawna was easy going and fantastic to work with - she walked us through the table/chair/linen rentals with ease and kept us on track in the months leading up to the wedding. We chose Cafe Hidalgo as our caterer and hired Dena David (the Cafe Hidalgo catering manager) as our wedding coordinator and that was pretty much the BEST DECISION EVER. We had so many compliments about the food and the venue and 100 percent thanks to Dena and Shawna our wedding went off without a single hiccup. Everything looked AMAZING. No matter how many beautiful photos you look at, nothing - NOTHING - does the venue justice when it's dark, you're sitting at your sweetheart table, the al fresco lights are twinkling, your guests are laughing and the candles are flickering. The only way to describe it is like something out of a movie. Perfect.

Besides how beautiful it all is, I cannot rave enough about how this place operates like a well-oiled machine. The other venue we were seriously considering was pretty DIY - a "here's the key, be out by midnight" type of situation. At VDS everyone works together to throw events almost every weekend. You can rest assured the tables and chairs will arrive. Almost every vendor we used knew VDS/Cafe Hidalgo/Dena by name. I literally would book someone, and they'd already know exactly where and when to appear on our wedding day. We absolutely loved this venue.

Omg loved my wedding venue! Such a romantic place! I went for a spanish, rustic, villa theme and let me tell you, everyone told us how beautiful the place was. You can easily switch up the feel of it, from an elegant wedding to a casual tropical theme as well. Its a very unique place where you can have your ceremony and reception, which saved us time and money. Shawna is the contact person for the venue, she was really nice and worked really well with Dena at Cafe Hidalgo who was our wedding coordinator and caterer. It made my job easier as a Bride to work with companies and women that work professionally and so accommodating to making the whole process easy.

My husband and I recently held our ceremony and reception at Villa Del Sol on 8/3/2013. It was beautiful and everything we could have ever wanted. The location is great, downtown Fullerton is very cute and it has lots of great boutiques and restaurants nearby.

Working with Ruth Davies (Director of Special Events for Villa Del Sol) was a breeze. She was always available to answer any questions, and I definitely had a lot! She even put together the 6th and final (a result of my OCD) table arrangement at 9pm the night before the wedding!

We chose Cafe Hidalgo to cater the wedding. This is not your typical wedding food; it was nothing short of amazing. They even made a special vegan plate for myself and a handful of our guests. Usually when restaurants don't specialize in vegan food, you basically get rice and veggies or pasta and veggies. Not at Cafe Hidalgo, my guests and I received a vegan enchilada with a cashew cream sauce, Spanish rice and beans. It was beyond delicious.

We also hired Dena David of Cafe Hidalgo as our wedding coordinator. I don't even have words special enough to describe this lady. She is sweet, friendly, organized to a T, and creative. I had a lot of DIY ceremony and reception decor items that her and her staff were able to set up for me, they even packed them up within 10 minutes at the end of the night and put them in our car for us! I didn't even give her a picture of what I was looking for; I guess just talking with me about my vision was all she needed. She was able to capture the exact look I was going for (bohemian, country-chic). She even threw little touches in there that we hadn't originally talked about that really just topped the whole decor look off.

If you are thinking about hosting your wedding here, do not hesitate. The price is right, the staff and catering is top-notch, and where else can you have an outdoor wedding reception until 12am in Southern California? Stop looking; Villa Del Sol is it!

My wedding at the Villa del Sol was exactly what my husband and I wanted. Ruth was nothing but professional, helpful, upbeat, and was obviously willing to go the extra mile for her couples. Being from out of town, none of our guests had been to the Villa before, and they were blown away by it. It has that great California vibe while being beautiful and simple. I was completely satisfied with the service provided at the Villa as well as all of my vendors.

I recently had my wedding reception at the Villa Del Sol, and absolutely loved it! The Villa turns into an beautiful, romantic, secluded courtyard at night. We had so many complements from our guests on what great venue it was. Ruth Davies was really great to work with and was always quick to respond to emails and even encouraged texting for quicker responses. I would definitely recommend the Villa Del Sol to anyone planning a wedding or event!

My wedding was everything I wanted it to be, every little detail was perfect. We will be back to renew our vows here in 20 years!!

This venue was stunning! From day to night. Ruth Davies, managed special events for the Villa and she was unbelievable! She answered any question I had within minutes via text or e-mail. She was super helpful; on the day of the wedding before I was going to walk down the aisle, totally forgot my dress was bustled for pictures. She asked if I wanted it like that and I freaked out and said no...she quickly took the bustle down 2 minutes before I walked just in time. Whew! Thanks Ruth your the best. Rest assure, one thing you will be certain about if you book the Villa is Ruth will have your back! ;) Another perk for booking the villa...you have it from 5-12am...that's a good amount of time, compared to other venues.
Also, I highly recommended you choose Cafe Hidalgo as your caterer. The service was exceptional and the food, as our guest described was really good considering its wedding food. Keep in mind- it is buffet but also keep in mind its served buffet- making it better than traditional buffet because you choose what you want and there is someone there to place it on your plate.
Lastly, for all the brides out there, I know you are at the top of your spending dollars but hiring Dena David from Cafe Hidalgo as the day of the.event coordinator is a must. She relieved so much stress for me. The ceremony and whole event wouldn't have ran so smoothly as it did without her. She knows the dos and don't of the venue. The decor was absolutely more gorgeous than I anticipated. She even arranged the flowers on my.cake and it looked amazing! Anything my fiance need she made sure we had, she even cut.cheese to eat with crackers because my.fiance was starving. She is absolutely amazing- you.have to hire her. Well worth the money. Overall, this venue was so beautiful great place to dance and just a great ambiance and is surrounded by amazing people who love their job! :) Thanks Ruth and Dena! You two are the best!

The venue, staff and catering was excellent. My husband and I could not be happier with all the services provided. All our friends and family praised the service. We will continue to recommend Villa Del Sol and Café Hidalgo to others. Dena and Ruth are awesome! Thank you again!

Our experience was great, the food, the service, the venue, and of course all the personal attention and help we received from Dena. Can't say enough, our entire wedding experience was great. We'd recommend the Villa , Cafe Hidalgo, and Dena to anyone.

This was one of the best days of my life!! It was absolutely beautiful. I would recommend this place to anybody. Hidalgo catered my wedding and they were amazing! Props to deana and Ruth!!! Thank u, Kate Willis

We had our wedding at this gorgeous venue this past September. My wife was looking everywhere for the right price but with the beautiful surroundings. Once she saw The Villa Del Sol there was no other comparison! The price was perfect and the fact that you get all the wonderful greenery makes this Spanish style court yard the perfect outdoor experience. The young lady in charge of the Venus events is Ruth, she was absolutely perfect. She answered every question very quickly, not to mention giving my wife some calming help when she felt overwhelmed. She went above and beyond for us. We had a problem with our favors last minute and she was happy to help which saved us so much stress and worry. We don't know what we would have done without her. She actually cares about the bride and groom, and she loves her job! She manages the events in her venue to the T. This came in very handy when our florist had the wrong date for our wedding, Ruth and our other coordinator were right on top of it. They got flowers there within the hour, and Ruth herself was cutting and making flower arrangements just so my wife would not have to worry. The greenery in this case helped us more the you could imagine. Since the florist screwed up, we didn't have all that my wife wanted there, but all the greenery and flowers at the location more then made up for that. If you want simple, this venue is perfect, if you want extravagant, this Venu is perfect! Thank you again Ruth for every thing you did for me and my bride, we will never forget it. We love you, and GO LIONS!!!

The Villa del Sol is a beautiful place for an outdoor wedding. We had to provide minimal amount of decorations because of the lush vegetation surrounding the courtyard. After sunset, the courtyard became a very warm romantic atmosphere with the overhead Al Fresco lighting. The venue provides so many beautiful photographing opportunities which our photographer took advantage of. We would highly recommend The Villa del Sol for a wedding venue. It was the perfect place for our daughter's dream wedding.

Absolutely loved this site for our reception. It's beautiful. Everyone talked about how they had never been to a wedding like ours. The priciing is great too! Definitely recommend.

My experience with the venue was simply put seamless. They have pricing for M-TH, F/Sun and Saturday. Special days like 9/11/12, or holiday weekends will be charged at the Saturday price which is the most expensive rate. I got married on a Friday. If you are doing this on a budget a Friday wedding is totally doable. As the bride you won't even know what day it is.
Dealing with Ruth was great. As I planned this wedding from my work desk having someone respond to my emails in a timely manner was super important to me. Ruth always gets back to you in a couple hours. Just a note, Ruth is not on site day to day, she is actually never on site unless you book an appointment with her. So if you want to "drop by" don't because she won't be there. And if she is, she gives the utmost attention and priority to the client she is working with. Which in my opinion is fair. She was there for the beginning of my event and helped my husband out while he got heat stroke and was throwing up in the bathroom for an hour. She'd check in on me while he was sick to make sure that we both were not freaking out. She was really great all around.
My event was catered by Cafe Hidalgo. First off, Dena is the best. Second, the food is delicious. Unlike Ruth, Dena is always there and ready to help you. I personally love a lady in charge and she is just that. She demands excellence from everyone, that means her staff, your vendors and your guests. She is very mindful of what she does to ensure that your event is nothing but amazing. As the day of coordinator, which is really a necessity, she makes everything progresses for everyone. The one thing that I loved most about her is that she makes it a priority that you eat! She did cut off one of the groomsmen, which was fine because no one wants to see the drunk stumbling guy making a scene at your wedding. Overall experience wonderful. Make sure you make arrangements to have someone take all your things home that night.

Beautiful venue! Ruth Davies was very helpful and answered all of our questions promptly.

I loved the Villa del Sol! The venue is absolutely beautiful and perfect for an outdoor wedding. Ruth is amazing to work with, she is on top of everything.