Villa Montalvo at Montalvo Arts Center Reviews
Reviews
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![DinaMcMahon]()
Dinamcmahon Sent on 03/01/2023DINA'S DELUXE EVENTS (featured on the Knot and Wedding Wire too) recommends Villa Montalvo
Dina's Deluxe Events (featured on the Knot and Wedding Wire too) recommends Villa Montalvo as a fabulous venue with beautiful trees, gardens, fountains, sculptures and floor plans for your wedding or other celebration! 5 stars to this amazing venue with a beautiful view, romantic settings and wonderful staff!
We had the pleasure of having an event at Montalvo Villa and it turned out beautiful. The staff was so helpful, professional and the beautiful venue was a great fit for our luxury event. -
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![K. Saw]()
K. Saw Sent on 12/27/2020Amazing service
I’ve worked with Caitlin from Montalvo Arts center to do a few editorial shoots with real life couples along with some great wedding vendors. Her service is by far one of the best I’ve ever had. She has supported my wedding planning service from the very beginning by welcoming us with open arms to create something beautiful to inspire couples at their breathtaking venue. It was an amazing experience working with Caitlin. Planning an editorial shoot in the middle of a pandemic wasn’t easy, as venues may cancel abruptly which happened to me and my team. I originally planned a shoot somewhere else but the venue had to cancel one week prior to our shoot date. I immediately reached out to Caitlin and with no hesitation, she welcomed our team and made sure we were taken care of. She’s so responsive to emails and would really bend backwards to accommodate our requests. I highly recommend Villa Montalvo to all the couples who are planning to elope or get married because I guarantee that this will definitely be a great experience not only to you as a couple but also to your guests as well as the vendors you will hire for your wedding! -
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![Angela]()
Angela Sent on 12/23/2020LOVE LOVE LOVE Villa Montalvo | So Much More Than Just A Venue
We could not have more good things to say about Villa Montalvo at Montalvo Arts Center! If I could give 1000 stars, I would. After having to change our wedding plans not once, but twice, Villa Montalvo and their team wrapped their love around us and welcomed us into their family of Villa Couples. As a fellow wedding pro, it was always important to me that my wedding pro team was made up of amazing people who love their clients and go above and beyond for them. The Villa team is exactly that—lovely, friendly, and extremely professional in every way. Beyond that, the venue itself is gorgeous. As a wedding photographer, it was of course important to me that our venue was picturesque and publication-worthy. In every direction, Villa Montalvo has sweeping views of the beautiful Santa Cruz Mountains, historic architecture with clean details, and a variety of elegant vignettes for a truly diverse photo gallery. You could literally hold your ceremony at any spot on this property and it would be grand, glorious and dreamy. We could not be more blessed by Villa Montalvo. Highly recommend to any couple looking for a glamorous and elegant venue with a personable events team for their wedding! -
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![Jamilla]()
Jamilla Sent on 09/11/2020Fantastic Experience for Post-Ceremony Photoshoot
We chose to go with Villa Montalvo for our official wedding photos after our ceremony - the location is fantastic and the permit allows you full access to the grounds to take pictures. The process of getting a permit was very easy. Since we did it early on a weekday, we got the grounds all to ourselves and took photos for ~2hrs. We are really glad we got to take our photos in such a beautiful location and make wonderful memories of the day. -
Bianca Sent on 10/20/2017This review is half for the venue and half for Tiffany! Venue - amazing, you can't get married in a better place. The flow is perfect , from ceremony to cocktails, to dinner, to dancing. Our guest flowed in and out of the venue with ease and everyone loved how it felt so private and tucked away in the middle of the South Bay. Now...the only downside, the price. It is EXPENSIVE, twice as much as some other venues. But you do get the whole place to yourself...and the venue is so amazing, you save in decoration. And with such a beautiful venue, there's no end to beautiful photo ops.
The venue comes with chairs (though most couples upgrade since they're the ugly white folding ones), but all the tables are avail for you to use. There is a set of preferred Vendors, you have to use a preferred caterer, but the rest is up to you to use anyone you wish. My one complaint was no drone footage, which we found out AFTER we signed the contract, as it was not stated anywhere on their contract.
Now the real star of the place was Tiffany, she was our contact person. She's amazing to work with, and was so responsive and sweet. She answered all my emails right away and helped us with everything. Kathleen, we met once, knows the place in and out and is strict on protecting the venue, which is understandable. Talk to Kathleen and she'll help you design the wedding layout in five seconds.
Overall, we are very happy with our experience and are glad we can return here anytime as it's a public park, to reminisce on our magical night. -
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![Rosemary]()
Rosemary Sent on 02/13/2016Kathleen and Tiffany go above and beyond to ensure your wedding is over the top. Easy to work with and very responsive. -
![kate from San Jose]()
Kate Sent on 02/23/2011GLORIOUS & HISTORIC, every step you take is memorable! Steeped in art, politics and elegance, Villa Montalvo is the classic "it" venue in Northern California, if it's good enough for a U.S. Senator... (say no more.) -
![Tammi]()
Tammi Sent on 01/10/2016Kathleen was a true professional who provides great advice and is very on top of things. The Villa was perfect for our wedding of 140 guests, but easily could have accommodated up to 200. We got a ton of compliments on the venue and loved the indoor/outdoor feel of it. We provided shuttle transportation from the hotel, which was a great move to get everyone there and home comfortably and safely!
There is plenty of room to get ready and, while there are rules (as expected) about setup and tear down, everyone was flexible and reasonable during the entire event. One added benefit is most of our vendors had worked at Villa Montalvo before and had also worked with one another, so this made the entire event run smoothly. -
Jessi Sent on 11/16/2020
Had a very nice and punctual communication with the coordinator
The venue is so beautiful, nestled privately and transports you to a place other than California. The Italian garden made us feel like we were in Italy even just for a second😊 gorgeous location and the people we were in contact with from
the venue were very nice and professional. -
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![Michelle]()
Michelle Sent on 11/27/2018Words cannot describe how magical Montalvo was.
I got married at Montalvo on 11/8/18 and it was an amazing backdrop for our wedding. Bruce Munro's light installations made our wedding all the more magical!
We toured 14 wedding venues throughout the Bay Area, but after we toured Montalvo, we knew it was the one. The estate is incredibly gorgeous and vast and it makes you feel like you're transported to a different country. It was the perfect setting for our elegant and romantic aesthetic and everyone had a blast exploring the grounds and taking pictures.
We had both our ceremony and reception at Montalvo. They have a few different spots on the estate you can choose from to have your ceremony and cocktail hour. With our 120 guest count, we were able to hold our ceremony in the beautiful Italianate Garden at the Love Temple. We held cocktail hour in the lovely Spanish Courtyard and had our reception on the veranda where we could get an amazing view of the light exhibits.
There were some hiccups with event management initially. Kathleen, the event manager, was sweet but she was the only one running her department after her assistant left. So in the first several months after we signed the contract, Kathleen was incredibly busy and difficult to reach. We understood she was a one-woman team so we only reached out to her when it was urgent, but I can understand if some couples were unhappy with the lack of communication. Eventually Kathleen hired a new assistant and things were smooth sailing from there. Her assistant, Caitlin, was responsive and friendly in the months leading up to our wedding.
We had such a blast at our wedding and I'm sad the party's over now. I really can't wait until our wedding photos arrive to relive our special day! -
![Brittney]()
Brittney Sent on 06/04/2009It is a beautiful outdoor venue with plenty of room and space to really enjoy and spread out the day. I would have my wedding there again in a heartbeat. They arent super flexible on rules and space, due to the historical nature and preservation of the place, but it ended up not even being an issue and the most beautiful ceremony and reception. -
![Sima]()
Sima Sent on 10/19/2018Terrible Customer Service!
Beautiful, yes. As a concert goer, guest, visitor, you are completely oblivious to how Montalvo Arts is run, hence the many positive reviews posted here. But as a BRIDE, GROOM, or WEDDING PLANNER, you should STAY AWAY. This place has atrocious customer service, and the staff are racist, even if subconsciously so. The main culprits: Kathleen Kirkpatrick and the CEO Angela McConnell. Both incredibly rude and unprofessional. The CEO said she gets money from other brides, so our concerns are not of great importance to her; she hung up on us. Wedding planning is already stressful, and having Villa Montalvo as your venue will only make your life painstakingly miserable. The following is a snapshot of my experience (I have limited characters to write down everything that happened) so message me for more details/to talk. I am happy to help and direct you to better venues:
1) Two of our friends got married here. Both of them had the same terrible experience. Clearly we didn't learn from each other's mistakes in picking this venue, so hopefully you will.
2) Be prepared to pay 17k+ for just the venue, another 30k for the front of house and alcohol (they require you to go to 1 of 2 preferred vendors) and $1000 an hour for any additional hours you need outside of 2-10pm, with one hour for clean-up ending at 11pm. This is really difficult for Indian weddings such as ours. Other venues will give you the entire day at no additional cost.
3) After you pay extra for your hours, be prepared for the staff to bug all of your vendors such that they can't complete their tasks on time. Our florist was nagged by Kathleen Kirkpatrick's assistants during the two extra hours we paid for such that she wasn't able to finish all the floral arrangements in time/place rentals in all the correct spaces. They also told her she couldn't place a floral arrangement over the Spanish doors even though they've allowed it at other weddings, as evidenced by pictures and remnants of wires above the door on the railing. She argued with them and they finally allowed it, but they shouldn't have argued one bit. The assistants also moved my videographer's equipment without telling him and he had to go looking for it, wasting his time. We rented a horse for our baraat, and the venue staff wouldn't let my wedding planner go and meet the horse vendor at the staging area for payment and coordination.
4) All tables and chairs come through Montalvo. Despite working on a site map with them, they still placed tables in the incorrect location. We also asked them to place high stools in the dressing rooms for the makeup artist but they didn't. On the wedding day I had to track down Villa staff to remind them to get the chairs. We also rented drapes to cover statues in the Oval Garden. They didn't follow through. By the time I noticed they were missing (which should not be my job as the Bride) it was too late, the ceremony was about to start. We had to go without the drapes. Kathleen didn't seem phased at all. She didn't do her job, but it didn't seem to bother her one bit.
5) Communication is terrible. Be prepared to send emails, make calls and have them go unanswered. And they have a ton of rules, so you'll need approval on almost everything. Evidence of this is attached. Oh, but anything they need from you or your vendors, must be done in a jiffy. Kathleen can take a month or never to respond, but she expect your vendors to resubmit COI's within 48 hrs. My wedding planner couldn't get Kathleen to return her emails or calls, such that I had to take over and complain to Kelly Hudson. Kelly promised it would get better and it didn't.
6) They went through our personal belongings to confiscate champagne and alcohol that were gifted to us by our friends; some were never returned. The assistants fought with my husband the day of our wedding saying that Kathleen told them to take our alcohol that was packed away even though they verbally told us they wouldn't do that.
7) If you're Indian, they only have one preferred Indian food vendor. Their final rationale: "We don't want more than one Indian food vendor on our preferred list." American food vendors? More than one is fine! If that doesn't sound like racism, I don't know what does.
8) When we saved our date at the venue and begin going over our contract, we sent an email to Kathleen asking for changes to the contract. When did Kathleen get back to us? The evening of the day the contract was set to expire, the same day we were at our friend's wedding at Montalvo, a wedding for which we were part of the bridal party. She saw us at the wedding and belittled us by telling us that "contracts our hard to understand." No, they aren't, we just needed her to respond. I had to take my phone out during my friend's reception and sign the contract. She could have come down, talked to us, and taken care of it, or given us more time to sign so we could enjoy our friend's wedding but she didn't.
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