Villa Festa — Attraction in DeLand

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.

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...

Avoid at All Costs! Villa Festa Prioritizes Profits Over People

Beth’s public response to my wife’s review is not only misleading — it confirms why we’re prepared to pursue legal action.

First, the 22-minute phone call and only phone call Beth took after multiple phone call attempts that was ignored that she is referencing was my wife explaining, in detail, our financial hardship and our desire to avoid a July or August wedding due to extreme Florida heat, the 14 email responses includes my wife following up trying to come up with a solution to make this all work. These months were the only “free” rescheduling options offered. Every other viable solution — including moving to another fall date (which we had already paid for) — came with additional fees or loss of services We were given no reasonable alternatives.

Despite receiving no services of any kind Villa Festa retained over $8,000 of our money and offered only one option! a partial refund of $1,071, which we were told was non-negotiable . This wasn’t a discussion — it was a take-it-or-leave-it demand and due to the hardship Beth is well aware of it left us with no choice or we’d be out over 9K my wife explained to Beth on that phone call that the money would be going back to her parents who graciously helped us in this process.

Beth’s claim that she “was not obligated to offer any options” ignores the clause in her own contract allowing for case-by-case exceptions She had discretion. She just chose not to use it.

Her statement about “multiple email threats” is also false and defamatory. At no point did we threaten her. What we did was state that if she continued withholding thousands of dollars while providing zero services — and refusing to communicate — we would take the matter to small claims court under Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA). That’s not a threat — it’s a legal right. And we gave her an opportunity to avoid that by resolving this privately and amicably via email.

She never responded to that message. Instead, she chose to respond publicly — mischaracterizing our communication while continuing to withhold our money.

Make no mistake: this business has taken thousands of dollars for a service it never provided refused to negotiate in good faith, stopped responding to private communication, and is now attempting to protect its reputation with false public claims.

We are actively considering next steps, including small claims litigation and we urge any future couples to take this experience seriously before booking with...

Villa Festa was a dream venue! I think it was the most talked about aspect of our wedding by guests! I was very picky trying to find a venue- I wanted outdoor ceremony/reception but not a beach or barn wedding. I also wanted a wedding that felt special and intimate, but there are so many venues that pump out multiple weddings in a day. Villa Festa was one of the only venues I found that impressed us and fit within our budget. Every corner of the space has been carefully thought out. Beth designed it in a way that pays homage to the vintage aesthetic of the home while also keeping it modern and neutral. Our favorite aspect is the extended stay. So often a venue kicks you out at last call, we had the venue until the Wednesday following our event date. That really allowed us to continue making memories in the space. I feel like I will remember so much more of our special day because we truly got to live in it. We had our first date night out as Mr. and Mrs in DeLand (so magical and cute around the holidays!), we reminisced our wedding night while we swam and picnicked at the local springs, we cozied up and listened to records in the honeymoon suite. It was honestly perfection. And Beth and Brian were phenomenal to work with! We’d give them 10 stars if we could. We are so grateful such lovely people have created this stunning venue and that...