La Selva Giardino del Belvedere — Hotel in Cavriglia

Our week at La Selva Giardino del Belvedere feels like a dream. It was the setting where, this April, my sister and I married our fiancés - yes, at the same time! My sister and I are type A planners and like to know the minutia of what’s going on at all times. Needless to say, pulling off a double destination wedding at a venue we’d never visited in the Tuscan countryside felt risky. Looking back now, we are so happy we took the plunge. Our double wedding was everything we imagined it would be and more.

Francesco (our host) and his family We owe this in large part to Francesco, our host. When you book La Selva for a wedding, it also comes with the coordination services of the lovely and generous Francesco, whose father discovered and restored the property. He was a constant presence and comfort for us during our wedding week and arranged some magical experiences for us - not only the wedding day itself, but a family dinner prepared by his family, a very special private winery visit, olive oil tastings, a wedding welcome dinner, and a delicious pizza party complete with a vintage gelato truck serving up some of the best gelato we had on our whole trip. I could write a page on each of these experiences alone, but insteadI’ll spend a little extra time on the dinner prepared by his family to welcome our group of ~25 to the villa. It was the perfect start to our wedding week. Francesco gave us a tour of the grounds and then we shared a home-cooked dinner with our family and friends. The BEST zucchini pesto I’ve ever had, delicious roasted turkey, the most perfect potatoes, and flowing wine. I’m sure we will never have an experience like that again! Until next time at La Selva :-)

Setting and vibe I don’t know if it was the wine or something in the air (maybe a little bit of both), but everyone (even the brides and grooms) was so relaxed. We were on full vacation mode and on the night of the wedding, we danced the night away with friends and family. We attribute this not only to flawless planning and friends/family with wonderful positivity, but La Selva itself is also just such a peaceful place. Thinking about it from an outside perspective, you may think it’s remote and that there’s not much around. However, the point of coming to La Selva is not to have a jam-packed sightseeing itinerary. It is to relax on the tree swing, sit by the fire, enjoy family dinners, wander the olive groves, or just sit in one of the many spectacular outdoor spaces and listen to the birds.

Activities If you think you’ll get restless, ask Francesco to organize some activities - winery tours, biking, hiking, truffle hunting, olive oil tasting, a cooking class, even hot air ballooning! Personally, we were content visiting with family and preparing for the wedding and did not even experience 1 minute of boredom. One of the highlights of our whole week (which included our wedding, so this is high praise) was our visit to the Mannucci Droandi winery. It only opens for Francesco’s guests and is a very special experience. We brought a group of 20 or 30 friends and had a blast learning about the winery and drinking (lots of) wine while we enjoyed an epic four-course lunch.

Food The food at the wedding and pizza party was catered by I Vecchi Amici, and it couldn’t have been better. One part of the wedding aperitivo catered by I Vecchi Amici is a cooked to order tempura station. I still have people reaching out to me to talk about the tempura SAGE LEAVES. That is just one example of the million mouthwatering bites at our wedding. Another crowd favorite was the In addition to the perfect food, the staff preparing and serving our food were so warm and kind.

Have questions? We know that the choice of location and venue is a major one. It can be scary to say yes to a venue you’ve never visited in a part of the world where you don’t speak the language and don’t know your way around. If you would like to chat about our experience as Americans having our wedding at La Selva, we would be happy to chat with you. Just send...

If you have stumbled across this location because you're looking for your dream wedding venue, or you're just after an authentic Tuscan villa stay, stop looking, you've just found it. My wife and I got married at La Selva Giardino del Belvedere in July, and our perfect wedding that we imagined became a reality thanks to all the help provided by Francesco (the host) and his entire family. Our family and friends stayed for a week in the three beautiful, private villas surrounded by olive trees and the gorgeous Tuscan countryside. On arrival, after Francesco, my soon-to-be wife and I discussed wedding organisation details, Francesco's family treated us to a delectable welcome dinner. Through the week our guests were able to take in all the delights the surrounding areas had to offer, or just enjoy the amazing Italian weather by one of the villa's private pools. Francesco, in the meantime, made sure all of the wedding details, we arranged through constant communication over 18 months, were organised. On the wedding day, everything we pictured unfolded before our eyes. From the stunning outdoor amphitheatre for the authentic Italian civil ceremony, the incredible Tuscan villa backdrop for the reception, including the immense Italian feast, the lights, the flowers, the decorations etc. Everything was perfect and just what we wanted. The pizza pool party the following day was the best way to finish the week. Sun, a swim, fresh wood-fired pizza and a surprise gelato van was not only the perfect cure for some sore heads, but a relaxed and great way to chat and thank everyone for attending the wedding the day before. If I had one complaint, it would be that it was over too soon and we had to leave. We will definitely go back for a reunion/anniversary trip in, hopefully, the not too distant future. In summary, as you've probably guessed, I can not recommend highly enough, staying and getting married...

There are few opportunities in our lifetime where we can say we vacationed with 42 of our closest family and friends. Our wedding week was absolutely magical, and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience at La Selva. Francesco was patient, answered my hundred million questions, and was there every step of the way.

While I still had a hundred things to do and stress about, a weight was lifted off my shoulders when we finally arrived on the property. The pictures don’t do it justice and everything about the villas and the property is simply amazing.

We were the first ones to arrive with our moms and he took us around, explained the history, how things worked, where things were, and then went over the wedding and the rest of the week.

As guests started arriving, the kitchen was in full swing prepping for the welcome dinner. We couldn’t have asked for a better way to kick off our week. Some of our guests were just getting in from overseas and meeting each other for the first time so conversation over a great meal and delicious wine was just what we all needed.

Leading up to the big day, Francesco made sure to check in on me and I knew I could count on him to make sure things ran smoothly. His attention to detail and friendly demeanor impressed all our guests and we are so very fortunate to have found La Selva. He was at every event he arranged and interacted with all of us as if we were lifelong friends. Our guests cannot stop talking about how awesome our (DREAM) wedding was and we’re already planning a ten year...