Alda and Vlad’s Wedding at Tivoli Italian Villa

I have been booking more weddings in southern California lately, and it has been wonderful getting to shoot new venues and meet more people.

Recently I had the opportunity to shoot the wedding of Alda and Vlad at a venue in Fallbrook, CA called Tivoli Italian Villa (more on the venue shortly).

The couple was supposed to have their wedding in Sayulita, Mexico, near Puerto Vallarta. However, with the pandemic and other events in their lives, things took a turn and they had to move their location. They found an even better location in Fallbrook, which is about an hour north of San Diego.

Exploring Tivoli Italian Villa

This venue was absolutely stunning. I have, of course, shot many weddings and venues over the years, and I have to say that Tivoli Italian Villa has just about everything a booking couple could want, including a getting ready room, a bridal salon for hair and makeup, a hang out room for the groom and groomsmen and a beautiful setting perfect for allowing guests to be outside and enjoy the warm California weather.

Tivoli Italian Villa’s tagline is “handcrafted weddings,” and this careful, personal touch was obvious in just about everything we saw, from the actual facilities to the décor, the gardens and the place settings.

The venue also gives couples the opportunity to build their own menu for their meals from a variety of options, features an open-air refreshment bar and a beautiful smoked olive and herb bar.

Just a really wonderful spot and you can tell it’s run by people who care about their guests.

A blending of cultures at Tivoli Italian Villa

The couple incorporated Spanish traditions during the ceremony by doing the 13 coins, a Spanish Catholic tradition. During the reception they did the groom’s Armenian tradition, where his mom and sisters presented the couple with bread, honey and the breaking of the plates.

The blend of cultures throughout the day was really fascinating and made for a wonderful personal touch to the event. It was really nice to watch the two cultures come together, with people from all over dancing, partying and having fun with each other.

All in all, it was a smooth and seamless day, made possible of course by the amazing wedding planning and coordination of Autumn, who was remarkably easy to work with and made the couple, guest and vendors all feel so welcome.

I’m very much looking forward to returning to this venue someday—there were so many great locations for shooting, and it was the perfect site for a wedding. The facility, the scenery and the décor all combined for a very photogenic event!

Many congratulations to Alda and Vlad, and may the two of you have many happy years together! Thank you for the opportunity to capture your day in photos.