We have lived and run our wedding photography business out of Fallbrook, California since we opened Emry Photography back in 2014. While many people know that San Diego is a huge hub for wedding venues that attract both local and destination couples not many people know that Fallbrook boasts a number of gorgeous wedding venues in north county San Diego. So, when a new wedding venue is built in our hometown we get really excited (hello five minute drive to work!) and naturally have to see what it’s all about.
Tivoli Italian Villa is located at 4103 East Mission Road in Fallbrook, CA 92028. Which immediately makes me want to throw my hands up and wave them going “woot woot, Fallbrook!” What’s with that desire to rep your hometown in that manner? Is it just me? Moving right along, we had been fortunate enough to attend some wedding industry networking events back when Tivoli was under different ownership and was called The Hacienda. As wedding photographer’s Ryan and I immediately fell in love with the property. It was so different from any other wedding venue in Fallbrook and San Diego for that matter. It was a diamond in the rough, but it was a little rough. It had such potential but needed a little TLC. We drove home from that event talking about how special that location could be.
Fast forward to two years later and who better than Trademark Wedding Venues to salvage the beautiful property and reimagine it so beautifully. We toured Tivoli Villa once when Trademark had just purchased it and it was still being rebuilt from the ground up. Even on that visit the improvement was insane, this team of professionals know wedding venues inside and out and their experience shows in every project. We recently toured Tivoli again, this time with our couple who had booked the Fallbrook wedding venue for their destination wedding. We were absolutely blown away with the transformation that has taken place, the Italian villa style was executed perfectly.
We were able to see the Al Fresco Overlay being installed on the back lawn which was our couples choice for their ceremony location. A thick beautiful timber structure with a canopy over top to shield guests from that San Diego summer sun. This ceremony spot will give all of your guests that California experience where they can enjoy all of the views of the gardens and that mid afternoon breeze while keeping them shielded from the sun. For us the wow factor just kept popping up in all of the spaces, you truly cannot go wrong in choosing but Piazza Tivoli is just *chefs kiss*. This is definitely where the biggest transformation took place.
Piazza Tivoli is this gorgeous courtyard which you enter through a gorgeous adobe arch covered in greenery, it boasts a very grand entrance and a breathtaking trickling fountain at its center. The courtyard is covered in beautiful lawns and gives such a cozy and intimate feeling. We have seen it styled with farm tables for a family style alfresco dining experience and we are honestly just kind of sad Tivoli wasn’t yet in existence when we tied the knot because it’s downright dreamy. No shortage of options for you at Tivoli the venue has another ceremony location for you to choose from. Tesoro Di Tivoli can be seen as you approach the venue from the rolling hillside. This location offers plenty of shade from beautiful established trees hanging overhead but still offers an unobstructed view of the rolling hillside which if you stick a glass of wine in your hand is easily mistaken for Tuscany. If you always envisioned saying “I Do” with expansive views of the sky and rolling hills in the background then this would be the ceremony spot for you.
Beyond the transformation of the ceremony sites the designated suites for you to use for wedding prep on your wedding day are so perfect. Long gone are the days of having to find a location for getting ready before the wedding because the venue offers nothin more than a coat closet. The chateau and the barrel groom at Tivoli gardens feel like they were imagined by a boutique hotel. From the styling of the rooms to the space they provide you will have no shortage of backdrops for your wedding photos. As wedding photographers we care about that tremendously! We actually just wrote a blog about choosing the perfect getting ready location for your wedding day because all too often we walk into rooms with no space, horrible backgrounds and awful light which never feels cohesive with the rest of your beautiful wedding photos. With Tivoli or any of the Trademark wedding venues for that matter you don’t have to worry about any of those things because they always style their getting ready suites to absolute perfection. I love the hanging chain chandeliers in the Chateau and the huge mirror has me day dreaming about all the wedding portraits I could do. The barrel room is just ridiculously cool, it is nestled beneath a cactus garden and has an undeniable speakeasy vibe.
The amazing thing that many of the Trademark venues have offered now is a style salon. This saves you from having to book a hotel or Air BnB for your hairstylists and makeup team on the day. You are able to arrive at the wedding venue earlier and hang out getting ready in the salon until it’s time to move over to the Chateau. Tivoli allows couples to utilize the grounds for 11.5 hours. 3 hours in the style salon, 2.5 hours in the Chateau and Barrel Room and then 5 hours for ceremony, cocktail hour and reception with the option of one hour more after grand exit.
A typical timeline for a Tivoli wedding occurring in mid October then may look like this if portraits are planned for sunset
Arrive at Tivoli for Hair and Makeup in the Style Salon 12:00
Enter the Chateau and the Barrel Room 3:00
Ceremony 5:30-6:00
Cocktail hour 6:00-7:00 Sunset 6:45 perfectly aligns with when we would take your portraits, sunset portraits are epic because Tivoli has amazing views!
Grand Entrance 7:15
Grand Exit 10:30
You will want to party the night away beneath the stars in the courtyard with guests. The smoked Olive and Herb bar at Tivoli is also amazing. A lot of couples don’t pay too much attention to the bar space in their reception venue but after photographing hundreds of celebrations we have to tell you, the bar becomes the heart of the reception. People gather, mingle and linger there and the bar at Tivoli is for one huge! Which is awesome to accommodate a lot of mingling guests but it also had a cedar smoke stack, which kind of looks like an authentic Italian stone fired pizza or bread oven that really adds character to the overall ambience. So if you’ve always dreamed of an Italian wedding but don’t want to have to cut down your guest list to fly everyone to Italy then you should definitely check out Tivoli Italian Villa in Fallbrook and get a little slice of Tuscany right here in San Diego county.
You can find us on Tivoli Italian Villa’s preferred vendor list. As well as the preferred vendor lists of all of the Trademark venues Ethereal Gardens, Twin Oaks Gardens, Green Gables, and The Art of Life. Are you planning a wedding at a trademark wedding venue? We would love to chat about everything you and your partner are dreaming up for your day so we can get excited about all the details big and small!
We are wedding photographers for those who believe in love, because Emry originated out of love. Love for each other, for imagery and for creating things that were made to last. We serve southern California & beyond. Outside of photography, our life revolves around our son, Jude and our families.