Lake Como wedding villas
I’m Inna, a wedding photographer. During the wedding season I’m based on Lake Como, and I’ve photographed weddings at the villas below. Here’s what each one is like on the day: the light, the space and the details couples rarely hear about before they book.
Villas I’ve photographed
Villa Erba
Villa Erba is popular for a reason. It’s a classic 19th-century villa, once Luchino Visconti’s summer home, that gives you a lot to play with in design, with very different natural light from room to room. With a wedding planner and a decor team it can be dressed for almost any concept.
The Glass Terrace lets you hold the ceremony facing the lake. For dinner, choose between the villa itself and the Glass Terrace in the garden: the villa has no air conditioning, only fans, while the terrace can be cooled.
Cernobbio · up to 400 guests · no rooms on site · own pier
Villa Balbiano
A baroque villa with frescoed rooms and a lakeside lawn of topiary, statues and fountains, where House of Gucci was filmed. You take over the whole estate, with suites for your closest guests.
For getting ready, skip the room next to the bathroom: it’s very dark, daylight barely reaches it, and photos there only work with flash. The hall with the large windows and the paintings is a far better place for the bride’s morning.
Ossuccio · up to 200 guests outdoors · suites for about 30 · own pier
Villa del Balbianello
The icon of Lake Como: the classic backdrop you’ve seen across Instagram, on a wooded promontory facing Isola Comacina.
FAI runs it as a museum, so the day follows its rules: the ceremony in the Loggia Durini, dinners only on Mondays and Wednesdays when the villa is closed to visitors, guests arriving by boat, and wedding photography booked with FAI in advance.
Lenno · up to 130 for dinner · no rooms on site · guests arrive by boat
Villa Pliniana
Pliniana gives you a lot of space to work with: a large garden, big halls and indoor rooms where the after-party can carry on once Como’s noise restrictions move everyone inside.
In my experience it has the most beautiful sunset on the lake. With dinner tables set outside, the view over the water at sunset is spectacular. It can get windy, which a good planner will account for.
Torno · up to 200 for dinner · suites for about 40 · own dock
Villa Regina Teodolinda
There’s plenty of usable space inside, with windows and good daylight. The interiors lean vintage, which suits some wedding concepts better than others. You get a lovely view of a very green mountainside and a compact property that’s easy to manage.
If it rains, the indoor space you can use is limited, and it rains often on Como, so decide in advance how much risk you’re comfortable with.
Laglio · up to 90 guests · six suites · own jetty
Villa Monastero
A rare chance to have a quiet moment to yourselves with a beautiful view of the lake, in a former convent with a botanical garden almost 2 km long.
Plan your time on the balcony carefully: it’s private only for the hours you book, and the rest of the day it’s open to everyone visiting the gardens. Receptions take place in a garden marquee and end by 23:00.
Varenna · balcony booked by the hour · boat dock on request
Villa Geno
The most minimal of these villas, which makes it a gift for decor: the interiors are beautiful and the windows are huge. It sits on the point at the end of Como’s lakefront promenade, close to town, so there are no boat logistics.
The fountain in front of the villa is usually switched off during the ceremony.
Como · up to 200 seated · in-house kitchen
Grand Hotel Tremezzo
An Art Nouveau hotel from 1910 with a floating pool on the lake, next to the gardens of Villa Carlotta, with its own vintage mahogany boats.
Tremezzo · up to 70 seated in summer · 77 rooms and suites
Villa Pessina
The villa manager is very kind and easy to work with, and the house is flexible: they host compact dates and elopements as well as wedding ceremonies.
There aren’t many halls, but two bedrooms work beautifully for the bride’s and the groom’s mornings. The 1920s villa has a lake-facing tower, a terrace and a rooftop over the water.
Tremezzo · small weddings and elopements
Other villas on the lake
Other well-known wedding villas on Lake Como, in a few words each.
Villa Pizzo
Cernobbio. A promontory villa with one of the longest lakefront gardens on Como and a stone terrace on the water. Up to 150 for dinner, no rooms, open April to October.
Villa Sola Cabiati
Tremezzo. A six-suite villa that belongs to Grand Hotel Tremezzo, rented exclusively with private staff, for up to 70 guests.
Villa Aura del Lago
Limonta, near Bellagio. A lakefront villa with a park, a pool and a frescoed hall, seating up to 100, with a minimum stay of three nights.
Villa d’Este
Cernobbio. A grand hotel since 1873 with a Renaissance garden and a mosaic nymphaeum. Up to about 150 for a seated dinner, weddings from March to November.
Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni
Bellagio. A hotel with gardens that slope down to the water and one wedding per day. The Salone Reale takes up to 220 guests.
Mandarin Oriental
Blevio, formerly CastaDiva Resort. A glass Greenhouse for 50, an Amphitheatre under old cedars for 120 and suites for your guests.
Hotel Villa Cipressi
Varenna. A four-star hotel in a historic villa with a botanical garden and three frescoed rooms, for up to 110 guests.
Villa Làrio
Pognana Lario. An all-suite boutique hotel with a frescoed loggia, an infinity pool and a private pier.
Getting married at another villa?
Tell me where, and I’ll share what I know about it. Check your date →
West shore or east shore
Villas in Cernobbio, Laglio and Tremezzina face east: they get the morning sun, and the sun drops behind the mountains earlier in the evening. Torno, Blevio and Varenna face west and keep the late light longer. Plan the ceremony time and the portraits around this.
Plan for rain
It rains often on Lake Como, even in summer. Before you book, ask the villa which indoor rooms you can use if the weather turns and how many guests they hold, and decide how much risk you’re comfortable with.
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers for couples choosing a villa on Lake Como.
Are you based on Lake Como?
Yes. During the wedding season I’m based on Lake Como, and I also photograph weddings across Europe.
How many guests can a Lake Como villa take?
It ranges widely. Villa Sola Cabiati takes about 70, Villa Regina Teodolinda about 90 and Villa del Balbianello up to 130 for dinner. Villa Pliniana and Villa Geno seat around 200, and the historic house at Villa Erba seats up to 400.
Which villas have rooms for guests?
Villa Balbiano, Villa Pliniana, Villa Regina Teodolinda, Villa Sola Cabiati, Villa Aura del Lago and the hotels. Villa Erba, Villa Pizzo, Villa del Balbianello and Villa Geno have no guest rooms.
When is the wedding season on Lake Como?
Most villas host weddings from April to October. Villa d’Este runs from March to November, and Villa Pizzo closes outside the warm months because it has no heating.
Do we need permission to take photos at the villas?
At some of them. At Villa del Balbianello, wedding photography is a paid service booked with FAI. Drones at Villa Monastero need permission from the Province of Lecco.
Planning a wedding on Lake Como?
During the wedding season I’m based on Lake Como, and I photograph weddings here in a calm, documentary way, on digital and 35 mm film. See a full wedding at Villa Erba or look through my 2027 collections.