“We worked with Vera and Dario to arrange most of our wedding festivities and our week-long vacation in Tuscany… We originally asked them to be our caterers after seeing their great reviews, and then - after realising how helpful and well-connected they were - we asked them to be our wedding planners as well.

In the end, they helped us to plan and host 5 days of amazing activities with our families and friends around the wedding day, most notably arranging:
- A legal marriage ceremony at the beautiful Volterra town hall, including help with all the legalities and paperwork associated with this (which is considerable for Australian citizens legally getting married in Italy!)
- A family lunch after the legal ceremony at Volterra’s best restaurant (or so we all thought!)
- Outstanding accommodation for 12+ of our guests for 4 days at La Capanne Country Relais & Spa, the farmhouse accommodation they own
- An all-afternoon cooking class at La Capanne for 40+ of our guests the day before the wedding - a four-course feast
- Bakery deliveries to the wedding villa (Villa Di Ulignano) to keep our guests happy at breakfast time - from their famed Dolceria del Corso pasticceria
- The entire wedding day itself, including:
~ Mind-blowing catering – aperitivo by the pool, a main banquet, and a ‘wedding cake’ (mille-feuille) made on the spot
~ Full drinks package including (very) late night bar
~ All organization on and around the wedding day, ensuring everything was arriving and being correctly set up
~ Referring an excellent celebrant
~ Arranging transport for our guests
~ A recovery party the day after the wedding with delicious homemade pizza

Every one of the events went without a hitch, which is a huge testament to Vera and Dario. From a catering perspective, most guests are still talking about the lasagna, the cake and the pizza - and it has been over a year since the wedding (slow reviewers). The food was truly incredible.

Vera is an experienced negotiator, delivering the high quality as promised for the cost. In relation to wedding planning activities, their cost is very competitive compared to other alternatives in the area. And extremely professional.

Reflecting on it with a year gone past, we could not recommend them more and are thankful for everything they did.

- Francesca Gangemi & Tim Akers ”

“In June 2018 my wife and I were part of a wedding party (approximately 50 people) staying in a villa not very far from Country Relais in Tuscany which was catered for by Vera and her husband Dario. That was over a period of about a week for which all the food was provided by them, including the wedding banquet. Not only was the food exceptionally abundant, it included local produce and was exquisitely cooked. I’m sure it was genuine Tuscan food. All the cooking was completely professional – everything arriving at table for 50 odd people hot, in relation to hot dishes, salads and the like were fresh, crisp and not the slightest bit wilted. The desserts were absolutely fantastic and I know were cooked freshly at the villa, and not preprepared. I should know because I spied in the kitchen trying to get a few tips. At the wedding banquet, the dessert was a “thousand layer cake” which had so much creme anglais as to send one into a hypoglycaemic shock just by looking at it! But as an experience in eating, simply stunning.

The wedding itself was a perfectly magical experience and the catering by Vera and her husband was an appropriate complement to it. Indeed without it, everything would have been lacking. And to top it off Vera and her husband were a delightful couple for whom nothing seemed too much trouble.”

“We spent an amazing week at this wonderful villa. Dario, Vera, Fabi and Giancarlo made our stay so memorable. The food was delicious, the house was beautiful, the scenery second to none. We had a very casual wedding ceremony that was made so much better by their attention to details that were never requested. Totally above and beyond. We will be back.”

“If you are looking for an incredible place to stay in Tuscany with a larger group with incredible views, fantastic hospitality, amazing food and a beautiful home and pool. Then this is your spot. The house is fantastic and is best enjoyed with Dario’s mum doing your meals every night. It was incredible and they worked with us regarding every aspect of our trip. They were amazing and we couldn’t recommend them highly enough!”

“Well, sometimes we think the house is the important item, well we had a great stay on a large home that has been redone recently, but the best part was the owner, you could ask anything and they would be pleased to help you, I mean anything, restaurants after they were closed, wine tours, artist to come home and do alabaster sculptures, truffle walks, this was really what made this stay memorable, not only the Tuscany views, the great food or the large home, but also the service we received, it was really outstanding.”

“We had the most epic stay at this beautiful Tuscan villa. Nestled just outside the charming city of Volterra, La Capanne is the perfect place for larger groups, events and/or weddings.

We were celebrating a dual 40th birthday event with 15 adults. All 9 rooms have their own bathroom and the common spaces are amazing! 2 HUGE dining rooms, a comfortable living room, a well-stocked kitchen, outdoor dining space, a beautiful pool, hot tub, a pizza oven, gorgeous grounds and the most amazing view. We even got to hang with 2 local (super-friendly) farm cats who made us feel right at home.

The owner/host Dario was lovely to work with while planning our stay. He speaks very good English and returns emails right away. He also runs a catering company so he provided a wonderful welcome dinner and breakfast for us each morning (for a nominal extra charge). His mother Fabi cooked us the best meal we had in Tuscany, nothing like an Italian mother’s home cooking! Dario also had suggestions for local tours and they were just a great as the villa (see my review for Tuscan Tour). He was always available if we needed anything - top notch service all the way.

The pricing for this lovely villa was totally reasonable. I searched the internet far and wide before landing at La Capanne, and boy do I feel lucky. Our stay (literally) could not have been any better.

Thank you Dario and Fabi for an absolutely amazing time in Tuscany.”