Villa Rizzardi Wedding Photographer: Venue Guide

Where

Negrar di Valpolicella, in the wine hills north of Verona

Best for

Couples who want a historic Italian garden, a ceremony outdoors and dinner under the sky

Spaces

The garden staircase for the ceremony, cypress avenues, an Italian parterre with fountains, the villa front for cocktails and the green theater for dinner and the party

Best light

Late afternoon and the last hour before sunset; the tall hedges keep much of the garden in shade

Real wedding

Federico and Anastasiya, 26 September 2026

Villa Rizzardi stands among the vineyards of Valpolicella Classico, in the hills just north of Verona. The Rizzardi family has owned the land since 1649, and its Garden of Pojega, laid out in 1783, is a remarkably theatrical garden: three terraced levels of hedges, cypress avenues, statues and fountains that end in a green theater shaped from living plants. Almost everything about a wedding day can happen here without leaving the grounds. We are Vadim and Irina Pastuh, a husband-and-wife team of destination wedding photographers, and this guide follows one wedding we photographed there, Federico and Anastasiya's, from the ceremony on the garden staircase to the last dance in the green theater.

The venueVilla Rizzardi at a glance

• HistoryThe Garden of Pojega was designed in 1783 by the architect Luigi Trezza for Count Antonio Rizzardi. The villa itself was built in 1868 to 1870 by Filippo Messedaglia.
• The gardenThree terraced levels across about 54,000 square meters, with box, hornbeam and cypress hedges, statues, fountains and long stone staircases.
• The green theaterAn open-air amphitheater formed from clipped hedges, with tiered green steps and statues of Melpomene and Thalia, the muses of tragedy and comedy. It is the natural setting for dinner and the party.
• VineyardsThe estate sits in the Valpolicella Classico wine area, and the vineyards come right up to the garden walls.
• Getting thereThe villa is in Negrar di Valpolicella, a short drive from Verona. Verona Villafranca is the nearest airport, and Lake Garda is close enough to make a full Italian week of it.

The ceremonyThe garden staircase

Guests arrived at four for welcome champagne, and at five the host invited everyone to the ceremony. Federico and Anastasiya married on the garden staircase, a stone staircase crowned by a balustrade, standing in front of the statue in its central niche. The aisle runs along a cypress avenue, so the guests sit in a long green corridor and the couple stands framed by stone and white flowers. In the afternoon the cypresses throw deep shade across the aisle, which keeps the light soft on faces.

The host led the ceremony, the couple read their own vows, and afterwards they stayed at the staircase for portraits while the guests moved on. Seen from above, the whole shape of the ceremony makes sense: the avenue, the chairs and the staircase line up like a stage set. The couple's dog, Basta, a small Pomeranian, was part of the day too.

After the ceremonyThe green avenues

After the ceremony we took the couple a few steps away into the hedge avenues. The tall green walls on both sides work like a studio: the light comes from one end of the avenue, the background goes dark green, and nothing modern gets into the frame. A veil in that light is one of our favorite things to photograph.

Golden hourThe parterre and the fountain

In front of the villa the garden opens into an Italian parterre: low box hedges, gravel paths, topiary and a round fountain with a sculpture in the middle. It is more open than the avenues, so it holds the warm light, and the villa's crenellated facade sits right behind it. This is where we photographed most of the couple portraits.

CocktailsIn front of the villa

Cocktails ran from half past five to seven on the gravel in front of the villa. After the ceremony portraits, the couple arrived by golf cart at the main entrance and walked through the villa to join their guests. A saxophonist played from the villa balcony, and a champagne tower stood at the main door, so the couple opened the first bottles with the whole facade behind them. The open gravel in front of the villa is also the easiest place on the estate for big group photos.

DinnerThe green theater in red

Dinner started at seven with a grand entrance: the guests waved their napkins above their heads as the couple walked in. Lorien Wedding dressed it entirely in red: round tables with red cloths and red chairs in a circle, red flowers, and a round mirrored platform in the center of the ring. Against the clipped green tiers it looked like a stage, and from above it read as one single design. The seating chart stood among the hedges, and the band played on a stage at the far end of the theater.

When the light went down, red light washed over the hedges. After dark we photographed the couple in the middle of all that red.

After darkThe party in the green theater

After dinner the green theater became the dance floor. The first dance came with the band after the second course. At twenty to ten the couple cut the cake under cold sparkler fountains instead of fireworks, and then Anastasiya changed into a short feathered dress. The cover band played until half past eleven, the guests ended up dancing on the tables, the night closed with the bouquet toss, and from the drone the whole theater looked like a red jewel in the dark garden.

TimelineFederico and Anastasiya's day, hour by hour

• 2:00 pmThe bride getting ready
• 3:00 pmWe photograph the decor and flowers across the garden
• 4:00 pmGuests arrive, welcome champagne
• 5:00 pmCeremony on the garden staircase, then portraits there
• 5:30 pmCocktails and the champagne tower in front of the villa
• 7:00 pmGrand entrance and dinner in the green theater
• 7:40 pmSunset portraits between courses
• 8:10 pmSpeeches and the first dance with the band
• 9:40 pmCake with cold sparkler fountains
• 9:50 pmSecond look for the bride
• 10:00 pmCover band until 11:30 pm, then the bouquet toss

Planned by IWANT Special Event. We covered eleven hours as two photographers.

For couplesPlanning notes

• SeasonMay, June, September and early October give the softest light and warm evenings for a garden celebration. Federico and Anastasiya married at the end of September.
• TimingPlan the ceremony for late afternoon. Federico and Anastasiya also stepped away from dinner for a 30-minute sunset session between courses, which kept the best light for portraits without taking them away from the cocktail hour.
• ShadeThe hedges and cypresses keep large parts of the garden in shade. That is good for faces, but plan the portraits for the parts of the garden that still get the sun.
• ColorA bold palette works beautifully against all that green. Red carried the whole evening, from the seating chart to the last table.
• Two photographersWe always work as a pair, so one of us stays with the couple while the other covers the guests, the details and the room. On this day we also shot 35mm film and flew a drone.

The full storyFederico and Anastasiya's wedding

An Italian groom and a Ukrainian bride, a wedding dressed in red, a saxophonist on the balcony and a party that ended on the tables. See the full wedding gallery →

More venue guides: Forte da Cruz · Queluz Palace · Solar da Levada

QuestionsFAQ

CreditsThe team

Planning: IWANT Special Event · Decor and florals: Lorien Wedding · Venue: Villa Rizzardi · Venue coordination: Foorevent Wedding · Band: Blu Notte Show Band · Catering: Food and Sweet Catering · Photography: Vadim & Irina Pastuh