Choosing a venue on Lake Como
Lake Como has more wedding venues per mile of shoreline than almost anywhere else in Italy, which makes shortlisting one of the harder parts of planning. Below is a list built from our own filming experience at two of these villas, combined with what's consistently recognized — across wedding publications and the planners we work alongside — as the lake's strongest venues. We've kept the distinction clear throughout: where we've filmed, we tell you what it's actually like on the day; where we haven't, we tell you what the venue is known for.
Jump to a venue: Villa Aura del Lago · Villa Giu · Villa del Balbianello · Villa d'Este · Villa Regina Teodolinda · Villa Balbiano · Villa Erba · Villa Pizzo · Villa Sola Cabiati
If you're set on Lake Como as a region but still deciding on the exact village, our guide to filming weddings on Lake Como covers the villages and light conditions in more depth.
Venues we've filmed at
Villa Aura del Lago
We filmed Rachel and George's wedding here, walking through the villa's gardens with the lake as a constant backdrop. What stands out about Villa Aura del Lago is how naturally the garden leads toward the water — there's no awkward transition between the ceremony space and the view, which gives a wedding film a continuous, unhurried rhythm rather than a series of disconnected scenes. It's an intimate setting rather than a grand one, which suits couples who want Como's atmosphere without a hundred-plus guest list. See Rachel and George's film for how it plays out.
Villa Giu
Anton and Maria married here — see their film, on the shores of Lake Como, in a celebration defined by quiet elegance rather than scale. The setting gave us soft, even light through most of the afternoon and a genuinely calm pace to the day — the kind of venue where a documentary approach has room to breathe because nothing about the schedule feels rushed.
Other well-regarded venues on the lake
We haven't filmed at the venues below ourselves, but they come up consistently across wedding publications and in conversations with planners as the lake's most sought-after properties.
Villa del Balbianello, Lenno — Perhaps the most photographed villa on the lake, set on a cypress-wrapped promontory. Built in the 1700s on the ruins of a Franciscan monastery, its loggia and terraced gardens have appeared in several films, which gives it a cinematic quality before a single frame is shot. Access is strictly regulated by the FAI, which owns the property, so logistics need to be arranged well in advance.
Villa d'Este, Cernobbio — A working five-star hotel since 1873, with ten hectares of Renaissance gardens descending to the lake and a floating pool anchored in the water itself. The frescoed Sala Impero seats up to 200, with garden receptions stretching to 300 — one of the few Como venues genuinely built for a large-scale wedding weekend.
Villa Regina Teodolinda, Laglio — A lakeside estate on one of Como's most photographed stretches of shoreline, generally hosting more intimate celebrations of around 60 guests with on-site accommodation for the wedding party. Its position directly on the water gives it some of the most consistent late-afternoon light on this side of the lake.
Villa Balbiano, Ossuccio — Known for its symmetry: the villa, its waterfront gardens, and the mountain backdrop line up in a way that gives every angle a composed, almost formal quality. A strong choice for couples who want the villa itself to feel like part of the ceremony's design.
Villa Erba, Cernobbio — The largest of the lake's grand villas, with interior and exterior space exceeding 100,000 square meters. Built for scale — large guest counts, elaborate floral and lighting design, multiple event spaces across one property.
Villa Pizzo, Cernobbio — Quieter and less publicized than its neighbors, with winding gravel paths and old stone statuary that give it a more romantic, undiscovered feel. A good option for couples who want Como's history without its busiest venues.
Villa Sola Cabiati, Tremezzina — A private, still-family-owned villa with a formal garden and direct lake frontage, generally hosting smaller, more exclusive celebrations than Villa Erba or Villa d'Este.
Choosing between them
The honest answer to "which venue is best" depends more on guest count and how formal you want the day to feel than on which villa is most photographed. A 300-guest wedding weekend has real logistical needs that a 40-guest celebration at Villa Aura del Lago simply doesn't — catering flow, parking, boat transfers, sound permissions. If you send us your shortlist before booking, we'll tell you honestly how the light and layout at each property tend to work on film, based on what we know of the lake even at venues we haven't personally shot.
Also comparing regions? See our lists of top Lake Garda wedding venues and top Tuscany wedding venues.
— Anton & Sabina
