Mount Ida Farm + Vineyard

nd staff onsite are very helpful throughout the entire wedding planning process. They provide a preferred vendors list which we found useful since we were not from the area. Although they require a day of wedding coordinator, I honestly felt like the onsite mount Ida staff was more organized and helpful, and did more than our wedding coordinator. Overall, our wedding turned out beautiful, we got so many compliments from friends and family asking how we found this amazing venue, and will definitely come back for anniversaries to visit their vineyard at the lodge location. Our only complaint was that the toilets were not open down at the ceremony and my husband almost had to go back to the barn minutes before the ceremony began, and the groom, groomsmen, and father of the bride had to stand outside in the July heat (weren’t allowed in the house down at the ceremony ) for almost an hour before the ceremony began. May have been nice to keep them in the house to stay cool, and keep bride and bridesmaids in the air conditioned bus until the gentleman walked down the isle.

s you can tell from the pictures, it's a gorgeous venue. We were lucky that the rain held off and we were able to get married outside, and the reception inside was wonderful.

ed to have an outdoor ceremony and indoor reception, but the weather forced us inside for the whole thing. My favorite part about this venue is that it has a really good indoor space for the ceremony. The staff also flipped the ceremony room very quickly for pictures and cocktails. Tracey is PHENOMENAL. Also, I LOVE that the dance floor room has a stage - it's perfect for the band. The bridal suite is great for a larger bridal party and my husband enjoyed having a groom's suite onsite, too. If you're looking for a "rustic" feel that's not overly rustic and has great views, the Lodge at Mount Ida is the perfect venue for you. The only downside we had was it's somewhat challenging to get to if you use GPS. It's an easy drive from Charlottesville, you just need to provide guests with the driving directions from their website.

t, who is a delight to work with. The Bad: Something to keep in mind is the sun. Our ceremony was in mid-October between 5:00 – 6:00 pm, and our guests who sat on the right side of gazebo had to place their hands or programs over their sunglasses to be able to see the ceremony. The Ugly: Be aware at that time of year the wolf spiders were out. They were in the bridal suite where my daughter was told to make sure her gown was up off the floor to prevent them from crawling in the layers of her gown. We were told that this is a "barn," and the cool weather was bringing them indoors (they reside in the mulch). It's safe to say it is a "barn" in name only. Though they assured me they sprayed, I did request a second spraying. I then found one in the ladies room mere inches from my foot, and though they are harmless, they are huge and frightening! Also, we were recently informed by a couple of our guests that a huge wolf spider fell from the ceiling and began crawling on their dinner table. Fortunately, it was killed quickly. All in all, we still loved the venue, but I feel these are a couple of issues that future brides should be aware of.

at would and would not work with the venue. Kim, Kathleen and Tracy were extremely responsive and helpful with suggestions of what would and would not work in the space. The Lodge is stunning. It is apparent that the whole Mount Ida team takes great pride in what they do as an event space and wedding venue. The surrounding area is beautiful and perfect for pictures with the rolling hills and Blue Ridge in the background. The bridal suite is gorgeous and for changing, last-minute touch ups and bridal party pictures. The grooms room is great as well! The guys were able to watch play off football and get dressed – also a great area for pictures. Ryan and I had a magical day and could not have been happier with our experience at Mount Ida.

k to us. We figured they were busy with another wedding and they would get back to us in a prompt manor . HOWEVER, the next morning we woke up to an email, not a phone call, and email, saying that our date had already been booked the MORNING WE WERE VIEWING THE VENUE. So, we drove over 6 hours to view a venue that was already unavailable. I cannot believe the unprofessionalism of this place. We are beyond upset that not only our time had been wasted, but now we will have to begin the venue searching process over. This place is beautiful, but we hope they do not do this to another couple.

absolutely exceptional. There are so many places for beautiful photos and the venue itself is the perfect place for a party. We got so many compliments on the location I have lost count!

t I could make a bit more elegant because of the Manor homes, gazebo, etc. (it can be rustic instead if you like!). The Mt Ida grounds are HUGE, stunning and perfectly landscaped. Milicent drove us all around the property on our wedding day so we could get the perfect photos (on a bridge, in a field with mountains in the background, inside the Manor home, on a dock on the lake, under the gazebo with the trees and lake lit at nighttime, etc!). There's so much amazing space to take advantage of, it truly feels like your own wedding getaway! You are allowed to select your own outside caterer AND you can bring your own alcohol. HUGE money savers!! Mt Ida is a bit of a drive from Cville, which I was initially nervous about, but we rented buses to transport our guests and it worked out PERFECTLY. This allowed all of our guests to enjoy themselves at the wedding, knowing they had a ride at the end of the night. Cocktail hour was hosted on the lawn, inside their new extension and outside on the porch with a fireplace. The dinner was held in a separate room, that fit all 150 of our guests very comfortably. Dancing was then held in the extension room (where cocktail hour was). This is a huge dancing area, which allowed ALL of our guests to dance and not be too crowded. Again, I was nervous about this unique set up, but it helped the reception flow perfectly and I would recommend this set up to anyone! Milicent and Tracy are wonderful to work with. They are very responsive, both were present on our wedding day to help as needed, and overall just went above and beyond to help us. This is a HUGE perk for a venue to keep you sane as a bride! Stop your venue searching now, Mt Ida is perfect! Thank you SO MUCH Mt Ida for our dream wedding!!!!

ecision possible. They provided top notch service and made sure that nothing was overlooked. They treated us like royalty and made sure, not only us, but our guests had the most amazing time. We truly feel like we gained family after our wedding weekend there and would recommend them to any couple in the market for a wedding venue - it's worth every penny and you will not be disappointed!

us feel more like friends or family then potential clients. When ever I had a question on the venue, I knew I could call on Milicent and she would quickly return my email or call with an answer. The venue in its entirety is breathtaking as soon as you drive onto the property. I wanted to give my wedding guests an "Awe factor" and Mt. Ida certainly did that for me. On our wedding day, the staff at Mt. Ida was incredibly accommodating. Everything that day was seamless.

an willing to release you from your contract and refund your money". They don’t want to discuss anything or work with you to answer questions. At one point, I was told "whether it's in your budget or not" about the coordinator situation, which is rude and unprofessional. I was asked a week before our wedding for additional documents not requested before. Hidden costs. It’s $150 for your flower girl to toss flowers, besides the $150 cleaning fee. When asked, they responded "We cannot unfortunately include every hypothetical scenario that a bride may request in the contract". One of the requirements in the contract is that we need to have a "day-of planner". The terminology used in the contract WE signed is “designate one person “. This terminology has since been changed to " hire a professional wedding coordinator” and from a preferred vendor list. Later, I was told that this person needs to be a professional and was sent a list of preferred vendors. First, our contract explicitly DID NOT say professional or hire and second, the list of coordinators that was sent to me were priced ranging from $800-$1200. In shock, I proceeded to panic knowing that we couldn't afford this and that everything might be ruined. I thought we were going to have to cancel our wedding. The issue is that it wasn't in our contract and we were being held to it regardless. Luckily, our caterers had a coordinator on staff that doubled as the catering coordinator and the day of coordinator so she saved us. Another issue is that Milicent knew our caterer, had worked with them before, knew our budget and neglected to tell us. This would have saved a month panic. A prospective client was given a tour on our wedding day. This falls under professionalism. About an hour and a half before our wedding was due to start, Milicent knocked on the bridal suite door as we were getting ready. She popped in asking if we were decent then opened the door to some guy who had no connection with my or my husband’s family and explained that this is where his fiancé would get ready, do her hair/makeup etc. My husband told me that this was repeated for the groom’s suite and I can only assume for the entire establishment shortly before our wedding. To top it off, the prospective client was at my wedding ceremony!!! I saw him sitting in the back row as we were walking out after the big kiss!! Everyone was stunned and in total shock. I had family members and vendors asking me what Milicent thought she was doing. Also, she was nicely dressed while showing the facility to the client, but once he left, she changed into jean shorts and a tee shirt for the remaining four hours of the reception. My vendors couldn't believe how unprofessionally she was dressed for a wedding. -Ruined flowers. Friday, we had our flowers dropped off.The facility is air conditioned but the air wasn't on properly and after a few hours in 82 degrees inside many of our flowers wilted. Hoping to fix them, they were put into the refrigerator-where they froze. 1/3 of our flowers were ruined. I don't recommend getting married here. When remembering my planning process, all I remember is headache and being disrespected. Milicent was rude and unprofessional. Just don't get married here.

ss,” and a third could not get over “all the little details that really made it special.” As a bride living in Chicago and planning a Charlottesville wedding, I had one day while I was in town to visit the seven reception venues in which I was interested. Our tour of Mount Ida with Milicent was scheduled in the middle of a long day of tours, but it easily stood out as the perfect venue for my wedding! My mother, my sister and I fell in love with Mount Ida as soon as we set foot on inside the charming barn. Once we saw the gazebo area it was all over. We continued with the rest of the venue tours, but after we saw each new venue we all agreed Mount Ida was still the clear winner. Milicent and her team worked very well with my wedding planner to create my perfect wedding. The day went perfectly (even though it rained during cocktail hour). Some of the Mount Ida cows even came over to see the guests as they were arriving, and the guests were delighted! Milicent even drove me, my husband and our photographer around to some of her favorite photo spots during the cocktail hour, and the pictures turned out great. My only regret is that the night couldn’t have lasted longer. I am so glad I chose Mount Ida for my wedding reception, and I recommend it to all brides!