Villa Filomena

ur September 2020 date to allow for a slow and steady wedding planning process. When covid hit six months before our wedding date, we decided to postpone our larger wedding celebration but still have an intimate ceremony at the Villa Filomena on our original date, utilizing their outdoor Garden Terrace. The venue is absolutely beautiful, and aesthetically, we loved having our wedding ceremony and photos taken at the Villa. However, we were disappointed in the communication style of the main coordinator, Tina, and the rest of the building's staff. When we connected with Tina to set up a 3-month out meeting, she didn't seem to know our wedding date nor have our contract on-hand, which was a bit nerve-wrecking. It would have been more reassuring to have the coordinator appear more knowledgeable and have documentation of our reservation. We provided thorough documentation of our designed ceremony layout, hoping to have the chairs more spaced out between couples because of covid, as well as a detailed ceremony schedule and script. Tina did not seem to review our documentation before our rehearsal. We had to have our rehearsal earlier in the afternoon the day before our ceremony because of another scheduled event at the Villa that evening, which we were understanding of and flexible doing. However, when my maid of honor arrived at the rehearsal first and asked a building staff member where she should go, the staff member informed her that there was no rehearsal taking place that day. Tina also had to ask my husband what his name was at the rehearsal, which made her look unprofessional in our opinion, when she could have reviewed our contract and/or documentation, even a few minutes before the rehearsal, to gather the basic important information, such as the Groom's name. She steamrolled through the rehearsal; I had to correct her a few times on where people were supposed to be standing, and our officiant was very displeased in her condescending tone when she spoke to him, when he also had to correct her, based on the script. The ceremony chair set up was also mismanaged. The chairs were not spaced out, likely due to space limitations, which was fine because most people wore facemasks anyway, but there was a huge gap in between one row of chairs for no apparent reason, which looked very strange in photos. If you're looking for an aesthetically pleasing, romantic wedding venue, this is a great choice in venue. However, you may experience similar communication issues and unnecessary headaches when working with Tina and/or the building staff. Our perspective is based on our experience working with our postponed reception's building coordinator, and the difference in communication and professionalism is night and day.

ding party. We also had our ceremony here and from start to finish everything was beautiful. A great backdrop for photos. I'm so happy we chose this venue and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

going by without a response to an email from her. When I finally scheduled a time with her, she emailed me twice the day of to first ask to reschedule for later in the day and then to ultimately cancel on me 15 minutes before our appointment. At that point however I was already standing outside the venue. Unprofessional to start off. She gave me her phone number after that to try and reschedule and she was just as slow via text with a full day and half passing without her reaching out to reschedule with me. You’d think that she’d try and make it up to me as considering she canceled on me with no notice. When I finally saw the venue, Tina was just so rude off the bat. She constantly interrupted my fiancé and I, she critiqued and criticized our wedding choices going so far as to say that our catering service was a bad choice, and she almost spoke down to us, constantly saying “well I’ve been doing this for 13 years”. It honestly made us feel dumb and ashamed for our choices. She also didn’t take the time to listen to our choices and desired. I expressed that I didn’t want to spend a ton of alcohol and she had the audacity to say “oh I can knock off $500 off the minimum” when I explicitly said I didn’t want to work with a bar minimum. There was hidden fees for everything. An extra $150 for staff, an extra $180 for a parking lot IF IT SNOWED, an extra $60 for drapes?? She even insulted some of the other places we toured!!! Telling which places were “gross” and “ugly.” Unprofessional, rude and just a plain mess. Steer clear of this place

advice were a great help before and during the wedding day. Everything went so smoothly because of her. Between the stunning space and Tina’s expertise I would highly recommend this for a wedding venue!

r the entire night. We had our ceremony in the courtyard that was covered by a tent (of course we picked the one weekend in April that Mother Nature decided to bless us with a snowstorm) and our reception indoors. The villa worked hard to accommodate us while still working with my vision for the day and the result was beautiful. The whole night was simply magical, everything stayed on our timeline, and they were willing to work with our budget. They also do a rehearsal the day before which helps eliminate any nerves and a room upstairs to hide the bridal party prior to the ceremony (if you have one there) Extra info: They offer different packages for open bar, they let us bring in some of our own decorations to bring the theme to life, they have someone who is a day-of coordinator which really helps keeps everything on track. They also have a preferred list of vendors for certain aspects like catering and music and this was great because everyone has worked together before and it creates a really seamless event.

ay of and I wasn't stressed about anything. Not to mention, the space is beautiful and there are lots of cool little touches that make it feel very unique and special. Thanks for everything!

the décor is amazingly beautiful. This venue is so unique and full of character. Tina did a great job helping out with the wedding planning and wedding itself. I highly recommend this venue to anyone getting married in the Milwaukee area.

ostly interact with and she is difficult to reach and not the most friendly once you get a hold of her. Much of our conversations before the wedding consisted of her talking loudly over me. That being put aside she was AMAZING the day of the wedding, when it counts and everyone in the wedding party appreciated and loved her. It all came together so beautifully and it was the perfect place for our ceremony!

veness, attention to detail, and vendor suggestions. We went with each and every vendor they recommended from our DJ to our photographer and could not have been more pleased. Planning a wedding from out of state was unbelievably stressful but Erin was willing to Facetime an entire venue tour and Tina put up with about 5,000 frantic emails and put me at ease each time. On top of the planning, on the day of our wedding everyone was talking about how amazing Erin was to work with. There were points in the night where she was bussing tables with the catering staff just to ensure everything would continue to go smoothly. She kept everything flowing including having to distract my energetic 2 year old niece and 4 year old nephew so that I could walk down the aisle. Despite the rain, the staff put together an amazing ceremony inside that still met all of our expectations and they beautifully laid out all the little details we brought so that we didn't have to worry about anything when we arrived. Our day was everything we could have ever imagined because of the Villa and I would highly recommend the gorgeous space and even more incredible staff for anyone's special event.

g and it was exorbitant! Kitchen is small and very difficult for caterers to get the food warmed and served in a timely manner. Even friends who came in to help decorate commented on how rude Tina was in her comments and attitude.

day goes off without a hitch. Tina, Janice and John were great to work with and helped me to figure out every little detail along the way. It was so great to have them there just to reassure me at times. We received so many compliments on the venue and if you visit it you will know why. If you are looking for a unique venue with top notch service and staff look no further than the Villa Filomena. You won't be disappointed. Thank you! Vicki and Brad

responsive. Our guests had nothing but great things to say about the building and the courtyard and the inside decor. It's a really unique spot and perfect for an outdoor wedding if you have around 100 guests like we did. We had a band inside so it was nice for our guests to be able to to step outside and hang out when it got warm from dancing. All in all, I highly recommend the Villa Filomena. It's not the cheapest of venues, but you pay for what you get and I would choose the site again in a heartbeat.

d at the VF was the most exclusive, elegant & private by far (even with up to 299 people, the venue still feels private). So, as soon as my fiancé & I got engaged, we thought of the Villa Filomena immediately because we've attended a silent auction charity event & a friend's wedding there in the past & both events were absolutely gorgeous! VERY elegant. It's a beautiful, formal Italian villa with classic decor, located in the historic corner of downtown Milwaukee near the lake and the east side. The Villa Filomena is perfect for couples who want flexibility in being able to choose any caterer, any florist, any DJ, etc. (This was important to us because we wanted to keep the total budget reasonable!) The Villa Filomena's Tina Weber is a party planning guru who has been extremely helpful to me. She has wonderful, tasteful suggestions & I love that we're free to take them or use different vendors entirely. Tina has seen hundreds of weddings (I would guesstimate) & she has a wealth of local, efficient, & tasteful suggestions re: what will work well within the Villa Filomena's space, depending on head count. It is an elegant space that does not require much decorating at all! (Which is a $-saver.) Gorgeous Chandeliers throughout!! My fiancé & I are going with a lot of candle light + very minimal flowers (to keep extra costs down). Other than that & tablecloths from the caterer, you don't really need anything more to have a beautiful event. The space is decorative all by itself. It's two bars are decorative and well-spaced for your guests (to help keep the wait time down at both). One of the bars is near the doorway to the patio (where you can have your outdoor ceremony), which will be very convenient for the toasts & mingling time right after our ceremony. The outdoor area is like a courtyard, with 10-12' high walls (I'm guessing) on all 4 sides, but with a discrete entranceway from the outside. It's the perfect place for a ceremony. It has gardens and a raised area nearest to the building which is where the couple stands during the ceremony. All surroundings are gorgeous for ceremony pictures. I get the sense that the Villa Filomena is gaining in popularity (so call Tina as early as you can), but it has been one of Milwaukee's little known gems. It is within a 2-block walking distance of historic, gorgeous hotels (the Astor, Knickerbocker, & County Clare). This is very convenient for my fiancé's large extended family who are all coming in from MN. I am so excited this is our venue!! Tina was the best to work with -- very personable and sharp.

th new THAT was where we wanted to have our wedding. What a charming, historic, beautiful location. The courtyard, the parlor, the fireplaces, the vintage wallpaper room upstairs (awesome for photos!), the ballroom… all added up to a perfect spot to host our wedding ceremony and reception. We went all out and played up on the vintage, Victorian theme, with some modern twists (like a photo booth… this was a hit!). Tina (the manager) was nice to work with and seemed happy to answer all of my questions. She was prompt to respond to my emails and calls. She also accommodated our late request to move the ceremony indoors because our guest list outgrew the space for the courtyard. Early on, Tina invited us to do a walk-through of the location while they were setting up for a wedding--this was great to give us a better sense of the space in use. It was at this walk through that we met the caterer and florist we ultimately went with too. It all really came together. Not that everything went 100% according to plan… we learned halfway through the evening that the lighting package we purchased for the tent in the courtyard was not working (so our guests were outside in the dark). Tina and her dad worked to fix it once we brought it to their attention, but we were disappointed it was not working properly from the beginning. There was also a "traffic flow" problem when the guests arrived for the ceremony--many ended up coming in the wrong door and my ushers were not there to hand out programs, so the majority of the guests didn't get one. I think there was some miscommunication because I thought the back (courtyard) doors would be closed/locked at that time. We also heard afterwards that many guests didn't realize we had favors for them in the parlor (we should've had the DJ make an announcement). Basically, lots of little detail things that you don't even know to plan for… I've now learned from this experience. I'd recommend Villa Filomena for your wedding or event. Our guests raved about it, truly! And we had a wonderful and memorable wedding! My advice: talk things through thoroughly and in detail with the event manager, and document what you've discussed! Take good notes so you can be assured of what you both agreed upon.

Despite this they have not even returned our calls since then. I understand things happen and would have been more then willing to reschedule if they had called however leaving my fiance and I out in the cold (literally in this case) because they couldn't be bothered to give a phone call is terrible business practices. This venue was otherwise perfect for us but with such terrible customer service I can not recommend what is otherwise a beautiful location.

tons of questions and made sure that everything was perfect! The venue itself is absolutely gorgeous. It was very clean and polished looking. They were so wiling to work with us, it made it the whole process so much less stressful. I would highly recommend the Villa Filomena to everyone. We had a larger group of people around 210 for dinner and it was still plently of room and all the guests had a great time.

ad 125) at 6pm & had the reception in the chandelier ballroom & parlor. We had the head table on the stage and all of the dinenr tables on one half of the ballroom for about 125 people & still had about half of the ballroom to dance in! People commented all night about how incredible & gorgeous the venue was & that they would have never known it was hidden in Milwaukee. Before the ceremony we were also allowed to use the massive upstairs once-bedroom (with mirrors and a dressing table, etc) for the wedding party to get ready in, which was a huge plus. The photos taken both in & outside of the mansion turned out fantastic with the elegance the mansion has to offer, check out their website to see other couple's photos to get an idea. The classy furniture, many chandeliers & beautiful woodwork throughout adds to everything -& for such a reasonable price! It was a dream come true and a lot of that help to make that night perfect was from Tina, the Villa's amazing manager who went out of her way to help us put the wedding together in a limited amount of time, as my husband is in the US Navy & gets just 2 months in advance notice. This venue is fantastic, you will NOT be disappointed.

nd we received so many compliments on this venue. We were very happy with this space, which really had a warm, family ambiance. The patio was a gorgeous space for our ceremony, the parlor was perfect for cocktails, and the banquet room was great for dinner and dancing. Our 130 guests were blown away, and so were we! The cost in this review includes the bar bill. We just can't say enough about how wonderful the Villa Filomena truy is!

hing flowed nicely. Gorgeous chandeliers and Victorian details! Guests liked that they could walk from their hotels. We had the ceremony on the patio, and we were able to take a few pictures on the roof. Just a wonderful experience.

married at a church two blocks away, so my guest, husband and I were able to walk right on over the the Villa! Tina and her family were so accommodating and we really felt great knowing that the events of the evening and timing with the caterers were in their hands. They were professional and friendly...what else could you want? It rained the day of my wedding but no worries, we put up a tent on the patio and our guests were comfortable getting some fresh air! The rain was pretty romantic as well! People still talk about my wedding as literally, "The best wedding they have ever been to!" All thanks to the Villa Filomena and staff!!!

scommunication, the wedding reception was successful due to additional efforts by outside vendors and stern conversations with the Event Manager/Coordinator during the reception. Although there were other additional incidents during the wedding reception, our greatest dissatisfaction was in relation to the bar service and followup customer concerns with the Event Manager/Coordinator (EM/C). We contracted and paid for an open bar (with the second-from-the-top liquor package) and at-table wine service during dinner. Numerous guests reported that they were "offered" top-level alcohol and were then told to pay for the additional cost. Other guests reported they were told they had to pay at the table if they wanted a second glass of wine with dinner. When this information was presented to the EM/C it was denied that this had occurred. We believe our guests. After the reception, it took initiation on our part, as the customers, to have a discussion regarding these concerns and other concerns. We contacted the EM/C via phone; it was a heated and unsatisfactory conversation. Four additional follow-up attempts (letters and emails) finally generated an email response, an apology and a plea for us not to contact the Milwaukee Better Business Bureau. If Villa Filomena wants to be able to offer events this venue deserves, the EM/C needs to learn improved professional business communication and coordination skills. Unfortunately, with this EM/C, we cannot recommend this lovely historical site for any event.