About a week ago, I finally had the possibility to re-visit Torre del Veguer, or Bodegas Torre del Veguer. The first time I was there, it was for something completely different from anything wedding related. And it must have been almost ten years ago. Back then, I was not a wedding planner which means that I never “saw” the place with the viewpoint of a wedding planner.
Torre del Veguer is a beautiful venue for weddings, and invites you to celebrate the entire wedding outdoors. They are still an up and running wine producer, and you will be able to taste their wines during the wedding. This venue is for couples who wish to be close to nature, the vineyards and breathe the historical atmosphere of this place.
History
Torre del Veguer is a place filled with history and character. The Barcelona merchant Bertrand Nicolau obtained a permission in 1413 from Pope Benedicte XIII, to found a monastery here. The Hieronymite friars who lived there started cultivating wine, but complained about lack of water and woods. After just two years they moved to another location. The property was within the D’Avinyó family for various centuries.
But it was not until 1601 that it got it’s actual name, Torre del Veguer. It literally means “House of Veguer”, veguer being the profession of the owner at the moment. Veguer was the head person of the feudal administrative territorial jurisdiction of the Principality of Catalonia (to the crown of Aragon) during the Middle Ages and into the modern era (ending in 1716). The owner, Frederic D’Avinyó was the veguer of the entire Penedés area.
In 1888 the wines started to get recognition and were awarded with gold medal at the Universal Exhibition of Barcelona. In 1995 the winery began a new stage creating on broths autochthonous from the Garraf or Xarel·lo and the Mediterranean ones with Muscat. They also have other varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Syrah. From 2008, Muller Thurgau and Pinot Noir vines were planted, which were produced successfully despite being located at 1200 m of altitude.
What they offer
They offer a venue with an elegant, and historical atmosphere among the vineyards of Penedés. They give you the opportunity to celebrate the entire wedding outdoors, even the dancing.
Ceremony
Outdoors, you have the option to either have the ceremony facing away from the castle, or towards the castle. The most common way to do it is to have the ceremony facing away from the castle, so that the wedding party and the couple are coming from inside the castle doors walking towards the ceremony. The other option, for smaller ceremonies, is to have the ceremony int he middle of the vines. They have a newly created, narrow road/space which is just located outside the garden gates where it’s possible to do this.
Cocktail
The welcome cocktail can be held just in front of the castle, or around the pool area. The garden is so big that there is room for everything in the same space, without it feeling too packed. You can also have the cocktail in the ceremony area among the vines.
Reception
The reception area is also in the garden in front of the castle. Usually it’s set up a little bit further away from the castle, closer to the areas where you have some trees. This creates a lovely space for the dinner, with lovely views of the castle. When the sun goes down, the façade will be beautifully illuminated which really created a magic atmosphere.
As an extra add-on, the venue offer you to have a haima style marquee. This is your Plan B in case of rain. Apart from the marquee, there is also a proper indoor space with views over the vines which has capacity of 110 guests which has no extra cost if you use this space as a Plan B. For larger weddings you’d need to budget to include the haima marquee.
Photo: Better Together Weddings Spain
Party
The luxury of choosing this venue is that it’s close to Sitges, but it’s still located in a somewhat remote area. You can have the dance floor just next to the pool area until 03:00 am. If you are planning to continue the party until later, it would need to be in the indoor space.
The location
The venue is located between Vilanova i La Geltrú and Sant Pere de Ribes, on the country side. It’s just 5 min driving from Sitges, and about 45-50 min from Barcelona center. Barcelona airport is located just 30 min drive away. They do not offer any accommodation at the property, but Sitges is If you don’t want to stay in Sitges at one of the hotels there, you can also rent a private manor house that is located just 10 min walking from the venue. It’s called Masia Can Parés, and you can check out their website here. They have 10 rooms and can house up to 24 guests. It’s also possible to have dinners at that property, in case you’d like to have
Kitchen
The venue does not have it’s own kitchen, so this venue is always operated with catering.
Parking
They offer a large, outdoor parking space for cars, and a bigger one for buses in case you rent buses to transport your guests there and back.