Could anyone recommend a nice wedding venue in the Chianti area?
We are based in NY and we decided to get married in August of 2010, is it too late to plan the wedding in Italy? We are quite familiar with Italy, but mostly with the main cities. Tuscany is something of a dream, but we don't know it at all.
Could anyone share any wedding experiences in the Chianti area? What would the budget be for a 50 people middle range wedding?
I realize these are way too many questions, but this is just a first draft.
We appreciate any pros and cons.

Congrats on your engagement!
As a date, do you mean 8/2011?
Chianti may be tricky since most things you find online are wedding counselors who want to sell you the package. Look for agriturismo (for a lower budget wedding venue).
We had a small wedding in Gaiole, Spaltenna castle. But this one is rather expensive...
However we were working abroad in Hungary at the time and it was easier to plan, we went over a couple of times. So consider the potential need to travel to see the different options for your setting. From this perspective, unless you have plenty of spare time and money, it might be too short notice.
I hope this helps.

You may find this thread helpful to your planning:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...e-or-italy.cfm

August is considered a tricky month for weddings in Tuscany for two reasons - one it is very hot so a wedding if held would be late evening with reception to follow. The second is that many places do not accept receptions in that month due to Italian holidays, the heat and the fact that the main wedding months are May and June with some opting for July.

A location I know is Fattoria Pagnana - http://www.fattoria-pagnana.it/ppl_eng/1frm.htm The facilities are excellent and are not over formal and are very child friendly which is not the case with some of the other locations which are often proposed in the Chianti area. Being an agriturismo they also have plenty of apartments for visiting guests. The only thing is that since August is a busy month for tourism many places have a guest changeover on Saturday so it would be very difficult to find anywhere prepared to offer say Friday and Saturday night alone.
Auguri!

Thank you ellenem for indicating the thread, I haven't considered the enormity of the necessary burocracy...hmmm.
And also the period (which was my mistake, I meant August of 2011, next year) seems problematic.
I guess we have to rethink everything. We were just enthusiastic about the idea of celebrating our wedding in Chianti, which is the one we know little, compared to other places in Italy. But I haven't considered all the aspects, and I am also not familiar with wedding venues for foreigners.
Thanks for all the advice, will be back if we decide to still go ahead with this idea.

"I haven't considered the enormity of the necessary burocracy"

For all the bureaucracy, I still the thought process was easier than planning the big wedding with all the trimmings that would have been required if we had one in NY. As mentioned, the trickiest part is the visit to an Italian consulate in the U.S. If you are near NYC, that is pretty straightforward.

all clear(er) now, thanks again!

My best friend got married in Tuscany last September. The planners were two women of Boutique Events http://www.boutiqueevents.it They provided a long list of venues all over Tuscany, maybe they can help. Good luck!
J.L.