There are houses with history. And there is one house that has been in the same family since 1376 — six hundred and fifty years, unbroken. The Casa de Sezim, in Guimaraes, is that house. It is not a venue that was assembled; it is a home that opens its doors.
What makes it unique are the walls. The manor’s main rooms are lined with early-19th-century Zuber panoramic wallpapers — one of the largest collections on the Iberian Peninsula, with scenes of the Old and New World hand-printed, piece by piece. Around it are vineyards of award-winning Vinho Verde, gardens, a pool, and woodland. And there is a chapel, for couples who want the religious ceremony inside the house.
For couples who want to marry in a living house, with six centuries of family behind it, Sezim is hard to match. We are not joking.
The Casa de Sezim has eight rooms in the manor itself — six rooms and two suites, some with four-poster beds, decorated with the character of the house. As a house of intimate scale, the couple and close family can sleep in the manor, and Mary Me coordinates curated overflow at Guimaraes hotels for the remaining guests, with family-by-family allocation, transfers, and arrival sequencing handled.
The first references to Sezim date back to 1376 and spoke only of a fortified tower. The property has passed, unbroken ever since, through the same family — a rare continuity in Portugal, which began with D. Joao de Freitas, a companion of D. Afonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal, whose birthplace was precisely Guimaraes.
The tower kept growing until the 18th century, when it gained the imposing facade that still greets arrivals today. But the great transformation came in the 19th century, at the hand of the architect and artist August Roquemont, responsible for bringing the French Zuber wallpapers to the walls — printed panoramas that turned the rooms into an inhabited museum.
The production of Vinho Verde entered the house’s tradition in the 20th century and remains award-winning. If you ask us, what sets Sezim apart is that it is not a backdrop: it is a family home that decided to share six centuries of history with those who marry there.
We are in Santiago de Candoso, a few minutes from Guimaraes — Portugal’s first capital, the cradle of the nation, with its UNESCO-listed historic centre. It is the Minho they call the Garden of Portugal: green, fertile, surrounded by vineyards and ancient woodland.
The great advantage is being close to everything without being inside anything. Francisco Sa Carneiro Airport in Porto is less than an hour by car, and Guimaraes fifteen minutes — which makes Sezim convenient for an international group that wants to combine countryside and historic city.
Around it are Guimaraes and its UNESCO centre, Braga half an hour away, Porto fifty minutes away, and the Geres an hour away for a day-after. Sezim is an elegant, peaceful base for a destination wedding that wants the aristocratic Minho, far from the obvious.
Sezim’s great advantage is the atmosphere of a private home with six centuries behind it. Civil and symbolic ceremonies take place in the gardens or by the pool, among the vineyard and the woodland; and — a rare advantage — there is a chapel in the house itself, for couples who want the Catholic ceremony without leaving the property. The cocktail lives in the gardens and on the terraces, with the manor and its 18th-century facade as the setting.
Dinner and the party happen in the gardens or in the historic rooms, where the Zuber panoramic wallpapers give the space a visual depth no decoration can imitate — picture dining surrounded by panoramas painted two hundred years ago. And there is the obvious signature: the house’s Vinho Verde, which accompanies dinner and turns a tasting into an experience.
The property hosts one event at a time, with full exclusivity, and the manor’s eight rooms let the couple and close family sleep in the house itself. It is a venue of human, intimate scale, more home than hall.
We know the right angles of the rooms and the gardens across the day. The couple’s session winds across the gardens, vineyard, and Zuber rooms. Pop the question. We handle the rest.
Guimaraes and the Minho we know well — and in a family home like this, where the wedding is built in dialogue with the owners of the house, our coordination is precisely what keeps everything elegant and frictionless. We handle the transfers from Porto airport, the allocation of the manor’s eight rooms between couple and close family, with curated overflow at Guimaraes hotels for the rest of the guests, and the arrival sequencing. And there is the practical side: the house chapel for the Catholic ceremony (with the liaison with the parish), the Camara de Guimaraes permit for fireworks, sound curfew, civil-ceremony paperwork handled in Portuguese, and tastings of the house’s Vinho Verde for guests. For those who stay on, we design the day-after in Guimaraes, Braga, or the Geres. From the first call to the last dance.
Sezim hosts weddings with the ceremony in the gardens, by the pool, or in the chapel, the cocktail in the gardens, and dinner outdoors or in the historic rooms lined with Zuber wallpapers. It is a venue of intimate scale, ideal for weddings with personality. Exact capacity to confirm with the venue.
In Santiago de Candoso, fifteen minutes from Guimaraes, Portugal’s first capital. Francisco Sa Carneiro Airport in Porto is less than an hour by car.
Yes. Sezim hosts one event at a time, with full exclusivity — the gardens, the rooms, the chapel, and the eight bedrooms are entirely yours. Mary Me coordinates the logistics.
The gardens and the vineyard are at their peak between May and September, the most sought-after season, with the harvest giving early autumn a special charm. For the cooler months, the historic rooms with the Zuber wallpapers and the fireplace keep the experience just as strong. For premium dates, we recommend 12-18 months ahead.
It is a house that has been in the same family since 1376, with one of the largest collections of Zuber panoramic wallpapers on the Iberian Peninsula — hand-printed 19th-century French panoramas — and an award-winning Vinho Verde produced on the estate itself. It hosts one event at a time.
Yes. The house has a chapel of its own, where Catholic ceremonies take place without leaving the property. Mary Me coordinates the liaison with the parish.
Yes, eight rooms in the manor (six rooms and two suites). The couple and close family sleep in the house; Mary Me coordinates overflow at Guimaraes hotels.
Yes. Sezim produces award-winning Vinho Verde, and dinner can be paired with the house’s wines. A tasting in the cellar, with the family’s history, is the kind of moment that defines a wedding here.
