A Private Elopement in the Crete Senesi, Steps From Baccoleno
Couple
Mea & Ethan
From
United States
Destination
Crete Senesi, Val d’Orcia
Ceremony
Symbolic
Season
Spring
Highlight
Private garden ceremony steps from Baccoleno
A Getting Ready in Rocca d’Orcia Before Their Crete Senesi Elopement
Already married at home, they came to Tuscany for a private elopement that was only theirs.
Mea and Ethan already knew they wanted a private elopement in the Crete Senesi — but they’d already had their wedding: family, vows, a full day back home in the US… What they came to Tuscany for was something else entirely: a day with no program and no one watching, just the two of them and a part of Italy they’d fallen for from a distance.
Neither of them had planned anything in Italy before, and it showed early on — their hotel was in Florence, an hour from where we needed to be for the day. We built the full timeline together and handled every transfer ourselves, so instead of worrying about trains and directions, they spent the whole day in the car with us. If you’re wondering whether you can pull off an elopement in a country you’ve never really navigated — you can, and you don’t have to figure it out alone. We handle the full planning so you can focus on being there.
Getting ready happened in Rocca d’Orcia, one of the small stone villages that sit above the valley. Quiet streets, morning light, the kind of view that makes you forget you’re getting dressed for anything at all. From there, one stop for gelato in Pienza — and then west, into the hills.
Vows Near Baccoleno — A Symbolic Ceremony in a Private Garden
An elopement at Baccoleno isn’t your only option — sometimes the better view is the one nobody’s photographed yet.
Mea and Ethan chose a symbolic ceremony, which meant no civil paperwork in Italy — they’d handled the legal side at home before flying in. That gave them total freedom to build the ceremony around what they actually wanted, instead of around a town hall appointment.
Baccoleno is the postcard everyone in this part of Tuscany already knows — the single most photographed view in the Crete Senesi. But we spent a full day scouting before the ceremony, and a short conversation with a local family was all it took to get their private garden for the afternoon: the same rolling hills in the background, minutes from Baccoleno, with no one else there. The perfect spot for their private elopement in the Crete Senesi
Ethan was already crying before Mea finished the first line. She read hers looking straight at him, the hills dropping away behind them both. No permits, no crowds, no one else’s wedding in the background — private land means the whole afternoon moves at exactly the pace you want it to. Then it was just a short walk to the spot we’d saved for the evening.
Gold on the Hills — A Sunset Picnic Over the Crete Senesi
The best part of a May private elopement in the Crete Senesi in Tuscany is the hour after the ceremony ends.
The picnic blanket went down where the hill starts to fall away — apricots, a bottle they’d been saving, the light turning gold behind them. If you’re planning your own private elopement in the Crete Senesi, May is the month to come for this exact shade of green.
By July the same hills turn gold and dry — beautiful in a different way, but if it’s this particular color you’re after, plan for late spring. Our complete guide to eloping in Tuscany covers timing, light, and how a day like this actually comes together.
By the time the sun dropped, neither of them was looking at a camera at all. Mea and Ethan didn’t need a guest list to make the day feel real. They needed the right hill, the right light, and no one else around.
Dreaming of Your Own Private Elopement in the Crete Senesi?
If a quiet corner of Tuscany — not the postcard everyone’s already seen, but the one nobody’s found yet — sounds like your kind of day, we’d love to help you plan it.
Get in touch through our form or explore our packages and pricing.
We’re the couple behind In Bianco e Nero. We’ve spent years photographing elopements across Italy — from the Dolomites at sunrise to the rolling hills of Tuscany at sunset. We don’t just take photos. We help you plan the whole day.
Couple
Mea & Ethan
From
United States
Destination
Crete Senesi, Tuscany
Ceremony
Symbolic
Season
May, late spring
Highlight
Private garden ceremony steps from Baccoleno