Elopements

Romantic, Vintage Tuscan Elopement In One of Tuscany’s Famous Abbeys

Ameet and Purvi decided to plan a wedding day just for them, without the fuss and stress that comes with a bigger, traditional wedding. They traveled to Italy and planned a romantic, vintage elopement in Tuscany within San Galgan Abbey. They then had an intimate dinner with some family and friends near their Airbnb. Get all the details from this wedding day below.

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Planning a Vintage Elopement in Tuscany

Photography by Studio Fotografico Bacci

We love how this couple incorporated their own style and made this elopement an elegant and romantic day with a vintage Italian flare to it.

“The Abbey of San Galgano, the location of the ceremony, is one of the main tourist attractions in Tuscany, located in the heart of the Val d’Orcia. A couple can decide to have a symbolic or civil wedding ceremony since it is a place used for municipal functions. Just contact the municipality of Chiusdino (the town where the Abbey is located) and request the necessary permits.

I strongly recommend choosing a time when the light is not too strong, as San Galgano is a deconsecrated abbey without a roof and the central hours of the day could create situations of very intense light, which could be uncomfortably hot during the summer. Another important piece of advice I would like to give is to avoid filling the place with too many floral arrangements, as it is already unique, beautiful, and magical in its bare and wild state. If you have decided that San Galgano is the perfect place for your ceremony, allow yourself to be fully immersed in the ancient atmosphere of the location.” [Barbara and Federico, the photographers]

Learn more about eloping in Tuscany.

Deciding to Elope

“I was never one of those girls who would dream about what type of wedding they would like and have it planned down to every detail. All I knew is that I wanted the right man standing next to me and the wedding would be unequivocally us and about us.

I’ve always tried to break through the societal norms and pressures, especially within the Asian community and being a woman in an Asian society. Indian weddings are beautiful, steeped in culture and a massive production. But I couldn’t envisage that for me.

We wanted the day to be as real and authentic as possible, you can see them from the venue, the villa, the decor, my make up and the light heartedness of the day. Everything is organic, natural, in its original form. No studio or artificial lights, No stage or architectural construction and production. We let the beauty of the subject do the talking for itself.

We also wanted to keep the day very intimate and personal. So we decided to elope, it wasn’t an easy decision as it meant we couldn’t have our nearest and dearest with us. To us, the most important part of the wedding was for it to be about us, two people declaring to be together forever, that is a precious and personal moment. And, it was the best decision that we ever made. We only had our parents and siblings with us and it was a special week for everyone. The wedding day itself was so relaxed and stress-free and everyone enjoyed and just rolled with the day.” [Purvi, the bride]

Explore more reasons to elope!

Deciding Where to Elope

“We’ve always had a great love for Italy, it’s such a beautiful country from the food, people, and life. We always keep being drawn back to Italy. I have my own dream of owning a Tuscan farm in the rural hills of Tuscany and I’ve always had an affinity for the Italian life.” [Purvi, the bride]

There are two parts to their elopement adventure:

1. Abbey San Galgano (wedding ceremony)

“I first saw the venue, San Galgano on Pinterest about 8 years ago and showed Ameet. Luckily he trusted my vision and we’ve never looked back.

When I first saw San Galgano, it took our breath away, it is so magnificent and beautiful, it ticked all the right boxes. We were looking for a venue, which would speak for itself and San Galgano did that.”

2. A Traditional Tuscan Villa

“This is a secret that I want to keep because it is such a beautiful, typical Tuscan villa nestled on a hill top with a 360 view of all of the countryside and surrounded by vineyards.

We found our villa on Air BnB and it belongs to Giovanni Panebianco. Gio stole all of our hearts, he was so warm, welcoming and gracious. We are so honoured that he shared his beautiful villa for us. We held our wedding dinner under the pergola overlooking his vineyard. Gio, his wife and local chef prepared our wedding dinner and treated us to the most authentic delicious Tuscan feast.”

Explore more places to elope in Italy.

Estimated Cost of This Vintage Tuscany Elopement

“Our elopement was a little on the higher side but that’s because even though it was an elopement/micro-wedding, we chose to invest in quality, craftsmanship and bespoke. Also, we made is a week long experience for us and our family, from celebrating my mum’s 60th right at the beginning right through to the wedding day.

Our elopement cost totalled £20k which included not only everything for the wedding but flights, accommodation and other experiences for the entire wedding group.” [Purvi, the bride]

Learn more about elopement costs!

Memorable Moments During This Elopement

From the photographer:

“How beautiful it was to see Purvi and Ameet looking into each other’s eyes with that fantastic aura, the super friendly atmosphere they had created for their wedding by inviting only their closest relatives, the elegance in every gesture of Purvi and the friendliness of Ameet. It was fantastic to see how every vendor worked professionally to ensure the success of this special day, from Alice, the very talented wedding planner, to the flower and makeup girls. It is important to remember that those who work behind the scenes are just as essential as the protagonists of such an important day as a wedding.”

From the couple:

“The entire thing! It felt like we were in our own little Italian romantic movie. Because we chose to elope, we also chose not to tell many people (literally only our parents, siblings and work colleagues knew). As a result, we had this private bubble around it which allowed us to be incredibly present and enjoy the whole experience from start to finish without the stress. It all felt very romantic and was our little secret.”

Final Words of Advice From The Couple

“Don’t be scared to have the wedding of your dreams and jump feet in! (especially eloping). It is the most beautiful, intimate and most personal experience. It’s very easy to lose sight of the purpose. Remember the day is about you as a couple so do what makes you both happy.” [Purvi, the bride]

Vendors

Photography | Studio Fotografico Bacci
Venue: Abbey San Galgano
Villa: Chianti La Collina
Wedding Planner: Italian Style Weddings
Videographer: Wedding Lumiere
Florist: Le Petit Jardin
Violinst: Firenze Classica
Wedding dress designer: Enzoani
Wedding dress shop: Surrey Brides
Wedding bands: Heather Clifton, Windmill Jewellry
Earrings: Zara
Groom’s and groomsmen suits: Hockerty
Menus: CrumandCo
Love letter booklets: Olive paperie Co