Clara & James

A villa among the cypress trees

Clara and James chose a sixteenth-century stone villa outside Montepulciano, surrounded by vineyards and the soft green hills of the Val d’Orcia. They wanted a wedding that felt like a summer lunch with everyone they love, only longer.

Long tables and late light

The ceremony took place in the olive grove at five, with Clara’s father playing guitar as she walked down the aisle. Afterwards, guests wandered to long tables set beneath the trees, where dinner unfolded course by course as the sun sank behind the hills. At one point the whole table stopped talking just to watch the sky.

Later there were candles, speeches that ran wonderfully long, and a dance floor on the terrace under strings of warm lights.

What they kept

Their favourite photograph isn’t a portrait. It’s James’s mother laughing at the table with her hand on Clara’s arm. That is the kind of moment we are always looking for.