Just Engaged? Two Hidden Gem Villas for an Intimate Italian Wedding in Tuscany
Experience an unforgettable atmosphere where ancient story meets present-day comfort
Part two: Family Wedding at Villa Mami and Villa da Eva
The places where I have celebrated love—and the kind of couple I believe each one suits.
You have recently become engaged and decided that Italy might be the place.
This is wonderful news, although it does present a practical difficulty: Italy contains an unreasonable number of beautiful houses.
Some are famous wedding venues with dedicated event teams, extensive brochures and social-media accounts followed by half the bridal population of North America. Others are private villas, quietly waiting among olive trees, without appearing on every list entitled The Ten Most Breathtaking Wedding Venues in Tuscany.
The internet has now described so many places as breathtaking that one begins to worry about its respiratory health.
For the second part of my personal guide, I have chosen two hidden gems: Villa Mami, in the countryside just outside Siena, and Villa da Eva, near Monterchi on the border between Tuscany and Umbria.
I have worked in both places, and I believe they offer something couples often overlook when planning an Italian destination wedding: the possibility of gathering the people they love inside a beautiful private home.
Not a hotel. Not a wedding factory. Not an empty venue to be filled with hired furniture and anxiety.
A home.
Why choose a private villa for your micro wedding?
A private villa changes the rhythm of a wedding.
Your closest relatives and friends do not arrive shortly before the ceremony and disappear after dinner. They wake up in the same house, meet beside the swimming pool and wander into the kitchen in search of coffee.
Somebody practises a reading in the garden. Somebody else asks where the rings are. A parent becomes emotional several hours earlier than expected. These are not interruptions to the wedding experience.
They are the wedding experience.
For an elopement, micro wedding, anniversary or vow renewal, a villa allows the celebration to grow naturally out of the time you are already spending together.
The ceremony becomes the emotional centre of the stay, rather than an isolated appointment in the middle of it.
Villa Mami: Siena on the horizon
From the windows and the panoramic garden, the view sweeps across the estate's olive groves to the skyline of Siena's historic centre: the Torre del Mangia, the bell tower of the Duomo.
Villa Mami lies among olive groves only a few kilometres from Siena.
The original farmhouse dates from the end of the eighteenth century and once belonged to the estate of Castello di Belcaro. It was completely restored in 2024, preserving its stone walls, fireplaces and historic proportions while introducing the comforts of a contemporary home.
Its most remarkable feature is the view.
From the garden, the Tuscan landscape stretches towards the profile of Siena. The Torre del Mangia and the bell tower of the cathedral appear on the horizon—not so close that the countryside loses its tranquillity, but near enough to remind you exactly where you are.
It is a view that does not require a floral arch to explain itself.
The house is surrounded by a working agricultural estate producing Tuscan extra-virgin olive oil. There is also an infinity pool, a professional kitchen and generous communal spaces where a small group can eat and spend time together.
Villa Mami feels carefully designed, but it does not feel like a stage set. Its interiors have character and warmth—the sort of rooms in which people can remain elegant while still feeling permitted to sit down.
Who would suit a celebration at Villa Mami?
I would recommend Villa Mami to a couple who wants privacy without feeling completely remote.
It is particularly appealing for American or Australian couples who want to stay in the Tuscan countryside while remaining close to a city. Siena can become part of the wedding experience: an afternoon walk, dinner in the historic centre or a visit before the rest of your guests arrive.
The villa would suit:
an intimate symbolic wedding;
an elopement followed by a private dinner;
a micro wedding with immediate family and closest friends;
a significant anniversary;
a renewal of vows after ten, twenty or thirty years together;
a relaxed celebration extending over several days.
You might hold the ceremony in the garden, with the olive trees and Siena behind you, then move inside or dine outdoors with a private chef.
The scale encourages you to concentrate on what matters: excellent food, thoughtful details and a ceremony in which every person present has a genuine place.
A micro wedding is not about inviting fewer people so that everything becomes less expensive or less important. It is about removing the audience and keeping the witnesses.
A ceremony for more than newlyweds
Villa Mami would also be a beautiful setting for a vow renewal or anniversary ceremony.
Not every important love story begins with a new engagement. Sometimes the most meaningful ceremony takes place after a couple has already shared a home, raised children, changed countries, survived difficulties and discovered precisely which habits in the other person will never improve.
Renewing your vows in Italy does not require you to recreate your original wedding.
You can do something more honest.
Your ceremony can acknowledge everything that has happened since the first promises were made. Children and grandchildren can contribute readings or memories. Close friends can speak about the relationship they have witnessed. New vows can reflect not the idealism of the beginning, but the knowledge acquired along the way.
There is something powerful about saying “I choose you” when you already understand exactly what the choice contains.
Villa da Eva: where Tuscany meets Umbria
Villa da Eva is different.
It is a four-storey stone residence dating from 1790, positioned near Monte Santa Maria Tiberina and only a short drive from Monterchi. Administratively, it is in Umbria—not Tuscany—but it sits so close to the border that the landscapes, food and daily journeys move easily between the two regions.
Accuracy matters, especially in an article about finding a wedding venue. Italy is already complicated enough without casually moving its houses from one region to another.
I think of Villa da Eva as a place belonging to the borderlands: quieter, less predictable and removed from the most familiar Tuscan wedding routes.
It overlooks a peaceful valley and offers six bedrooms, a swimming pool, stone interiors and outdoor spaces suited to a small gathering. Nearby are hill towns including Monterchi and Citerna, while Arezzo and Lake Trasimeno can become part of a longer stay.
This is not the Tuscany—or near-Tuscany—of queues and grand entrances.
It is a place for couples who enjoy discovering somewhere their guests may never have heard of.
Who would choose Villa da Eva?
Villa da Eva would suit a couple who values atmosphere, privacy and time together more than the prestige of a famous venue name.
I can imagine it for:
an elopement with only two witnesses;
a micro wedding with family and friends;
an anniversary holiday with a surprise ceremony;
a vow renewal involving children or grandchildren;
a small international gathering between Tuscany and Umbria.
The ceremony might take place in the garden or overlooking the valley. Afterwards, there could be an aperitivo, a long dinner prepared at the villa and an evening in which nobody needs to leave.
That final detail is more valuable than it sounds.
At many destination weddings, the last part of the evening involves organising vehicles, counting guests and locating the uncle who has become emotionally attached to the wine cellar. When everyone is staying together, the celebration can end naturally.
Or not end at all, depending on the family.
Do you need a wedding planner?
A private villa micro wedding may not require full wedding planning, particularly if the group is very small and the villa has responsive owners or managers.
It does, however, require research.
Before booking, ask the property to confirm in writing:
whether ceremonies and private events are permitted;
the maximum number of resident and external guests;
whether suppliers may use the kitchen;
rules concerning music and quiet hours;
the available tables, chairs and tableware;
parking and transport access;
the wet-weather alternative;
additional event, cleaning or security charges.
You will probably need a private chef or caterer, photographer, florist, hair and make-up professional, and an English-speaking wedding celebrant or wedding officiant.
For a symbolic wedding, elopement or vow renewal, the ceremony can be created around your story without the restrictions of a standard civil script. If you want a legally recognised marriage in Italy, the paperwork must be checked separately according to your nationality and the requirements of the relevant Italian Comune.
This distinction is especially important for American and Australian couples. A private villa may allow a symbolic ceremony, but that does not automatically mean it is authorised for a legal civil wedding.
Celebrant or officiant: what should you search for?
American couples usually search for a wedding officiant in Italy, while Australian and British couples are more likely to use the expression wedding celebrant.
In practice, international couples are often searching for the same person: someone who will listen to their story, write the ceremony and lead it with warmth and confidence.
My role extends beyond reading a script.
I speak with you before the wedding, learn about your relationship and understand the family and cultural traditions travelling to Italy with you. I coordinate the structure of the ceremony, help with vows and readings, and arrive early enough to ensure that the space supports the moment we have created together.
For an intimate celebration, this relationship matters enormously. With only a few guests present, nothing is anonymous. Every word, pause and reaction can be felt.
Villa Mami or Villa da Eva?
The two villas offer different versions of intimacy.
Choose Villa Mami if you want refined interiors, olive groves, a swimming pool and the skyline of Siena within view. It combines countryside privacy with access to one of Italy’s most beautiful cities.
Choose Villa da Eva if you want a more secluded experience on the Tuscan-Umbrian border: a historic stone house, a quiet valley and the feeling of having discovered somewhere rather than merely booked it.
Neither is intended for a wedding built around an enormous guest list.
That is precisely their appeal.
These are places for the people who would still be invited if convention, distant relatives and diplomatic seating plans were removed from the process.
The luxury of having time
People often associate luxury weddings with scale: more flowers, more courses, more rooms and increasingly complicated ways of transporting guests from one beautiful place to another.
But the greatest luxury of a micro wedding is time.
Time to speak to everyone. Time to sit at the same table. Time to notice the view. Time to listen properly when vows are exchanged.
A private villa makes this possible because the celebration does not need to be compressed into a few scheduled hours. The ceremony belongs to a longer experience of living together.
You can marry there. Return for an anniversary. Renew your vows. Bring your children or the friends who have accompanied you through several versions of yourselves.
The house holds the gathering.
The ceremony gives it meaning.
If you are newly engaged—or if your love story deserves to be celebrated again—I would love to create a personal ceremony for your elopement, micro wedding, anniversary or vow renewal in Italy.
Paola
English-speaking wedding celebrant and wedding officiant in Italy
Married by Paola — The Celebrant with an Italian Heart
Wedding in Italy
