Tuscany wedding photographer
I'm Barrie Downie, a London wedding photographer, and Tuscany is the place British couples ask me about more than anywhere else in Italy. This page is roughly what I'd tell you on the phone — what the light actually does there, how to time the day around it, what it costs to bring me out, and the two or three things that catch people out.
The reason Tuscany looks the way it does in photographs is the haze.
The hills hold a soft, dusty light through the late afternoon that you don't get in northern Europe, and it lasts. A June evening there gives you an hour and a half of genuinely usable golden light. An overcast evening in Sussex gives you about twenty minutes.
What Tuscany is actually like to photograph in
The other half of that bargain is the middle of the day, which is brutal. Between roughly noon and four in July and August the sun sits almost overhead and the contrast is savage — black eye sockets, and a white dress that blows out before you've focused. Italian weddings are built around this. Ceremonies usually start at four or five, which is exactly when the light turns. If a planner suggests two o'clock, push back.
I have photographed weddings in Ravello and on the Amalfi coast on that schedule, and the pattern holds anywhere in Italy in summer. If you want the ceremony earlier for the guests' sake, put the portraits at seven rather than straight after.
How the day tends to run
Tuscan weddings are long, and they are built around the evening light rather than fighting it.
Morning
Preparations indoors with the shutters half closed. Villa rooms have thick walls and small windows, so you get low, soft, directional light. Some of the best frames of the whole day come out of this hour.
Early afternoon
The hardest light there is. Fine for architecture and detail shots, difficult for faces. Usually when everyone's eating anyway.
Late afternoon ceremony
Four or five o'clock, sun dropping, shadows starting to lengthen.
Twenty minutes after the ceremony
The portraits. This is the window the rest of the schedule should bend around, and it's short.
After dark
Candles, festoon lighting, dancing. Tuscan villas light well and I'd rather work with what's there than put a flash on a stand.
Venues worth knowing
These are the estates and villas that come up most often, and they photograph as differently as they look:
- Villa La Focea historic estate with the Val d'Orcia laid out below it. The view is the picture.
- Castello di Vincigliataa medieval castle above Florence. Stone, shadow, and a lot of drama after dark.
- Borgo Santo Pietroa restored hamlet in the countryside south of Siena, with gardens that do most of the work.
- Villa Coraa 19th-century villa in Florence itself. Ornate interiors, so it photographs formally.
- Belmond Villa San Michelea former monastery in Fiesole looking back over Florence. The loggia at dusk is the reason people book it.
If you're still deciding, tell me the shortlist and I'll tell you honestly which ones are easy to photograph and which ones fight you. I've no stake in where you book. If you want to see how a whole day looks first, the portfolio is the place to start.
Getting married in Italy as a British couple
Not my department, and I'd trust your planner over me on it — but worth knowing it exists before you book anything. A civil ceremony in Italy needs paperwork arranged in advance through the Italian consulate, and a Catholic ceremony needs your own parish involved months ahead. Plenty of couples handle the legal side quietly at home first and treat the Italian day as the wedding. Nobody looking at the photographs can tell, and it removes a lot of stress.
What it costs to bring a London photographer to Tuscany
Preparations through to the first dance.
- Extra hours at £200 each
- Every image edited, no watermarks
- Full gallery within a week
- Travel at cost, with no markup
- Three nights, so I arrive the day before
My destination collection is £3,995 for eight hours, from preparations through to the first dance, with extra hours at £200 each. On top of that you cover travel at cost, with no markup: flights to Pisa or Florence, and somewhere modest to stay for three nights. Three because I want to be there the day before rather than landing on the morning of, and a day at the other end is sensible if you'd like portraits somewhere else while we're all out there.
That third day is worth taking. An hour in Florence or out in the hills the morning after, with no schedule and no guests, often produces the photographs couples end up hanging on the wall. It works the same way as a pre-wedding shoot abroad, just after the wedding rather than before it.
UK weddings are priced differently: London and Sussex collections are on my wedding prices and collections page.
Questions I get asked
How far ahead should we book?
Twelve to eighteen months for a peak-season Saturday between May and September. Tuscany books early and the good villas go first. Outside that window I can often do far shorter notice.
How many hours do we need?
Most Tuscan weddings run long — preparations from mid-morning, ceremony at five, dinner that goes past midnight. Ten to twelve hours is normal, and it's usually one continuous day rather than the compressed London shape.
When's the best time of year?
Late May, early June, and all of September. July and August are hot enough to be genuinely uncomfortable in a suit, and the midday light is at its worst. September gives you warm evenings, softer light and fewer tourists in Florence.
Do you speak Italian?
Badly. It has never once been a problem — villa staff and Italian suppliers deal with international weddings constantly, and photography is largely a matter of standing in the right place at the right time.
How quickly do we get the photographs?
Your full edited gallery within one week of the wedding. Not six weeks, not three months.
Tuscany isn't the only part of Italy I work in. If you're weighing up the coast instead, I've written a longer guide to photographing weddings in Ravello on the Amalfi coast, and the destination wedding photography page covers everywhere else, including the South of France, Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte and Pena Palace in Sintra.
What couples say
Barrie was the photographer for our late November wedding at the Old Marylebone Town Hall and we are absolutely delighted with the photographs. He was able to capture all the crucial moments before, d…
We had Barrie come by and photograph our civil ceremony / wedding registration at Old Marylebone Town Hall. We wanted it shot in an elopement style as it was just one of the many pre- weddings events …
Barrie was fab! He knew Old Marylebone Town Hall really well (even the registrars knew him). He made us feel comfortable and took us to really cute places to get some special shots. Would highly recom…
Barrie was the photographer for our civil wedding ceremony at Old Marylebone Town Hall and he was great! Professional, friendly and creative throughout the day. The photos are amazing, stylish and ple…
Barrie is incredible! He is a total pro and the best in the business! We love our photos so much. We got married at trading boundaries and he was the perfect photographer. So special. Thank you Barrie
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Planning a Tuscan wedding?
Send me the date, the venue if you've chosen one, and roughly what shape the day takes. I read every enquiry myself and reply personally within a couple of hours. If I'm free, I'll tell you straight away — and if I'm not, I'll say so rather than string you along.
Rather use the longer form? Head to the contact page
Amazing experience! Barrie knew exactly what to do and was very patient with our family