Alexa and John’s Borgo Santo Pietro Wedding in Tuscany
A Borgo Santo Pietro Wedding in the Heart of Tuscany
Alexa and John’s Borgo Santo Pietro wedding unfolded over two intimate days in the rolling hills of Tuscany, Italy. Far from the usual spectacle of destination weddings, their celebration at this luxury Tuscan estate was deeply personal. Borgo Santo Pietro, one of the most sought-after luxury wedding venues in Tuscany, offered a sense of sanctuary rather than stagecraft.
The wedding weekend began at sunrise, when we drove to the nearby village of Pienza for their pre-wedding photoshoot. We stopped wherever curiosity led us, from cypress-lined roads to vineyards and hilltop views.
The wedding day began quietly, with an intimate photoshoot. Soon after came a simple ceremony, unhurried, sincere, quiet. Every element, from the florals to the table settings, was thoughtfully curated by Ilaria Menichetti, who captured the essence of why couples choose Borgo Santo Pietro for an intimate wedding: beauty, nature, and a sense of being entirely removed from the world.
As their destination wedding photographer, I witnessed something rare. This was more than a luxury wedding in Italy; it was a heartfelt elopement that revealed the heart of what it means to marry for yourselves, present only to one another.
I hope this gallery offers a glimpse into their story as I witnessed it, told in quiet honesty and grace.
Planning, Design & Production : Glám Events in Tuscany | Tuscany wedding Photographer : Andreas K. Georgiou | Venue, Catering & Flowers : Borgo Santo Pietro | Bride Makeup & Hair : Bezal Makeup | Stationery : La Precisina | Rentals : Preludio Divisione Noleggio | Celebrant : Tuscan Pledges
preamble
There is a strange intimacy in being the sole witness to a couple's wedding. This was the first time I had photographed a couple eloping without audience, without the choreographed performances that weddings typically demand.
For two whole days, I existed in their orbit, neither family nor friend, but something closer to a collector of memory. I was anthropologist and biographer both, studying the private rituals of two people who had stripped marriage down to its most essential gesture.
The elopement revealed what traditional weddings often obscure. Without guests to perform for, the couple moved through their days with an unselfconscious grace. They were not bride and groom (in the theatrical sense) but simply themselves, making vows in the presence of landscape and light.
My camera became the only evidence that this transformation occurred, the only proof that in these two days, something sacred and entirely ordinary happened simultaneously.
Alexa and John's wedding altered something fundamental in how I understand my work. It gave me access to a truth that traditional weddings bury beneath ceremony: that marriage begins not in the grand gesture but in the quiet, sustained attention two people grant each other when no one else is watching.
The day began with an intimate photography session.
Intimate photography possesses a peculiar transformative power. The camera does not capture a woman as she appears in the fragmented mirrors of daily existence (the rearview mirror, the phone screen held at arm's length) but as someone worthy of sustained attention.
In this act of being photographed, the lens transforms the familiar anxiety of being looked at into something closer to being seen. The experience dismantles the critical internal voice that has catalogued every perceived flaw, replacing it with evidence of beauty, strength, and sensuality.
What emerges is far beyond confidence. It is a deeper recognition of her right to claim her own image, to take up space and, to be seen.
Intimate photoshoot
beauty is a curved inhale
and
the courage to be seen
without armour
"L I M I N A L"
an between
(not here / not there)
a hush of almost
where she
remembers :
In the Borgo's expansive gardens, every pathway, vista, and hidden corner conspires to make each moment strikingly photogenic.
A rainy morning (just a brief whim of Tuscan weather) that soon gave way to the sun. The wedding day unfolded slowly. Nothing to hurry toward, nothing to distract.
"Is this even a 'real' wedding?"
"As long as it is what you want in your heart, there is no truer wedding than this."
Alexa and John walked hand-in-hand down the Pilgrim's Path, an avenue stretching across the heart of Borgo Santo Pietro, past the Rose Garden. Not far away, the Lemon Garden offered them quiet privacy and a brief retreat from the sun. The resident artist's hut by the lake transported them into an impressionist painting: lilies drifting, willows and all.
Weeks after the wedding, I read Ferenc Máté's book about Tuscany. I underlined this phrase:
"So much space. Such silence. So much time."
In the margin, I noted:
"A&J: Their wedding in one line."
So much space, such silence, so much time.
— Ferenc Máté, in "The Hills of Tuscany"
at the villa’s historic courtyard
The Ceremony
at the Saporium
The couple enjoyed a bespoke menu by Chef Ariel Hagen in the intimate setting of Saporium’s terrace.
The day ended as it had unfolded: perfectly.
Michelin-starred dining
The day began at first light, as we set out for Pienza. We wandered with curiosity, pausing wherever the landscape invited, along cypress-lined roads, through ripe vineyards, and across breathtaking hilltops.
Pre-Wedding in Pienza
travel the globe photographing life’s important events, weddings, and editorial shoots.
PHOTOGRAPHER, WRITER, GENTLEMAN
Welcome , I 'm Andreas
I
The AKG studio was created out of my fascination for blending modern techniques with the art d'excellence from a bygone era, creating a photography of timeless aesthetic and heritage.
My photography is intimate and infused with a sense of purpose, stemming from a deep desire to advocate for diversity, empathy and empowerment.
