A Castello di Celsa wedding happens in a place that has been a fortress, a Renaissance house and a family home, and still feels hidden. The castle stands in the woods of the Montagnola Senese, the hills west of Siena, about half an hour from the city, with views that reach Monte Amiata on clear days. We are wedding photographers and videographers in Tuscany, and we photographed and filmed Morgan & Ryan's August wedding weekend here, from the pizza party under the trees to the last dance in the courtyard. This guide is what we learned there, with the history and the practical questions couples ask us most.

From fortress to Renaissance house

Celsa began as a stronghold of the Republic of Siena. In the sixteenth century its owner, Mino Celsi, turned it into a residence, and the restoration of those years is attributed to the architect Baldassarre Peruzzi, who is credited with the round chapel at the end of the entrance avenue and with the terraced walls around the house. In May 1554, during the war between Siena and the empire, the castle was destroyed by the imperial troops of Charles V. It was rebuilt in the seventeenth century, when the Baroque gardens were begun.

In 1802 the property passed to the Chigi family, who gave the house its neo-Gothic look, and in the early twentieth century to the Aldobrandini princes, who restored the house and the garden. Of the medieval castle only the south corner tower survives. The rest is a house built around a triangular courtyard, closed on the valley side by a wall with three portals that open onto the terraces.

The chapel, the garden and the woods

The round chapel is the image most couples remember: a small, perfect building at the end of the avenue, the kind of place that makes a ceremony feel private even with your whole family there. Below the house, the Italian garden is entered through a gate between two columns. Its box parterres are laid out in a geometric pattern taken from the Aldobrandini coat of arms, and at the far end a semicircular pool with a low balustrade works as a balcony over the valley. After the Second World War the gardens were restored by Luisa Aldobrandini, a passionate gardener.

Beyond the garden, a cypress avenue leads to a large Baroque pool, the only finished part of a much grander garden that was never completed, with balustrades, stone vases and reliefs of sea creatures on its curved wall. Behind it starts a wood of centuries-old holm oaks crossed by long avenues. In the film, this is where the drone opens the story: the towers, the hedges and the green avenue running into the woods.

A wedding weekend at Castello di Celsa

Morgan & Ryan used the castle the way it works best: for a whole weekend. The first evening was a pizza party in the gardens, with pizza stations, a trio of musicians and long tables under the trees, designed by Che Chic Wedding with catering by Brindapino. You can see it in their pizza party in Tuscany. A relaxed first night is the best gift you can give guests who have just flown across the world, and it gives us time to know your families before the wedding day.

The ceremony on the terrace

The wedding began in the frescoed rooms of the castle, with Morgan getting ready beneath old paintings. The ceremony took place on the stone terrace above the garden, with the hills of Tuscany on the horizon, an aisle lined with white and blush flowers and a string trio. It was August, so the planners gave every guest a white parasol and set the ceremony late in the afternoon. For a summer Castello di Celsa wedding, that is our first piece of advice: the last two hours of sun are cooler, softer and far better for photographs.

Dinner and the party in the courtyard

Dinner was set beneath a canopy of flowers and crystal chandeliers. Then the party moved into the castle courtyard, where the old walls hold the sound and the light: a champagne tower, the cake cut between sparklers, a first dance on a black-and-white floor and a live band until late. The courtyard is the heart of an evening here, and it looks as good in photographs at midnight as it does at sunset.

Photography and film at Castello di Celsa

We plan the portraits for the garden and the cypress avenue in the late afternoon, when the light comes low through the trees, and we keep them short: Morgan & Ryan's took less than twenty minutes. Inside, the frescoed rooms ask for natural light from the windows and very little flash. For the film we record the vows, the speeches and the music with real sound, and we fly the drone over the gardens only where it is allowed and safe, never above the guests.

Watch Morgan & Ryan's wedding film at Castello di Celsa and see their wedding photography at Castello di Celsa. If you are looking for a wedding photographer and videographer in Tuscany, this is how we work: photography first, with a film made by the same team, so the two tell one story. For weddings in the city and the countryside around it, see also our page as a Siena wedding photographer.

Planning a Castello di Celsa wedding

• May, June and September are the easiest months. In July and August, plan the ceremony for the late afternoon and give your guests shade and water.
• Think in weekends. The pizza party, the wedding and a farewell lunch can all happen at the castle, and guests remember the place better than any single day.
• Guests can stay in Siena, in the villas and farmhouses of the Montagnola, or in the castle's own accommodation where available; plan shuttles, because the roads through the woods are narrow and dark at night.
• Agree the rain plan when you book. Ask which covered spaces, such as the loggia and the Granaio rooms, are included for the ceremony and the dinner.
• Ask the castle and your planner which ceremonies are possible on site. A symbolic ceremony on the terrace is the simplest option; a religious ceremony in the chapel needs the agreement of the local church.
• Book a planner who knows the venue. Morgan & Ryan's weekend was planned and designed by Che Chic Wedding, with flowers by Flower Living.

What a Castello di Celsa wedding costs

The castle prepares its own proposal, and the cost depends on the season and the day of the week, the number of guests, how many days you book and what you add, such as catering, flowers, lighting, music and accommodation. Ask early what is included and which suppliers are required. For the bigger picture, read our guide to what a destination wedding in Italy costs, and for photography and film, our investment guide.

Questions couples ask us

Where is Castello di Celsa?

In the Montagnola Senese, the wooded hills west of Siena, about thirty minutes by car from the city center and a little over an hour from Florence.

Who designed Castello di Celsa?

The sixteenth-century restoration is attributed to Baldassarre Peruzzi, the Sienese architect and painter, who is credited with the round chapel and the terraced walls. The gardens were reworked in the Baroque period and restored after the Second World War by the Aldobrandini family.

Can we have our ceremony at the castle?

Yes, symbolic ceremonies on the terrace or in the garden are common, and the castle offers its chapel and the Granaio rooms for ceremonies. For a legal or religious ceremony, check the options with the castle and your planner; our guide to getting married in Italy as a foreigner explains how it works.

Do you photograph and film weddings at Castello di Celsa?

Yes. We are wedding photographers and videographers based in Rome, and we photographed and filmed Morgan & Ryan's weekend here, from the pizza party to the wedding day, with a drone for the gardens.

Is Castello di Celsa good for a welcome dinner?

It is one of the best. The gardens and the trees make an easy, beautiful setting for a pizza party or a long dinner outdoors. See our welcome dinner ideas for an Italian wedding.

See more castle weddings in Italy and Tuscany wedding venues. Planning your Castello di Celsa wedding? Let's talk.