Who are you?
I’m Eleonora Ciolfi, owner of Wedding in Val d’Orcia. After graduating with a degree in Communication Sciences and after having worked in the field of communication, at press offices, as well as in food and wine event planning between Milan and Tuscany for 15 years, I decided to found my agency in 2014.
Being a wedding planner allows me to really use my innate skills and qualities: I love planning, I have a special passion for fine things, I’m obsessed with details (I admit to being a control freak!), I like meeting new people, I love food and wine, both because of my personal tastes and because I have worked in this sector for a long time and have even become a professional sommelier.

What’s your brand identity?
Wedding in Val d’Orcia is a specialized destination wedding agency on the Val d’Orcia area.  I decided to focus on a very precise niche because I know this territory very well as I was born and raised here, even though I spent some years away for work. I think that it is impossible for a wedding planner who comes in from Milan, London, or New York to offer the same services that I do, meaning not only planning the wedding but also creating connections with the territory, its people, and traditions. I enjoy having my clients discover hidden corners, bringing them to lesser-known restaurants, find artisans who create unique products. All aspects that only an insider can guarantee. Ours is a bespoke service: no event is the same as another; every single detail is made to measure.

What does the Val d’Orcia have that other places don’t?
Tuscany is among the favourite destinations of couples who come from all over the world to get married in Italy, and it offers a myriad of breathtaking locations. But no other place than the Val d’Orcia offers, in my opinion, such a concentration of beauty and savoir faire: iconic landscapes, Medieval and Renaissance villages, hills and olive groves, postcard churches. Not to mention the food and wine: just consider that Brunello di Montalcino is one of most famous the made-in-Italy brands worldwide.
Another plus is that hospitality is part of our heritage: in medieval times, the Via Francigena crossed through the Val d’Orcia. Pilgrims followed this route on their way to Rome and then to Jerusalem for centuries. We can say that we are happy to open our doors to those who come from far away…

What do you do exactly?
Wedding in Val d’Orcia takes care of all the planning for the event, starting from the choice of the concept and the location. We suggest the best suppliers, over time we have selected a solid network of professionals, and we help clients make choices: stationery, menus, flowers, decorations, and much more. We start from the big picture and get deeper and deeper into all the details. After all the planning, which can take up many months, I supervise and coordinate every single aspect on the wedding day. But the work of a wedding planner is not only creative: actually, 90% of it is planning and budgeting!
 
Who are your typical clients?
Generally speaking, they are professionals who are very busy with their work – lawyers, engineers, managers, architects – both Italian and foreign. They are couples who favour the luxury of simplicity: they want a chic wedding, with a lot of attention to details, but without ostentation or flashy splendour. It is not a question of budget, but a question of mentality: we are talking about people who have the utmost respect for the spirit of the place. The keywords are good taste, elegance, simplicity, class.  Basically couples that get married in the Val d’Orcia surely don’t want cascades of orchids and a lot of bling…