My now husband and I are based in Dallas, TX, and when we initially decided to get married in Italy, the planning seemed very daunting. We could have saved ourselves a lot of time and anxiety if we'd only found and hired Samuele at Il Cereimoniere as our first step in wedding planning! From the initial planning phase through the end of the wedding night, Samuele was absolutely fantastic and made the wedding of our dreams a reality.
Firstly, when we first started working with Samuele, he did an initial venue scouting project for a small fee that, if you eventually hired him, would reduce the overall rate. This was EXTREMELY helpful and a unique service that other wedding planners we spoke to did not offer. Samuele has over a decade of experience, so when we gave him our initial specs (headcount estimate/ budget/ general desired location), he was able to leverage his extensive knowledge of the industry and region to direct us to those venues that would be realistic rather than having to parse through all of that information on our own.
We selected Florence (St. James Episcopal Church) for our ceremony and Impruneta (Villa Corsini a Mezzomonte) for our reception venue. We flew to Florence exactly one year in advance of the wedding to test vendors and visit the venue. Samuele planned our itinerary for that week and attended all of our tests with us, helping us to make the ultimate selections.
From there, we worked with Samuele remotely to plan the remaining details. I can't overstate how Samuele's extensive experience, knowledge, and industry relationships made this portion a breeze for us. Samuele worked tirelessly with vendors on the back end to solve any complications that arose, communicating to us when they were ultimately solved. This was made clear on the wedding day itself which went by without a single hitch, in spite of inherent logistical challenges in the day. The logistics were simple, timing was perfect, and Samuele made sure the guests were comfortable, well fed, and appropriately imbibed the entire night. Our guests noticed and many commented that it was the most seamless wedding they'd ever attended.
Lastly, Il Ceremoniere provides exceptional value for its rate. Based on our research and some additional interviews conducted, their fee was highly competitive and in fact on the lower end of wedding planning services in Tuscany, but the lower fee did not mean sacrificing quality or elegance. Samuele works with only the highest quality vendors and service providers and he could not have been more attentive or responsive. He communicates principally via email but is available for video chats or via WhatsApp. He prepares for calls and always brings visual aids so that you're using time efficiently, and what I was most impressed by was his record-keeping ability and his excellent memory for detail which was extremely helpful given the passage of time between our initial visit to Florence and the wedding itself.
Overall, Samuele at Il Cerimoniere was excellent and if you select him to plan your day, you will be so grateful you did so!

I cannot thank Samuele enough for everything he did to make our dream wedding a reality. From the very beginning, he demonstrated an exceptional level of professionalism, dedication, and genuine care that made the entire planning process enjoyable and stress-free.

Samuele is truly one of the best wedding planners ever. He has an incredible ability to make you feel confident that every detail is under control. Knowing he always had our best interests at heart allowed us to relax and fully enjoy the experience. He helped us establish a realistic budget, kept costs within our desired range, and connected us with one of the most beautiful venues in the region.

What sets Samuele apart is his passion for creating unforgettable experiences. Every recommendation he made exceeded our expectations. The photographer he selected was absolutely top-notch, capturing memories we will cherish for a lifetime. The dinner setup for our guests was breathtaking, the floral arrangements were stunning, and the musicians created the perfect atmosphere for our special day.

Beyond his expertise, Samuele is compassionate, hardworking, and deeply committed to his clients. He treats every wedding as if it were his own and goes above and beyond to ensure every detail is perfect. The lifelong memories he helped create for us are something we will never forget.

If you are considering a destination wedding in Italy or anywhere in Europe, I wholeheartedly recommend Samuele. He is truly the number one person to trust with your wedding planning. You will not be disappointed.

Thank you, Samuele, for helping create the wedding of our dreams and memories that will last a lifetime.

We worked with Samuele for almost 2 years planning our wedding in Tuscany, and truly can’t say enough positive things about our experience. Samuele and his team are so knowledgeable, thoughtful and organized that the whole process felt so manageable and enjoyable.

On our wedding day, we were confident that everything was in the best hands with Samuele coordinating with our vendors and managing the logistics. And everything was executed beautifully - the design, colors, setups and overall vision were exactly what we envisioned. We could not have been happier - my dream Pinterest board was brought to life!!

Thank you Samuele for everything you did to make our day so perfect! We are forever grateful 🩷

We had a 40-person destination wedding in Umbria, Italy, and working with Eleonora as our planner was the absolute best decision we made. From start to finish, she was nothing short of amazing!

Planning a destination wedding from the United States felt incredibly daunting, but Eleonora made the entire process completely painless. She was always prompt, well-organized, and thorough in her responses, regardless of her schedule or the time difference. She never hesitated to answer our questions or advocate on our behalf with vendors.

While she has a fantastic roster of curated vendors across various styles and budgets, she was also incredibly supportive when we brought in our own photographer. Whenever language barriers or misunderstandings arose, Eleonora stepped in seamlessly to ensure our vision was executed perfectly.

Her planning website and timeline kept us on track, but she was always flexible and accommodating whenever our personal schedules got busy. During our trip to tour the venue, meet the caterer, and do tastings, her professional guidance was invaluable, she gave honest advice while always respecting our final choices.

On the wedding day itself, Eleonora was a quiet powerhouse behind the scenes. She made sure everything ran flawlessly on schedule, stayed from start to finish, and didn't leave until the last vendor departed. We always felt like we were in the best hands, and we cannot recommend her and her services enough!

I had my wedding at La Dogana in April of this year, and Eleonora was the best wedding planner I could have ever asked for.

I am a very type-B person and tend to go with the flow, but from the very beginning, Eleonora took the reins and made planning a destination wedding feel effortless. She coordinated with vendors, kept me informed every step of the way, and handled every detail with such professionalism and care.

I would send her inspiration photos, and she somehow brought every single one to life. When I saw everything on our wedding day, it looked exactly as I had imagined, if not even better. Any hiccups that came up were handled so seamlessly that I never had to worry about a thing. She made the entire process feel calm, organized, and enjoyable.

Thank you, Eleonora, for giving us the wedding of our dreams. I truly cannot put into words how grateful I am for everything you did. If you’re looking for someone who is incredibly talented, thoughtful, and genuinely invested in making your vision come to life, you will be in the best hands with Eleonora.

Eleonora was the most wonderful and responsive wedding planner. Eleonora supported every single detail of my wedding so I did not have to think about anything the weekend of the event. Much more than coordinating and communicating with vendors (which was incredible), she helped us ensure we were on track for everything from day one. I valued her opinion as the expert on my venue and with vendors and she gave recommendations that were incredibly helpful for the flow of the wedding. She was also incredible communicative with my husband and I. She always responded to email within a timely manner, usually within the same business day. I highly recommend hiring Eleonora and her team for your wedding!

My husband and I were beyond pleased with our entire wedding experience. We had 40 guests travel from the US to Italy for our dream wedding. Having a wedding in another country would seem to be a challenge but with Eleonora, she made it easy! She took the time to understand our vision and our tight budget. She always had our best interest in mind and gave us the PERFECT recommendation's. Each of our guests still talk about how wonderful our wedding was. It's a good sign when not only the bride and groom have a memorable experience. I can confidently say that our wedding was our perfect day because of Eleonora and venue owner, Lucia!

Samuele and his team were amazing. We got married at Castello di Meleto and had three full days of events, and he handled every single part of it like an absolute pro. Welcome evening, pizza party, wedding day, all of it, they kept everything organized, on time, and somehow completely stress-free for us. Any question we had, they were on it immediately. On the actual wedding day, they were everywhere without ever being in the way, making sure every detail looked exactly how we imagined it. Our families kept telling us how smooth everything felt, and that was all because of Samuele and his team. If you’re planning anything in Tuscany, this is who you want. We couldn’t be happier with how everything turned out!

Samuele was incredible helpful in both the lead-up planning, and the on-the-day coordination of our wedding in Tuscany. A pleasure to work with!

Eleonora and Samuele were incredible and we would recommend them to anyone. We wanted our dream Italian wedding without having a limitless budget, and they took our wishes into all decisions and gave us the perfect weekend.

From our first conversation with them to visits to venues, and then to wedding weekend, they were always so friendly, proactive, communicative and professional. Their expertise is clear and we trusted them implicitly. They organised every single detail we could have, and were entirely happy to match our energy. We were quite relaxed in the process and they kept this feeling, so there was never any stress - they kept us feeling so excited, relaxed and happy throughout.

They were very communicative, listened to what we wanted, worked to find solutions for any questions we had and were simply amazing. The planning and pre-wedding support was excellent and the on the day planning was even more amazing - Eleonora was in control of everything and we didn’t have to think about anything other than enjoying our day.

The venues and suppliers they work with are also amazing, and their relationship with our venue was fantastic. It felt like they understood us as a couple and worked to give us our perfect Italian wedding weekend.

It was a dream come true and they are to thank. We could not recommend them more highly! Professional, creative, organised, fantastic and lovely people too. Grazie Mille, Eleonora and Samuele!