Almost ten years on, this is still one of the most enchanting weddings I’ve ever filmed and the woods did most of the work.

Convento dell’Annunciata, near Medole in the province of Mantova, is a 15th-century convent tucked inside seven hectares of forest not far from Lake Garda. The couple chose to hold their ceremony right there in the woods, under centuries-old trees, rather than inside the convent’s frescoed halls and it’s easy to see why. There’s a stillness to that setting that no built venue can really compete with; it turns a wedding into something closer to a fairytale than an event.

The bride, Teresa Timpano, is a theatre actress and director the kind of person who knows exactly how to hold a moment, which made filming the ceremony a genuine pleasure. By the time of the wedding, she and her husband already had a daughter together, so this wasn’t so much the start of their story as a celebration of the family they’d already built.

Weddings like this one are proof that the right location can do half the storytelling on its own. If you’re drawn to the idea of getting married surrounded by nature rather than four walls, Convento dell’Annunciata is very much worth a look.

Vendor Credits

• Venue — Convento dell’Annunciata, Medole (Mantova)
• Videography — Alex Sofo Wedding Films