The Val d'Orcia has been painted, photographed, and written about for centuries — and yet, standing in the middle of it at dusk, you understand immediately why artists keep returning. The light does something extraordinary here in June. It turns the fields from gold to amber to rust as the sun drops, and the cypress trees cast long perfect shadows across the gravel roads.

Mara and Luca chose this valley for their elopement because Mara had visited once, aged nineteen, on a solo trip and promised herself she would return for something important. This was that something. We found a quiet hillside above Pienza, spread a linen blanket, and let the evening do the rest.