We take a look at how globetrotters Kendra and Brian Bolger organised their dream day in a magnificent historic country estate in Tuscany

‘WE GOT ENGAGED on a very hot, dusty New Year’s Eve in Tanzania whilst we were on safari,’ says vivacious
Kendra Pearce. ‘I couldn’t believe it when Brian proposed, but I knew something was up as he had been doing a lot of smiling all day!’ Kendra married Brian Bolger, her New Zealand beau, in June of this year in another stunning location: Tuscany.

‘We’d been to Italy a few times before,’ says Kendra, ‘and we knew that we wanted a romantic country feel to the wedding, and somewhere that was easy for guests to get to, as they were coming from all over the world – so it was a choice between Tuscany and Istanbul!’ she chuckles.

Having looked through a few wedding magazines, Kendra came across an advert for award-winning Love & Lord, and was impressed with their website. She made an appointment to see them, and knew almost immediately that they were the people to make her dream wedding come true. ‘We wanted to get married in June, which only gave us a few months to get organised, and I expected them to say ‘no way’. But in fact, what they immediately said was ‘absolutely’, which was a great relief.’ At the first meeting, Love & Lord showed Kendra and Brian a number of places in Italy to consider, and they managed to get it down to five venues, four of which were in and around Tuscany.

‘It was so difficult to choose but we narrowed it down to a final two. It was heartbreaking to have to decide, but in the end we opted for the stunning Il Borro.’ This magnificent country estate is situated in San Giustino Valdarno, about an hour south of Florence.

It’s a stunning resort with a large villa and 11th-Century medieval village where all of the wedding guests were able to stay, which was one of the reasons that it appealed to Kendra and Brian. The main villa, where the couple were staying, was constructed in 1848 by the Hohenlohe Waldenburg Schwellingfurst princes over the site of ruins, and in the early 20th Century, it was passed onto the royal Savoia family. In 1993 the Ferragamo family, the esteemed Italian footwear designers, took on Il Borro and restored it lovingly to its former splendour.

How one couple found the perfect wedding planners to turn their dreams for their big day into effortless reality

LOOKING FOR PERFECTION

When shopping for her beautiful wedding dress, Kendra had spent two weeks in January just after their engagement visiting many shops to find the perfect dress. ‘I dragged my bridesmaids along with me, and then in Selfridge’s I found a Vera Wang dress which was romantic and soft – it had an A-line skirt and lots of tulle and chiffon. I immediately loved it, and when I came out of the fitting room my bridesmaids burst into tears so I knew it had to be the right one,’ she says laughing.
Kendra confesses that she loved it so much that she hadn’t thought about how she would get the dress to Italy. ‘I hadn’t thought about it at all, and it was a huge dress with an enormous chapel length veil,’ she smiles. ‘It was only when I went into the final fitting at Vera Wang and they asked me how I was going to get it to Italy that I realised I had to organise something. But in the end I sent it by FedEx, and it was absolutely fine. Love & Lord organised for a local lady to steam the dress for me, and it was perfect.’

THE COUPLE GOT MARRIED IN A LITTLE CHURCH IN THE MEDIEVAL VILLAGE…

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT Kendra and her husband-to-be made a long weekend of the wedding, with the big event running over three days. On the Friday, the day before the wedding, the 120 guests arrived and attended a rehearsal dinner at a restaurant on site. ‘It was a lovely evening, with close friends and family, and we had delicious food and made a few toasts, and it was all very relaxed.’ Earlier in the day there had been a rugby match between the guests – the New Zealanders versus the Barbarians – so everyone was revved up for more excitement to come in the form of a spectacular Tuscan wedding. ‘Our fathers, Robin and Jim, refereed the match, and luckily it was a three-all draw,’ she laughs.
Thankfully, the next day the weather was glorious, and Kendra and her bridesmaids, Lara, SJ, Ana and Rosie, had a leisurely time getting ready as the wedding didn’t start until 5 p.m. ‘We had our hair and make-up done and it was really exciting as we had a glass of champagne, and it was actually very relaxed.’ One of the stars of the show was Kiera, Kendra’s four-year-old niece, who was an excellent flower girl. ‘She was fantastic – she’s confident, so she did absolutely brilliantly on the day.’
The couple got married in a little church in the medieval village of Il Borro, which was close enough for Kendra to walk along the winding path to the church. They had a beautiful Catholic ceremony, and Father O’Brien, Brian’s family priest and friend, came over to marry them. Then the couple and their guests moved back to Il Borro for a glorious reception. ‘We were worried that it might rain as it had done on the Thursday and Friday before the wedding, so we had this beautiful marquee put up by the villa, and it was just magical sitting under there.’
Everything from the flowers to the food had been organised through Love & Lord, who worked closely with suppliers to get every detail right. ‘I knew exactly what I wanted,’ said Kendra, ‘so when I had my flower briefing meeting with Love & Lord in London, they got exactly what I liked, and that’s what appeared on the day.’

THE HIGH LIGHT OF THE DAY

The reception was perfection too, with the guests being given fabulous canapés and cocktails whilst the newly-married couple had their photos taken. Then they all moved to the main villa, to the marquee where they would be eating. There were speeches before dinner from Kendra’s sister Lara, her friend Rosie and her father Robin, and then just before the cutting of the cake, Brian and his best man, Ewan, gave theirs. ‘The speeches were one of the best bits of the day,’ says Kendra. ‘Brian and I just spent the entire day laughing.’ To finish off the memorable weekend, the following day saw the bride and groom spend more time enjoying their beautiful surroundings, with a big barbeque around the pool where all their guests relaxed, sunbathed and carried on enjoying the Bolgers’ beautiful Tuscan wedding.

www.loveandlord.com

MORE ABOUT
IL BORRO…

The estate, Il Borro, comprises a magnificent villa which is perfect for weddings with between 40 to 240 guests.
In the medieval village and outlying farmhouses, which have also been designed with Ferragamo touches, up to 150 people can sleep.
The estate is perfect for a wedding weekend as it’s packed with activities: there are full equestrian facilities, archery, tennis courts, football pitch and golf range. There is even an airstrip if anybody wants to arrive in style.
The exclusive wedding partner for Il Borro is Love & Lord.