A three-day celebration on Lake Maggiore, built around the people they love most and the kind of joy that makes a long journey feel worthwhile. Laura and Paul’s wedding weekend was warm, personal, and considered from start to finish, planned by Agnese at Fabrique Lago Maggiore Wedding Experience. A lakeside ceremony at Villa Rusconi Clerici, a boat ride across the water just for the two of them, a glass pavilion dinner with craft beer, a four-piece band, and a DJ who made the dance floor feel like home. Every part of the weekend was designed to make sure their guests felt every bit as celebrated as the couple themselves.
Location: Verbania, Italy
Style: Chic, Elegant, Easy-going
Time of planning: 18 months
Number of guests: 86
Setting: Villa Rusconi Clerici
Season: Summer
Laura and Paul first crossed paths in 2012 at the University of Limerick. Romance didn’t follow immediately, but a deep friendship did, one that would hold for more than a decade. Life carried them in different directions, Laura to Dubai, Paul remaining in Ireland, yet they always found their way back to each other whenever life brought them to the same place. It was during the stillness of 2020 that everything shifted, their friendship quietly evolving into something more.
Paul proposed in Miami in 2022, aboard a yacht cruising around South Beach, the skyline shimmering behind them and the Atlantic sparkling in every direction. Sunburnt and windswept, mid-laughter, he chose the most unguarded moment to get down on one knee. A home purchased and renovated, a daughter, Sophia, welcomed in 2023, and wedding planning lovingly set aside until the time was right.
Inspiration & Planning
Laura had always dreamed of a wedding abroad. After what she and Paul called “research trips” to Croatia, Spain, and Portugal, they ultimately fell in love with Italy, and with the breathtaking lakeside beauty of Stresa and Verbania in particular. The vision was simple: gather their closest friends and family for three days that blended Irish warmth with Italian elegance, in surroundings that would do most of the talking.
Their planner, Agnese at Fabrique Lago Maggiore Wedding Experience, shaped the entire experience around that vision. Three days, three venues, each chosen for the same qualities: stunning lake views, an elegant setting, and an atmosphere that felt genuinely festive from start to finish. A welcome cocktail evening to open, the wedding and reception with a late-night party at the center, and a farewell barbecue to close.
The palette was white, gold, and anthracite, with white hydrangeas, Akito roses, rosettes, and baby’s breath running through the natural greenery of each venue. The design was always meant to complement the surroundings, letting the lake and the venues do what they do best. Everything else, transfers by lake and road, a guest website, welcome summaries, and menu rehearsals in Italy, was taken care of so that the people who had traveled far could simply be present for all of it.
Bride's Fashion
Laura’s approach to her wedding looks came together in a very particular order. She had fallen in love with her second dress, from Chosen by Kyha, back in March 2024. It was only after choosing Villa Rusconi as the venue that she realized the setting called for something more. “I wanted something a little more ‘extra’ for the ceremony,” she says, “with a pared-down option for dinner and dancing.” Dress one, from Wed2be, became the ceremony look, dramatic and fitting for the grandeur of the villa, while the Chosen by Kyha dress took over for the evening ahead.
The rest of the look came together with the same ease: shoes from ASOS, Mood London’s Blonde Maracujá perfume, and a mix of accessories that felt personal without being overthought. Alina Wedding worked on hair and makeup, while Fior Di Suna designed the bridal and bridesmaids bouquets.
The morning ended with a first look with her father before she walked down the aisle, a quiet moment that neither of them will forget.
Groom's Fashion
Paul wore a suit and shoes from Fitzgeralds Menswear in Waterford, a choice that kept things close to home. The boutonnieres for both Paul and his groomsmen were designed by Fior Di Suna, tying the groom’s look into the floral story of the day.
Ceremony
The wedding day took place entirely at Villa Rusconi Clerici, the ceremony held on one of the lakeside lawns with a small island sitting just meters from the shore. The symbolic ceremony was warm and deeply personal, with vows exchanged and speeches from friends that made the whole thing feel warm, personal, and genuinely moving.
A hand-fasting ceremony wove their four parents into the heart of it, each one leaving their mark on the union in a moment that Laura and Paul describe as truly special. The kind of detail that makes a ceremony feel like it belongs to everyone in the room, not just the couple at the center of it.
The ceremony was sealed with a kiss, and from the first look of the morning to the last dance of the night, every moment of the day was captured by Nicola Genati Photography.
Cocktail Hour & Boat Ride
From the beginning, Laura and Paul had one vision for their three days: joy, fun, and the feeling that every person who had made the trip was genuinely looked after. Stress-free, warm, and worth every mile traveled. “And that was exactly what we created,” their planner Agnese says.
The ceremony gave way immediately to an aperitivo overlooking the lake, music, canapés, and the kind of easy, unhurried atmosphere the couple had always imagined.
Before dinner, the couple slipped away for a boat ride across Lake Maggiore. Thirty quiet minutes, just the two of them, the water, and the kind of view that stops you mid-conversation. “A much-needed calm in the madness of the day,” Laura says. It turned out to be one of the moments they remember most.
Reception & Celebration
Back on shore, guests were already seated as the couple returned, the glass pavilion set with a mix of table shapes, all tied together through the same design thread: glass, gold, tall candelabras, and low candles creating an atmosphere that felt elegant and genuinely romantic.
The evening would not have looked or felt the way it did without Agnese at Fabrique Lago Maggiore Wedding Experience. “Her warm, kind, and inquisitive nature made the entire planning process feel personal and stress-free,” Laura and Paul say. She took the time to understand their vision from across the water, planned three days of events to perfection, and went the extra mile to research vendors and manage costs without ever compromising on quality. “Nothing was ever overlooked,” they say. “Every detail was carefully considered.”
Dinner was warm and full of feeling, speeches weaving through the evening and keeping the room alive from start to finish. The couple ended it by assembling their own millefeuille with cream and fruit right in front of their guests, a classic Italian summer dessert turned into a moment of its own.
The party spilled into the garden as the night went on, closing with a final dance overlooking the lake, the sparkling fountains framing the moment. A local brewery brought craft beer to the villa, a four-piece band shifted the mood from relaxed to romantic to celebratory, and a dear Irish DJ friend took over each night, making the dance floor feel less like a wedding and more like a party back home.
Advice from the couple:
• If you’re dreaming of a destination wedding – do it! The hype, the build-up, and the excitement from all our guests about attending a wedding abroad really added to the whole experience!
PLANNING & DESIGN Fabrique Lago Maggiore | VENUE Villa Rusconi Clerici | PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEO Nicola Genati Photography | FLORALS Fior Di Suna | HAIR & MAKEUP Alina Wedding MUAH | CATERING Le Muse Banqueting | CRAFT BEER I Mastri del Lago | CEREMONY Cristina Wedding Celebrant | MUSIC & AUDIO Sartoria della Musica | PHOTOBOOTH Greta Armenise
