IWD Travel Weddings Abroad

IWD 182

Johnny and I met in Croatia at his brothers wedding. I had

been a long time friend of his brother but had never had the

pleasure of meeting Johnny before then. When we met on the

flight over we immediately hit it off. Four days and three

dates later it was like we had always known each other.

After the bride and groom, we were the talk of the wedding,

everyone thought we were the perfect match and were

asking us when we would be tying the knot and these

comments escalated when I caught the bouquet! We were

a perfect example of love at first sight.

Sarah Young www.weddingplannermalta.com&Zara Johnny Organised by Sarah Young

IWD Travel Weddings Abroad

IWD 183

Sixteen months later on a lovely weekend break in

Budapest, Johnny gave me the biggest surprise

ever. During a romantic meal he placed a beautiful

ring in front of me and asked me if I’d marry him.

I had to ask him 10 times if he was serious, afraid

this was some kind of joke. But of course it wasn’t

and I joyfully accepted.

I always wanted my wedding to be abroad. There

was no way I was going to let it rain on my big

day! And there was no better place than Malta. I

wanted everything to be outdoors and Malta had

some beautiful venues to choose from. We did

look in other countries like France and Italy but

most of the outdoor venues we found had

restrictions on playing music past a certain hour.

The first thing we arranged when we decided on

Malta was to find a wedding planner to help us.

This is when we meet Sarah Young. She came

highly recommended as very professional and a

perfectionist for detail. For me this was very

important as I wanted everything to be to the

highest standard. Sarah showed us around some

stunning venues and we were delighted when we

found the Castello.

The journey from choosing the venue to the big

day ran very smoothly. I only made two trips to

Malta before the big day, each time I met with

Sarah or her assistant Lisa. They would have

every detail of our stay planned out for us, from

meetings with contractors to organise wedding

stuff, to recommending and booking us the best

seats in top restaurants, helping us to holiday a

little too. Any planning I did from back in Ireland

caused little stress as Sarah would always reply to

e-mails straight away.

I also had the help of my wonderful Mom Ruth

and my three beautiful bridesmaids, Naomi,

Rachel and Katerina. Couturier Kathy de Stafford

designed my dress and she kindly let me add

some of my own ideas to her wonderful design.

The Wedding week was even more fantastic then

we ever could have imagined. When we arrived in

Malta on the Thursday before our wedding the

following Sunday I didn’t feel the slightest bit

stressed as I knew that everything was planned

to perfection by Sarah. I could enjoy every minute

of the lead up to our special day. We had a boat

trip on the Friday which was just spectacular and

such a great way for our guests to mingle and get

to know each other. We also had a BBQ at a lovely

villa in St. Julian’s overlooking the direst sea-view

the day after the wedding which was wonderfully

relaxing with fantastic food cooked live by their

chef.

The wedding day... the girls did a fantastic job on

my hair and make-up, my make-up was still fresh

at the end of the night. When the flowers arrived

in the room I was just delighted with how the

florist had managed to get them so perfect after

weeks of conversations back and forth with me,

my mom and Sarah. We were so fussy about what

we wanted but they were just divine!

The Sanctuary of Mellieha was very special with

its’ beautiful court yard with wonderful views of

the bay. I think the history behind the church

added to its’ wonder. Fr Tony’s sermon was

excellent and my grandmother is still quoting him,

he was very patient with us when we were

doing the rehearsal and

guided us through

the ceremony

smoothly.

On arrival at the Castello

we were in awe by such a

magical and romantic

setting, every detail was

planned to perfection. The

flowers, table settings, music,

staff, food, fireworks, cocktails,

chillout area, lighting... the list

is endless, all without doubt,

creating the most magnificent

wedding any couple could hope

for! It was just the best day ever,

for me, Johnny and our family and friends!

But without the help of Sarah and Lisa it wouldn’t

have been the success it was. They both guided

us through every minute of our day, making sure

we didn’t want for anything. All we had to do was

enjoy every minute... which we certainly did.