14 minute read
WEDDING STORIES
“We wanted the main focus to be on us exchanging vows”. –Valentina & Carlo
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» RECEPTION HIGHLIGHTS AND SPECIAL
MENTIONS
“Our first dance was really fun because we didn’t complicate things and wanted toenjoy it and, thanks to our dance instructor,Jes,we truly enjoyed every second of it”, the couple said. Extra fun was added by Rona Briffa creating a live painting on the spot.
Other entertainment included special performances by FabrizioFaniello, Aidan and Kurt Calleja.Instead of fireworks, they opted for the next best thing, il-Kapxi and everyoneenjoyed that special moment.
Valentina had several,certain people who she really wanted to be part of her special day. Natasha Polidano, who was part of her earlymodelling career,and Gabrielle Zammit Grungo who she has been working with for almost 10 years. For her hair she chose her current hair stylist Karl Brincau,who also handled her bridal team. Photos were taken care of Kris Micallef & Carlton Agius whilethe video was shot by Ders Wedding Films.
ALL EXPECTATIONS EXCEEDED
Photography | Shane P. Watts
THE COUPLE Jessica & Dale
25 June 2022
Jessica Laferla, 27, an events planner, and Dale Camille 29, a teacher/nutritionist and personal trainer, were married in the Lady of Victory church, Valletta.
THE WHEEL OF LOVE
Jessica and Dale always dreamt of having a big, lavish wedding.After being together for six years they took an impromptu trip to Barcelona, for a couple of days, in December 2019. There Dale proposed, on a Ferris wheel,on Mount Tibidabo. “I was instantly excited about the next step into our future together and planning our dream wedding”, Jessica remembers.
They went for a boho chic theme, with lots of pampas,whites, creams and blush-pink colours. Jessica tried to design and organise most things herself to give everything a personal touch. She elevated a plain, chic invitation design, found online, with emerald, green envelopes and a sticker seal depicting the couple‘s initials in gold foil. Their Mass booklets were in the same design.»
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CHURCH
» After losing their first choice of church dueto works being carried out in summer, the couple was blessed with the availability the beautiful church of Our Lady of Victory. “It was the perfect size, and what stole our hearts was the interior of the Church, that beautiful ceiling”, the couple confirmed.
Jessica travelled, along with her father, sister and maid of honour, in a beautiful white convertible princess car from Elite Transport. “At first I was quite worried being that the car was a convertible and it was quite a hot day, but surprisingly it was a lovely drive”, she said.
It was so nice walking down the aisle in a church filled with all our family and friends. Our florist Alistair Flora Design made our vision a reality, all the flowers really complemented the church. We had Raquela Dalli Gonzi singing,along with a pianist and cellist. They were exceptional. Raquela’s voice is one of a kind and they made the experience so emotional with their music.Father Brendan put together a lovely ceremony by making it so personal and also added some humour which we loved”, the couple remembered. “When I started reading my vows, I got very emotional and started crying which I really didn’t expect”, Jessica added. »
» Jessica wentto Ivory and Co for her dress.After trying on only three dresses she found the perfect one
“Our mothers, my grandmother and maid of honour fell in love with the dress as soon as I tried it on. It exceeded my expectations in every way, I just wanted to take it home and wear it every day”, she confirmed.
To keep her dress as the main focus Jessica wore classic Chanel diamond earrings and her mother’s solitairediamond necklace, and carrieda bouquet of white peonies which she feltreally completed her look.
Her bridesmaids wore pink maxi dresses, from Monsoon, in a crossed-halter neckstyle, which suited each of them nicely, and the flower girls all looked so pretty in white tutu dresses.
Dale went for a classic look and wore a black tux with a white bow tie and waistcoat, whilst his groomsmen wore black tuxes with black bow ties and waistcoats, all from Bortex.
The couple exchanged rings from family friends Carlo and Sergio, Zampa ,whose help and experience in jewellery design everything so straight- forward.
A VENUE OF SHEER BEAUTY
Having the wedding reception at The Sheer Bastion was especially sentimental for Jessica, who has been the sales manager there since it opened. “I planned our wedding from the catering side too, making it even more tailor- made. We had Nexos lighting set up a beautiful ceiling of fairy lights and a stunning stage for our band. Save The Date set up decorations around the venue, and Alistair set up our flower arrangements and our dreamy floral hoop backdrop. They made the place look incredible.”
As the couple are obsessed with tacos, they had a taco station and as part of the Hammett’s group there is a South American restaurant so you can only imagine how good the tacos were.»
» “We opted for a simple wedding cake design with some cotton flowers, pampas and gold leaf. Mannarinu did an excellent job with the cake. Apart from the look of the cake, the flavours were delicious”, Jessica explained.
Drinks were also by Sheer Bastions, offering a gin bar, cocktail bar and a slush bar.
Stylish Photobooth was charge of the photobooth for the day, and now the couple have a lovely guest book with everyone’s photos and messages to cherish.
For entertainment, the 16-piece band Brass House Unit really made the night. Kevin went out of his way to make sure they had the best night of their lives.
Dale and Jessica had choreographed and started practising their first dance weeks before. Jessica was surprised how they managed to get through it, with all the twists, turns and jumps, and pleased that it turned out really well.
In fact, everyone was dancing throughout. It was difficult to stop with DJ Thomas Cruz playing with a saxophonist,followed by Owen Leuellen and later on DJ Nikki VP to close the night. »
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“It was such a perfect day; we wouldn’t have changed a thing.” –Jessica & Dale
» Jessica and Dale are forever grateful for their familieswho helpedthemwith the planning and chores of the wedding, making it easier for them to concentrate on the important details. Gabrielle Zammit Grungo our make-up artist, hairdressers Katia Azzopardi and Dale’s aunt Marcelle Genovese made us all look stunning. I had help from Josef Gauci from Ivory and Co.
Malcolm Debono and Shane P. Watts managed to capture our day beautifully. It’s so nice to have photos and a video to look back at whenever we’d want to relive the day.
SPECIAL HIGHLIGHTS
Quite a few things stood out for the couple including walking out of the church and be surprised with their two dogs which made their day so much more memorable. And Jessica’s great uncle Arnold, who is a marvellous artist, gifting themsuch a sentimental present of a beautiful painting of Our Lady of Victory church where they got married.Being surrounded and supported by all our friends and family was so heart-warming. “Seeing everyone having such a good time all night long was so fulfilling. I had one drink that night, but I was so full of adrenaline it was as though I drank all night long. Everything came together so well, our expectations were surely exceeded”, Jessica concluded.
THE COUPLE Dorian & Paul
16 July 2022
Dorian Cassar, 41, a radio & TV presenter and boutique hotel owner, and Paul Camilleri, 41, a lecturerand photographer, were married at Meridiana Wine Estates, Ta’ Qali.
ISLAND INSPIRATIONS
Photography | Tonio Lombardi
A HOLIDAY PROPOSAL A s Dorian and Paul’s relatonship progressed naturally over two years, they decided to get married. “You feel when a person is your Mr Right. We both had to make difficult decisions to get this started and between our age and past experiences, including coming out, marriage was immediately on our books” they explained.
So, in 2016 on Boxing Day on a Christmas holiday in the Maldives, Paul took Dorian, on a private boat to a deserted island, and proposed... in sandals and beachwear. He also also played the song That’s Why I Love You, by Ira Losco, which the couple then chose for their first dance at their wedding.
Another island, Sicily, inspired their wedding theme. Having visited the island various times for wine, food and art, it was a natural choice. From there they had custom-made Testa Di Moro and ceramic vases, and ceramic tiles to use as the base for the Wedding Cake. Using predominantly blue and yellow colours and plenty of lemons, their theme was complete. »
» And, wisely, few days before the wedding, the couple organised an Oyster and Champagne Party at their Lodge Boutique Hotel for everyone involved in the wedding. This served also as a briefing meeting to go over all the details of the wedding.
SIMPLE, STYLISH AND PERSONAL
The couple wanted a simple yet very personal ceremony, so they asked their friend Noel Formosa, who is also the mayor of San Lawrenz in Gozo to hold it.. They wrote the script, to make it as intimate and personal as possible and they each made a short speech. As fans of Italian singers Marco Mengoni and Emma Marrone, and to keep with the theme of the wedding, the song Ti Ho Voluto Bene Veramante, by Mengoni was played during the entrance and Amami, by Emma Marrone, just after the wedding vows. And they exchanged rings from Bvlgari, Milano.
They wore suits tailored for them for them by Luke Azzopardi, who also also adapted Sean’s initial artwork for theirinvitations as the design for the fabric. This was also used for their bow ties and those of the ushers, shorts for Dan Dorian’s nephew, who was their ringbearer, and scarves for their four female witnesses.
A SPLENDID RECEPTION
Completeing their Sicilian theme wedding, the couple wanted a big open space to host around 600 guests and which they could set up as they wanted. And it needed to be something unique and different, which is not usually associated with weddings.
The Meridiana Wine Estate came to mind, it ticked all their boxes. They both love wine, Dorian is also a sommelier and has hosted a wine show on TV, so the venue was made for them.
Designer Sean Cini, The Creative Guru, was given the task of creating something original. And, as the venue only holds small weddings, the ceremony was held on the terrace, decorated with the Sicilian ceramics and vases, which were filled with fresh flowers and yellow lemons by Gozitan florist George Sacco Xerri.
And the reception was held in the carpark, where, the gravel was covered with synthetic turf provided by Audio Systems Ltd. The same company was also responsible for the lighting, stage and audio.
Paul and Dorian chose AX Caterers and had several meetings with the pastry chef before finalising on the size and flavour for the cake, which was lemon to go with their theme, and sat on a splendid hexagon wooden stand made by carpenter Maurice Bugeja to hold the original ceramic tiles from Sicily. » From just after the ceremony guests enjoyed a positive concert from singers and musicians including Kevin Paul, Amber, Aidan, Janvil and Ira Losco, who sang their first dance song live. And as the special surprise of the night. Glen Vella performed his song Harsa Biss (Muzika Muzika winner 2021), and halfway through, Dorian sang the remainder of the song to everyone’s surprise. Dorian took singing lessons with Glen and has since recorded the song featuring Glen Vella, at Philip Vella’s studio, and it was also then aired on the radio.
The afterparty was hosted by JD Patrick and at the very end there was a mix of the best Eurovision hits from Luke Borg.
SO MANY THANK YOUS
For their immense help with their wedding day Dorian and Paul want to thank Desiree Spiteri and Claudia Diacono from Tunin’ Entertainment (who took care of all the complicated logistics of the venue and they were responsible with overseeing the smooth running of the wedding,) hairdresser friend Josmar Giordimania and makeup artist Karl Zammit Nash. Grooms Matthew Camilleri, Dr Justin Ellul Desira, Etienne Farrugia and Clayton Saliba, and witnesses Alexia Camilleri, Anabel Vella, Enna Camilleri and Bernice Bugeja. »
» And, after all the wonderful celebrations, here comes the “aahh factor”, from the couple themselves: “Instead of souvenirs, we decided to give a donation to CLAWS Cat Sanctuary. A few months before the wedding, we adopted Leo, one of our three furry babies, from this sanctuary and we realised how much effort and money these people put out into saving cats. So as cat lovers, we both decided to buy them cat food to ease their financial burden. Luckily, our story had very good impact on social media, which hopefully helped to increase visibility of these places and to create more awareness.”
