180 I IWD I Real Weddings
Real Weddings I IWD I 181
We were nervous but as soon as we met Sarah and Vicky we were immediately put at ease
Mark & Gemma Tied the Knot in Malta on May 31st 2014 With Sarah Young Wedding Planner
important to us that we marry in a Catholic Church plus we both liked to travel and visit new countries so it made sense. I researched lots on the Internet, I felt that if we were going to get married abroad then it would be essential for us to have a wedding planner. After trawling the Internet for many hours, I
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came across ‘Sarah Young’ many times. I read n the second day of the trip
I adored the ring and of course I said yes. We
we visited Central Park. We
finished the horse ride then returned to our
had previously agreed that we
hotel to celebrate with bubbles whilst we called
wanted to go on a horse drawn
all our family and friends.
carriage around the park just like I’d seen Carrie and Big do in my favourite series, Sex
That night I ordered a personalised wedding
and the City!
planner book. I had very clear ideas of what I
Mark picked the horse that he liked the most
wanted right from the word go and wanted to
and we set off. At the first stop he got off the
be as organised as possible. We started to plan
carriage and asked me to wait, he then bent
the wedding straight away as we agreed that
on one knee and presented me with a ring
we would like to get married in May 2014 so it
and asked me to marry him. It was the most
only gave us 18 months to plan.
romantic thing I’ve ever seen. I was on cloud
M
ark and I met in July 2010 at a funeral of a mutual friend. We clicked straight away and became friends. Then after a couple of months of perseverance on Mark’s part I eventually agreed to go out with him and we became more than friends!
We both like to travel and over the next
square Garden!! I was so excited! The trip
couple of years we visited many country’s
was amazing and we managed to cram in
including Australia, Cyprus and Spain. In
most of the sights and activities that we
2012, whilst on one of our holidays, Mark
wanted to see and do, such as ice skating
told me that he’d booked a surprise trip for
in the Rockefeller centre, shopping on Fifth
us to New York the following month and had
avenue etc.
got us tickets to see Madonna at Madison
nine!
We visited many venues, but we couldn’t
We visited many venues but we couldn’t find anything that we truly loved
find anything that we truly loved. A friend suggested that we look at Malta as she had visited recently and she told us how beautiful it was. Straight away I was keen as it was really
The day of the wedding went so smoothly. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the setting was just beautiful. lots of testimonials which were praising Sarah and her team so I decided to contact her to establish if it would be possible for us to meet. She responded straight away and we arranged a date for myself and Mark to visit Malta and view some venues. We were nervous before the meeting but as soon as we met Sarah and Vicky we were immediately put at ease. They were so kind and likeable! We all spent the day visiting various churches and venues. Every location
182 I IWD I Real Weddings
that was shown to us was amazing but as soon
I thought about my dress a lot and was very
flowers, red carpets, candelabras, chair sashes,
as we saw Mgarr parish church and the Castello
nervous about trying to find the right dress
a female soloist for church, a violinist for the
Zammittello we were in love!
as, like with the wedding decorations, I had
stand-up reception, children’s entertainer and
very particular ideas about what I wanted
bouncy castle for the children. Then a disco at
and was worried that I might not be able to
night which allowed everyone (including us) to
find it. I visited a local bridal shop called Ava
let their hair down and party the night away!
Rose Hamilton and tried on six dresses. The
We pulled out all the stops to ensure all our
dresses were nice but not what I had in mind.
guests enjoyed the day. As we were engaged
The paperwork involved with the wedding was quite complicated, however Sarah made it easy.
The assistant then brought a dress to me that
in New York, I named all the tables after
When I envisaged our wedding I pictured,
I hadn’t seen in the shop. When I came out
landmarks that we visited there and the top
elegance, classical, romantic. I was very
of the changing rooms wearing the dress both
table was of course called ‘Central Park’.
particular about what I wanted in terms of
myself, my mum and chief bridesmaid all cried.
decorations and touches and my concern
This was it... I’d found ‘the one’.
The day of the wedding went so smoothly. We’d had a rehearsal, therefore we had a good idea
was that holding the wedding abroad then I wouldn’t be able to have everything that I
We had quite a large wedding: 71 adults, 14
of what to expect in the church and from the
wanted. Sarah assured me that wasn’t the case
children and four babies. Of that there were
priest. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the
and she was right.
two best men, five ushers, five bridesmaids,
setting was just beautiful.
We agreed to go ahead with Sarah and the
four page boys and our daughter Iris was our
wedding and straight away I picked the amount
flower girl.
Many of our guests couldn’t believe how stunning
of flowers that I wanted, the car, number of
the
wedding
was
and
couldn’t
coaches. The contract was drawn up, signed
The paperwork involved with the wedding was
compliment the wedding planners enough.
and deposit paid.
quite complicated, however Sarah made it easy.
They went above and beyond what was
She told me exactly what we needed to do and
expected. We would highly recommend Sarah
Whilst back home, I was in contact with Sarah
gave me the time scales in which I needed to
and her team to anybody wishing to get
and her team very frequently. Whenever I
do it in.
married in Malta. If you’re thinking of getting married in Malta,
emailed her I always got a response within an hour or less. This made me feel at ease as I
Within the wedding we chose a vintage car and
contact: Sarah Young Wedding Planner.
knew I was in good hands.
coaches for our guests. We had lots of fresh
www.weddingplannermalta.com