WEDDING VENUES

This venue enjoys scenic views of Balluta and Spinola Bay. It is a perfect venue for weddings, both standing and seated receptions.

Café Del Mar provides spectacular views of the Mediterranean Sea and St Paul’s Island. Cafe del Mar is becoming the most impressive sea-side location on the Maltese Islands.

Set on the sister island of Gozo, this beautiful venue is surrounded by lush countryside. Ta’ Mena Estate sets out to offer wedding couples and their guests something beyond a normal open venue.

It wouldn't be the first time a bride asks someone she trusts and loves to be her bridesmaid and something happens that causes the bride and her chosen bridesmaid to drift apart. This is why you need to make sure the people you're asking to be part of your bridal party are there to stay. But how could you know this for sure? What do you need to ask yourself?

First you need to make sure you know why you want these people in your bridal party. While some options are obvious, especially when involving your sister or sisters-in-law, others might seem forced. You might believe that because you've known someone for a long time, or because they chose you to be part of their bridal party, you owe it to them to include them in your own wedding preparations. At the end of the day, this is YOUR wedding day and so it is YOUR choice as to whom will get the chance to accompany you on your special day.

Moreover, when including your friends as part of the bridal party, you need to analyse their character and how able they are to handle stress and let go when an argument occurs. If you know someone is hot headed, has a tendency of bailing on you, or does not have the slightest of clues as to how to compromise, then you might want to opt out of choosing them to be part of your bridal party. On top of this, if you can tell someone won't be in your life for the long haul, then do you really want them to be in all the preparations, photos and videos of your special day? But then again, many times it is hard to predict the future.

Another thing you need to make sure of is this: do you think all the members of the bridal party can get along together? If you know two or more of the members don't agree on anything and just love to pick at each other, then it might be an option to opt out of having both of them in the group. Additionally, do take note on the groom's wishes and make sure the members of the bridal party get along with him well enough.

Finally, make sure that the people you choose will be willing to contribute to the planning and can help you out when you get stuck. If you know someone won't manage to be a helping hand, you might want to look elsewhere.

By Nicole Borg

When getting hitched there are many rules you are allowed to bend, break or completely oppose, however some are there to be strictly followed no matter what. Take a look at what we think are the top rules that should not be broken!

1.     The invitation stage

Do not invite people to your hens and bachelors parties if you are not planning on inviting them to your wedding. Make sure not to send invites via a text or facebook message, everyone likes to receive a nice and traditional wedding invitation. If you know it, make sure to add in the name of your guests’ plus one - they will feel more included with such a small gesture.

2. The Marriage license

In reality, to get married in Malta there are a number of legalities that require to be covered. Around three months prior to the wedding, the couple must have sorted all Church Wedding and Civil Banns. With a church wedding we strongly recommend that the couple gets guidance from the priest the second that the church and the priest are booked for the wedding. In case of a Civil Wedding, the wedding Banns need to be registered with the Public Registry, more guidance on this can be found by clicking here.

3. Ta Cana

If you opted to get married in a church, the Cana courses are a must and all couples need to sit through them.  For further guidance on the Cana course you can take a look at the Cana Movement website. If a member of the couple is of a foreign nationality and would like to get married in a church it is also advised to speak to the Emigrants Commission, further guidance can be found by clicking here.

4. Make time for Thank Yous 

Make sure to send out a thank you card/message to all guests giving you wedding gifts. 

5. Feed your vendors

All the people helping you in making your wedding day one to remember have invested a whole lot of time and energy in its preparation. Make sure that you coordinate with your caterers to supply vendors with some food to energise them for the remainder of the day.

By Nicole Borg

So you have scoured Malta and Gozo in hopes of finding the perfect dress and now you’re quite positive you’ve found the one. However, you might want to make sure to consider some other factors that might lead you to change your mind. Here are a few of them!

Having to wear the dress for quite a while, you need to realise that eventually you might need to use the loo. Will you be able to easily satisfy this simple call of nature with your choice?

1. Does it have any buttons? If so, make sure that when you sit down you can do so comfortably. We don’t need to be stressing ourselves about buttons popping out during that glorious wedding day - am I right?

2. Oh - you went for a strapless dress? Can you comfortable move around without fearing that your boobs might pop out of that dress at one point or another?

3. With the bridal car being a vital aspect to your wedding you need to make sure your dress is comfortable enough to let you get into the car without tearing it apart or getting stuck between the door and the seat.

4. Will you be able to find the appropriate underwear to complement your choice of dress? and for goodness sakes, make sure that it’s not visible at any point throughout the wedding.

Don’t be afraid to take your time to choose your dress and evaluating all of the above. There’s no rush, especially if you have started dress shopping early on in the planning process. At the end of the day, you should enjoy your wedding day as much as possible - it is the best day of your life after all!

By Nicole Borg.

When comparing Maltese weddings to those abroad, it is becoming more and more easy to see the spectacular celebrations these islands allow. However, to organise a wedding fantastically you need the make sure that you have a set budget in mind which you will work around to the best potential.

Due to this, reality eventually has to kick in: organising a wedding is expensive. In order to have a comfortable (not luxurious) wedding, to cover the cost of 100 guests from all facets one needs to have a budget of at least €10,000. The longer the guest list, the more expensive it gets. If you want to go for complete luxury, then for just 100 guests the price will go up to that of €30,000. Despite this being quite a large budget, at times planners still find it a difficulty to fulfill all of the couple’s wishes.

When working with a wedding planner, in fact, one of the first questions asked is actually what kind of budget they will be working with. Due to living in a country set by presuppositions on what a wedding should be like, many brides and grooms grow up with a thunderous amount of ideas and expectations for their special day, which unless they have an open ended budget for, they might not be able to fulfill. Through the setting of a budget, the wedding planner will be able to guide the couple better in terms of their financial reality and thus leading them to make the right choices that won’t break the bank.

As soon as there is a proposal for marriage, the couple then needs to start planning their wedding and the budget will determine all the remaining factors from now on. Whether it’s choosing a wedding theme, venue and even whom to invite, the bride and groom need to be strict with themselves but also make sure that they are making their own decisions and are not being pushed towards something that they will eventually grow to regret.

By Nicole Borg