“I always wanted to get married somewhere where the sun would be shining…”
The couple: Natasha & Tomás
Wedding Planners: I Do Knot – Wedding Planners Malta
Wedding ceremony: The Saltpans, Gozo, Malta | Wedding venue: Villa Pergola, Gozo, Malta
Photographer: Hush Photography
We met… on a night out with mutual friends. I knew of Tomás but had never met him as he had been working at sea. I remember thinking that he was such a gentleman and we didn’t stop laughing all evening. We saw each other every day that week for the Galway Races and had our first official date the week after.
The proposal… He proposed to me in my favourite restaurant, O’Grady’s on the pier. He had it well thought out to be fair to him. A lot of preparation went into it from his end. From buying the ring three long months earlier in New York, to asking the restaurant to add additional vegetarian options on the menu that night, just for me. He had looked up the time of sunset that evening, so the dessert would be coming out right on queue. The dessert arrived out under a big closh and when they lifted the lid it said “Say Yes”. When I looked up Tomás was on one knee. I just started crying. And obviously said yes. After dinner he gently suggested to go to our local pub for one drink as it was on the way home. When we walked in I realised he had invited my family and his family to come and celebrate with us. We had the perfect night.
We decided on a wedding abroad because… I always wanted to get married somewhere where the sun would be shining and when we started discussing what we wanted it turned out that we both wanted the same. We wanted something less formal because we wanted our crazy toddler to be comfortable too. I have a friend who used to live in Malta who I used to visit. Tomás and I decided to go for a short break there. We visited the island of Gozo and just fell in love with it.
My dress… My wedding dress was a Suzanne Neville Dress called Sunrose. It had capped sleeves and a lace peplum. I got it in Kadee Bridal in Athlone.
Our guests… 92 guests travelled and a lot of them stayed on the island of Gozo, in two separate clusters of villas. Some stayed in local hotels too. I think it can be difficult for people to travel when you have work but most people travelled and I think they decided to think of it as a holiday which is exactly what we wanted.
Our ceremony… We had our ceremony on the Saltpans in Gozo. It lasted 15 minutes and celebrant John Caruana from the Gozo Marriage Registry married us.
Our bridal party… I had four bridesmaids and they all wore Dessy dresses in the colour Suede Rose. They wore two different styles. I loved them and they did too.
His suit… Tomás wore a pair of sandy colour trousers and a waistcoat. He also had braces and a tie. (I think he looked really handsome.)
Our photos… We chose Matt from Hush Photography and are really happy with our photos. We also had Marlon from Earth & Castle do our video. It came out really well.
Our wedding planner… We used a company called I Do Knot to plan our wedding. From the first exchange of emails I knew Petra was the woman for us. The whole team are world class. Nothing was ever an issue. It was definitely one of the best decisions we made to use a planner.
The menu…
Starter
Pan-Fried Prawns & Local Pork Sausage set on a Bed of Apple Salad
(v) Grilled Asparagus, Extra Virgin Olive Oil,
Artichoke & Grapefruit Salad
Red Pepper & Dill Dressing
Intermediate
Pumpkin Risotto with Sun-Dried Tomatoes,
Fresh Gbejna (traditional goat’s cheeselet)
& Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
Main Course
Spinach & Ricotta Stuffed Chicken Supreme
Roasted Zucchini Batons
Pommes Dauphinoise
Oven-Baked Sea Bream with Mediterranean Infusion
and Glazed with Tomato Salsa
Roasted Zucchini Batons
Pommes Dauphinoise
(v) Stuffed Marrows with Roasted Vegetables
Pommes Dauphinoise
Dessert
Date & Orange Tart
Ricotta & Almond Mousse
Prickly Pear Sorbet
The entertainment… we had a Maltese band first, then we had two friends of ours who travelled from Inis Mór, Aran Islands (a small island off Galway) and they brought their instruments. They were amazing. The first thing they got everyone to do was a traditional Irish dance called the Siege of Ennis. It’s a group dance and got everyone up, involved and laughing.
Our favourite memories… I think all of our best memories come from seeing our different groups of friends and family mixing together and having fun. As the night went on, our Irish band were encouraging guests to get on stage and do a party piece. We actually had a lot of very good singers and entertainers in the group so it was really enjoyable. Needless to say people were shy at first but got much more confident as the night went on!
