When the time comes to planning your wedding, one of the fi rst steps is to decide on the

wedding location. At some point in the planning process, the idea of a destination wedding

will spring to mind. We at Irish Wedding Diary love the idea of travelling somewhere new

to say ‘I do’.

There is no shame in the fact that when it comes

to planning your special day, you’re going to

need some help to plan and organise everything

to the smallest detail and this is defi nitely the

case when it comes to a destination wedding.

You’re going to need someone with plenty of

experience and knowledge who is there to help

make your day that bit more special and most

importantly, someone there to take the stress

out of organising it all. Sarah Young is one of

these wedding planners that is there to help

you with everything in the lead up to your big

day. Based in Malta, Sarah and her team have

planned over 750 weddings and with 14 years

of experience under her belt, Sarah is without

a doubt the perfect person to organise your

wedding abroad.

“My advice for any couples contemplating a

destination wedding is to go for it, it is a great

experience especially since everyone is on

holiday celebrating with you for a number of

days - it is like one long celebration. It can also

be more intimate too and not as expensive as

back home”

Malta has fast become an extremely popular

wedding destination over the past few years,

especially for Irish couples.

“People want to invite less people and have

their weddings more intimate. Plus it is a whole

fun experience for all.”

Malta is located in the centre of the

Mediterranean, just south of Sicily. It is a small

island that has a lot to offer from sunshine

nearly all year round, stunning coastlines,

historic and unique buildings and charming

locals --- it is the perfect combination for a

fantastic wedding. Malta is a member of the

EU and is just under a four hour fl ight away

from Dublin airport and the country’s offi cial

languages are Maltese and English.

Weddings in Malta

Malta is a small island that has so much to offer an Irish bride and groom, from year

round sunshine, beautiful beaches, stunning coastlines, historic and unique buildings, wonderful cuisine and charming locals...

the perfect recipe for a fantastic wedding

getting married in Malta is very straight forward

By Emma Blanchfi eld

128 I IWD Feature I Weddings Abroad

Sarah explained to us why Malta is the perfect

location for your destination wedding and

why having a wedding planner is vital to the

process.“It is cheaper than most, we have

amazing weather, it is a safe country with a low

crime rate and it is English speaking.”

“It is important to have [a wedding planner] so

that he/she can guide you in the right direction

and you have them on your side working

with all the suppliers and venues on your

behalf. A good experienced wedding planner

is important.”

Sarah suggests that the months between May

and October are the ideal times of year to

get married on the island and with a string of

successful weddings behind her, you would take

Sarah’s advice on board. Sarah and her team

have hosted weddings pretty much everywhere

on the island but fi nd locations such as sea-

view venues, beaches, castellos, garden villas

and palaces to be the most popular with her

clients.

Malta can offer a wide variety of weddings

which Sarah and her team happily cater for.

Malta is still a very Catholic country that offers

a vast selection of churches for weddings

but all types of weddings can be catered for

including civil marriages and civil unions for

same sex couples.

If the above sounds the perfect idea for your

wedding then the fi rst step in planning your

dream wedding in Malta is to contact Sarah.

Sarah and her team are easily accessible via

email, website, Skype or telephone. Once

you’ve contacted Sarah and her team, you will

then fi ll out a form on-line which Sarah will

assess and then send you on a breakdown of

costs, images, and timing options and so on.

After that, the planning and real fun begins.

Sarah is located in St. Julian’s which is found

just north of the country’s capital, Valletta.

However, Sarah and her team regularly travel

all around the island to organise weddings.

I just love organising and seeing it all evolve so perfectly on the day

Weddings Abroad I IWD Feature I 129

It’s no secret that planning your special day

takes time, which is why Sarah encourages

couples to begin the process “as far ahead as

they like” but “a minimum of six months prior

to the wedding date” is advised.

Many couples who wish to get married abroad

begin to fear the legality complications when it

comes to weddings abroad but the process to

get married in Malta is “very straight forward”

and Sarah along with her team are there to

help with every step assuring that there is no

additional stress in the lead up to the big day.

Sarah and her team are meticulous in their

planning and their attention to detail all help

to provide a bespoke, tailor made service for

every couple they work with. “We help our

clients plan their wedding from A to Z. We help

them with all included lodging, venue choices,

church choices, food, beverage, music, hair,

make-up, fi reworks, photo booth, ice-cream

carts, seamstress lady, child entertainment etc.”

Speaking to Sarah, it was quite obvious to see

that planning weddings is her passion.

“I just love organising and seeing it all evolve

so perfectly on the day. I am a perfectionist by

nature and this is my ideal job - I love it.”

With Malta only being a four hour fl ight away

from Ireland and with low cost airlines fl ying

out regularly, there is no reason why choosing

Malta for your dream day shouldn’t be an

option.

To fi nd out more about weddings in Malta

and to get in touch with Sarah and her team,

visitwww.weddingplannermalta.com

Sarah and her team are meticulous in their

planning and their attention to detail

130 I IWD Feature I Weddings Abroad