Faye and Mark married in Malta on the 29th July 2014. Over a year on they are both expecting a baby girl together. Here we take a look at their beautiful photos from their destination Malta wedding.
The Proposal
My now husband Mark surprised me with a weekend away. At this point I was a little suspicious but had no idea he was going to propose. I had no idea where he was taking me, I just had to get in the car and wait and see! We ended up at a lovely hotel near Hull called Rowley Manor.
It was a rainy cold wintery day and after we had checked in, Mark was very pushy about going for a walk in the grounds to see the ‘amazing’ little church they had. Again thought it was a little strange how persistent he was but never quite put two and two together!
He seemed to show an interest in things he wasn’t normally bothered about and as I was being quite difficult, he was almost begging me to come over to a little fountain they had in the grounds. Snow started coming down really fast. When I could finally be persuaded, he got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife. I was pretty stunned and couldn’t believe it and thought he was just being his usual jokey self. It all became more real when I saw the beautiful ring he was presenting to me and he cracked open a bottle of champagne he just happened to have there! We took the bottle in and enjoyed the rest of the bottle as a newly engaged couple in front of the warm fire and started to share the happy news with friends and family.
Tell me about your wedding ceremony? Where was it held?
We met our wedding planners ‘Weddings in Malta’ at the National Wedding Show at the NEC in Birmingham over a couple of years before our chosen wedding date. They showed us around venues which had to be the best in Malta, they were all stunning! In the end, we chose to have our wedding in Malta in a beautiful 18th century castle called Castello Dei Baroni as we absolutely feel in love with it.
We were lucky we had such fabulous wedding planners as they took a lot of the hassle by co-ordinating our whole wedding. I was extremely nervous at the start but everything seemed to fall into place perfectly. Even though we wanted to keep some traditions throughout the wedding, the ceremony was really relaxed and not too formal which eased my nerves. My main aim throughout the day was for my guests to be happy and have a good time.
Who photographed your wedding? What was that experience like?
Our photographer, Elliot Nichol and his wife Veronica were absolutely brilliant, I really couldn’t fault them. They were a lovely couple which put me at ease as unfortunately I am not a complete natural in front of the camera! I was incredibly pleased at how the pictures came out. He was very creative with his shots and it was nice to see a story of the day unfolding.
Talk about your bridesmaids
I bought my bridesmaid dresses from Fairytale Brides in Manchester. I was very open minded throughout the planning of the wedding but I really loved coral shades and had already started pinning some ideas on Pinterest. A couple of my bridesmaids were particularly self conscious so I wanted them to feel comfortable in what they were wearing on the day. My mind quickly changed on the coral colour as I found the darker shades suited everybody’s skin tones better. There was one style in which the bridesmaids all looked amazing. It was much easier than I expected as they were all really pleased with the choice as much as I was. We went for a watermelon red colour which I thought would gorgeous in the summer.
Talk about your groomsmen.
I left all the details of the groomsmen to my husband, I just had a little word with my dad to make sure he didn’t pick anything too outrageous! I was pleasantly surprised with his choice, I think he did really well and looked lovely with the button holes! The best man excelled himself throughout the day and helped keep everything in order especially with the photography, finding the relevant people for the shots. His best man speech was also one of the best I have heard, he was a complete natural.
We want all the details about your wedding outfit (designer, style, colour, cost, buying etc)
I found a designer I really liked called Stella York. I found that I liked most of her styles so I just searched on Google for the nearest stockists as felt this was a really good starting point.
I was happy to travel to find my dress. I found a lovely little shop called Alison Burgess Couture based in Stockport. Initially I wanted a fairly simple a-line style but I was still fairly open minded and was open to suggestions. Me, Alison and a very friendly young girl who worked there picked out a few styles based on what I had told them and then the young girl picked out one which she thought would suit me. I pulled a bit of a face and said I would try it but wasn’t completely convinced at the time. I liked probably about 70% of the dresses I tried on. They were all gorgeous but some styles just suited me better. In the end I fell in love with the dress that the girl picked out for me. It looked completely different on! It was still a Stella York dress (lace) but with a lot more detail than the others I had tried on and it was more of a fishtail style (something I had not thought of trying). After the purchase, I really couldn’t fault Alison Burgess as everything was organised perfectly and she was ever so helpful. Even Amina at Stockport Wedding Services who arranged the alterations was brilliant. They showed me how to get in and out of the dress, showed my mum how to tie up my dress, how to walk and even sewed in a little bra into my wedding dress. I was really impressed with both services! My dress, including my tiara and veil was around £1200.
How did you accessorise your outfit?
To be honest this didn’t require much thought on my part as the girls in the Bridal shop had paired the dress up with the perfect tiara and veil. They did swap to show me other styles but went back to the first ones they picked out for me. The shoes I found at a little boutique shop in my local village.
Who did your hair and makeup? What was the look you wanted to achieve?
I asked my usual hairdresser locally to practice on my hair. She suggested that an up-style would be best to see the detailing of the dress.
I prefer having my hair down on special occasions so because my dress had one shoulder strap, she suggested curling my hair and letting it flow down the opposite side of the dress to balance it out. I took some pictures and used them to show the girl doing my hair in Malta. She was absolutely fantastic and did an amazing job with my bridesmaids’ and mum’s hair. Kim Make Up Artist Malta was brilliant and she really listened to what I liked to create a look I was extremely happy and both my make up and hair stayed looking fresh throughout the day.
Tell me about the best parts of your wedding.
Honestly, I couldn’t pinpoint one part as we truly enjoyed the whole day, it was just a shame it was all over. I was just a lot happier when the nerves had eased and we could enjoy the rest of the celebrations!
What made your wedding unique and special?
What made the day special was the people who managed to attend and that is what made our day. Everyone really enjoyed it and are still talking about how much they enjoyed it a year on and that is the main thing for us.
Tell me about the most touching aspect of your day?
The wedding specially got me some Lemon Cisks (Maltese lemon flavoured beer) at our free bar. The wedding planners knew it was my favourite drink so was a really nice thought.
Wedding Planner: Weddings in Malta | Ceremony/Reception: Castello Dei Baroni | Transport, entertainment, hair, cake, flowers, photographer and make up: all arranged by Weddings in Malta | Wedding Make Up: Kim Make Up Artist Malta | Photographer: Elliot Nicholl | Groomswear: Hopkins Menswear Huddersfield | Wedding Dress: Alison Burgess Couture Stockport | Alterations: Amina Wedding Services Stockport | Bridesmaid Dresses: Fairy Tale Brides
