“We met when I least expected to meet anyone!” Newlywed Sarah Agius, 30, is effusive when talking about her new husband, Anthony, 28, whom she connected with at a party, shortly after her return from a brief stint living in Portugal. “It was so natural. We just started hanging out and going for walks and everything just evolved quite quickly.”
One day, in the stifling heat of an August sun, as the couple were laying on the ochre sand at Golden Bay, Anthony popped the question. “’What if we had to get married?’ Anthony often surprises me, but I didn’t really take him seriously at first. Then, he literally shot this ring out of his pocket!” Sarah laughs, recalling the moment.
The couple immediately knew they wanted an intimate wedding, with only close family and friends, so the first task they set themselves is establishing the list of invitees. “Keeping the wedding small was the biggest struggle since we both know so many people! But we made a shortlist – and we kept to it. That was tough.” An easier time was had when booking the reception venue, which was, luckily, available for their chosen date in August of this year. “Anthony and I were determined to book Villa Arrigo – and we would have made compromises for it since it was our first preference. But I managed to book this straight away, without any issues.”
Sarah took over the preparations for their wedding with aplomb, looking into the details of every aspect of their special occasion. “Anthony used to joke with friends and family, telling them he was also a guest at the wedding, since I was doing everything! I used to ask his opinion on things, but he would be noncommittal, so I ended up choosing most things myself,” Sarah says.
The level of detail the bride-to-be delved into was extraordinary: it extended to providing water bottles on every seat in the church – a thoughtful gesture considering the wedding took place at the height of summer – and flip-flops, labelled, separated and in a selection of sizes, for the couple’s female guests at the reception. “I didn’t want a lavish wedding, but I wanted everyone to feel comfortable,” Sarah explains. And, the bride also decided on a very personal touch for the souvenirs.
“I wanted them to be a symbol of us, as a couple, not just something random. And, everyone knows me for my baking, so, the week of the wedding I baked 1,000 cookies for all the guests! Luckily, I worked closely with the lady who was designing my packaging, and it turned out to be a much easier task than I had expected,” Sarah describes.
Sarah’s meticulous planning paid off and the morning of the wedding she woke up relaxed and raring to go, knowing that everyone, from her two bridesmaids (her sister, Bernice, and Anthony’s sister, Stella) to her future spouse’s groomsmen knew what they needed to do, and when they needed to do it.
The ceremony started without a hitch. Father Ruben Micallef, a childhood friend of Sarah’s, officiated and delivered a homily which was personal and affecting. But, it all caught up with Sarah as the couple started to recite their vows. “I became so emotional. I just don’t know what happened, but I couldn’t stop crying and I had the whole church in tears! Deep down I was relaxed – really! – but I just couldn’t speak,” Sarah recalls. And, the emotions continued to run deep for before Sarah and Anthony headed off to the reception hall, their dog-sitter arrived at the church with the couple’s pup, Nina.
Shortly after, the celebrations kicked off in the gardens at Villa Arrigo, where the couple’s 300 guests indulged in a scrumptious selection of healthy and indulgent fare, courtesy of Osbourne Caterers. “We had a bit of everything: an Asian table, one for sushi and an Argentinian station, which was offering up pork belly and sweet potato fries. And then, there were the sweets!” Unfortunately, however, the day passed by in a whirl and they barely the opportunity to taste the food they had so intently chosen. The wedding cake was a sight to behold, however.
“I had driven the patisserie mad with my requests! I wanted five tiers and I wanted the middle ones to be personalised with things reflecting elements of the wedding, such as some lace and flowers. They don’t usually offer this, but, luckily, we came to a compromise and I did have a little bit of lace decoration in the centre,” Sarah remembers. The couple also wanted to balance the traditional and modern elements of the wedding, even offering perlinito their guests. “We really wanted to make sure everyone was comfortable and happy, so we tried to do things traditionally, as much as possible,” Sarah continues.
On the day, Anthony made sure to sweep his new wife off her feet. “During our first dance, he spun me in the air! My headband fell off, grips flew everywhere, but there was a lot of laughter,” Sarah says. Memorable moments continued to be made at the after-party, with DJ Pierre Cordina spinning the tracks, and proceedings took on an even more informal atmosphere. “I changed into my after-party dress, kicked off my high heels and wore my wedges! My feet were exhausted,” she continued. So exhausted, in fact, that when the wedding ended, the newlyweds were danced out and the couple headed home to settle back in with Nina.
Today, Sarah still misses the excitement and the high emotions of the couple’s big day. But, if she had to go back in time, would she change anything? “It all went according to plan and I really wouldn’t change everything. Well, maybe one thing. I would suggest Anthony take dancing lessons, so he doesn’t throw me in the air as he did,” Sarah laughs.
Kris Micallef & Stefan Varga