More than words: Anthea & Adrian

Adrian and Anthea Huber relive their special day with OurWedding, revealing how they achieved the simple and sophisticated affair of their dreams.

This love story starts in 2007, when Adrian Huber, who works as a Programmes Manager at Inspire Foundation, was living in the UK. That summer, he met Anthea, a Design Architect at Archi+ while on holiday in Malta. ‘Was it love at first sight?’ I ask. “All we can say is that three months down the line, he was packing his bags and moved back to Malta,” smiles Anthea.

In fact, the couple knew they wanted to get married very early on, though it wasn’t until some years later that Adrian slipped a beautiful engagement ring under Anthea’s pillow. “I found it there one Sunday morning! It was simple but perfect,” she recalls affectionately.

The pair were after a simple and classy feel for their wedding, which Anthea describes as “an elevated country vintage style”, and this was reflected in their choice of venue. The idea was to find “a place that had character yet was not the common pick”, and this is precisely what the Grand Ballroom at the Phoenicia delivered.

Above all however, what they wanted most out of their wedding was to celebrate their special day accompanied by their favourite people under one roof. Adrian meanwhile, mostly wanted his groomsmen to turn up on time, at the right place. “Which they did, but to compensate, two of them turned up without their shoes,” they laugh.

While agreeing on most things throughout the process, including not engaging a wedding planner, Anthea jibes, “it did take until the day before the wedding to convince Adrian that we would have enough food!”

The couple chose 25th October 2014 as the date of their wedding, mostly to avoid the summer heat, though they were delighted that it also happened to be the last Saturday before changing to winter time – so their guests were lucky enough to get an extra hour of sleep (or partying) that night.

When the big day arrived, Anthea woke up feeling excited yet calm, and went on to have a great time with her girls, getting pampered and having some bubbly before the ceremony. Adrian meanwhile looks confused. “Woke up? That would imply that I actually slept!” he laughs. Still, that’s not to say that Anthea was immune to the big day jitters altogether, admitting to feeling a few butterflies as she got to the Attard Parish, where the ceremony was being held. “The only time I got nervous was once we got to the church. My nerves settled down once I saw Adrian though. I put on my blinkers and just focused on him.” The bride walked down the aisle in a simple, contemporary dress with vintage detailing from Wedding Bells.

The pair describe the ceremony as “an intense, long-awaited special moment.” Anthea reflects on the fact that when people think of a wedding, they mostly think of the wedding reception, but believes that you should never underestimate how powerful and meaningful the ceremony itself is – “it’s a pretty big deal to promise to stick with someone through thick and thin no matter what; and we both take this promise very seriously,” she says.

The couple went on to party the night away, accompanied by 300 guests at their reception. They affectionately recall their first dance to the song ‘More Than Words’ – “it’s always been our song, and brings back memories of singing loudly and out of tune after a few glasses of wine when we first met,” they smile.

Looking back on their special day, the pair narrow down two favourite parts: the ceremony and the dancing – “we let loose and really had a ball of a time.”