While planning their October wedding, fun-loving couple Nicola Lapira and Glenn Grech had one goal: to create a special day for themselves, their family and friends. Here, they share how they pulled off the wedding of their dreams with Bliss Magazine.
When Glenn Grech, Head of UX/UI Design at a local design agency, and Nicola Lapira, a lawyer and partner at a boutique law firm, first met, it was “completely random.” Nicola’s best friend had invited them both to a boozy dinner, and they ended up heading out together afterwards. Glenn offered to take Nicola home, except they ended up talking till sunrise. “We went out on our first date a couple of weeks later and immediately started planning trips abroad, as we both love travelling and adventure,” they say.
And it didn’t take long for them to start thinking about marriage too. “My friends used to tease me that Glenn and I would get married because we were ‘made for each other’, and though I wouldn’t say much, I secretly hoped so,” Nicola smiles.
The proposal
The proposal came a little later, after the pair began renovating an old townhouse. “I thought it would be memorable to propose in our future home,” says Glenn. “I wanted to do it in the evening, so I could light the house up in candlelight. But, in spite of making many requests for Nic to take it easy and refrain from coming home early, she showed up and we couldn’t get her out of the house!” he laughs.
On the evening of the proposal, Glenn took Nicola to their future home to get ready while his father and her mother helped him put “many, many candles in place.” Nicola says, “It was beautiful, and at first I thought that Glenn was surprising me with a Christmas present, since Christmas was a few days away. When he proposed, I could hardly believe it,” she laughs.
Wedding plans
The pair went on to tackle wedding planning together, with the help of “lists upon lists upon more lists.” Still, the experience wasn’t completely stress-free. They share they had chosen to make personalised invitations sealed with wax but they hadn’t sent them out a month before the wedding. “We both like to be hands on but planning the wedding while trying to finish a house renovation was a balancing act and the days were flying past!”
The date they chose – 26th October 2019 – was based on the availability of their venue (The Sheer Bastion) and photographer, and ended up being close to the anniversary of when they started dating. They settled on the venue straight away after having admired its renovation one Sunday morning. “We didn’t even go to see any other venues! We also really love the view, which is special both in daylight and at night,” they say. The stunning venue also provided delectable catering and drinks.
And while they didn’t have a particular theme in mind, their main wish was to host (and enjoy) a good party. “We both love music and meeting family and friends, and a wedding is the perfect setting to have all the people you love, care and know around you celebrating a special day in your life,” they share, adding that they also decided to cut the cake before the first dance, “so that once we started dancing we wouldn’t stop!”
The big day!
Soon enough, the long-awaited day rolled around. The bride admits she felt nervous due to the unpredictable forecast, but thankfully it turned out to be a great day. However, preparations couldn’t commence before the bride-to-be paid a special visit. “My mum and I took flowers to my dad’s grave and said some prayers there. We cried because it shouldn't have been this way, but felt he was with us.”
The groom, meanwhile, was also running on little sleep. “I kept hearing thunder and the lightning lit up my bedroom at night. I was concerned that the marquees we rented wouldn’t be sufficient and kept imagining people getting soaked,” he laments. Needless to say, Glenn was equally relieved in the morning, and also physically better – having been sick with tonsillitis a few days before. “I was pumped to meet the groomsmen, get the venue set up and gear up with a couple of whiskeys for the great day ahead!”
The celebration kicked off with the wedding ceremony at St Theresa’s Church, with mass celebrated by Father Giovann Tabone. The groom admits to fighting back tears as he saw his bride walking down the aisle, calling it “a special and surreal moment”, but Nicola was beaming from ear to ear. “I was so touched to see the church full of family and friends. So many had made an effort to see us celebrate our marriage, and I couldn’t stop smiling.
The dress
The bride wore a stunning Aire Barcelona Atelier gown from Ivory & Co, which happened to be the second dress she tried on. “I had never imagined myself in a wedding dress so I was unsure what I would like,” she admits. The dress she chose was embellished in beads, yet still light enough to wear all day. “It was tailored to fit perfectly, and I loved the feel of it,” she says, adding that she did ask for one tweak.
The buzzing reception
While there were certainly some traditional elements to the wedding, the couple agree that their techno afterparty was definitely out of the ordinary! “Junior B played at our wedding and we had people texting us for weeks afterwards telling us that they had so much fun. We felt exactly the same way (and still do)!”
The couple also chose to create their own wedding souvenirs from scratch. “We chose to have personalised wedding favours and made our own mini olive oil bottles with rosemary. The minimalist bottle had our names and wedding date written on it, using branding that Glenn created. Preparing the invitations and olive oil bottles required a large table, a mini workforce, division of labour and a lot of patience at the Grech household!”
While it was a fabulous day, Nicola and Glenn share it wasn’t immune to mishaps. “There were too many to remember, but all quite funny,” they laugh. The worst one, however, was a malfunctioning music player. “When the New Victorians finished their set, the first DJ was about to start playing, only to realise that one of the CDJs wasn't working. We were quite panicked at that point, but luckily, after several calls and a lot of insistence, a friend sped across the island on a motorino to bring another one!”
Looking back on it all, the newlyweds share their favourite parts of the day. Glenn mentions two, “when I saw Nic entering the church and our first dance, because it was the first time Nic wanted to dance with me voluntarily,” he laughs.
“I was super nervous to dance in front of everyone, and since we chose not to practice the dance, I was sure I'd be shy and nervous,” she explains, but when the song started, Glenn led the way. “He’s a great dancer, unlike me, and it felt like we were in our own world. It came so naturally, and I still can't believe we danced together like that. It's such a special memory and I would totally dance with Glenn again now!”
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