Real Wedding

Dancing Until 3am: Ivan & Charlene

Ivan Saliba and Charlene Muscat never wanted to have an ordinary, conventional wedding. They exchanged vows on 18th July 2015, just three months after Ivan proposed to Charlene on very casual terms. The wedding was planned as small and low-key from the beginning, with only 40 guests present.

“We wanted to have a wedding strictly for our immediate family and our very close friends. No aunts, no co-workers, nobody who is just going to stand to the side feeling out of place, bored and lonely,” says Charlene.

The civil ceremony took place in Rabat’s Palazzo Castelletti, a magnificent palace originally built to house a family of 17th-century aristocrats. Charlene designed and made her own wedding dress, and sewed applique flowers in pink, purple, orange and green on the shoulders and back. “I went for a mini-dress. I’m a small person and I didn’t want the dress to end up wearing me.” She also made her own headpiece. Ivan wore a smart Gagliardi suit in dark blue with a black contrast collar over a crisp white shirt. Instead of exchanging vows, their witnesses – Charlene’s sister and Ivan’s nephew – took the stage and shared their favourite memories of the couple.

After the ceremony, the wedding party headed to Masgar, a woodsy, privately-owned piece of land in Mtarfa which has often played host to bands including Brikkuni and Tribali. Charlene, Ivan and their friends had spent most of the previous day setting it up, armed with fairy lights, balloons, miles of tulle and ribbons, and a disco ball Ivan bought on eBay. The owner of Masgar gave them free rein for the entirety of the day and a significant part of the night, so the music kept playing and the drinks kept flowing. The party ended in the wee hours of the night, rounded off by a trip to Serkin for tea and pastizzi.

Ivan notes that he was originally not a fan of weddings. “They always seemed to be big, showy corporate events… far too commercial for my tastes. I didn’t really want to have anything to do with that sort of thing. Today I think of them differently. They are an outlet through which you can express your creativity and personality, and a chance to unite friends and family, and have a great time.”

TOP TIPS

Picture perfect

Charlene had a number of Polaroids of their favourite couple moments throughout the ages printed and displayed on the wedding cake table.

Child’s play

Ivan has a lot of young nieces and nephews, so the couple made sure they were entertained by preparing colouring books and props for them to play with on the day.

Image Credits

Valentina Lupo Photography