For national rugby player Matthew Spiteri and former model Alexia Micallef Gatt, their story started during Alexia’s university years. Matt, who is currently the director of a marketing and design agency, was Alexia’s go-to source for any marketing issues related to events she and her group of friends were organising.
“I was immediately taken by how creative and interesting he is as a person,” she reveals, adding that they spent a whole summer hanging out as friends before they went out on their first date.
Fast forward to the present day and the couple are finalising the last details for their wedding this weekend. While Alexia is hesitant to reveal too many details about their upcoming occasion, she does concede that the pair are both very aesthetically oriented individuals and that the theme of the wedding is a manifestation of that.
“We wanted an overall look that is unique and fresh,” the couple reveal, adding that they “chose to work with individuals who have our same passion for uniqueness to help us bring this vision to life.”
Wedding planning was a relatively calm affair, however, Alexia does concede that finalising the guest list proved especially difficult. There were also some mishaps along the way, as the couple reveal.
“The paper we wanted for the invite had to be ordered from abroad and arrived late,” Alexia narrates. “They also required some assembly from our part so we really had to scramble to get them done – the wedding was just three weeks away at that point!”
Both Matthew and Alexia were heavily involved in the planning and split the duties among them. “I think for Matt, the part he enjoyed the most was working on the invites and the food menu,” Alexia says. “As for myself, my personal favourite part was working on the dress with a designer who is a close friend of mine.”
Asked what she is most looking forward to on the day, Alexia offers three answers. “The cheesy one is that I’m marrying my best friend while a more personal one is getting to wear my dress,” Alexia reveals, concluding that the most honest aspiration is to “enjoy the day with our families and friends.”
And what about honeymoon plans? Following in the steps of a uniquely-designed wedding, their travel plans are just as exceptional. They aim to embark on a mini-moon to Florence – the location of their proposal – immediately after the wedding.
The official honeymoon will take place over the Easter break. “We will start off with some voluntary work in Ethiopia. Matt has supported some villages and schools for the past years and was able to visit a number of times. Finally, I will be going with him!” Alexia enthuses, while adding that the experience will be followed up by a trip to South Africa.