Happy is how local actor Ben Camille and his wife Kristina Camilleri described their wedding day in an exclusive interview with the March edition of I DO magazine, distributed by Standard Publications for free to all brides and grooms attending Kana courses and available in leading bookshops and newsagents.
The wedding was a big do and attracted a lot of attention particularly on social media.
Ben's popularity skyrocketed after he took a main role in Strada Stretta, TVM's blockbuster series that comes to an end in the coming days. Kristina is more timid and shies away from the limelight.
"We can't say we were sad it was over, but we're glad that we had a real blast, and just so happy it happened," Ben told I Do magazine. "The whole wedding was spectacular to be honest, just seeing all our friends and family so happy and full of love made our day extra special," Kristina added.
Ben and Kristina have been together for over 11 years. "We have literally grown up together, seen the worse and best in each other however every day, till today when Kristina walks into a room I still get that loving tingly feeling in my tummy. I am very grateful for what we have. Kristina is patient, kind and above anything else one of the most loving and positive human beings in the world. With a lifestyle like mine, being in the public eye and trying to keep up with 101 things, I thank God every day that he has blessed me with a woman like Kristina who balances me out. Marrying her was the obvious thing to do!" Ben told I Do.
It was Ben's idea to tie the knot after he surprised Kristina with a lovely proposal in front of both their families, at Kristina's family home. It was all planned, including a speech, which Ben forgot due to nerves!
The wedding took place on Saturday 26th November last year, but their wedding pictures on Facebook still get LIKES and comments till this very day. "As cliché as it might sound, happy was our theme. We just wanted all our guests to feel relaxed and have fun," Ben went on.
Ben and Kristina envisaged an intimate wedding for around 250 people. With Ben being who he obviously is, the couple had a never-ending list of people who they would have liked to invite but the venue could only take that number of people. Some people even sent messages to the couple asking why they weren't invited. Some people just turned up at the church for the mass which Ben and Kristina were fine with and in fact grateful for.
The bride walked up the aisle wearing a simple yet glamorous Atelier Pronovias tight fitting dress embellished with lace on one side from Ivory & Co. "I just tried it on, loved it and that was it," recalled Kristina. The bridal look was finished off with hair styling by Ben's father, Pierre Camille, make-up by Stephanie Hodgkins and nails by Elaine Garzia. Ben and the groomsmen wore blue suits by The Groom Collection.
The local celebrity couple tied the knot at Balluta Church dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Fr Brendan Gatt celebrated the ceremony while the Joy Gospel Singers animated mass. The church has sentimental value for the couple as Kristina's father's funeral was held there. During the vows, the bride and groom exchanged rings by Diamonds International Malta. Ben's is a beautiful plain white gold band, whereas Kristina's is a little more sparkly to match her engagement ring.
The day continued with a party held at Buddhamann within the Corintha St George Hotel. "The place is beautiful, the service superb and food second to none," Kristina remarked. Piscopo Cash and Carry stocked the bar with drinks while JB Stores supplied the glassware. The gorgeous wedding cake was by Eman Patisserie. DJ Owen J, DJ Ruby and Ziggy entertained the crowd while Brooke, Destiny and Franklin sang away to their beats.
"We are both disastrous when it came to decorating. This is not to mention that we are also very busy so luckily we had Ramon and his wife Sharon, from R Creations for Weddings and Events, to help us decorate the venue and the church. They were a true blessing. They took care of all the decorations. They listened to what we were after and literally took care of everything from A to Z. The venue looked absolutely perfect even if in Ramon's opinion something was missing. He insisted on going to his store to bring two lovely candelabras to place on the cake table. He is simply legendary" said Ben.
Ben and Kristina also spoke highly of wedding planner Carmelino Refalo who made sure the wedding went on without a glitch.
Instead of giving souvenirs to their guests, Ben and Kristina gave a donation to the Malta Community Chest Fund. "It was very nice that Her Excellency, Marie Louise Coleiro Preca came to the wedding. Both Ben and Kristina have great respect towards Her Excellency and all the good work that she does. He looks forward to doing a lot more charitable work with her to help the Maltese and Gozitan people in particular through MCCF," Kristina said.
Opposition leader Simon Busutil and his partner Kristina, also paid a special visit. Unfortunately, the Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and his wife, could not make it on the day due to personal reasons.
ROCS Travel planned an amazing honeymoon for the newlyweds which included the picturesque Sri Lanka, Maldives and Dubai. "We were taken care of by super-efficient travel experts, who were very understanding of our needs and extremely informative.
We had an amazing, real hassle free experience, which was well needed! They managed to create the perfect dream honeymoon which included everything we wanted: culture, adventure, relaxation, shopping and fun parks.
Wedding mass held at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Balluta and reception at Buddhamann, Corinthia St George's Bay.
Photography - Shane Watts Photography
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