It was during a Christmas event that TV presenter Clarissa Ellul and footballer, Andre Schembri were introduced to each other. Little did they know that they would become husband and wife around six years later. At the time, Andre was working abroad and he was visiting Malta for the holidays. After enjoying each other's company over the Christmas festivities, they felt their relationship should continue and see where it would take them. This marked the start of a long-distance relationship with all the sacrifices it brings along. They stayed in touch through Skype daily and Clarissa used to frequently visit her boyfriend wherever he would be playing, unless he was visiting his home country to play with the national team.
Andre proposed to his bride-to-be two years ago while holidaying in Santorini. Marriage had been on the cards, but Clarissa never expected Andre to propose. He proposed, overlooking the wonderful cliff views. They celebrated their engagement with a lovely dinner while watching the sunset.
After four years of toing and froing, the boyfriend and girlfriend considered moving in together to settle down and live as a family, but that meant Clarissa would have had to leave her work and family behind. This was not an easy decision to make especially since Clarissa has a son and the decision would have also affected him. In the end they decided to get married first and then move to another country once Clarissa's son finished primary school. Clarissa was happy to hear her son too was excited to start a new life abroad. In fact, last July the family moved to Portugal and they're settled there for the time being.
The two love birds tied the knot on 3rd June last year. It was a spring wedding with a colour palette of blue, yellow, silver and white. As she planned the wedding, Clarissa was also involved in a wedding themed TV programme, The Weds. Thanks to wedding planner Sarah Young, who was a guest on the programme, Clarissa got lots of ideas on how to decorate the church and the venue.
The ceremony was held at St Paul's Parish church, Rabat. The church was chosen due to its proximity to Clarissa's favourite reception venue, The Xara Lodge. Clarissa had fallen in love with the place after she and Andre attended the first wedding that was held there.
At the church, the benches were decorated with big white ribbons and the altar with flowers. Fr Karm Debattista celebrated mass. Five bridesmaids and five groomsmen walked down the red carpet before the bride entered the church wearing a mermaid dress with beaded lace and embroidered details on the back by Ivory and Co. Clarissa didn't have to try on many dresses to find the right one.
At the venue, a small table was placed at the entrance to hold the guest book and the souvenirs for the guests to take one on their way out. A VIP red carpet was placed on the other side of the entrance so guests could take photos on their way in. The main hall was decorated with six bistro tables placed around the cake table. Large martini glasses filled with fresh flowers were placed on each table. In the garden, lanterns were hanged on the trees while big balls with light shone through them were placed on the grass. Infinitely Xara, took care of the catering service for the newlyweds' 500 guests.
Both the bride and groom like the Italian artiste Eros Ramazzotti, so they danced to Eros and Anastacia's song 'I belong to you' for their first dance. The Versatile Brass Band and singers Amber and Ludwig, entertained the guests all night long. DJ Nate played during the after party. Guests enjoyed the party and the couple will never forget the memory of their friends and family dancing and having a great time.
Mr and Mrs Schemrbi spent three weeks touring the United States for their honeymoon. They visited San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York and Miami before going for a week-long cruise on the Royal Caribbean, visiting Mexico, Haiti and Jamaica.
