Jewel Weddings: Hindu Weddings and Harbour Celebrations in Malta

Jewel Weddings plans weddings in Malta that run from a three day Hindu programme to a celebration for more than 800 guests in Valletta. Helen Falzon, who founded the Attard company, was born on the island and runs each wedding with her own team, which stays with the couple until the last detail is finished. The company also plans weddings in Sicily, and many of its couples plan from Ireland, the UK, Scotland and the United States.

A Hindu wedding over three days

The company’s Indian weddings run for three days, and each day has its own setting. The first is the mehndi, which is usually held on one of the island’s sandy beaches. The decoration and tents are in bright colours, the buffet mixes Mediterranean and Indian dishes, and guests dance barefoot to Indian music. The women have henna applied, and there is a fireworks display. The second day is the pithi, a private ceremony for the couple’s families, usually held where the couple are staying. Relatives rub turmeric and other spices onto the couple as a sign of purification, and the decoration is yellow and white. The third day is the Hindu wedding itself. The mandap is sometimes set at 5am, so the team is at the venue well before the guests. From about 9.30 the guests and the groom arrive, and the bride arrives last. Dhol musicians play and colour cannons are fired. After the rituals an Indian buffet is served, the legal ceremony takes place in the evening, and a large reception follows.

A family group beneath a floral mandap with the sea behind, Malta, Jewelweddings Event Planners — A family group beneath a floral mandap with the sea behind, Malta. Photograph: Jewelweddings Event Planners.

For these weddings the company can arrange the priest, the dhol musicians, a bilingual toastmaster and a henna artist, which lets the mehndi, pithi and ceremony days be planned as one programme. The company’s portfolio also includes Indian, African, Jewish, Irish, English, Maltese, Russian, Armenian, French and American weddings, in church or civil ceremonies, and it plans same sex weddings too.

From a small ceremony to 800 guests

In the 2025 season the company planned a wedding for more than 800 guests in the centre of Valletta, for a Maltese couple, with the sea around the venue. The same season included a wedding that brought a French and an Irish family together in Malta, with guests travelling from several countries. At the other end of the range are small, intimate ceremonies, and the company plans every size between them. Luxury weddings for Maltese couples are part of the work, designed and catered from start to finish.

Guests cheer along the aisle at the close of a ceremony, Jewelweddings Event Planners — Guests cheer along the aisle at the close of a ceremony. Photograph: Jewelweddings Event Planners.

Many couples are planning from somewhere else. Couples in Ireland, the UK, Scotland and the United States talk to the team by phone, WhatsApp and video call, and in January 2024 the company took a stand at the Bride of the Year Show at the RDS in Dublin, where Irish couples asked about marrying in Malta or Italy. Couples can hand over the whole plan from the first idea, or come once the main bookings are made and ask the team to finish the details and run the day.

Palazzi, villas and gardens

The venues in the company’s portfolio range from baroque villas to farmhouses and beach clubs. Villa Bologna is a baroque villa with citrus orchards, fountains and lawns in its gardens. Palazzo Parisio, in Naxxar, is an 18th century palace with baroque gardens. Limestone Heritage, in Siġġiewi, has a Waterfall Garden where ceremonies are held beside the water, with floral arrangements and chandeliers. Razzett L-Abjad, in Birkirkara, is a 200 year old Maltese farmhouse set among vineyards and orange groves on two acres, and Castello Zamitello, near Mgarr, is a 17th century castle with a stone staircase for the bride’s arrival.

The couple in a gilded palace ballroom with chandeliers, Malta, Jewelweddings Event Planners — The couple in a gilded palace ballroom with chandeliers, Malta. Photograph: Jewelweddings Event Planners.

Several of these properties have a history of their own. Villa Bologna was built in 1745, when Malta was ruled by the Knights of St John, and its back facade and the Dolphin Fountain were added in the 1920s. Palazzo Parisio was acquired in the middle of the 19th century by Marquis Giuseppe Scicluna and is run today by his great granddaughter and her daughter. Castello dei Baroni, on the hilltop at Wardija in the north, was built in 1783 in the time of Grandmaster de Rohan. Limestone Heritage is a family run attraction with an open air museum, an old stone quarry and a miniature farm as well as its gardens. By the sea, Baia Beach Club, open since 1972, sits in Little Armier, in the north of the island, with views across to Gozo and Comino, and the hotel list takes in Hilton Malta, the Corinthia St George’s Bay, Le Meridien St Julian’s and the Westin Dragonara. On Gozo the portfolio includes the Ta’ Frenc restaurant and the Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz.

Top table set on the lawn before a limestone villa, Jewelweddings Event Planners — Top table set on the lawn before a limestone villa. Photograph: Jewelweddings Event Planners.

A venue is not required. With the necessary permits the company also stages weddings in historic squares, in private villas, in countryside fields and on beaches, to suit the budget.

Reception tables laid in a Maltese villa garden beside a stone pergola, Jewelweddings Event Planners — Reception tables laid in a Maltese villa garden beside a stone pergola. Photograph: Jewelweddings Event Planners.

Sicily, and the Italian side of the business

The company began planning weddings in Sicily two years before the pandemic, paused during it and restarted its Sicilian work in 2024. In Catania, one wedding had its church service in a basilica on Via Etnea, with the couple walking to Piazza Duomo for photographs and a seated dinner at Villa Infinito Mare. In Taormina, an American couple asked for a wedding on a modest budget. The team travelled out two days early, a pizza party the day before let everyone relax, and the wedding mass was held at the Chiesa di S. Caterina, with Prosecco and canapés outside overlooking the Belvedere and the reception at Villa Diadoro. A couple from Australia eloped to Acireale, where the bride has Sicilian family. A later Sicilian wedding, for a Maltese couple at Borgo del Carato, had 200 guests who travelled from Malta. The team spent three days at the Borgo, held a church rehearsal in its small chapel, arranged transport from the church in the old town back to the Borgo, and brought in Maltese caterers because the couple wanted familiar food. The following morning the team supervised the transport home and the packing of every wedding item. Helen speaks fluent Italian, which she uses with Sicilian suppliers when negotiating prices. She goes every year to Borsa dei Matrimoni in Rome, a trade fair where planners update their lists of venues in Tuscany, Sicily, the Amalfi Coast, Venice and Como, and in 2024 she also attended BTM Puglia and the DW Summit in Ravello. In November of that year she was in London for meetings with travel agencies, with the aim of bringing more couples to marry in Malta.

How the planning runs

The first conversation is about the couple rather than the venue: their character, likes and dislikes, style and taste, and even their quirks. Helen then talks through the venues that suit the guest list and the budget, and the couple choose suppliers on the island together with her, from florists and wedding cars to hair, make up and photography. Meetings are held regularly, in person or by video and WhatsApp for couples abroad, and the schedule includes food tastings and rehearsals as the date approaches. Helen has an office in Attard and often meets couples in a hotel lobby or a similar relaxed place. Some couples arrive with the venue and main suppliers already booked. For them the company reviews what has been arranged, adds styling and finishing touches, and runs the day. When the plan is complete, Helen and the team who will work on the day meet to go through it. On the wedding day Helen is with the couple, and the team stays until everything is accounted for. The company works in English, Italian and Maltese. Planning fees are quoted on request, after a conversation about the date, the guest numbers and the venue, and planning is tailored to a range of budgets.

Helen Falzon and the name

The name comes from Helen’s childhood. Her parents managed several jewellery shops around Malta, and she plans each wedding as a jewel that needs polishing. Before founding the company she gained experience in event planning in Dubai, Milan and Malta, and earlier she worked in retail and in the fashion industry. She has been planning weddings for more than a decade and is President of the Malta Chapter of the International Wedding Planners Association. The company also has an events side, Jewelevents, which handles meetings, incentives, conferences and events, including group flights, hotels and car hire, as well as parties and private celebrations.

Planning your wedding with Jewel Weddings

Couples can talk to the company by phone, WhatsApp or video call before they travel. Ask at the first conversation what the planning fee is for your date and guest numbers, and how far ahead your date needs to be booked. The listing on 5 Star Weddings has the services, the planning process and a gallery of the company’s work, and couples with a date in mind can check your date with Jewel Weddings directly.

A planner for programmes that run to several days

Jewel Weddings suits couples whose wedding is more than a single afternoon: a Hindu programme across three days, a guest list of several hundred, or a Maltese or Sicilian celebration for families who travel. The principal planning question is cost, since the fee is set after a conversation about the date and guest numbers, so ask for it early and say how many guests and which days you have in mind.