Wedded to the job

Go Honeymoon:The trip of a lifetime continues for Deniseand Mark Duffield-Thomas, winners of the 'Ultimate Job in Ireland', as they visit honeymoon resorts in Zanzibar, Malta and closer to home – and attempt to break a world record

THE COCONUT trees are swaying in the breeze beside our private plunge pool, the butler is on standby in case of a beverage emergency and the most beautiful and private beach is within a bouquet throw.

Welcome to the honeymoon island of Zanzibar. Many honeymooners dream of warm blue seas and sparkling white sand after the hectic stress of wedding planning, and we’ve found the perfect spot.

Zanzibar, part of Tanzania, is off the east coast of Africa. Although we visited during their winter season (June-August), the weather was balmy enough to sunbathe in and swim all day long, without being too hot.

At this time of year, resorts are often quieter and you can pick up some great off-season deals. We can hardly say our job is stressful, but eight days in the sister resorts of Breezes and Baraza were blissful. Both of the beautiful, family owned resorts are on the unspoiled Bwejuu beach, voted as one of the top 30 beaches worldwide by Condé Nast Traveller.

Breezes is a relaxed resort. There are many surprises for honeymoon couples: champagne and exotic fruit on arrival and complimentary massages in the Frangipani Spa. Staff are incredibly friendly, greeting us by name, and evenings are lively and fun, with themed dinners and entertainment. During our stay, the World Cup was even shown in the resort cinema to help couples mingle – great for us, as we’ve had only each other for company 24/7!

Nearby Baraza was like a sultan’s palace and we were filling the role of his pampered guests. Stunning private villas, decorated in gold and white, surround fragrant gardens and an azure pool with piped underwater music. A beautiful spa complex and incredibly opulent restaurants complete the private and exclusive feel.

Zanzibar, the “Spice Island”, is famed for cloves, vanilla and exotic fruits, and we visited a nearby spice plantation for a private tour and taste-test of the island’s best exports, such as the coconuts freshly cut from the tree. It is easy to understand why Brian and Amy O’Driscoll recently honeymooned here.

The island combines paradise and privacy with added exotic luxury and a chilled tropical personality.

Tourism is still developing – meaning the world-class resorts can still boast unspoilt beaches, so it’s a perfect honeymoon hideaway.

AFTER THREE WEEKSof exotic travel, coming "home" to Ireland felt great. We knew Runaway Bride and Groom had connections but we did not expect the busy itinerary planned for our one week stay in Dalkey and Wexford. This packed agenda was filled with some of the most beautiful and romantic hotels and wedding venues the country has to offer – in fact we found that they were so much more romantic and cost effective than those we had experienced in the UK when we were planning our wedding. It left us wishing we had our original wedding over here.

We stayed at the Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel on Killiney Hill overlooking Dublin Bay. We continued our world record attempt to be the Most Married Couple in style with celebrity officiant Ciaran Nagle of the Irish Tenors conducting ceremonies in the expansive gardens and 18th century dungeon at the castle.

We were treated to a great trip with Go Sailing on a beautiful 54ft yacht around Dublin Bay to see the homes of Bono, Enya and, rumour has it, Leonardo DiCaprio. We could see why they chose the idyllic town of Dalkey and after a few hours we found ourselves saying that we would live there too if we could afford it.

From history to ultra-modern, the famous Irish hospitality continued with a renewal at minus 110 degrees. We travelled to the Whites Of Wexford to experience one of Ireland’s leading spas and wellness centres. In our most scantily clad renewal yet, we entered the cryo-treatment room, aimed at restoring and invigorating the bodies of athletes, for a very quick and cold ceremony.

Our surgical masks meant our lips didn’t freeze together when we sealed the vows with a kiss. Our wedding renewals atop the Hook Lighthouse and on the Dunbrody Famine Ship were tropical compared to the cryo.

A fitting end to our first week back in Ireland was a visit to the heavenly Johnstown Castle in Wexford, which has recently been granted a license to hold civil ceremonies. We have seen some breathtaking settings abroad, but Johnstown Castle has to be one of the most fairytale locations for weddings in the world. We were fortunate enough to be the first couple for more than 100 years to hold a wedding in the castle but we know this is going to be a very popular venue very soon.

WHAT ZANZIBARis for honeymoons, Malta is for weddings, especially for Irish couples. The short cheap flights, good value family friendly venues, baking sunshine and English-speaking locals made us wish we had longer than a week to explore the island. We stayed in two fantastic five-star hotels but did a whistle-stop through all the major wedding venues and our heads were spinning with romance and beauty.

Weddings are a huge deal in Malta. The average local wedding will have more than 400 guests, so there are wedding suppliers galore and your venue is limited only by your imagination.

There are 365 beautiful churches and no residency requirements for overseas couples wanting a church or civil wedding indoors or outdoors.

We renewed our vows a whopping 11 times here, testament to the endless possibilities for civil ceremonies, which include beach weddings, classic and romantic ballrooms, balmy Mediterranean villas (complete with grape vines and olive trees), piazzas surrounded by 15th century forts and many more options.

You can arrive in a boat, a horse-drawn carriage, a luxury Rolls Royce or just stroll out of your hotel room. We ought to be practised enough in renewing our vows but we had a very scary moment when Mark almost dropped my wedding ring through a deck to a marina five storeys below. Cue slow motion panic but all was well and we left Malta extremely married. The Maltese people are a delight and they are thrilled to give you the wedding day of your dreams.

• Mark and Denise travelled to Zanzibar and Malta complements of destination wedding and honeymoon company Runaway Bride and Groom (runaway brideandgroom.com). They stayed in Ireland courtesy of Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel, Killiney, and Whites Hotel in Wexford – both approved venues for civil ceremonies. Dublin Bay yacht trip was with gosailing.ie. Weddings at Johnstown Castle can be booked through runawaybrideandgroom.com.
• Follow Denise and Marks six- month global adventure on thehoneymoontesters.com and in The Irish Times