Meet the expats - Natalie Shylova : from the Ukraine to Planning Weddings in Mauritius

Originally from the Ukraine, Natalie is the kind of person who always looks on the bright side of life. During the interview, she explained that everything she has ever needed always falls straight into her lap. One day, Mauritius was calling and through the powers that are out there, she ended up settling down here, planning beautiful, elegant weddings and living the life of her dreams with her husband and two young children.

We met Natalie and her Mauritian husband, Shane, on the west coast of Mauritius last week and it was really interesting for us to learn how Shane fell back in love with the island too, because of his wife. Here’s what happened…

To begin with, Shane, you’re Mauritian, right? And Natalie, you’re from the Ukraine…
Shane: Yes, I’m Mauritian. I was born here, I live here and I just went abroad to study for five or six years.
Natalie: Yes, I’m from the Ukraine. I came here with a work permit. When it was time to leave, I met Shane.

Before we get to that story, can you tell us what life was like in the Ukraine?
Natalie: I really liked the Ukraine. But actually Donetsk is the city where I’m from and now there’s war there, between Russia and the Ukraine. But when I left, everything was okay and I loved it and really didn’t want to leave.

So, how then did you end up being in Mauritius?
Natalie: After I finished my degree in the Ukraine, I got an opportunity to work here in Mauritius for three months in direct sales. It was like training, so I came here for business reasons, but then the company saw that I was really good.

I went back to the Ukraine and returned on a work permit and at that time, it was possible to obtain a work permit for one year. When I met Shane, I started to really love Mauritius. In fact, I made Shane love Mauritius as well!

Before, he preferred Europe; he liked France and the UK. He said that there wasn’t any technology or civilisation here. But in Mauritius, you actually have everything. It just takes some time to discover where you can get things you need.

Shane: Actually yes, I was not so keen on Mauritius – but now things are catching up really fast. You need to have an open mind; to see what is outside, to travel and then you can see that Mauritius is actually very good.  After I met her, I started to take her to different places and this is when I realised that Mauritius does offer us a lot of things to do!

How did the two of you meet?
Natalie: We met in Port Louis. We were out for a company dinner in a lounge in Le Suffren, and that’s how we met. He saw me when I was walking down the stairs - it was a bit like a fairy-tale!

Natalie, when you first arrived in Mauritius for work purposes, what were your first impressions?
Natalie: When I arrived, I was only like 20 or 21, so I was looking at it with a girl’s mind. I wanted to travel. I was travelling before around Europe, but it was my first experience on an island, and that is very different. In fact after three months, I really wanted to go back home; I couldn’t see myself staying here on a long-term basis.

And actually, just before I met Shane, I already had a ticket booked to go back but just one week before, the director of the company asked me if I could stay for an extra three months. After I agreed, I met Shane! Later, I started to like Mauritius even more.

So, what made you decide to make Mauritius your new home?
Natalie: Firstly, when we got married, I got pregnant soon afterwards. And for kids it’s an amazing place - there’s always sunshine and the weather is good and you don’t need to put layers of clothes on the baby.

When you have kids, you start to understand Mauritius is the perfect place for them. I started to work a little bit in the tourism sector, which gave me the opportunity to explore Mauritius even more and I discovered so many amazing places. I met quite a few Russian friends here and I used to say to Shane, “Look how they left everything to come and live here.”

There’s something magical here, something special. I now really consider Mauritius as my native country. I was born in the Ukraine, I love it a lot there and it’s a pity with what’s happening now. But for me, Mauritius is my other country and I choose it with my heart.

Were both your children born here? How did you find the experience of pregnancy and giving birth in Mauritius?
Natalie: I always try to find the positive side of all situations. In the Ukraine and in Russia, we still have this USSR standard where you should do lots of tests and everything, but for me, I wasn’t into this.

To be pregnant is natural. Here, there isn’t such a need for so many tests. You have the sun and there aren’t so many industrial factories where you’re breathing in fumes. I gave birth at Clinique Bon Pasteur, which really doesn’t feel like a hospital; it’s more like a small hotel.

Lots of girls here often complain about these things but I try to look at the positive side. I have no complaints about the doctor or the hospital or anything else.

You mentioned you got married in Mauritius and now you have a wedding planning business, ‘Weddings in Mauritius’. Are the two interlinked? How did the wedding planning business come about?
Natalie: We had two weddings; one was at the hotel and one was at our place - and I realised the level of wedding organisation at the hotel was really poor. People are paying so much money for this fairy-tale wedding at the hotel and when they go there, there are no good specialists. For makeup for example, when I was at the hotel, I was teaching the girl how she should do my makeup and my hair.

I was so shocked. Then with the decorations, when you tell them you want green, they bring you red… and it’s lots of things like this. I don’t blame them because Mauritius is small and lots of people who work here at the hotel are not adequately trained, and the hotels don’t want to provide training, too.

Thus, I informed Shane that we should offer this service, but on another level. We decided we needed to collaborate with tour operators and I went to take some really good courses. I couldn’t find a good florist or decorator here, so I went and took courses on those, too.

You need to have an open mind; to see what is outside, to travel and then you can see that Mauritius is actually very good.  After I met her, I started to take her to different places and this is when I realised that Mauritius does offer us a lot of things to do!

I started to learn everything by myself. I also trained some people about how to do it, so then we started to offer decorations as well for our weddings. The hotels really liked it, so they asked us to decorate for them. That’s how we started. I think this business is really meant for me; I kept attracting clients without actually doing much advertising.

What makes your business special?
Natalie: There really isn’t anyone else providing the services that we do. We really focus on the small touches and the small details, and we build a relationship with our clients as well. I have come across some good wedding planners at hotels but they are just employees.

They’ll be around for you during office hours only. But when you have a vested interest in your business and for providing something special to your clients, you can be available whenever they need you. In addition, if someone asks for something different or out of the ordinary, I’m happy because it’s something different that I can do and I love this, and I have proper training for this.

Where are your clients usually from?
Natalie: Because I’m Russian speaking, it’s mainly Russian speaking clients from all over the world. I also recently had a French couple and a Latvian couple, but because of the language, it’s mainly Russians.

Have you encountered any challenges with your business here, so far?
Natalie: We work a lot with hotels and sometimes you encounter personnel who really understand that the client needs something special and beautiful. But other staffs don’t understand and don’t seem to bother.

Sometimes, I come across wedding planners in hotels who are happy when we bring clients for them. Then there are those who don’t want to bother and are lazy and will blame things on hotel policies…etc.

What do you enjoy most about doing what you do?
Natalie: I think it’s the finished result and also when you see the happiness of the people. After each wedding, we film a review and we ask them to give us feedback on the wedding. To this day, we have 100% positive feedback and this makes me happy and gives me a push that we’re doing the right thing.

Are there any challenges that you face as a couple, living and working together?
Shane: Actually, we really enjoy it. For me, my parents always worked together. Both my mother and my father have specific qualities and they complement each other.

Natalie: My parents also worked together although they didn’t have their own business. I think it’s because we’ve seen our families work together all the time, it’s already settled in our minds that it’s a good thing to be together.

My parents also worked together although they didn’t have their own business. I think it’s because we’ve seen our families work together all the time, it’s already settled in our minds that it’s a good thing to be together.

How do you balance your work life with being parents to your two, beautiful children?
Natalie: I got lucky again with our second child, because she sleeps a lot! Shane’s family is also a big help. I also have my team who help with the flower arrangement and decorations. I always like things to be perfect though, so for the bridal bouquet, I do myself.

What are some of your favourites things to do on the island?
Natalie: The beaches are always something that you associate with Mauritius and we enjoy that, even though recently, we haven’t really been visiting the beaches. Plus there are so many luxury hotels, and where would you get the opportunity to visit these? It’s great that it’s possible to spend time at these hotels which aren’t so far away.

I also love the nature here; on the one side, you’ve got beautiful mountains and on the other side, you have the beautiful ocean. During my second pregnancy, we would go hiking twice per week after dropping our son off to school. Mauritius is a small island but there is so much to discover.

Finally, what would you like the future to hold for you, your family and your business?
Natalie: The more I spend time here in Mauritius, the more I’m falling in love with this island, honestly. Shane and I both really love what we do.

Shane: I think there’s good karma in this business because you’re making people happy, be it with their holiday or their wedding. It’s like a new page of their life and you’re part of it. It’s good.

Natalie: We want to develop and maybe open a school here to share our knowledge, like the decorating part, etc. Furthermore,  we want to work with more destination weddings with big budgets and show them all the many beautiful things about Mauritius.