Inia and Natalie met through mutual friends in January of 2020 in Nepal. His friend and co-worker Joe, was engaged to her friend and co-worker, Carissa. Joe brought Inia to their church shortly after he arrived in Nepal, and it was love at first sight for Natalie. She was quick to introduce herself to him but he was so quiet she had to ask Joe what his friend’s name was later because she couldn’t hear him!
Inia was originally only going to be in Nepal for 3 months, but Covid hit right before he was set to leave, so he was stuck there for about 15 months longer than planned. Which worked out great because it gave Natalie & Inia plenty of time to get to know each other!
They started dating New Year’s Day 2021, then did a few months of long distance after Inia was able to go back to Fiji in August, until Fijian borders opened up again and Natalie was able to come at the end of December. They got officially engaged on New Year’s Day 2022!
We catch up with Bride Natalie on planning her wedding in Fiji:
We picked Fiji to be married because Inia is from here, this way a lot of his family could attend, and some of mine as well! We picked Nadi so it would be easy for my family flying in from the States, and we wanted to do a resort wedding so most things would be taken care of for us.
We planned the wedding in about 4 months, as I wanted most things somewhat sorted before I came to Fiji in late December. So I looked into all the different resorts’ packages and different photographers. I made pro and con lists of what they offered. I will say it was difficult doing from another country (I was in the States at the time). But it all came together in the end!
I used Bula Bride as a tool to help me plan. I loved how it had everything in one place, the links to the venue’s brochures were sooo helpful, and getting to see photos of other people’s weddings and hearing their experiences was so great too.
Getting ready:
My bridesmaids (my sister and cousin) and I stayed at the Radisson the night before the wedding, which made the morning of the wedding so much more chill and relaxing. We got upgraded to a suite which made it even more magical. We slept in, had some coffee, ordered room service, and just got to hang out until hair and make-up, which started around 2pm. My mom and aunt joined us then as well, which was super fun. We were so thankful to have all the extra room of the suite for the getting ready time!
The wonderful Palavi from Totoka did my hair and makeup. She did a wonderful job! I felt extra fancy, but also felt like I still looked like myself, so it was perfect! She also convinced me to try the false lashes, and I’m so glad she did, because they added so much to the look!
I got my dress at David’s Bridal back in the States. I absolutely loved it. It had everything I wanted in a dress. It was lacey, looked a bit vintage, a creamy ivory with hints of blush. I’m quite pale so I wanted something that wasn’t stark white and just a bit different, so it was just what I wanted. It was also the first dress I picked off of the rack. We ordered the bridesmaid dresses online from a shop called Lulu’s.
Inia wore grey pants with a matching vest and a dusty rose tie. The guys wore matching grey pants, lighter pink ties, and suspenders.
The Ceremony:
Location: Radisson Blu Resort
The Radisson provided the chairs and the arch. My friend Carissa, my aunt, and I did the flower arrangements on the arch ourselves. We found out last minute those weren’t being provided so we just kind of threw something together. And Inia’s wonderful bubu made the mats for us. They were lovely and my favourite part of the ceremony set up!
We went with dusty blue and pink, and cream accents. I’m from the middle of no-where Kansas so I really love that rustic country look. I also love vintage/antique grandma-ish aesthetics and those colors fit that
Another of my aunts did all of the flower arrangements for us, my bouquet, the bridesmaids’ bouquets, and boutonnieres for the guys, and corsages for my and Inia’s grandma. She blew me away with how wonderful they all looked!
We did the traditional vows at our ceremony, but added in an extra line that my friends had used at their wedding that I just really loved. I asked them if we could include it in our special day and they were kind enough to share it with us. We also took communion together as our first act as a married couple which was special for the both of us.
Getting Photos:
We used Nadi Bay Photography and they were amazing! I found them on Bula Bride and really loved the style of their work. They also had a really good range of prices and packages, so it was easy to find the perfect fit for our needs. Also the packages had the cutest names so that was just an added bonus!
I was excited about getting detail shots, candid getting photos, and then of course the romantic couple photos. We also got some fun/silly photos with the bridal party.
I was so excited to see that videography was also available at a price that fit our budget because it was something I had wanted but didn’t think we could afford.
The Reception:
We had the reception on the Ocean Deck at the Radisson. The ceremony was there too, due to rain.
My mom and I provided all of the center pieces and decorations. I crocheted large doilies for each table (grandma aesthetic haha) and my mom brought extra flowers that matched the bouquets and fairy lights. I picked up some mason and milk jars from Dollar Things here, and some floating candles as well. My mom, aunt, and Carissa were wonderful and set everything up for me while we were having our photoshoot. And I so loved how they looked!
The dinner was an amazing huge buffet. There was chicken, lamb, fish, root crops, fried rice, veggies. So many things. I have celiac, so the best part for me was all but a couple options were gluten free! So I was able to enjoy the meal and have plenty of different options.
The Radisson did our cake, and was so so good. The best gluten free cake and it looked beautiful. We got a two tier “naked” cake that was decorated with some more flowers that my mom brought over.
Since my family was flying out the next day, and the other guests were traveling as well, we decided not to do a grand exit. Instead we just took time to say goodbye to everyone nicely and make sure everyone got a to go box of food!
Your advice for Brides planning a Fiji Wedding:
I found my spreadsheets super helpful, and using Bula Bride to make them made life so much easier! Also if you’re not able to have all of your friends and family come if it’s a destination wedding, I would 100% recommend using a livestream service so everyone can celebrate with you. I’m so thankful we did that!
Highlights of the day:
There were so many, seeing Inia tearing up as I walked down the aisle (I was also crying like a baby), watching our families dance together to the Cha Cha Slide and then to a Fijian song, the little kids at the resort looking at me in my wedding dress like I was a Disney princess (so precious). It was all magical!
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string(19) "field_5966139c6f821"
}
["select_vendor_1_select_vendor_post"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
string(22) "a:1:{i:0;s:5:"17110";}"
}
["_select_vendor_1_select_vendor_post"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
string(19) "field_596613ce6f822"
}
["_wp_old_date"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
string(10) "2016-05-07"
}
}
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