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Wedding | Ashleigh & Clint | Sheraton Denarau

Clinton and Ashleigh’s wedding journey led them back to the place that stole their hearts—Fiji. After meeting through mutual friends in 2018, their relationship flourished, and in January 2023, Clinton proposed on the beachfront at Radisson Blu Denarau.

Their deep connection to Fiji was solidified during this family holiday, where they fell in love with the warmth of the people and the island’s beauty. So, when it came time to choose a wedding destination, returning to Fiji felt like the perfect choice. The couple was drawn to the breathtaking Chapel at the Sheraton, which sits elegantly over the water, offering a stunning ocean backdrop.

We catch up with bride Ashleigh on planning their wedding in Fiji:

 

 

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Elopement | Hannah & Andreas | Barefoot Manta Island

Hannah & Andreas met 10 years ago after Andreas returned from a year abroad in Australia. They realised that they had been living in the same small village almost their entire lives. Andreas proposed on Hannah’s favorite beach on La Gomera, a destination she has been returning to since she was little.

After traveling a lot over the last few years across all continents, they wanted to travel to the South Pacific. When choosing the country to marry in, it was important to them that the marriage could be legally recognized at home in Germany.

We catch up with Bride Hannah on planning their elopement in Fiji:

Venue: Barefoot Manta Island
Number of guests: none
Where did you and your guests travel from: Germany

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Elopement | Kelly & Jarmen | Malamala Beach Club

Kelly and Jarmen connected on Tinder and immediately clicked. They decided to forego a formal engagement and proceeded directly to marriage, as they had already planned a holiday in Fiji and thought it was the perfect opportunity to wed.

Kelly was never keen on a conventional wedding; she had always envisioned eloping to a tropical island. The laid-back allure of Fiji made it the ideal choice for their intimate paradise wedding.

We catch up with Bride Kelly on planning her elopement in Fiji:

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Wedding | Janelle & Kiran | Hilton Fiji

Meeting on good old Tinder in January 2018, Janelle and Kiran decided to check out a Bryan Adams concert, and as it turned out it would be the first of many dates to come!

Kiran proposed in June 2018 in Bora Bora, Tahiti with a very romantic and VERY large lunch of everything you could imagine on the deck of their overwater bungalow.

We catch up with bride Janelle on why they chose a destination wedding in Fiji:

 

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Wedding | Mick & Stacey | Malolo Island

Mick & Stacey met online during the very first COVID lockdown & he proposed at The Versace Hotel on the Gold Coast in July 2021.
They wanted to elope but bring their blended family of four children as they hadn’t travelled as a family before. Malolo Island was always their first choice. The relaxed, family vibe was exactly what they were looking for as a destination wedding location.

We catch up with Groom Mick on planning their Fiji wedding day:

Location | Malolo Island Resort
Number of guests | 8 + a dozen friends we made during our trip
Where did you travel from | Gold Coast, Australia

 

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Wedding | Hannah & Joe | Lomani Island Resort

Hannah & Joe officially met during the summer of 2018 through some mutual friends in Manhattan Beach, California. But they soon realized their paths had almost crossed many times over the years. They had a mutual family friend, their mums went to high school together, and their great grandparents were even neighbors. Needless to say, they not only had a lot in common, but they were able to vet each other quickly! Joe had glowing reviews from all the mutual contacts!

We catch up with Bride Hannah on what lead her to booking a destination wedding in Fiji:

Joe took me by complete surprise on December 23, 2021 when he dropped to one knee by the place where we had our first date in Manhattan Beach. We were on a beach walk with our dog, Cheddar, like we do almost daily, but this walk turned into something even more special!

I have had the honor of working with Tourism Fiji since 2019 and knew how special of a place Fiji is. We both decided we wanted a destination wedding and so Fiji felt like the natural fit! We agreed on it instantly. We were inspired by the beauty of Fiji! I wanted to feel very tropical, with native flowers and a local Fijian flair.

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Elopement | Shannon & Timalai | Koro Sun Resort

Shannon and Timalai met through a dating app, and then started following each other on Instagram. After a few weeks of messaging back and forth, they decided to meet in person. They went out to dinner, and from the moment they started talking, they clicked.

Shannon remembers feeling like he was someone special from the very beginning. There was just something about him that made her feel like they were meant to be together.

After that first date, they started seeing each other more and more often. They would go on walks together, try new restaurants, and just spend time talking and getting to know each other.

We catch up with Bride Shannon on what lead her to book a destination wedding in Fiji:

 

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Wedding | Karen & Steve | Castaway Island Resort

Despite matching on a dating app months earlier that never amounted to anything, Karen & Steve actually met in 2014 at a party in Sydney. They both didn’t even realize that they had matched on this dating app until Steve recognized some photos of Karen by the third date.

We catch up with bride Karen on what lead her to book a destination wedding in Fiji.

THE DATE: Saturday, 7 May 2022
THE LOCATION: Castaway Island Resort
THE NUMBER OF GUESTS: 45 guests

We both wanted a destination wedding that:
1) wouldn’t be too far from home (Sydney)
2) was family-friendly, as many of our guests had little ones
3) had sunny, tropical island weather and
4) a country renowned for its untouched beauty and friendly, down to earth people.

Needless to say, Castaway ticked all these boxes.

Thankfully, part of our initial research when looking into Fiji weddings involved stumbling across the wonderful wedding planner, Chelsea Jayne Weddings. Soon after making contact with Chelsea, we knew we would be in safe hands by having her do most of the legwork for us and ensuring that the entire wedding planning journey would be seamless.

We honestly cannot imagine how we would have gotten married in Fiji without Chelsea’s help and support. Planning an overseas wedding is stressful enough as it is, but to do it in the midst of a global pandemic would have been enough for us to throw the towel in right from the very start. We feel very fortunate to have met Chelsea before Covid became a thing and she helped us navigate through the murky waters of wedding planning – pandemic style!

Bula Bride was a really helpful source for me throughout the whole planning phase. I particularly liked features of other brides’ experiences and helpful tips. Nothing is more insightful than first-hand experience of others who have literally gone through what you’re about to head into yourself. It’s only fitting that I pay it forward now.

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Chelsey & Tom – Radisson Blu Resort

Meeting 7 years ago (on the date of their wedding) through business friends, Chelsey & Tom fell in love. They were looking for a small wedding with close family and friends, and they felt Fiji was so beautiful. They also knew people that lived there and based on their feedback, a Fiji wedding seemed like a great idea!

Read more about Chelsey & Tom’s wedding day:

BRIDE & GROOMS NAME: Chelsey and Tom
THE DATE: 18th August, 2019
THE LOCATION: The Radisson Blu Fiji
THE NUMBER OF GUESTS: 40

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Bettina & Joe – Koro Sun Resort

They met 4 years ago at a business meeting but Joe was timid and Bettina was focused on getting a job abroad. After a while, a friend motivated Joe to invite Bettina to coffee because they worked on the same floor.
One day Joe took Bettina out for dinner and she realised that not only was he [quote] “the most badass snowboarder from the Austrian mountains I would ever get to know” but also the most caring and polite gentleman – somehow really old school. Joe knew for a long time they were meant to be a couple but waited patiently for her to decide. After two years he proposed, it was very sweet.

BRIDE & GROOM: Bettina & Joe
THE DATE: 23rd November 2019
THE LOCATION: Koro Sun Resort & Spa, Savusavu
THE NUMBER OF GUESTS: 2

We catch up with Bettina on planning her Fiji wedding:

We knew from the start that we would love to get married somewhere special far away from home but we didn’t know exactly were. Then on a cold grey November day we found an advertisement in front of a travel agency naming Fiji the most friendliest country of the world. As we saw the two faces smiling bright and warm from the advertisement we knew instantly it had to be Fiji for our wedding.

After having decided on Fiji we did some research on the internet on how a wedding could look like in Fiji, where to go and what to do. We immediately found Bula Bride with more information than we could have imagined. Bula Bride was for us the go to website when searching for information, venues or vendors. For example did we choose Koro Sun Resort and Spa because of the suggestions we found on Bula Bride. Koro Sun Resort and Spa with it’s beautiful setting, the sea, the wide garden, the lily pond and lovely bures intrigued us with the idea of getting married in the rainforest.

We didn’t use a travel agent as we love to organize our travels by ourselves but we had Bula Bride as a guide for everything related to the wedding and after booking Koro Sun Resort and Spa, Seta from the resort became our wedding coordinator.