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Matt & Sara

This sweet First Landing Fiji Wedding is that of Tasmanian couple Matt & Sara. After knowing & dating each other for 13 years, it was about time the couple said their ‘I do’s’ Fiji was their choice, sharing their day with 45 of their loved ones.

The couple entrusted in the resort for all the details of their day and turned out better than they dreamed of. Making the whole planning process carefree!

Captured by Island Encounters Photography, Sara shares with us more insight into their day.

The Dress
An Alfred Angelo gown from a small bridal shop, Island Brides in Hobart, Tasmania.

The Ceremony
Was held at Foot Island at First Landing. The setup was all organised by Shalini and the staff at First Landing. The first time I saw the set up was walking down the aisle and it was better than I could have organised myself. I loved the local flowers and the Fijian material which featured down the aisle on the bamboo.

The Entertainment
The DJ was organised by First Landing Resort and could not have been happier with the mix of music provided.

We also arranged Fireworks through the resort which were set off just after cake cutting which was a bit of a highlight and a surprise for the guests.

A self-made photo booth was also arranged by the Bride and Groom and included a lace backdrop and many many props. An App on the Tablet created the ideal way to capture the shots.

The Advice

Try not to sweat the small stuff, in the end the wedding is at an amazing spot in a beautiful country with lovely people.

 

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Jeremy & Renee

I first saw Jeremy & Renee’s Musket Cove Fiji Wedding on Renee’s Instagram. She tagged a sneak peak of their day with #fijiwedding, and it was their ceremony backdrop and the effortless style that got my attention.

A well traveled couple, their love conquered long distances. So a destination wedding was fitting. Both from New Zealand, met in Melbourne, the wedding planned in Europe and a wedding in Fiji to bring 50 of their loved ones together to celebrate their day.

Captured by Kama Catch Me, Renee shares with us the details of their Musket Cove Fiji Wedding.

The Planing /

The planning was done from Europe and all carried out online. There was a lot of research and many obsessive hours spent trawling websites and reading reviews! To compliment the tropical setting I wanted fresh, natural tones. So I went for whites, blues and greens.

The Dress / by Rime Arodaky. Rime is a designer from Paris. I spotted her designs online and rang a number of French bridal boutiques until I found one little shop in Nice, France that had my dress in stock. It was a gamble but luckily I was happy with it when it arrived.

The Ceremony / The ceremony was held out on Coral Quay. The ombre fabric for the arch was sourced through my mother in law who is an interior designer and Musket Cove kindly took care of everything else.

The Flowers / My flowers were a little bit of a let down, I wanted loose unstructured bouquets of greenery, but when the bouquets arrived they were tight, small, structured and had pink flowers in them. (My least favourite colour!)

I thought the florist understood what I wanted as I had sent photos and then followed up with a visit while on the mainland.So when they arrived all we could do was quickly try to fix them ourselves by plucking ferns and stems from the poor unsuspecting trees at Musket Cove. However our inexperience backfired and whatever we picked wilted almost immediately.

It just shows that you can think you have everything covered and sometimes things just don’t work out as you had pictured in your head. Something comes over you on the day though and you brush it right off and carry on!

The Reception / Was supposed to be outside of Dicks on the deck but the staff made the wise decision to move it indoors last minute. I am glad they did as it absolutely bucketed down. We had a U shaped table in the dining room with long greenery centrepieces and candles. It actually worked out better in there as it was cosy and intimate and everyone could easily hear the speeches.

The Highlight /

We were lucky to score the one and only sunset of the week, which was incredible and made for some wonderful photos! The sunset 100% made up for the rain.

The Advice / If any issues come up such as a little rain, or your flowers are all wrong, take it with a grain of salt- these are small details which in the scheme of things don’t matter and wont impact on your overall Fiji wedding experience xx.

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Junior & Candis

I must say, I’m partial to an island wedding. White sand, blue skies, turquoise waters, a sense of relaxation and a whole lot of fun! Mana Island is perfect for large wedding groups and has some of the most stunning views for a Fiji wedding in the Mamanucas.

It was also the perfect location for Junior & Candis’s Fiji X Boho wedding. Captured by Rusila of Leezett Photography, this wedding has all the right details.

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Tyler & Paula

It always makes picking a venue in Fiji for your big day when you have stayed at the resort numerous times. After all, it becomes your home away from home.

After meeting at AFL Grand Final Day in 2013, Tyler & Paula said their ‘I do’s’ 2 years later surrounded 50 loved ones at The Warwick, Fiji. A resort Tyler’s family had visited for many years.

What I love about this wedding is the couple’s individual style. Some brides choose to do the whole princess look. For Paula, she went for the mermaid look, completing her look with a crown that would make any mermaid jealous. Very fitting for a Fiji Wedding!

Captured by Cheer Wedding Photography, here is Tyler & Paula’s Warwick Fiji Wedding.

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Peter & Alexia

When I wedding like this hits your inbox and makes your jaw drop it’s certainly worthy of a blog post. I remember Alexia contacting me a while back in regards to having a Greek wedding in Fiji. I was instantly intrigued!

Peter & Alexia had 120 guests join them in paradise, travelling from all ends of the world; namely, South Africa, London, Canada, Oman, Australia and New Zealand.

“One night someone suggested a destination wedding as a joke and this planted the seed. From that night onwards,nothing would change our minds and we were ready to face any challenge to make our dream a reality. We have a love for the South Pacific islands and everyone knows that about us, so we could not find a more perfect location to tie the knot. However, our culture and traditions are very important to us and choosing to have a destination wedding meant that we were risking losing all of that. When we became aware of a little Greek church in Fiji (which our Archbishop, K.K. Amfilochios from Wellington, New Zealand built), we thought that this could be the only possible way to unite all of our ideas. From here it was full steam ahead to try and plan our ‘big fat’ Greek wedding in Fiji, in under one year. ” ~ Alexia

What I love most about this wedding, is that the couple pushed the boundaries to what could be achieved for a Fiji Destination Wedding. And that is what Bula Bride is about – going beyond the package & restrictions of resort weddings.

Alexia shares with us details of their BIG day. Captured by New Zealand Photographer, Danelle Bohane Photography.

The Planning / I have a love for event planning and challenged myself to plan the wedding myself. All brides need to be aware that choosing to have a destination wedding makes everything so much more difficult. Communication becomes difficult. Being able to visualise different ideas and concepts, becomes a challenge. We underestimated the distance and because we were unable to physically be there, we had to rely on our various contacts in Fiji to supply us with the information we required. This meant that many deadlines were thrown out of sync, due to ‘island time’. There is so much more to consider for a destination wedding. You must be prepared to have the patience to deal with it all.

The Hair & Makeup / Sydney based CJ Makeup Artistry did the bridal party’s hair and makeup on the day, as well as Mother and Grandmother of the Bride. I went for beautiful vintage waves and my two Maid of Honours had loose up-dos.

The Dress / I was so lucky to come across my stunning Sottero and Midgley dress, with a bold patterned lace adorning a portrait illusion front and back neckline. The dress was found on a girl’s trip to Sydney at the lovely Abbey Bridal Boutique. Badgley Mischka Kiara heels in ivory were my dream wedding shoes and just screamed elegance and luxury.

The Maids / My two Maid of Honours wore beautifully gathered v-neck, full length gowns by Pia Gladys Perey in Rosy Latte.

The Ceremony (Traditional Greek) /

The highlight of the Service is the exchanging of the rings. Our Koumbaro (best man), Stergios Kamberogiannis changed the rings three times, symbolising the entwining of two souls into one. The rings were given as a token of our lifelong union, eternal love and sacrifice for each other. They signify that in married life, the weakness of one partner will be balanced by the strength of the other, and the imperfections of one, by the perfection of the other. When the Koumbaro exchanged the rings, it symbolised the mutual support and common strength in the new family. The Priest then joined our ring hands and they remained joined throughout the service, symbolising our “oneness”.

The Crowning ceremony was the climax of the wedding service, which symbolised the unity of two souls. The crowns (Stefana) were joined by a white ribbon and our Koumbaro exchanged the Crowns three times as a witness to the sealing of our union. The drinking of the wine from the Common Cup served to impress upon us that from that moment on, we will share everything in life; joys, as well as sorrows, and that we are to “bear one another’s burdens.” Our joys will be doubled and our sorrows halved, because they will be shared. The Priest and our Koumbaro then guided us by our joined hands and lead us around the altar – these were our first steps as a married couple. Before congratulating us, the Priest took the Holy Gospel and separated our right hands with it, thus signifying that nothing and no one, except the God alone, who forgives and unites and strengthens, should come between us.

The Reception / Wow, we don’t even know where to start – the Flying Fish team were incredible. A destination wedding meant that we needed to rely on the staff so much more to answer our questions and to provide the information that we were unable to gather ourselves and Michal Sawicki (Manger of Flying Fish Restaurant) was our only real help we had from across the ditch. He was the crucial contact point at the Sheraton Fiji Resort throughout the whole process.

The Styling / We found that social media was the most useful way to find decorators and suppliers. When we began receiving quotes from the various decorators, we were astounded by the costs we were quoted. It was less expensive for us to outsource to Australian decorators, who had all of the contacts and resources and it just made everything so much easier. We had been struggling for months to find the right decorating company to bring our dream to life and were so lucky to come across Sydney based Tropical Destination Weddings. The Tropical Destination Weddings team is exceptional and we couldn’t recommend them more. With just over two hours to put together a whole venue, the Tropical Destination Weddings team did an exceptional job and we had nothing to fault. The team worked for hours and had sleepless nights to make this happen and we thank them from the bottom of our hearts for their dedication, persistence and ultimately, their understanding. Having someone that can listen and understand your ideas and vision is very important and the Tropical Destinations Wedding team couldn’t have done this job better. Our biggest worry was how everything would eventuate given the amount of time we had, the heat and the new/never trailed jobs we had given them, but we were in the safest hands with them.

The Advice /

Enjoy absolutely every moment. From the day you get engaged to every second of the wedding day, enjoy it. You’ll be left wanting to do it all over again, so make sure you stand back and take it all in. Also, you go through so many different emotions from day one, don’t forget the reason why all of this even begun.

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Cameron & Erin

After a fabulously busy weekend at the Queensland Brides Expo, I thought we would keep things sweet and simple for this weeks post. And simple and sweet it is with Cameron & Erin’s Matamonoa Fiji Wedding.

Like mentioned before Elopements are picking up. Elopements don’t have to be just you and your husband. Some bring their best of friends, others just their parents and grandparents. Your day can still be shared with those closest to you. OR you can involve the staff ?

Michelle of Cheer Wedding Photography captured Cameron & Erin’s day.

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Jason & Sally

Oh the Yasawas! On the top of my to-do list of my Fiji visit list. It’s crystal blue waters, untouched landscapes and boutique resorts make it oh so attractive.

After visiting the Yasawas and staying at Octopus Resort on a holiday the year prior, Jason & Sally fell in love with the island and new it would be the perfect spot for their intimate wedding.

“We both wanted something that was small, intimate and just full of love. And that is what Octopus offered above and beyond anything we could have ever hoped for.

Jason and I had visited Octopus Resort on a holiday a year prior. We loved the island and everything it offered. The quiet remoteness of it. The beauty of the island and people. The Village. We spent some time in the village and knew this was a very special place that we wanted to get married on” ~Sally

Captured by Sydney based Rachael Muller Photography

Having a wedding of 30 guests was uncommon for Octopus. They were hesitant at first, but we wrote (a couple) of convincing emails and they agreed. That was an exciting day for us!

It was very relaxed there, we organised the flowers and hair / makeup and planned what we would like the reception to look light (we brought everything you see at the reception from Sydney)…

Our wedding was magical. It was small and intimate and had our favourite people there. Everyone contributed and helped on the morning of the wedding making it all the more special… the island was so accommodating. We got everything we asked for, e.g. “can we have cocktails in coconuts”? the boys were up in the tree cutting them down… the people at Octopus are the most genuine loving souls and we feel lucky to have met them.

The staff also performed and sang us a special song.. My brother also played which was very special to us.

Our wedding was personal, intimate and about love and lots of laughing. We said our own vows and everyone (including the lovely staff) were involved in some little way. the boys set everything up in the morning and we were married in the afternoon with the celebrations lasting till early the next morning in the swimming pool…It was the loveliest time.

From the Groom / The days prior to the wedding were amazing our family and friends mingling and connecting with the staff and people at octopus resort was something truly special . The whole island new who we were and every body was talking and preparing for our special day .

Being able to basically set up our own reception at octopus was something that doesn’t come by easily myself my groomsmen, family and friends were basically handed the resort and island for a few hours with the staff helping us in anyway from building materials, tools , lights and just being around to make me laugh when I was Clearly  very stressed  .Sally was making herself look absolutely stunning whilst everyone else on the island was building, preparing and doing everything we could for our day to but nothing but amazing.

The day itself with my stunning wife.

The Advice /

Think of the KISS principle. You are in one of the most beautiful places on earth.. enjoy the scenery and surrounds as they make the day so special. Also, just enjoy every moment you can on the day… someone told us that and I am so glad we did as it was the best day of our lives.

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Jake & Natalie

It’s rare I receive a Hilton Fiji wedding in my inbox. So when I saw the wedding of Jake & Natalie I had to share!

I was always a sceptic of the Hilton after hearing of their bad service. But when I popped to the resort during our evacuation for Cyclone Winston my views on the Hilton changed. It is a resort with less character if you’re looking for a ‘Fijian esk’ escape. But the service, staff and food was perfection. And their pool is one of the biggest on Denarau. As it is situated down the end of the row of resorts it felt secluded which I liked, and is also closest to the Marina.

After spending their anniversary in Fiji, these high school sweet-hearts knew that they would choose the beautiful Fijian islands for their big day. It will do that to ya!

Captured by Nadi Bay Photography, this is their gorgeous Hilton Fiji Wedding.

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Brad & Melissa

Another Bula Bride wedding for you today, and this time, it’s the gorgeous Melissa and her husband Brad’s Warwick Fiji Wedding.

After deciding to get married, they both decided that they wanted to go on an amazing trip and while they were there get married. Originally planning to only invite a couple of friends, the guest list grew with their closest family and friends wanting to join in the celebrations!

“Of all the beautiful places in the world, we knew the stunning and laid back island of Fiji was the perfect place for our family to finally become one. We just wanted a big holiday, with our nearest and dearest, where we just happen to say ‘I do’.”

Leezett Photography was there to capture it all. Melissa joins us to share more details of their stunning Warwick Fiji Wedding.

The Planning / The wedding planning was easy and so much fun! Once I had decided on a resort, I picked a wedding package and we were full steam ahead. Una, the Warwick’s wedding planner, took care of everything. I used a few external suppliers (photographer, videographer, DJ and hair and makeup) which I found through recommendations and reviews on websites and Facebook pages. I wanted a casual and fun affair and wasn’t too fussed on minor details. I just went with the flow and trusted the process.

The Hair & Makeup / Ash and the team from Hair n Mkp Perfectionists were amazing. I had my hair down in waves, pulled to one side. The girls had side braids going back into a messy bun.

The Bride Wore / My dress was custom designed and made by Vicky from Vasiliki Couture in Melbourne. It was ivory Italian silk with French lace (from D’Italia). I knew what I wanted but I couldn’t find it in a shop. Vicky helped make my ideas come to life. She made the dress to fit me exactly as I had wanted, so essentially I got a designer couture gown without the designer couture price tag.

The Ceremony / The ceremony was on the beach front lawn. It was a late afternoon (4pm) ceremony so the weather was perfect and it wasn’t too hot at all (thank goodness)!

We had white seat covers with pink/red gingers for decoration. Petals lined the aisle. We had a ‘cabana’ set up at the end of the aisle.

We had a trio of serenaders (provided by the Warwick) entertain guests before the bridal arrival. I asked for ‘Marry me’ by Train to be played for the bridal entrance and they learnt and practised the song for me. It was so special. My brother walked me down the aisle and gave me away on behalf of our late Dad.

The Bridesmaids Wore / I loved the idea of white dresses for my bridesmaids. The girls wore ankle length sheer silk dresses with a short slip underneath and a side split. Their shoes were big, chunky and white. They had rose gold accessories and funky studded earrings. Everything they wore was chosen by them. I actually hated the dress on the hanger but they had insisted on trying it on. Lucky because I knew it was perfect, straight way! I wanted them to have something that fit the Fiji fun and relaxed vibe and not look too ‘bridesmaidy’. And they really will be able to wear the dress again!

The Men Wore / I wanted the boys to be comfortable and not hot. Brad decided on a steel grey/blue three piece suit. They didn’t wear the jacket on the day, instead wearing the vest over white shirts with their sleeves rolled up and ties on (white for Brad, navy for the groomsmen). Vests and ties came off after the ceremony.

The Flowers / Provided by the Warwick. Pink and red gingers for me, pink gingers for the bridesmaids. Brad, the groomsmen, my brother and our boys all had gingers as their button hole.

I absolutely loved everything about my bouquet. It was exactly what I wanted. My bridesmaids also had a special charm made for me with photos of my Dad on it that I could tie and hang around my bouquet so that he could still ‘walk with me down the aisle’. Beautiful girls they are!

The Highlight / Two things come to mind as highlights of the night. The first was definitely my oldest son, who stole the show as an impromptu ring bearer. As I said earlier, we didn’t want them to have specific roles on the day but my husband decided last minute to give the rings to Thomas to put in his pocket. He told me that Thomas had the rings when we met at the altar. My first response was ‘Oh my gosh, a three year old has our wedding rings’! But he assured me my Mum was ‘all over it’. When it was time for the rings, Thomas jumped up and walked over to us, digging his hand right into his pocket to retrieve the rings. He gave them to brad, gave Brad a kiss and ran back to my Mum all shy and proud of his role. It was gorgeous and I love the photos showing everyone’s face as he dug deep into his pocket and ran off.

The second highlight was definitely the speeches. We had three speeches on the night- my brother (in lieu of father of the bride), Brad’s brother Mark (best man) and my girlfriend Mel (maid of honor). The speeches were full of wit, but raw with emotion (Brad and I both have lost a parent). I swear by the end, every table was a blubbering mess! One of my guests said to me that they have never been so moved by wedding speeches.

The Advice / Trust the process! Your wedding planner knows what they are doing. I didn’t have too much contact with our wedding planner Una in the lead up to the day. At the start, this stressed me a little but I soon relaxed and just went with the flow. I knew that once we were there, everything would work out and I was right. We were Una’s main priority. We had a meeting and went through every single detail. She had everything perfect on the day and I couldn’t have asked for anything more.

At the end of the day, it is your day! It is about you and your husband to be. If something is important to you, don’t take no for an answer. For me photography was important and I wanted the best. You don’t want to look back on your day wishing you had done something different.

Oh and create a wedding website. No ifs, no buts, no maybes. Just do it. You won’t regret it!

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Jason & Emma

After hearing a friend who attended a wedding in Fiji rave about their experience, Jason & Emma decided that a destination Musket Cove Fiji wedding was going to be that memorable wedding they wanted. And memorable it was!

Again, another wedding with the simplest of details that come together to create something absolutely stunning. When your having a wedding overseas, and especially planning it yourself – simple is the key.

Captured by Destination Wedding Photographers, The Wanderers. Emmas shares the details of their Musket Cove Fiji Wedding.

The Planning /

A family member had been to a wedding in Fiji and raved about the experience. We wanted something amazing and memorable which would be affordable for us. Once we ran it past our families we decided to go ahead and start the planning! We searched endlessly over the internet for the right location and once we found it the planning was pretty low stress.

We chose Musket Cove after a lengthy search online and after viewing many other Fiji weddings. We wanted an Island wedding and Musket Cove ticked all the boxes. The food looked amazing, it is of course beautiful, and it is a smaller more intimate resort which we valued. It turned out to be all of this and more!

The Ceremony / Once we were shown the beautiful trees the over arch on the Beach our minds were made up! We were concerned about the tide being out during the ceremony but we didn’t notice, the guests didn’t notice, and our photos were beautiful.

Musket Cove set up the space with chairs and flowers, I only requested that the bamboo arch be set up. Our mothers both said readings and we had four special family members who read prayers of the faithful. We adapted the vows that Musket Cove provided.

The Reception / We had our reception under the stars on the beach. By that stage of the night there was no wind and the temperature was perfect.

We had white tablecloths with hessian table runners which we brought ourselves. We brought with us tea light candles, name tags, notes for guests and small glass bottles with twine bows. Musket Cove provided sand and greenery for the glass bottles and pineapples which we stuck our table numbers in!

The Cake / Two tiered mud cake from Taste Fiji. It tasted AMAZING!!

The Highlight /

It is so hard to pick a highlight from what was our perfect day. Sounds predictable but the ‘getting married’ part was probably our highlight! That moment that we saw each other when I walked down the aisle is unforgettable and a very special moment.

The Advice /
It is so hard not to stress before the big day but the reason we had it in Fiji was to prevent a big stressful wedding. So try to relax and realise that everything will fall into place. Having it overseas does mean that some of the details will be finalised once you get there but the staff are so helpful and take the time to make sure everything is exactly how you want it.