Brittany and Viliame first met in Townsville, Australia, when Viliame was playing alongside her brother for the Cowboys Under 20s. He often spent time at her family home with other Fijian teammates, and although their early encounters were brief, a quiet connection was forming.
When Brittany moved to Townsville in 2014, they began spending more time together, and their friendship soon grew into a relationship. Eventually, they relocated to Penrith, Sydney, ready to start building a life side by side.
After 10 years together, with one child and another on the way, their engagement came about in the most natural way — a simple, heartfelt conversation about making their commitment official. Their story is a beautiful reminder that love doesn’t always need grand gestures to be deeply meaningful.
We catch up with Bride Brittany on planning their wedding in Fiji:
We chose Fiji for our wedding because we wanted to blend both of our cultures — Vili’s Fijian background and my Australian roots — and what better place to do that than in his homeland? It felt like the perfect way to celebrate where we both come from and to share that with our family and friends.
We decided on Crowne Plaza Fiji because everything we saw from there looked so beautiful and perfectly matched the aesthetic and vibe we were going for. We actually hadn’t visited the venue until a week before the wedding, but it turned out even better than we expected — it truly exceeded our vision.
I did the majority of the planning myself. Thankfully, I had people on the ground in Fiji who could check things if needed, but most of it was done over email, WhatsApp, and video calls. I enquired with multiple venues in the Nadi area because, with so many guests travelling, I wanted somewhere close to the airport so transfers would be easy. I also researched wedding stylists since I knew my vision was bigger than what most resorts offered. That’s how I found The Wedding Shop Fiji, who helped us achieve exactly what we wanted — a celebration that combined Vili’s traditional Fijian vibe with my modern Australian twist. Most of all, we wanted everyone to have a good time and feel amazing all day and night after making such a big effort to be there with us.
Pre Wedding Planning
I loved the whole process! At first, communication could sometimes take a bit longer than I was used to, but once we connected on WhatsApp, messaging and replies became instant — much faster and so much easier than email.
Our styling team and wedding day coordinators were amazing. They were super-efficient, and if something wasn’t immediately available, they went out of their way to find it. I knew the look I wanted from my Pinterest board, but I wasn’t sure how it would all come together on the day.
A week before the wedding, we met with Dan and Kelcey from The Wedding Shop, and they had created mood boards for each section of the day. The moment we saw them, we instantly felt relaxed, knowing everything was going to be absolutely beautiful. Of course, it wasn’t going to match the Pinterest board exactly, but our wedding ended up being pretty close — and it was perfect!
Getting Ready
Hair was done by KD Bridal Hair (Australia) and make up by The Bambi Base. My Dress was from Made with Love bridal and I had a train by Tabuadrau Designs Fiji. The men’s linen shirts were from Peter Jackson and Johnny Bigg.
The Ceremony
We chose to have our ceremony on the North Lawn at Crowne Plaza Fiji because I’d always dreamed of an outdoor wedding, and this spot felt more private and intimate. We also set up a cocktail area right next to the ceremony so our guests could relax with drinks before the reception began.
The Wedding Shop Fiji handled all of our décor and flowers. From our first video call, I knew they were the perfect team — efficient, enthusiastic, and genuinely excited about our wedding. They helped bring my vision to life with a refined garden-beach vibe: fairy lights, draped greenery, hanging baskets with coconuts, and tropical leaves, plus a traditional Fijian mat to honour Vili’s heritage.
Our ceremony was personal and heartfelt. One special moment was a surprise voiceover from our son before my dad walked me down the aisle — a memory that moved everyone, especially Vili. It was intimate, meaningful, and exactly how we had imagined our wedding day.
Photography & Videography
We chose Van Middleton Photography for our wedding because he had photographed two of my friends’ weddings years ago, and I knew as soon as I saw his work that I wanted him to capture ours. He was incredible — more like a friend than a vendor. For our pre-wedding shoot, he took us into the Highlands in our traditional outfits, and it was such a beautiful and special experience. He was efficient and unobtrusive, capturing the day without taking us away from our guests. He has an amazing talent for catching the in-between moments — the little memories you don’t even realize are happening, but that end up meaning the most.
For videography, we asked Josh Bogiwalu, a family friend and media expert for Silk Tales. We thought it would be special to have him capture not only our wedding but also our traditional shoot. He was absolutely fantastic, and we felt completely at ease with him behind the camera.
The Reception
Our reception was held in the ballroom at Crowne Plaza Fiji. Originally, we had hoped for an outdoor reception, but the weather had other plans, so we went with our backup — and it turned out perfectly.
The Wedding Shop Fiji carried the décor theme from the ceremony and cocktail area through to the reception, keeping the refined garden-beach vibe consistent. We loved that it all felt cohesive, elegant, and tropical. For food, we chose a buffet that mixed international dishes with traditional Fijian cuisine, and we were able to select all the items ourselves, which was a really fun part of the planning.
Our wedding cake was made by La Keke FJ. A family member helped organise it, and all we had to do was share an inspiration picture — the cake they created was absolutely divine! Entertainment was provided by Inside Out Fiji, with our family member TuSake Tuivanuavou as MC. When the reception wrapped, all our guests headed over to the Latitude Bar, keeping the party going into the night. It was the perfect way to end the day — fun, relaxed, and a celebration that didn’t feel like it had to stop.
Overall Highlights
Honestly, all of it! We did have a slight hiccup with the weather on the day, and at first, I was a little disappointed that the reception had to be moved indoors. But in the end, it was a blessing in disguise. Moving the reception to the ballroom actually worked out perfectly — we were able to continue the celebration until 11:30 pm instead of 10 pm, and everyone felt completely relaxed, able to enjoy themselves without worrying about onlookers.
Do you have any tips or advice for Fiji-bound brides?
Trust that the venue knows what they’re doing — they’ve done this countless times before. I would also highly recommend The Wedding Shop Fiji, as they can coordinate your entire day. While resorts provide a wedding coordinator, it’s nothing like the level of support The Wedding Shop offers. They were with us every second, handling any hiccups so we could just enjoy the day. I never had to worry about timing, logistics, or being in the right place at the right time — they took care of it all.
Shout outs:
Crowne Plaza and The Wedding Shop Fiji were incredibly accommodating when it came to the weather. We didn’t expect it to rain, but the forecast showed heavy rain in the days leading up to our wedding. They organised a meeting the day before to walk us through all the possible scenarios, which gave us so much peace of mind. While I was initially disappointed about moving the reception indoors, it truly turned out better than we could have imagined.
