A Tropical Wedding In Paradise

L A U R E N + A S H L E Y

Even after four years together Lauren says she still get butterflies when she sees Ashley. The pair were married on the beautiful island of Fiji overlooking crystal clear waters from their tropical paradise.

F R O M T H E B R I D E

How we met…
We met through a mutual friend. We had actually known each other for years but we were never in a position to pursue each other until one day we started messaging each other on Facebook, then organised a date and it went from there.

We knew it was love…
From the very start we were doing long distance as Ash lived on a rural sheep station and I was working in a credit union in the Adelaide hills. We realised it was love because we would feel lost if we didn’t talk everyday and when we finished a conversation all we both wanted to do was say ‘I LOVE YOU’. The feelings of butterflies never stopped and we still have them now.

The engagement…
We were on a holiday to Hawaii. It was my birthday and we all went out for dinner and to celebrate. After a wonderful dinner with family and friends Ash wanted to go for a late night walk along Waikiki beach. It was a beautiful warm night, waves were crashing and our walk was lit with moonlight. Then suddenly Ash was telling me how much he loved me and how he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me, then he got down on one knee. I was in shock and was overwhelmed with happiness. I remember yelling ‘yes’ and then I tackled him to the sand. We lay there hugging, completely taken by joy. Remembering this moment still takes my breath away.

T H E W E D D I N G

Our dream wedding…
When we first got engaged we agreed that we both wanted great food, great wine and a relaxed atmosphere. We also wanted something laid back, rustic and neutral. So by having a tropical wedding we were still able to tie in our rustic charm with the beautiful tropical features. We both love the little touches, so I made most of the decorations myself and brought them with us to Fiji. The colours stayed sort of neutral but we compromised as Ashley really wanted royal blue bridesmaids dresses and I wanted grey or purple. So navy was a good compromise for us both.

The ceremony…
It was held at the Sheraton Fiji Resort, Fiji. We got married on their lawn area right on the beachfront. With a beautiful backdrop of palm trees, beautiful blue ocean and a stunning sky.

Our reception…
We also had our reception at the Sheraton Fiji Resort, Fiji. Our reception was under palm trees on the Sheraton lawns. It was a beautiful area less trafficked by other resort guest. We were right by a rocky area of the beach, which was nice to hear the waves rolling in. The area was set up beautifully with our tables and fairy lights and lanterns above.

Pre-wedding celebrations…
We had the typical engagement party, hens/kitchen tea and bucks but when we arrived in Fiji we met our guests the night before the wedding at a local Fijian club where we enjoyed some local fire dancing and amazing hospitality.

The bridal party…
We originally had five bridesmaids and five groomsmen picked, but unfortunately with having an international wedding not all of our bridal party could join us. So we had two bridesmaids and three groomsmen. The matron of honour was Ashley’s sister and the bridesmaid was my childhood friend of 21 years. The best man was Ashley’s childhood friend of 18 years and his groomsmen were his brother-in-law and a family friend. We wanted something what wouldn’t normally be worn as bridesmaids dresses. Also, something that would be light weight for the Fijian climate. After looking around for a long time we found these lovely navy high low dresses with a touch of gold around the neck from Dotti. They were perfect. The groomsmen wore light grey suit pants, a light grey vest and a light weight white shirt. We found some lovely brown shoes and a navy and white diagonally striped tie that finished off their attire perfectly.

Our photographer…
Originally we started to plan our wedding in Hawaii but unfortunately the American dollar was not in our favour, but his is how we found Ben and Hope. Ben is Kentucky born but called Hawaii home for many years before moving to Queensland with his wife, Hope. So when I was looking for a Hawaiian photographer I came across them. Their photos were everything we hoped for, they were so lovely. We loved the fact that they travel all over the world taking photos and they were so easy to work with. When we later choose Fiji as our wedding destination they were more than happy to make the trip for us. Having a husband and wife duo on the day worked so well and both of their talents together made for some spectacular photos.

The groom…
Ashley wanted to get a high quality suit that will last many years to come so he bought an un-tailored Giorgio Armani suit that he then had tailored to suit at Jenny and Gerrys.

The gown…
I really wanted a heavy lace sweetheart neckline gown. I wasn’t sure what cut would suit me but when I tried my dress on I knew it was the one. My dress is a Stella York that I bought from Jenny and Gerrys Bridal Centre, Adelaide. I felt so beautiful in my dress. I hope one day that I can pass my dress down to future children.

The flowers…
I searched for awhile for flowers that we could get from Fiji. The flowers grown in Fiji as absolutely beautiful and bright but we were hoping for some paler tones. What we went with were a mix of orchids in a larger bouquet for me and a smaller version for my bridesmaids.

Reception decorating…
Our reception was held on the lawn by the waterfront at the Sheraton under palm trees and twinkling fairy lights. We had three round tables then long tables for the food and the bar. The round tables were decorated with palm leaf table runners, battery operated fairy lights, white orchids and little love quote signs. Most of our decorations were handmade by me and brought over to Fiji. Our place card holders were mini easels with hand made place cards. We had fairy lights hanging above us as well as lanterns. The resort also has fire lanterns that are lit every night to line the waterfront. The flowers that were used in our ceremony were brought to the reception to be displayed as well.

The flowers and cake…
We did everything through the Sheraton Fiji Resort. They took care of the flowers and some of the decorations and we chose not to have a wedding cake.

The menu…
We had a sit down buffet dinner. The food was amazing. I now understand why brides have another dress for the reception because I wanted to eat more of our amazing food but my dress wouldn’t let me. Having amazing food was one thing that Ash and I really wanted. Even now our guest still mention how great it was. The food was a mix between western food as well as some traditional Fijian cuisine.

The bomboniere…
Our bomboniere were locally made handcrafted wooden turtles that we gave to each couple. In Fiji the turtle represents longevity and prosperity and we couldn’t think of anything more perfect.

Memorable moments…
We choose to have a beautiful sunset ceremony at 5.30pm but that didn’t allow us a lot of time to get our photos done so we decided to break tradition. We had a private, intimate, romantic ‘pre-reveal’. At 2pm we arranged to meet at the entrance of the lobby to our resort. There was a beautiful wooden staircase that led down to a pond/pool that had a floating pontoon. Ashley was waiting at the base of the stairs on the pontoon facing out over the water, while I came down the stairs behind him. Then I stepped onto then pontoon and tapped Ash on the shoulder. Seeing each other for the ‘first time’ was breath taking. Our nervousness was replaced with pure joy and happiness. Even if I was going to fall in the water. The wooden pontoon that we were standing on unfortunately had large enough spaced slats that I got the heel of my shoe stuck and Ash had to help me to get my heel out and stop me from falling in the water. It was hilarious and made the moment even more special.

Our wedding soundtrack…
We both like the classics from the 1920s but we had some new stuff in there as well. But our wedding song was very special to us. I may have a obsession with Disney so it didn’t come as a surprise when we choose ‘I see the light’ from our favourite movie Tangled. Actually dancing to our song at our wedding was such a beautiful memory and one that we had been dreaming of for years.

M A R R I E D L I F E

The honeymoon…
We travelled around the beautiful Yasawa and Mamanuca islands of Fiji. It was absolutely beautiful.

Future plans…
We currently manage a rural sheep station. One day we hope to run our own property with our own little family.

In 40 years we hope to…
Never lose those butterflies. After four years we still get butterflies. I hope that our mutual weirdness never ends.

WO R D S O F W I S D O M

Tips for other couples:
On how to enjoy the engagement…
Don’t rush the date! Once the wedding date is set and you begin seriously planning for the day, there is a lot of stress involved. So before the stress (and there will be stress) begins, take time to enjoy each other and the feeling of the prospect of spending the rest of your lives together.

The planning…
Work together and don’t think you have to do it all yourself. Unfortunately wedding planning is stressful and a lot of the time it puts a lot of stress on your relationship. Talk to each other over a glass of red. Also the more people you have in the bridal party the more stress it can be as trying to organise times, etc. with a large group can be difficult. Also remember, no mater how beautiful it is on the day, it will all be a blur in your memories as we found we only had eyes for each other, so make sure you have all the little details well documented by a competent photographer or videographer.

The wedding day…
Don’t stress the small stuff. Take time to smell the roses and make sure you take a moment to enjoy a quiet moment with your husband. The day goes by so fast and it will finish before you know it. Ashley and I made an agreement that during the reception we wouldn’t be separated. That we would see our guests together.