Corinne went to the same university as I did (Lauren), but a few years earlier, and studied with my old tutor Mark, who’s wedding we photographed a few years ago. Corinne contacted us two years ago, asking us if we would like to photograph her gorgeous Fiji wedding. Uuuummmm yes please!
It was a beautifully relaxed affair, with amazing attention to details, from the gift bags she made for guests, customised coat hanger for her beautiful Claire Pettibone dress, gorgeous wedding rings by The Village Goldsmith, French pocket watches for the groomsmen and Dads, bracelets for the bridesmaids, decorations for the reception, and customised wedding invitations and activity ideas for the guests. Just amazing.
We arrived late on Thursday night and crashed out straight away, as we had a busy week in studio to be able to take time out to fly over and shoot. On Friday we met with Corinne and Dan, ran over timing and final details, location checked, and found places to shoot for the wedding the next day. It was early to bed, as it was going to be a long, hot day the next day!
The day dawned with sunshine, much to our relief, as it had been forecast for thunderstorms and heavy rain, but we had been praying for sunshine, and it seems God was cool with laying the sunshine on us – perfect!
The bridal party got ready in separate bungalows, and we moved between the two, documenting their preparation.
Corinne and Dan did their first look, and it was just SO beautiful! The look on Dan’s face was priceless – next was the first look with Corinne’s parents, and there wasn’t a dry eye to be seen.
We had lunch with the bridal party and family, then headed off on our location shoot, starting with the beach at the resort. Corinne and Dan brought some beach balls for a few photos, and we had a great time adding some colour to the photos.
We headed down the road, and hopped in bushy area on the side of the road, with a few strange looks from the locals. followed by photos on the road, with the bridal party yelling ‘Car!’ every time a car cruised past at a leisurely pace – island time, gotta love it!
After freshening up, Corinne and Dan were married on the helipad overlooking the resort, which was the perfect setting with the palm trees swaying in the background. After photos with friends and family, we took a few more portraits of Corinne and Dan as husband and wife, before documenting their amazing reception.
The speeches were heartfelt, the food was fantastic, and the drinks flowed.
We were treated to fire dancing which was INCREDIBLE (i mean honestly, how often do you get to say you had fire dancing at your wedding?!), took photos of everyone with the paper lanterns (which had to be rescued from a shower of rain and placed gently back out by the guests, team work!), and the gorgeous couples first dance.
We left them partying with their friends (i heard some people ended up having a 2am swim), and so very nearly hopped in for a midnight swim ourselves, it was still so hot!
For anyone else out there thinking of a Fiji wedding or just a holiday, First Landing Resort is awesome, well worth a visit either for your whole trip, or a few days either side of flying in and out of Nadi. The beds are comfortable, showers are nice and hot, staff are so friendly and attentive with five star service, and the food was AMAZING, cocktails delicious, and if you catch your own fish, they will cook it for you and serve it with vegetables – terrific!
I heard some of the bridal party went out the next day and sailed to an island and had a great time, as the resort is conveniently located next to the Marina. Wonderful!
Congratulations Corinne & Dan! It was an honour to be asked to document your day.
This wedding has also been featured on Bula Bride, to see their post click here.
For more information and to see more of our work, make sure to visit our website – www.laurenanddelwyn.co.nz
FIJI WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS :: Lauren Indrisie & Delwyn Wood (NZIPP Qualified Wedding Photographers)
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