Marriott Resort, Momi Bay | Fiji
We live in Sydney, Australia and we both love to travel so we always knew we wanted to have a destination wedding with close friends and family.
When scouting around for locations, we instantly fell in love with the newly built Marriott Resort Momi Bay south of Nadi, Fiji. We loved the laid-back atmosphere and the friendly staff who made us feel like family. The entire place was covered in large white frangipanis and bright red hibiscus flowers – they were the quintessential “I’m-on-an-island-resort” hair accessory of choice for both the locals and guests alike.
It was rather large for a destination wedding, there were 51 of us in total (from all over the world including) and we all stayed at the resort leading up to and following the wedding day. We wanted the guests to enjoy themselves as much as possible. We also flew our photographer and videographer over from Sydney a for the event as we found it difficult to look around for local photographers. The organisers at the resort helped with a lot of the planning and execution for us.
Mimi got ready in the over-water bungalow with the girls and Rai was provided with the use of a room to get ready in. The staff at the resort were incredibly friendly and helpful and took great care of us. We expected the wedding to run on “island time” but surprisingly everything ran on schedule – we were surprised at how smoothly everything went.
The ceremony was held in an open area surrounded by beautiful palm trees on the North Point at the resort, overlooking the ocean. The wedding arbor was adorned with local foliage and flowers. The guests were welcomed by a local guitar and ukulele duet while drinks were served. We kept the ceremony very short as we wanted more of the focus to be on the fun and festivities. Golf buggies were available to cart people around but many chose to walk to and from the ceremony and reception on foot.
The reception was held at the Fish Bar restaurant at the resort, they closed down the area (including the infinity pool and spa) for us to use that night. The entire restaurant was covered in thousands of fairy lights, there was an open kitchen and we could watch the food being prepared in front of our eyes, as the sun set, the guests witnessed the traditional torch lightening ceremony which occurs at sundown each night. The two very large fire pits on either side of the magnificent infinity pool were bursting with flames and the cool breeze from the ocean blew through the open restaurant and kept us all nice and cool – it was the perfect backdrop to a magical reception. We experienced some traditional Fijian fire dancing and welcomed the cool sand beneath our feet on the dance floor.
One of the most memorable moments was when a bunch of the guys ended up, fully clothed, in the infinity pool during the reception. The staff already anticipated this and provided towels for everyone to use, they had a very relaxed “do anything at your own risk” kind of attitude – something that is unheard of back home in Australia. Another unforgettable moment was when Mimi accidentally popped a bottle of champagne onto the maid of honour. The cork and half of the bottle of champagne ended up on her after just having her makeup done…. she was not happy.
We loved every minute of our time in Fiji, it was truly a memorable experience and would recommend a destination wedding to everyone.
- Venue: Marriott Resort, Momi Bay
- Bridal dress designer: Leah Da Gloria
- Bridal shoes: Christian Louboutin
- Bridal jewellery: Swarovski – https://www.swarovski.com and Samantha Wills
- Bridesmaid dresses: Rodeo Show
- Groom’s suit: Giorgio Armani
- Entertainment: DJ Works Fiji
Moments Photography & Film | Destination Wedding Photographer
