Vomo Island with it’s soft sandy beaches and clear blue water is a dream destination and Jenna and Chris could not have chosen a more magical location for their wedding. Here Jenna shares with us some details on her big day and offers some advice for other brides to be.
Why did you choose to have your wedding in Fiji?
We wanted a beach destination wedding and both of us wanted to go to Fiji as we had never been.
What did you wear?
My dress was a strapless white dress designed by Pronovias.
What did the groom wear?
A white shirt by Calvin Klein and grey trousers by Trent Nathan.
What was the highlight of your wedding day?
Our private beach dinner.
Where did you go for your honeymoon?
We stayed at Vomo for an extra 5 days.
Is there anything you would have changed about your wedding day?
No!
Why did you choose to hire a wedding planner?
To relieve the stress of coordinating all of the overseas components required for the ceremony.
Would you recommend hiring a wedding planner?
Definitely!
What did you think of all the wedding suppliers that were involved in your wedding?
They were fantastic. Everything was so organised and stress free.
What advice would you give a couple organising a wedding in Fiji?
Go to one of the island resorts instead of getting married on the mainland.
Jenna sent us this message during her stay at Vomo ….
‘Just a quick note to say that everything was perfect and more magical than we could have imagined. Thank you so much for everything you did for us. The day was completely stress free and Ashely and Bruce were amazing.’
A big thank you to Bruce from Zoomfiji Photography (http://zoomfiji.com) for the beautiful photos. Great job as always and we love working with you!
When Phoebe and Josh were searching for a location for their wedding, they stumbled across an image of a beautiful chapel that sat in the middle of what looked like pure paradise. Phoebe jokingly said ‘wherever that chapel is, we HAVE to get married there!’. After a little research they discovered it was in Fiji and that was that. They had found the perfect location for their ceremony!
The location was the beautiful Sheraton Fiji, situated on the tropical oasis of Denarau Island. Because neither Phoebe or Josh had been to Fiji before, let alone planned a wedding, they decided to hire Chelsea Jayne Weddings to help make the experience stress free.
When we asked Phoebe if she would recommend hiring a wedding planner she said: ‘Absolutely, 100%. I wish I had of known just how easy Chelsea would make it all. Everything flowed beyond perfectly and was organised to a superb standard. We have a very busy schedule – with an almost 8 yr old daughter who loves her sports, both of us working and 2 pets to look after. Having Chelsea enabled us to have the wedding of our dreams (even better actually) without minimal stress or lost time.’
Phoebe looked absolutely stunning on her wedding day in her champagne coloured gown ‘Aphrodesia’ by Airs & Graces.
Josh and his groomsmen looked the part in suits by Milano, ties and shirts by Hardy Amies London and shoes by Julius Marlow.
The bridesmaids completed this picture perfect bridal party in two different styles of dresses both in ivory from the ‘Modern Vintage Bridesmaids’ Collection by Alfred Angelo.
Looking back on her wedding day Phoebe couldn’t choose just one highlight from the day. She said two aspects of the day that really stood out for her were the entertainment (Polynesian/Fire Dancing) and the food (the Deluxe Buffet) which she said was seriously the best. She said there was SO much food and she had guests who said they would have come all that way for the food alone!
Instead of a traditional hens and bucks party, Phoebe and Josh were joined by their guests for a day cruise around the islands with a pit stop at Musket Cove. There they enjoyed a delicious lunch, some snorkelling and some fun and games on the island. Endless amounts of drinks and snacks were also included on the cruise and it sounded like such a terrific day. Both Phoebe and Josh highly recommend this fun day trip.
Phoebe and Josh spent 10 nights at the Sheraton resort. They said it was magical. They were impressed by the lovely staff and the delicious food. They said the best part of it was the Starwood Privilege Card which covered the villas and the Westin restaurants also. To learn more about the Starwood Membership Programme visit http://www.starprivilege-pacific.com.
As for a honeymoon….Josh says ‘No official “honeymoon” on our own yet, we might have to go back to Fiji!.
We asked Phoebe and Josh what advice they would give a couple organising a wedding in Fiji and they both agreed that you should definitely hire a wedding planner, relax, do not stress and be patient…..you are on Fiji time! This advice worked perfectly for them when they woke up on their wedding day to rainy, grey skies. Their stress free attitude got them through a location change for their reception. As Phoebe said herself ‘everything will be perfect!’.
We love getting feedback from our clients and this is what Phoebe had to say about her experience with Chelsea Jayne Weddings: ‘Chelsea is so accommodating. There was literally nothing that we wanted that she didn’t make happen. Thank you Chelsea from the bottom of our hearts. You are extremely good at what you do, and because of you – our wedding day was organised to perfection without us barely lifting a finger. Thank you.’
Also a big thank you to Sabrina Horn Photography (http://sabrina-horn.com) for the amazing photos.
The Sheraton Fiji is one of our most popular resorts for weddings. Christie and Cameron had holidayed in Fiji previously and loved the relaxed feel and lovely people. They wanted to capture that for their day and have a low stress wedding for them, their families and guests.
A very big thank you to Michelle from Cheer Photography for these beautiful images.
The ceremony was held on the Sheraton Beachfront and a reception followed on the Villa Pool Deck at the Sheraton Denarau Villas.
Christies dress was custom made from Hilde Heim in Enogerra, Brisbane. Satin bodice with layers of silk mesh skirt. Lovely and cool, easy to move in and great choice for the Fiji weather.
Cameron’s outfit was from Rodger David, and the groomsmen wore charcoal suits with navy ties and pocket squares to match the bridesmaids.
The bridesmaids wore navy dresses from Baccini and Hill, Melbourne. The dresses were cotton with a satin weave so they looked luxurious but were very cool.
The highlight of the day apart from marrying Cameron was the reception. Great speeches, wonderful MC, excellent entertainment. It was an amazing party that continued well into the night.
Prior to the wedding their guests went on a day or half day cruise out to the islands with South Sea Cruises. The boys went deep sea fishing and caught some tuna which they brought back and the Flying Fish who cooked it for them.
We asked Christie what advice would she give couples organising a wedding in Fiji?
Do what makes you happy (as a couple, no one else).Get a wedding planner and enjoy the process as much as possible. If that means doing heaps of DIY things to take over or just letting the resort take care of everything it’s up to you.
Men will never spend hours on Pintrest or Goggling the various flower types available at your time of year so just do the research and let them pick from a few choices!
Do an engagement session with your photographer, especially if you have never met them face to face or have never had professional photos. It really put us at ease and meant we knew what to do on the wedding day and that helped make for great photos and speed up the photo process.
Is there anything you would have changed about your wedding day?
We would have organised a friend or staff member to have champagne and beers for the bridal party during photos. It’s very rushed after the ceremony and photos do take a while.
We asked Christie Why she choose Chelsea Jayne Weddings to help plan her wedding-
We chose to hire a wedding planner due to the logistics of planning a wedding overseas and the fact that we were unable to travel to Fiji to source and try our own suppliers we thought having someone with the experience and recommendations would benefit us.
Would you recommend hiring a wedding planner?
Yes! Absolutely after hearing other brides’ experiences (Fiji and Australian weddings) I would recommend it. Having Chelsea doing the hard yards meant we could focus on the day without the stress of chasing up quotes, slow replies to emails etc. We were able to enjoy the wedding preparation process which I think a lot of people don’t get to do as they have to communicate with so many people.
This week we attended the Tourism Fiji wedding workshop at the beautiful Sheraton on the Park in Sydney. It’s always a great night catching up with our contacts at the resorts and to see what new and exciting things are happing in Fiji.
Probably the most exciting thing about the evening was our session with the Sheraton Fiji. They exclusively released to us their new all inclusive wedding reception package for F$13,490 which includes the following for 30 guests
Lawn or beachfront dinner
Pre dinner canapés
Sheraton Reserve beverage package for 5 hours
Resort deluxe buffet
2 tier wedding cake with fresh flower topper
Beach Themed table settings, chair sashes, tea lights and hanging lanterns
Traditional Polynesian fire dancing show
DJ for 4 hours
Additional guest are F$250 per person up to a maximum of 50 people. Your ceremony package is additional to this price.
What great value for money!!
Following suit also was the Sofitel Fiji with their new all inclusive ceremony & reception package from F$8950 for 30 people. If you would like further information on this particular package please contact me.
The Hilton has also changed direction with their new wedding coordinator Jessica, she has extensive events experience. They have also released their new all inclusive ceremony & reception package starting at F$8000 for 30 guests. If you would like more information on this please contact me.
We also had the pleasure of meeting Paul from the new and exciting Nanuku Resort & Spa, which is located in Pacific Harbour, which is a 2.5 hours drive from Nadi airport. This new resort opened last week and it has 12 exclusive private Villas each with their own pools. All villas include, butler, nanny service, daily table d’hote menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner and a return Chauffeur service from the airport. I can’t wait to check this resort out.
It was a great event, lots of exciting news coming out of Fiji for the wedding market.
Chelsea Jayne Weddings has also been invited by Tourism Fiji to attend their upcoming Tourism Fiji Exchange event at the Sheraton Fiji this May. It will be an intensive week, meeting many more of the resort, and wedding suppliers, we will also be attending the opening of the New Sheraton Resort & Spa, Tokoriki Island.
We have been very busy here at Chelsea Jayne Weddings over the last few months, and I’m so excited to finally launch our new website chelseajayneweddings.com.au
A big thank you to our web designer Daynor from Label for all her hard work and of course my beautiful brides & grooms who feature on the new website and my very talented group of photographers for the use of their amazing images.
As part of the new website we have now added a blog so you will be hearing a lot more about what’s going on at Chelsea Jayne Weddings and of course our special features of all our beautiful Fiji weddings.
We would love to hear what you think about our new and improved website.
The first big decision you will make for your wedding (apart from choosing your wedding planner, of course) is your venue. When getting married in Fiji you have either the mainland resorts (Denarau or the Coral Coast are the most popular) or the Islands (the Mamanuca Islands are the favourites) to choose from.
There is a lot to consider when deciding on which location will best suit not only you but your guests as well. You will need to think about the logistics of having up to 50-100 guests on average, and how your decisions will affect their ability to attend. My clients often make the mistake of thinking many of their invitees won’t attend, yet around 90% are overwhelmed by the number of positive RSVP’s they receive. Everyone wants to go to a wedding in Fiji!
First, you need to consider the time it will take for guests to travel to your destination and the costs involved. Traditionally getting to an island will take longer and cost more. Also, depending on the time of your guests’ flight arrival, they may even need to stay on the mainland overnight, prior to transferring to an island. Ferry transfers are an additional cost to flights, and can add another AUD$140 (approx.) return, and can take around 2 hours each way, depending on the distance of the island from the mainland, and ferry schedules. If considering an island destination, you need to consider the requirements and limitations of your guests. Elderly guests and people with small children may have concerns with the remoteness of an island. The Islands are generally more expensive than the mainland, as everything requires additional transport, increasing costs for most items, which is reflected in the quoted rates.
A major drawcard for having your wedding on an island are the beautiful white beaches, crystal clear water and marine life. The islands are truly amazing and offer such a different experience to the mainland. Some islands are available for exclusive hire for your wedding – how amazing would that be! Island time is also very relaxing, children are so well catered for, and most islands have a meal package so guests need not reach for their wallet all the time. There’s nothing like getting away from everything to relax in such a beautiful environment.
The mainland as a wedding destination has its own strengths and weaknesses. It’s easy to get to with no additional costs (apart from a Taxi fare from the airport). If you want 5 star luxury with all the modern conveniences then the mainland is for you. There are lots of different levels of accommodation available so that all your guests will be catered for, whether they be single, young couples or parents with young children. There are also a large number of dining out options on the mainland to suit everyone’s taste and budget.
I often hear feedback from my brides that the mainland is certainly more Westernised, and that the real “Fiji” feel is more abundant on the islands, where traditional culture is strongly maintained.
I love both locations as wedding venues. Your decision which to go for really depends on what you are envisaging, your budget, and the number/requirements of guests you are inviting.
At the end of the day you also have to remember it is your day, so go with what your heart tells you.
Chelsea gives a glimpse of the world of weddings in Fiji in this in depth interview with Polka Dot Bride titeld ‘What Would They Know – Interviews with the Experts. Read the full article here.
Bula Bride interviewed Chelsea for her expert opinion in their article on Mainland vs Island weddings in Fiji. Tough choice! Read the full article here.
Bula Bride also featured Chelsea Jayne Weddings in their article on Fiji Wedding Packages. Read the full article here.
Welcome to our new website. Here you will find our insights, tips and advice on the latest weddings organised by Chelsea Jayne Weddings, and a whole heap of inspiration for your special day.
At Chelsea Jayne Weddings we work with you to create a beautiful, stress-free wedding, saving you the endless hours involved in a planning a wedding overseas. We do all the legwork, sourcing your perfect location, group accommodation rates and of course exceptional local suppliers whilst also working out all the logistics for your and your guests. We provide expert advice and creative inspiration, ensuring your wedding is amazing and special from start to finish. Chelsea Jayne Weddings are Sydney based wedding planners who specialise in organising romantic weddings in Fiji.
