I’m so very excited to share with you this wedding held on board the Bel’Mare.  This couple had travelled all the way from the USA to honour the grooms mother on the biggest day of their lives.  Michaela and Erik want to tell you their story in their own words.

Our adventure to Fiji begins with my mother, Johanne Berg-Raubitschek…

Growing up with my five sisters, my mother would often tell us stories about her amazing journeys to far-away, exotic places. She would show us pictures from old newspaper and magazine articles, from a time when reporters and photographers were enthusiastically documenting her travels around the world. We listened with anticipation and awe because, aside from being a good storyteller, my mother had been one of the few, select, Pan Am stewardesses who “stylishly” helped pioneer aviation during the 1950’s. It was an exciting time, full of new discoveries and adventures!

One brisk sunny day in January, while Michaela and I were spending time with my mother, I asked, “Mom, out of all the places that you’ve traveled to in the world, which was your favorite?”

My mother’s face brimmed with a beautiful smile. Without hesitation she said, “Fiji… Erik, it’s the most-wonderful place in the world!” She took my hand in hers and continued, “You and Michaela have to go to Fiji!” We smiled back, and I told her that we would.

Unexpectedly, with such youthful excitement, and so anxious to tell us more, my mother began describing Fiji. It seemed as if she was experiencing Fiji at that very moment. She told us about the clear turquoise-blue ocean, the fantastic expanses of coral – “playgrounds” for the most-colorful tropical fish we’d ever see, the brilliant sunrises, sunsets and warm tropical breezes, the “wonderful” seashells that you would find along the soft white-sand beaches, the magnificent sea turtles – more graceful than you could imagine while they’re swimming through the water, and what she treasured the most – the beautiful, and kind-hearted Fijian people.

She paused for a moment, her eyes glittering with anticipation, “Can I go with you?”

I answered, “Of course mom. We’ll all go together. Fiji sounds like an amazing place. You can be our guide.”

“When do we go? Are we going now?”

I tucked my mother into her blankets, and gently kissed her forehead, “Not today Mom, but soon. I promise.” She smiled.

…My mother passed away the next day.

Michaela & I decided, then, that we would not only visit Fiji, we would be married on the islands. Fiji would become a new chapter in our lives – an amazing new adventure!

…And, as promised, we would bring my mother along the journey. We would lay her ashes to rest in Fiji – my mother’s favorite place in the world.