Gabby & Julio

While I am completely freezing, a good dose of destination wedding bliss is the perfect tonic. Gabby and Julio decided they would wed in Fiji, not only embracing the local culture as much as they could, but celebrating their love within it.

Gabby tells their story. “We met one fateful night at Alumbra (bar located in Docklands, Melbourne). Julio was working behind the bar one night when I happened to accompany my friends on a lady’s night out. His eye was caught and the rest is history!”

Photographs today are by Katie of Love, Katie & Sarah– Katie’s clean, classic style is so beautiful for this Fijian celebration. Troy from Encore Media shot a film of the day.

Gabby and Julio chose Outrigger on the Lagoon Fiji for their wedding and used the resort’s wedding planner Moreen Manjita to coordinate the day.

Gabby’a bridesmaids wore floor length red gowns from Forcast. Gabby’s hair & makeup was done by a friend Christopher Ngo from Glitz Hairworkz Singapore and hair and makeup for the bridal party by Gabby’s best man Aaren Hafidz Shaffi . Gabby wore three gowns for the day all custom made. Julio also wore a custom made suit.

Gabby came down the aisle accompanied by a traditional choir and eight Fijian warriors carrying her on a traditional bridal sedan raft. Gabby recalls “As I got onto the raft, one of the warriors sneezed and stained my dress. It sent the bridesmaids into a frenzy but I kept calm. The 1 minute delay it caused turned out to be a blessing in disguise because the my 2 year old nephew fell and hurt his head and was wailing about a minute before the bridal entrance.”

Gabby advises “It’s not easy planning a destination wedding, especially when you don’t get to view the venue beforehand. A lot of research is required beforehand, but on your wedding day, just enjoy yourself even though not everything goes to plan.”

Gabby remarks ” Having a small & intimate wedding, meant that we shared our most special day thoroughly, without the need to create ‘small talk’ with acquaintances.” The cake and flowers were both arranged by the resort.

Gabby and Julio incorporated as many traditional Fijian elements as possible into their day. Gabby remarks “We wanted to have the wedding as authentically Fijian as possible, embracing their culture and living the experience.”

Gabby and Julio performed a traditional Fijian dance they learned just one day before the wedding. They both wore traditional Fijian dress for the reception performance.

Troy from Encore Media shot this stunning wedding film for the couple.

http://www.vimeo.com/36522171

Congratulations Gabby and Julio! Thank you for sharing your wedding day with us! Thank you also to Love, Katie & Sarah for sharing today’s images and  Encore Media for today’s film!