Kylie & Dan
I don’t think anyone can deny how wonderful it is to have family around you – especially on an occasion like a wedding. Kylie and Dan took a different approach to their wedding day – they wanted to create a family getaway and so with just ten of their nearest and dearest they planned a Fiji family getaway destination wedding. They wed against the water, they dined under the stars and surrounding that? Plenty of massages, swimming and of course – coconut cocktails! Blue Robin Photography joined them to capture their celebrations.
Kylie tells their story. “I had traveled to London to live, travel and work. Dan and I met at a hospital (funnily enough, appropriately named The Heart Hospital) in London where we both worked together. Dan was a Cardiac Physiologist and I, a cardiac nurse in the coronary angiography department. We were friends for quite sometime before realising that we both really liked one another a lot. Our relationship progressed quickly and after a couple of years Dan made the move back with me to Australia to live. Before moving back to Australia Dan had proposed to me on a city break holiday in New York when we were on a horse and cart in Central Park. I was completely surprised as I had no idea that he was going to propose to me! Of course after a few surprised oh my goodnesses I said yes!!”
Kylie tells, ” I almost didn’t make it to my wedding day! The night before my wedding my future brother in law and I decided to set out in a canoe and ended up going for a swim instead. We capsized the canoe and then spent the next hour trying to get back in without any luck. It was funny at the time but as it got darker and we realised we couldn’t actually get ourselves back in we both started to worry. We were quite far out – too far to swim back. Luckily we ended up being spotted struggling by the staff of Navutu and they came to a rescue and picked us up in their speed boat much to our embarrassment. Trying to imitate Karate kid moves in a canoe before your wedding day is never a good idea!”
Kylie and Dan chose the private Navutu Stars Resort for their wedding. Kylie telling, “Dan and I were married whilst holidaying with our immediate family at Navutu Stars Resort in Fiji. Navutu Stars is a small rustic chic resort tucked away in the Yasawa Islands 30 minutes by seaplane from the mainland. The resort provided the most serene and beautiful backdrop for the intimate and private wedding we were after. Everything you hear about the Fijian people is true. The staff were all so caring and attentive and nothing you asked or requested too much trouble. We were married upon a beautiful decking overlooking the coral bay.
Our reception was a beautiful banquet set up on the beach where we ate freshly caught lobster and seafood under the stars. The venue exceeded the most perfect wedding we had dreamt of having and I would highly recommend Navutu Stars resort to those couples looking for an intimate private destination wedding venue.”
Kylie chose a champagne gown from Essense of Australia.
Kylie carried a sweet bouquet of fresh island blooms. She remarks, “One of the staff named Dan at Navutu made the flower arrangements himself with locally picked flowers from the island. Even the little ribbons were made from plants too.”
“The most special part for us was having both of our families together in one place. As Dan is from England, and I from Australia, our families had not met before our decision to marry. The week we had together in Fiji was not just a wedding but the chance for our families to come together as one and to get to know each other and become good friends.”
Of their photographer, Kylie notes “We were given Michael’s name and recommendation by a family member. Michael traveled with us to Fiji from Australia and stayed close by on a nearby island. Michael was absolutely amazing and we were blown away by the quality of his photographs he took on our day. He really put so much time and effort into capturing all the special moments and Michael’s positive and friendly nature helped us to feel more relaxed and comfortable in front of the camera. His attention to detail is incredible and his enthusiasm when working with him was infectious.”
The couple added candle light around their reception dinner, of freshly caught lobster and seafood under the stars. Kylie noting, “I did not have a lot of DIY details as our wedding was quite simple. I guess one DIY detail that we did do to help create a romantic atmosphere on the beach where our wedding banquet was held – we filled up 100 paper bags with sand and placed a tea light in each. We placed them around the dining table on the beach and our family created a candlelit path to our beach front bure (cottage). The tea lights really helped create a wow factor……..it was just so wonderfully romantic.”
Kylie remembers, “We didn’t actually have a formal first dance as such. We formed our own dance floor with candles on the beach and our families all danced the night away under the stars.”
Congratulations Kylie and Dan! Thank you for sharing your tropical wedding day with us! Thank you to Blue Robin Photography for sharing today’s wedding!
Beautiful wedding and lovely shoot!