The Wedding: Worth Every Franc`

Ia Orana “Hello” in Tahitian

I know most of you are anxious to hear all about tahiti and Ill do my best to sum up the ceremony.








After about 20 hours of traveling we did pretty well, how couldn’t we? We were in TAHITI a MAGICAL, BEAUTIFUL place.. we could hardly wait to see everything and to take it all in.


The wedding was scheduled for 4pm.. a sunset wedding on the beach.. how great does that sound?!?!!?? Well, the later the day got the more the wind blew.. our outrigger canoe arrived at our water bungalow after about 20+ minutes of fighting the wind and ramming into the barricades that held each romantic cottage up from the turquoise tropical fish filled ocean. After a steady attempt, mike nervously loaded solo into the canoe that was meant for the two of us and was delivered to the wedding location without a hitch!

I nervously rushed back into the bungalow to get the much needed help into my wedding dress. Lace up backs are not a good idea when you don’t have family or a brides maid to assist! But the wedding coordinator was very helpful. The wedding musical trio echoed from the beach into the bungalow and It went on for about 15 minutes before we were able to leave. Wedding dresses aren’t a common dress for the traditional tahitian wedding and the pareu takes about an 8th of the time my wedding dress did. We were both crowned with a tropical flowered headpiece and lei’s.
I finally arrived-windblown and with hair stuck to my freshly glossed lips..to a crowd that had formed in the time it took me to do up my very complicated dress. I saw mike (my handsome hottie-boom-body groom) waiting patiently, along with the musical trio and the priest all dressed in colorful flowers and standing on a rug of palm leaves and two wicker thrones under a big sturdy tree that I believe has a lot of symbolism. (dang I wish I took that picture!!!)We were escorted to the chairs and instructed to hold hands and given a fruity beverage made from fresh fruits in a green coconut and garnished with more fragrant flowers.. (later to be used as my bouquet replacement) ;) Our priest began the ceremony-- he was very passionate and soulful, although everything he said had to be translated by the wedding planner. We were given tahitian names Mikes is Manahere Tane and I am Manahere Vahine these polynesian names together mean “power of love” and I suspect everyone married there- gets the same names! :) But for this moment... lets pretend otherwise! :)

We stood and exchanged rings which were delicately placed on flower stems in a large leaf.






We joined hands and the priest cracked a coconut over them and let the milk cover our hands, which significants has slipped our memory.










We were then wrapped in a Tifaifai (Traditional Tahitian quilt) which signified our union and commitment. We were then seated again and entertained by two dancers.

After a few songs, they had us join them and tried to teach us the same dance. Mike looked like he had secretly been practicing in every dark corner for years, where as I looked like a stumbling idiot and quickly faulted it to the length of my dress. Of course! :)






We had some good laughs and then were escorted by musicians playing love songs, the priest, & dancers back to our bungalow where they had arranged flowers EVERYWHERE!





The smell after opening the door was intoxicating and the arrangements were so gorgeous. Their wasn’t a spot they missed. Coffee table, headboard, bed, bathtub, desk, bathroom sink, toilet.. etc. EVERYWHERE! After a few pictures the wedding party left and we were left to enjoy the fruit basket of all the fresh fruit you could ever imagine and a certificate of our marriage. Love!



Regrets: With all the fun and attention we were getting, we forgot to ask for the pictures we REALLY wanted.. sandy beach sunset shots... kissing, holding hands, laughing, you know.. those silly posey shots that every newlywed needs as well as all the family shots. So as much as we LOVE the 100 wicker thrown shots and the look of confusion on our faces during the ceremony... we might ALL have to go back again to get the pictures we would have also liked to add to our collection. :) DARN! :)

In the mean-time here are a few pictures we took ourselves, once we got back to the bungalow!