Matagi Island Resort Weddings - Fiji Islands
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Please call our
Fijian Wedding Specialist, Jennifer for
immediate assistance . . .
Toll Free 1-800-588-3454. In Hawaii 808-871-5986. (ext. 115) |
| Matangi Island Resort is an dream come true as a wedding destination. Exchange vows on our 240 acre tropical island, surrounded by a sparkling azure sea and lush tropical vegetation highlighted by brilliant tropical flowers. Every moment will be unique and truely unforgettable. The staff love having weddings! Everyone leaves their jobs for the day's preparations. Flowers are especially picked from Matangi and the island of Qamea to prepare the bride's headdress and flower leis. Local material, strips from the bark of a special tree, is used to construct these. For the full traditional wedding, the costumes are prepared just hours before. Made of the bark of a Mulberry Tree, the tapa costumes are all raw fiber but soft enough to bend and shape. The tapa is decorated with traditional patterns of black, brown or white. The pattern symbolizes the region or part of Fiji where the tapa was made. Some of the rarer tapas are painted with different shades of soil and clay. There are no buttons or zippers.The groom wears two layers of tapa around his waist (2 separate strips) and the bride wears two layers around her waist and one layer around her bosom. While the costume experts are working the rest of the staff decorate the beach bure, where the ceremony takes place, and the dining room for the feast. |
| Natural decorations of coconut
palms and home grown tropical flowers such as hibiscus in a variety
of colors and various
varieties of the ginger plant to name only a few are
used for the wedding. Inside the bar John prepares the rum punch,
wine and champagne. He sets
up outside near the beach bure where he will serve drinks
and scrumptious hors d'oeuvres from the kitchen. The kitchen staff
starts early with
preparations for the special wedding feast. At the top
of the "to do" list
is the scraping of fresh coconuts, as this is the main
ingredient used in traditional Fijian cooking. The wedding dinner
will be a traditional
feast with a lovo, food that is prepared in coconut palms
and banana leaves and cooked underground. The "lovo pit" is situated on the beachfront. Look for the direction where the smoke will be flowing from...you can't miss it. The men will be there for most of the afternoon cutting firewood to heat the stones before the food is placed in the pit. In Fiji, it is tradition that women prepare the food but only the men cook it. Dinner will consist of lovo-cooked fish, lamb, pork and vegetables. A variety of seafood will also be served including the popular "kodakoda" (marinated fish in coconut milk). The wedding hasn't started yet. |
| The Minister is on his way from Taveuni Island and so is the choir and meke group (traditional dance group). The Minister arrives and meets with the bride and groom. Together, they prepare the marriage and discuss the wedding procedure. Oh! Don't forget the bride's maid and best man. It is normal for couples to ask either a member of staff or guests to take this honor. The bride and groom dress for the occasion. If they are wearing the traditional tapa costumes they will be dressed by two women each. Remember the tapa has no zippers or buttons, so wear good undergarments. The bride and groom dress at different times or in different bures. The lali (Fijian drum) sounds to signify that the wedding is to begin. The groom awaits his bride at the beach bure while two Fijian warriors escort the bride from her bure. She arrives and the ceremony starts with the choir singing hymns (in Fijian) throughout the ceremony. At the conclusion of the ceremony the celebration begins! John offers drinks to all wedding participants and spectators...don't forget those scrumptious hors d'oeuvres! The meke group performs traditional dancing followed by a short break and dinner. Invitations (if requested) can be prepared by the office staff and delivered to all guests. (This is quite common). A Matangi Island wedding becomes a cherished tropical memory. We will await your return for a romantic anniversary celebration. |
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** Renewal of Vows - From $565
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