Real Wedding Stories

 
Today I’m bringing the story of Kezia & Collin’s Tahitian wedding in Moorea to the blog, as the current situation worldwide with shelter-at-home orders and bans on gatherings – preventing so many couples from having the best wedding they’d dream of, kind of made me think of why Kezia & Collin decided to elope to Tahiti for their nuptials back in July of last year.

Kezia first reached out explaining that Collin and her had called off their wedding home in Pennsylvania because it had gone way over budget and had become very stressful. Since they nixed the plans of having a 250+ wedding, they wanted to have a ceremony with just her and him. Kezia added that they wouldn’t know how to even get started on their own.

My heart goes to all the couples who have been forced to either cancel their wedding plans all together, or to scale it down, and I’m hoping most can reschedule to a future date. This whole situation might be eye-opening for some, who will realize that no party is more important than being healthy and staying safe with your loved ones.

Getting married is not just about the party, getting married is first and foremost about the couple promising to love each other no matter what, to weather crisis, and to share a life together.

On this topic, you may want to read: Should I Write My Wedding Vows?

Eloping to Tahiti is not less of a wedding because there’s no reception, it actually is quite the contrary as it allows you to be fully present and, unlike planning a huge wedding at home, it is a totally stress-free experience.

 

 

Kezia & Collin’s Tahitian Wedding Ceremony In Moorea

 
Kezia & Collin got married in Moorea back in July, and what a dreamy day it was!

They first met back in college in 2010. Collin was celebrating his birthday with a crazy party packed with people. When Kezia first saw him, he was sitting on top of his old-style big screen TV and punching the ceiling above him to the beat of the music… he did a bunch of other wild things that night, and she remembers thinking: this person cannot be real!
He thought she was cute, but shy. He asked her for her email address – instead of her phone number, and honestly she thought there was no way this drunk person was going to remember it. Well, he emailed her the very next day, and the rest is history.

On the day of the wedding, the make-up artist, the hair stylist and I met at Kezia & Collin’s resort around midday, bringing along her lovely bouquet of tropical flowers.

 

 
The photographer met us in the bungalow once Kezia’s hair & make-up were done to capture some of the details while Kezia was getting dressed, and she then photographed a first look on the dock over the water, right outside of Kezia & Collin’s overwater bungalow.

 

 

We then headed to the City Hall, where Kezia and Collin had a Tahitian legal wedding before the mayor (head to this post if you want to know more about getting legally married in Tahiti). I can’t remember why they burst into laughter, but it sure was a moment full of joy and happiness. We next set off for a private islet beach to hold their personalized, Tahitian celebratory ceremony.

 

 
We were welcomed to the beach to the sound of a ukulele and some traditional Tahitian singing. Their Tahitian wedding ceremony was held privately, and they then did some beach photos and video before returning to the main island to continue shooting photos up the Belvedere, and back to their resort for sunset.

 

 
Later that day, Kezia & Collin got picked up at their resort for a private drive to enjoy a fine-dining wedding dinner out.

Thank you again Kezia & Collin, and wish you the best of happiness!

 

• Moorea Wedding Planner + Officiant in Moorea: Nelly at wedOtahiti
• Moorea Wedding Photographer and Videographer: Olivera Photography
• Make-up artist: Audrey Bodilis
• Hair stylist: Maryse

 

Not Sure How To Plan A Wedding In Tahiti? Contact Me Here And Get Started With Planning Your Tahiti Wedding!

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Courtney & Kyle had dreamed of a Tahiti wedding but when they were presented with wedding packages available in Moorea, at their resort specifically, those did not feel right for them. They were drawn to some other locations on the island, and one in particular : they wanted to experience a private islet beach ceremony in Moorea!

Courtney reached out to me saying she was not 100% sure how getting married in Tahiti “works” (or destination elopements in general) and she was also not sure what the limitations were of getting married at a resort versus elsewhere… she needed me to shed some light on how they could get married in Tahiti (pondering between getting married in Tahiti legally vs. at home before their trip), and how to plan a wedding in Tahiti outside of the beach ceremony itself.

Courtney & Kyle got married in Moorea back in November, and what a dreamy day it was! The weather was the most perfect, and the colors were out of this world.

 

 

Courtney & Kyle met in high school when she was a freshman student, and Kyle was a junior. Kyle was Courntey’s brother’s friend, and her dad was his teacher and football coach, so she happened to hang out with these guys in her dad’s art class often. They were not real close friends at the time, but Courtney remembers that there was always something about Kyle…

It would just take her until much later to figure out what that “something” was.

Fast forward to a few years later – The proposal had to be perfect, so everyone that day knew the details, except for Courtney of course… from Courtney’s cousin to her mum, everyone helped Kyle planning the perfect proposal at the zoo. Come the day of the proposal… why would everyone want to go straight to the Giraffes, and not follow their normal zoo routine? Why missing out on the other exhibits? Courtney got a little frustrated with the group, so it came as a complete surprise when Kyle handed her a book and she discovered that the pages were cut-out to form a heart and a ring was tied to a string inside… it was the most thoughtful proposal and of course she said “Yes!”

The make-up artist and I met at Courtney & Kyle’s resort in the early morning, bringing along their beautiful flowers: a gorgeous bouquet + a head crown for Courtney, and a leaf lei for Kyle.

 

 

Truth be told, Courtney got sunburned pretty badly the previous day. There were some clouds, so the two of them did not pay much attention to the sun and forewent applying sunscreen… being that we are under a tropical climate, the sun can be very harsh and a fair complexion will get sunburned in no time (this is the story of my life, hiding from the sun!).

Anyway, nothing will stop my make-up artist from making a bride look her best, and be the most beautiful on her wedding day, and oh was Courtney beautiful! And so was Kyle!

We headed to a private islet beach for their celebratory ceremony, and met with their photographers there. This was a new location I am so lucky to have access to with my couples, 100% private and 1000% dreamy!

 

 

We held their beach ceremony privately, and they then did some beach photos as well as some photos on the reef-side of the islet, before we headed back together to the main island. Their photographers then drove them around and back to their resort.

 

 

It is the most beautiful environment one can dream of to hold a ceremony in Moorea. A very quiet and peaceful place for a destination elopement in Tahiti – and the perfect place to shoot out-of-this-world aerial drone photos in Tahiti.

Later that day, Courtney & Kyle got picked up at their resort and taken privately by boat to a(nother) private islet beach, this time to enjoy a movie night!

While Courtney & Kyle considered a romantic dinner in a fine-dining restaurant at first, they then realized it would be too fancy for them and told me “We just want a super relaxed evening with (as strange as this may sound…) maybe share a pizza while sitting on the beach…? Not sure if there is something you could help us with to maybe make it a tiny bit more romantic? But either way, even if it is just us ordering a pizza that is totally fine too. We just want the sort of “pajama pants and movies” sort of night.”

Ask and you shall receive! Sofa on the beach, pizzas, a large screen standing in the lagoon, and their favorite movie playing… the stage was set!

Thank you again Courtney & Kyle, and wish you the best of happiness!

 

• Moorea Wedding Planner + Officiant in Moorea: Nelly at wedOtahiti
• Moorea Wedding Photographers: Helene Havard Photography and Flying World Pictures
• Make-up artist: Audrey Bodilis

 

Would You Like To Hold Your Ceremony in Moorea On An Exclusive Islet Beach? Contact Me Here To Get Started!

For more articles like these subscribe to my monthly newsletter HERE (and Get the Free Report to pick the best Wedding Ceremony Location in Tahiti)!

 

Ruben is Portuguese and Vicky is Spanish, the two of them live in Zürich, Switzerland. They reached out with the idea of traveling from Europe to New Zealand then to French Polynesia in September 2019, and to get married in Tahiti during their trip. They already had a date in mind, which was important to them. They also wanted to have a legal wedding in Tahiti with the marriage certificates being valid back home.

I work with a lot of couples for all around the world, who not only are willing to plan a wedding in Tahiti from afar, but also want to do the paperwork to be legally married, on top of having a celebratory beach ceremony in Moorea.

France (and as such, French Polynesia) being part of the European Union, getting your documents issued, stamped for international use and translated into French is typically fairly easy in Europe… with the one exception : Portugal. While most European countries allow you to order your documents in just a few clicks online, Portugal administrations will want to see you in person. Ruben had to fly twice to Lisbon from Switzerland in order to collect his documents, and so was the case of Filipe, another Portuguese groom who married in Moorea in 2018, who just like Ruben, had to fly several times from the U.K. where he lives to Lisbon to gather his documents.

So if you are of Portuguese citizenship, and want to get legally married in Tahiti, make sure you get things started at the 6-month mark as you may find that it takes longer than expected to get your documents (especially if you reside outside of Portugal).

 

 
Ruben and Vicky opted for a sunrise beach ceremony.

Holding your ceremony at sunrise means that you need to get up extra early – with the first rays of light showing between 5:15am (Summer time in Tahiti) and 6:30am at the latest (Winter time in Tahiti), but the colors you can get in the photos, and the privacy, are well worth it!

In Ruben & Vicky’s case, the hair-stylist, the make-up artist and myself met at their bungalow at 4:10am to get Vicky’s hair & make-up done by 5:15am, so that she and Ruben would be ready and all dressed up by 5:30am.

Ruben & Vicky’s resort on Moorea was located on the North-Eastern side of the island so it was facing sunrise. We did not have to drive or commute to another venue to hold their ceremony, but walked the resort’s beach which was desert this early in the morning.

Ruben went there first to wait for his bride on the beach, and so I could play Vicky’s chosen song softly off a portable speaker (you want to be respectful of the other guests still asleep) while she walked down the beach to Ruben.

 

 
Vicky & Ruben first met back in 2015 through mutual friends. Vicky absolutely recalls being told how nice and kind Ruben was, and he made a good impression on her indeed.

But this is only a year after that first encounter that Ruben decided to invite Vicky for dinner at Bianchi, an Italian restaurant. They shared life stories, and had a deep conversation about what they like, dislike, life expectations, and the rest is history.

Vicky said that she and Ruben dream, and plan together so that’s how she knew that a together forever would be a forever with Ruben.

The sun rose before Vicky and Ruben’s eyes during the ceremony, and while they exchanged their personal vows.

Let me tell you all, I am so appreciative of my couples trusting me in developing and officiating their wedding in Moorea, but when I’m also given the opportunity to witness such beauty and peacefulness all while marrying couples, I feel even luckier to be doing what I do.

 

 
Vicky and Ruben then headed to other place to do more photos and video, including aerial footage – drone pictures in Moorea over the best morning hours. We met again at the City Hall for their legal celebration, after which they returned to a delightful breakfast in their bungalow.

 

 

Thank you again Ruben & Vicky, and wish you the best of happiness!

 

We got legally married in Moorea with the exceptional help of Nelly from wedotahiti.
We could arrange and choose all details via email, the process was as simple as this type of arrangements can be 🙂

Nelly was great and very patient with all of our questions and decisions, especially with all the paperwork to get us legally married. She knows everybody on the island and made our path very comfortable and unstressful.
We are extremely happy how our Wedding turned out and would repeat it again for sure.

If you consider getting married or renew your vows in Tahiti, go with Nelly Grange, you won’t regret it.

 

• Moorea Wedding Planner + Officiant in Moorea: Nelly at wedOtahiti
• Moorea Wedding Photographers: Helene Havard Photography (more photos of this sunrise ceremony in Moorea here) and Flying World Pictures
• Hair stylist: Maryse
• Make-up artist: Audrey Bodilis

 

Would You Like To Hold A Sunrise Ceremony in Moorea For Your Wedding Elopement? Contact Me Here To Get Started!

For more articles like these subscribe to my monthly newsletter HERE (and Get the Free Report to pick the best Wedding Ceremony Location in Tahiti)!

 

Blake and Eric live in Denver in the United-States. They booked a trip to French Polynesia, and inquired with me about holding a Tahiti same-sex wedding, elopement style ceremony in Moorea.

At first, they mentioned that they would be looking for a ceremony on the beach with a simple altar set up. However after reviewing the location options I sent to them when we started to plan their wedding in Tahiti, they changed their mind.

 

They Decided To Go For A Mountain-Top Wedding Ceremony In Moorea Instead

 
Holding a ceremony at The Belvedere in Moorea, a mountain-top location with a view over the two bays of Moorea, with lush mountain peaks all around, involves that we go early before there are any (or too many) visitors to the place. Being that it is a public space, it can get busy past 8am with hikers, ATV or 4WD tours which all stop there for the view, mountain bikers etc. Going there between 7am and 8am is also the best time for photos in Moorea.

Blake & Eric first met through mutual friends at the EDC in Chicago in May 2013, and Blake remembers that Eric had this lovable, carefree spirit that allowed him to connect with anyone, and he was so curious about who Eric was. There has been an immediate, undeniable infatuation between the two of them he says.

Eric also admits that he was definitely attracted to Blake right away, and they both ended up hitting it off all weekend and spending the whole time together.

So much so that Blake recalls feeling at such a loss without Eric upon returning home in Indianapolis the following week, when Eric lived in Chicago at the time. He texted him, and Eric happened to come down to Indianapolis for work a couple weeks later, which was the perfect opportunity to meet again.

Blake and Eric soon became inseparable, and Eric moved in with Blake after only three months of dating. They moved all the way to Denver a few years later which was totally life-changing Eric says. The two of them were so compatible that it just felt right, and that’s when they knew that a together forever would a forever with one another.

 

 

Blake and Eric held their ceremony in Moorea on July 1. While July is supposedly the “dry season” in Tahiti, we had a very overcast sky that day, but that did not put a damper on Blake and Eric’s celebration. The two of them were very elegant, and we were lucky to get on location early enough to carry the ceremony before it started drizzling up there.

 

 

They then headed to other places around the island to do more photos.

 

 

Thank you again Blake & Eric, and wish you the happiest life in the mountains!

 

• Moorea Wedding Planner + Officiant in Moorea: Nelly at wedOtahiti
• Moorea Wedding Photographer: Helene Havard Photography

 

Want To Read More Stories Of Tahiti Same-Sex Weddings? Head To The Following Love Stories Of Couples Who Celebrated Their Gay Wedding In Tahiti:

 
Laurent & Jordan from France

Douglas & Carlos from the U.S.

 

More Examples of Mountain-Top Weddings in Moorea:

 
Tiffany & Sean (photos under the ‘elopements’ tab), U.S.

Deanna & Eric, U.S.

 

Interested In Holding Your Wedding Ceremony On A Mountain-Top In Moorea? Contact Me Here To Get Started!

For more articles like these subscribe to my monthly newsletter HERE (and Get the Free Report to pick the best Wedding Ceremony Location in Tahiti)!

 

Chiara & Jerome are Australians. They planned their own small Tahiti destination wedding earlier this year, with 15 family members and friends in attendance.

They reached out to me end of February to inquire about my availability to officiate their Tahiti wedding ceremony planned for end of August. Turned out I was already booked for their date, with no way to accommodate even just officiating the ceremony as I was handling another (pretty large) Tahiti destination wedding in Moorea that day, and working said wedding till 2:30am.

Luckily they still had some flexibility over the date, and decided to push their Moorea wedding to the next day, so that I could be their ceremony officiant.

 

Tahiti Destination Weddings:

Chiara & Jerome’s Ceremony in Moorea

 
Chiara first came across Jerome while out dancing one night in Bali, she remembers that a casual chat turned into them talking all night long, and telling each other their life stories, talking about their favourite movies, music, everything. Jerome recalls really liking Chiara from that very first encounter, and their friends ended up dragging them away from each other!

This could have been it, but they caught up in Australia and went to the movies together one night. They had a fun night, however when it was time for Jerome to drop Chiara home, his old Commodore got a flat battery and wouldn’t start, so his mum and sister had to pick them up, which was really embarrassing he says!

Chiara says that Jerome makes even the most boring situation fun and that he has the best lust for life. She’s always loved the way he talked about his family, and how loyal he is. So it’s no wonder that after welcoming their beautiful little Sunny into their lives, marrying and sharing the same last name became important to them.

Chiara actually spoiled the proposal when she found the ring that Jerome was using to find out what her ring size was… she questioned him on it until he gave in and told her about the surprise he had planned!

They both laughed about it which meant it was a “Yes!”

 

 

Chiara & Jerome booked a vacation rental home in Moorea (read more on this topic in this post), which was ideal to accommodate part of the family in one place, and offered the privacy they were seeking for their ceremony in Moorea.

Along the way Chiara also asked us to assist with setting up and decorating their dinner space, and to arrange for her bouquet so that it would match the overall color scheme.

Chiara had imagined fairy lights hanging down from the tree in the yard, only to find out when they checked in that the tree had just been trimmed… and was now looking pretty naked. Anyway, there was one branch left which we were still able to decorate with hanging lights.

 

 

I also arranged for additional lighting as there was close to none in the house’s backyard, and tea lights while looking very pretty along the table, simply would not have cut it once it got dark.

The ceremony was held in the home’s beach-side backyard, facing the lagoon and the ocean. Chiara & Jerome’s ceremony space was drawn on the ground with sea shells, and not only did they exchange personal vows before their family and friends but also before grandma Mary who made the very long journey to be with them.

It was a very lovely environment to hold a ceremony in Moorea. A very quiet and peaceful place for a small Tahiti destination wedding – under 20 people is the magic number for such a place, by the beach, with the waves crashing in the background… all you could ever dream of for your Tahiti destination wedding or intimate ceremony in Moorea.

 

 

Nelly was truly such a lifesaver when planning our wedding, it would not have been possible without her assistance. Her services as our celebrant and, together with her husband, providing the furniture and styling were unique on Mo’orea. Nelly went above to capture our vision and help the while process to go as smoothly as possible. Thank you Nelly and Philippe, we have such amazing memories!

 
I am really happy, and honored to have been able to take part in this special day, and to have contributed to your Moorea wedding day, Chiara and Jerome. Keep enjoying the simple life and the ocean like you always did, and may you have a life full of many more great adventures as a family.

If you find yourselves needing help with the planning of your micro wedding in Moorea, head here for more information!

 

• Moorea Wedding Officiant : Nelly at wedOtahiti
• Ceremony sound : Tropik Sounds
• Photographer : Turama Photography
• Dinner Table Set Up and Décor : Weddings in Moorea

 

Not Sure How To Plan A Wedding In Tahiti? Contact Me Here And Get Started With Planning Your Tahiti Wedding!

For more articles like these subscribe to my monthly newsletter HERE (and Get the Free Report to pick the best Wedding Ceremony Location in Tahiti)!

 

Steven and Flor live in Arizona. They decided to elope in Tahiti and wanted a dreamy ceremony in Moorea in August.  When Steven first reached out, he actually inquired about a Bora Bora wedding. His exact words were “We would like something very simple with super great pictures.  Please help us.”

Whenever a couple does inquire about a wedding in Bora Bora, my first question is how they envision their wedding ceremony, and what environment they imagine themselves exchanging their personal vows in.

The reason I’m asking is that depending on which Bora Bora resort you stay at, photo opportunities may be somewhat limited to resort photos, plus you don’t always get the privacy you’d expect for such a personal moment by standing on the resort’s beach with other in-house guests walking past, standing there watching and even taking photos!

I’m always happy to travel to Bora Bora and meet my couples there but more often than not, having a great variety of backgrounds in photos is important to my couples so marrying at their resort in Bora Bora isn’t going to cut it. Unlike in Bora Bora, there are lots of photo opportunities around the island of Moorea which allows for a much greater variety of environments and colors during the photo shooting (beach, mountain, nature, forest, water etc.).

Having top of the charts photos of their Tahiti wedding was extremely important to Steven and Flor.

 

They Opted For A Wedding Ceremony In Moorea In The Morning When The Colors Are Most Vibrant

 

They would then do beach photos, nature photos as well as drone photos around Moorea.

Steven and Flor pondered about whether they would get married in Tahiti legally or not, but with them planning their elopement wedding in Tahiti pretty late (we were not even 2 months away) it was already too late to gather the needed paperwork and ship it to Tahiti on time to meet the deadline of 45 days before the wedding.

Steven and Flor first met over 11 years ago at Westgate to see the 4th of July fireworks, and Steven recalls that his first words to Flor were to say that it was hot and he had no A/C!

Despite the lack of air con or a working radio, Flor’s first thought was that Steven was really good looking, while he also felt like she was the most beautiful girl who ever set foot in his car… and he actually fell for her at this very moment.

11 years later, here they were about to get married in Tahiti.

 

 
Flor did her own hair & make-up, so I met them at their resort with their flowers – a cascading bouquet of white flowers for Flor, and a male Hawaiian leaf lei for Steven, before the three of us headed to their resort’s dock to board the private boat that would take us to a private islet beach located a few minutes across the lagoon.

We held their beach ceremony privately, and they then did some beach and drone photos around the islet. The month of August is Winter time in here, so it was a bit windy but the colors! The colors were just insane!

 

 

Once they were done capturing the beauty of the place, we headed back to their resort and from there, their photographers drove them around the island for more nature photos on the mountain-side, as well as drop-dead beautiful aerial images by drone. Talking about drone photos in Tahiti, know that most Bora Bora resorts are extremely restrictive (when they do not flat out forbid them) about flying a drone and taking drone wedding photos from above the resort. On the other hand, you can do drone photos in Moorea pretty much anywhere (and when I say “you” I mean someone holding permits to fly a drone in Tahiti).

 

 
Thank you Steven and Flor for trusting me to plan your wedding in Tahiti – Moorea, and I wish you a life very full of love!

 

The ceremony was very nice, we really liked your keepsake portfolio, […] it was a perfectly beautiful day.  We are very grateful for having you as our officiant for our big day, and I hope you continue to make other couples dreams come to life.

 

• Moorea Wedding Planner + Officiant in Moorea: Nelly at wedOtahiti
• Moorea Wedding Photographers: Helene Havard Photography (see more of this wedding here) and Flying World Pictures

 

Do You Want Your Ceremony In Moorea To Be Heartfelt And Personal? Contact Me Here To Get Started!

For more articles like these subscribe to my monthly newsletter HERE (and Get the Free Report to pick the best Wedding Ceremony Location in Tahiti)!