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
