A Tropical Tahiti Wedding

 
Whilst on the honeymoon of a lifetime in French Polynesia, we were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a few weddings.  We travelled from Tahiti, to Mo’orea, to Bora Bora, then back via Tahiti again, and saw at least one wedding on each island.  With such idyllic paradise surroundings, it was totally dreamy!  All of the above, combined with being on honeymoon, was an absolute dream come true!  As a newlywed and as a wedding blogger now launching my own professional wedding services, I was absolutely beside myself.  It was heaven! 

I’ve already posted about a beach wedding right outside our bungalow on Bora Bora, so I wanted to share another wedding I managed to sneak some photos of when we were in Tahiti. 

Tahiti is the largest of all of the French Polynesian islands and is where all the international flights land, thus is central to the trading and commerce for the whole of French Polynesia.  It is very obvious as soon as you land that, while still remote, it is much more populated than the other islands – there was actual traffic for one, and decent wifi!  (Key indicators…!)  It seemed that most people, like ourselves, didn’t actually stay on Tahiti for long, they just stopped over on route to the other Polynesian islands.  

We stayed at the InterContinental Tahiti, which was much more of a resort compared to the other boutique style hotels we stayed in on Mo’orea and Bora Bora.  For one, it had a main brick and mortar hotel building, as well as the cute huts and bungalows the other islands had, but it also had a much bigger bar, restaurant and hosting area.  

On one of our final days on Tahiti, our wedding photographer (Cotton Candy Weddings) sent through a link to our wedding photos, so we sat in the bar of our hotel at happy hour and looked through the album online via my iPad, reminiscing about our wedding day less than a month earlier.  At about our tenth run through, we noticed the hotel staff setting up for a wedding at sunset – it was just perfect and seemed so coincidental that we were looking through our own wedding photos at the same time.  

Although the wedding was in full view of the whole hotel, it was still fairly secluded as it was on an islet to the hotel – a small offshoot of land in a crescent around the beach front.  As such, we were still a distance from where the wedding was happening, so my photos aren’t great, but they at least set the scene – and what a scene it was! 

The couple married at sunset against a backdrop of palm trees, a calm ocean, and the landscape of nearby Mo’orea in the distance.  There was very minimal decor from what I could see, but with a setting like this, what else is required?!  The wedding looked small and relaxed, perhaps about 25 people, and they tucked into a seafood barbeque afterwards and danced the night away under the stars.  It was so romantic!  
  

After one too many cocktails I was awash with emotion and keen to take more photos, but luckily my hubby stopped me!  I think he feared I might try to join in!  The setting was pure luxury and the view was to die for. 

If you are looking for an exotic, luxurious, destination wedding, Tahiti is the perfect place.  Much cheaper and more accessible than Bora Bora, yet still every bit as exotic.  This would suit a couple travelling from or via the US, as it is still quite expensive (and a long way to go) from the UK or Europe, but it is so worth it!  

 
We flew with Air France from LA to Tahiti, and stayed at the InterContinental Tahiti Resort and Spa.  The resort occupies a colonial-inspired building and is only a few minutes’ drive from Pape’ete airport and 8 km from Papeete Market: 

“Celebrate your wedding in paradise. We can help you stage a traditional ceremony or renewal of vows, either on our big motu, surrounded by the tropical fish of the Lagoonarium, or on the small motu – the best venue for intimate affairs. You can also dream up something more personalised – a service in a catamaran, a ceremony in your bungalow or a private gathering in the gardens of the resort – our concierge team is at your service to make it happen. For more information, contact restauration.tahiti@ihg.com.

For a truly unique experience, consider a traditional Tahitian ceremony, complete with flower crowns and leis, dancers and singers, and a priest who will baptise the couple with a Polynesian name – a new start for their new life together.”

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