Eloping or renewing your vows in Fiji: a guide for small weddings

How to plan a wedding for two (or a handful of people) in Fiji, from the paperwork and witnesses to where to say your vows and how to make the day feel like a real wedding.

Some of my favourite days in fifteen years of shooting in Fiji have had no guest list at all. Just a couple, a celebrant, two witnesses and a stretch of sand. Other times it is a couple who married twenty years ago in a registry office in Auckland or Brisbane and want to do it properly this time, with their kids standing beside them. Both are simple and relaxed to plan here, but a few things are worth knowing before you book flights.

Eloping and vow renewals are not the same on paper

An elopement in Fiji is a legal wedding, just a small one. That means you still need a Fiji marriage licence, and the rules are the same as for a big wedding. You both have to appear in person at a marriage registry or district office, which are open Monday to Friday during business hours, so plan to land a few working days before your date. You will need your passports, certified copies of your birth certificates, proof of single status, and divorce or death certificates if either of you has been married before. Anything not in English needs a certified translation.

A vow renewal is different. You are already married, so there is no licence to apply for and no legal ceremony. It is a celebration, and you can shape it however you like: on the beach, on a boat, at sunrise, with or without a celebrant. Many resorts still offer a formal vow renewal package with a minister and a certificate, which is a lovely keepsake, but it does not need the registry.

If you are eloping, I go through the licence process in more detail in my article on how to legally get married in Fiji.

The witnesses question

This is the one that catches eloping couples out. Fiji requires two witnesses aged 18 or over, with photo ID. If you are travelling as just the two of you, do not worry. Resort wedding coordinators arrange this all the time, usually from their own staff, and your celebrant can often help too. Just ask about it when you book rather than on the morning.

Where to say your vows when it is just you

Small weddings open up places a big group cannot easily reach. A few that work beautifully:

A quiet stretch of beach at your resort in the late afternoon, about an hour before sunset, when the light is soft and the day-trippers have gone.

A sandbank or small island in the Mamanucas, reached by boat. There is nothing quite like standing on a strip of white sand with water on every side. Tides decide the timing here, so this needs planning around the tide chart.

A resort chapel or garden gazebo. Several resorts on Denarau and the Coral Coast have small chapels looking out to sea, good if you want something a bit more formal.

Your own villa deck or a private dinner set-up on the beach, which suits vow renewals especially well.

Wherever you choose, have a simple backup. A short tropical shower in the afternoon is common, especially from November to April, and it usually passes in twenty minutes. A covered spot nearby saves a lot of stress.

Making a small day feel like a real wedding

The risk with an elopement is that it goes so quickly it feels like it barely happened. A few things help:

Get ready separately, even if you are only in different rooms, and do a first look before the ceremony. Those few minutes are often the most emotional part of the day and they photograph beautifully.

Write your own vows. With no crowd, you can say what you actually want to say.

Plan something after the ceremony: a sunset cruise, a long dinner on the beach, a lovo feast, or a kava ceremony with the village or resort staff. Many couples I photograph say the meal afterwards is what made it feel like a wedding.

What photography looks like for an elopement

For a small wedding I usually cover two to four hours: some getting-ready moments, the ceremony, portraits as the light drops, and the start of dinner. My Simple package, from FJD $2,200, suits most elopements and vow renewals well. If you would like a short film to show family back home who could not be there, or drone shots of a sandbank ceremony, the Standard package from FJD $3,100 covers that.

Because I have worked at most of the big resorts on the west side for years, I can also point you to celebrants, decorators and florists who are good with small weddings. I do that free for couples who book their photography with me.

Source: Tourism Fiji, Fiji Wedding Regulations (fiji.travel). Requirements can change, so confirm with the registry or your resort coordinator before you travel.

If you are thinking about eloping or renewing your vows in Fiji, send me a message on WhatsApp at +679 900 5575 or use the enquiry form on the home page. Tell me your dates and where you are staying, and I will help you work out the rest.