Matamanoa, a Fijian wedding resort for real couples with real budgets

Matamanoa, a Fijian wedding resort for real couples with real budgets

Fiji, with its blue lagoons and white sand beaches, each appropriately fringed with coconut palms, fits just about everybody’s image of the perfect place for a destination wedding. The reality, though, is that Fiji’s top resorts can cost as much as any in the world (easily $1,000+ a night), and just the airfare from the main island of Viti Levu to the tiny islands where you find most of the high-end resorts can itself run to many hundreds of dollars for each of you.

A good compromise is to look at one of the more accessible offshore islands easily reachable by boat. Consider Matamanoa Resort, which costs a relatively modest $440 per night, but which boasts the same sand, sea, and palms as its more exclusive, far-away brethren. You can pretend the woman with the enormous sun glasses is Someone Famous, but you won’t have to pay for the privilege of rubbing elbows with the real thing.

Matamaona occupies its own beach-encircled island about 90 minutes by fast ferry from Viti Levu. It can accommodate wedding parties of up to 20 people, but even if there are just the two of you, you’ll feel in good company, as the majority of the guests are honeymooners. (Children under 16 not allowed.)

Marry anywhere on the island you want, but the most popular site is on the beach at sunset, beneath an arch of hand-woven fronds. Having two Fijian warriors in attendance is optional, although they are a nice contrast to the celebrant who is performing the service. —Bob Payne

The spa at Fiji's Matamanoa, a barefoot wedding resort

The spa at Fiji’s Matamanoa, a barefoot wedding resort for down-to-earth romantics

 


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