Getting married in Fiji

We are on a year long round the world trip and have decided to get hitched in Fiji. We arrive on 2 July and have 3 weeks. We are on a backpackers budget but willing to splash out a bit for the wedding. All we want is to get married without any fuss on a beach. Any suggestions about a nice place to do this, which won't cost the earth? We are particularly interested to hear from people who have organised their own weddings in Fiji e.g. getting a license, minister etc. By the way, we are having a blessing and a huge party when we get home, so don't mistake us for total cheapskates!

We saw an beautiful wedding on the beach while we were staying at Octopus Resort last month in the Yasawa Island group, all the local church choir were dressed in white and sung on the rocks at low tide at sunset . We stayed because Lonley Planet' gave it such a good review. We weren't disappointed ; our friends and us are all going back nect year. Congratulations of yr wedding, you will love Fiji, it's a beautiful country, the people are amazing

Most of the islands can organise weddings for you, its just a matter of where you want to stay - and of course, how much you want to spend!

I stayed on Matamanoa island in february this year, and saw a wedding whilst there. They really made it so beautiful - not to mention easy! The bride and groom spent most of the morning lounging around the pool, then they got changed into their outfits and got married down on the beach. The really lovely thing was that the bride and groom get their own table down by the water for their first 'married' dinner together with candles etc.

The best thing about the island is that they only have about 25 - 30 bures which only sleep 2 people, so not too many people even if full. In addition, the best thing is that the island does not allow children, so the place is mostly inhabited by honeymooners, which means that you tend to get as much privacy as you want. Its not the cheapest but was by far one of the most affordable islands that we looked at.

I stayed at 'Dolphin Bay Divers' on Vanua Levu last year and they have hosted weddings there before. It's reasonably priced and the food is fantastic so I'm sure they would be able to organise something special for you that wouldn't cost the earth. It's much quieter there than at Octopus, with room for about 14 people max and no swimming pools so I guess it depends what you're after. This is their website: http://www.dolphinbaydivers.com/