THE POLYNESIAN WEDDING: THE PRESENT

Vahine and tane, bride and bridegroom

In this area devoted to love, a new trend is having a great success among those who want to renew their promises of love with a ceremony combining the charm of traditions and the color of the rite surrounded by a singularly beautiful nature.
The legally recognized marriage can be catholic or civil.

Hotels Pearl Resorts & Spa (Moorea, Taha'a, Bora Bora, Tikehau, Manihi, Nuku Hiva, HivaOa) propose “Romantic rendez-vous”, that includes a series of pluses such as a bottle of Champagne in your bungalow, a romantic starlight dinner, a picnic on a private island, a sunset cruise, and weddings on the lagoon.
www.pearlresorts.com

The hotel chain InterContinental (Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora) will enable the couple to create an online wedding presents list including romantic dinners, SPA treatments, and trips on canoes. Moreover, InterContinental Resort & Thalasso Spa in Bora Bora has just inaugurated the Blue Lagoon
Chapel, an overwater chapel with a glass floor where it is possible to celebrate religious ceremonies.
www.boraboraspa.intercontinental.com

For couples who are on honeymoon, the yachts Tu Moana and Tia Moana belonging to the Bora Bora Cruises organize – among other pluses - a night on a motu (a little island in the lagoon) with candlelight dinner, a bottle of champagne, and a canopied bed under the stars.
www.boraboracruises.com

Hotel Le Méridien Bora Bora proposes “Porpora Sunset” (Purple Sunset), a romantic tour on an outrigger canoe in the lagoon at sunset while drinking champagne. www.borabora.lemeridien.com

Tiki Theatre Village: renewing a promise of love
The Polynesian wedding "ceremony" celebrated at Tiki Village, an ancient Polynesian village in Moorea that was rebuilt, takes inspiration from the old Tahitian tradition and even if it is not legally recognized, it represents the most beautiful gift that a man can offer to his bride in order to renew his promise of love. It can be organized by a Tour Operator or by visiting the web site:
www.tikivillage.pf.

The traditional marriage
The future bridegroom arrives at Tiki Village by outrigger canoe; on the beach, dancers and musicians playing the “ukulele” greet him. While the bride is invited at “faré bambu” (a typical house) to be prepared by the women of the village to the ceremony and where she receives massages with monoi oil and is dressed like a Tahitian princess, the bridegroom is escorted to the beach where he is tattooed (with henna) and is dressed like a Tahitian chief. Afterwards the groom is carried again to the village where the ceremony will be celebrated in front of all inhabitants in their best dresses.
After being introduced, the priest invites the couple to enter the Marae, the stone Tahitian temple in front of the lagoon where the ceremony is performed. The ceremony is celebrated in Polynesian and French and is accompanied by traditional religious songs.
Once the ceremony is performed, the couple is given their Tahitian names and those for the children they will have and, then, on their royal chair, they are carried by four warriors to the place where they will be crowned with flowers and garlands and where they will be given their marriage certificate made in “tapa” (palm bark parchment), from the name of the bark of the bread tree.
While drinking champagne, the bride and the bridegroom attend a dancing show that the girls of the village dedicate to them before leaving for a romantic trip on the lagoon accompanied by Polynesian music.
The couple is then escorted to the Royal fare, a luxury overwater bungalow, where they overnight and where meals will be served by outrigger canoe in order to guarantee the absolute privacy.

Wedding ceremonies organized at Tiki Village

Princess Wedding
1,005 Euro
 · Arrival by outrigger canoe
 · Wedding ceremony performed by the Chief of the Village or by the High Priest
 · Group of local musicians
 · Garland of flowers for the couple
 · Tahitian marriage certificate in Tapa (palm bark parchment)
 · A bottle of champagne
 · Photos of the ceremony
 · Transportation back to the hotel by minibus

Royal Wedding
1,257 Euro
 · Arrival of the couple by outrigger canoe and welcome by the villagers
 · Wedding ceremony performed by the Chief of the Village chief or by the High Priest
 · Group of local musicians
 · Garland of flowers for the couple
 · Tahitian marriage certificate in Tapa (palm bark parchment)
 · A bottle of champagne
 · After the ceremony, the couple is carried by four Polynesian Warriors on the Royal chair
 · A romantic cruise on the Royal outrigger canoe with musicians playing ukuleles and    champagne
 · A massage for two on the typical Royal Floating Faré (house)
 · Honeymoon night on the Royal Floating Faré with breakfast (optional)

Royal Deluxe Wedding
1,634 Euro
 · Arrival at the village by outrigger canoe and welcome by the villagers
 · Wedding ceremony performed by the Chief of the Village chief or by the High Priest
 · Group of local musicians
 · Garland of flowers for the couple
 · A choir of Tahitian Mamas singing during the wedding ceremony
 · A spectacular Tahitian dance show
 · Tahitian marriage certificate in Tapa (palm bark parchment)
 · A bottle of champagne
 · After the ceremony, the couple is carried by four Polynesian Warriors on the Royal chair
 · A romantic cruise on the Royal outrigger canoe with musicians playing ukuleles and    champagne
 · A massage for two on the typical Royal Floating Faré (house)
 · Dinner on the Royal Floating Faré (house)
 · Honeymoon night on the Royal Floating Faré with breakfast (optional)

© D. Kirkland

© D. Kirkland

© G. Le Bacon

© G. Le Bacon

Header image:
© G. Le Bacon
Body Image:
© E. Pasquier
© D. Kirkland

For further information please visit www.tahiti-tourisme.eu or send an email to:
tahiti@tahiti-tourisme.it