Nik & Mel Donovan

Yadra!!!!
Where to start!!! John and I have just returned home from the most incredible place on earth!!!  Wananavu Resort in Fiji, on the Sun Coast, just a few Kilometers from Rakiraki.
Nik and Mel meticulously planned their special day - 21st March 2009- a date they chose to marry to coincide with their very first date. Does this spell ROMANCE!!. And who better to choose to help them put this day together but the amazing Wananavu Resort - under the keen eye of the Resort Managers Rachel and Ben.
51 guests travelled to this piece of paradise from New Zealand and Australia- with assistance from MTA Travel who completed travel plans to the infinite degree to be sure that we would all be there to celebrate this time with Nik & Mel.
We were all welcomed onto the Resort with huge smiles and our very own “coconut cocktail”  and escorted to dinner whilst our HUGE amounts of luggage were whisked away to our Bure’s. There we were welcomed by Wananavu staff who were to become our family. Jerry, George, Sereti, Asinate, Veronika, Sylivia, Venina, Ma, Eta, Vulo, Amit, Keleni, Evuloni and the boys in the band (I have missed people I know and I am so sorry-I have your faces in my mind). This was the beginning of one of the best weeks of our lives. We went snorkeling, we learnt Wananavu culture where we were taught to say “Yadra” which is good morning , and we could say that all day!! We watched the boys cook our dinner in the Lovo pit, and the smell of it cooking made our taste buds break dance!!!Even my 5yr old niece McKayla from New Zealand thought the chicken was better than Mum’s!! We had a Fijian Culture evening of dance and celebration.
Many cocktails and adventures later, the morning of the wedding arrived. Mel was so nervous she was not sure whether this day would go ahead. Or was it too many cocktails…hmmmm. She emerged looking STUNNING!!! Wow what a gorgeous bride she made.  The weather was not kind during the day which caused a little “extra movement” at the last minute and a new wedding area was selected which resulted in Rachel and her crew setting up this whole new area in minutes.
Along came Mel and the silence as she walked with her VERY proud Dad, Johnny Wapp, was amazing. We just all stood in awe. I nearly forgot what I was there for, with tears causing a “focus malfunction” I had to pull myself together. There was Mel off to meet her Prince. One look at Nik and it was all over again!! Dam those tears !!!! He was transfixed on his beautiful bride. He, Carl and Dillon scrubbed up pretty handsome themselves may I add.
With the vows said – although Mel almost married John and not Nik if the Priest had his way- it was time for some photos and the Wedding Reception. All this went far too fast and in no time it was Sunday. One more sleep and we had to leave this paradise and come back down to earth. Sunday night during dinner, our new family sang to us the Fijian farewell song Isa Lei – “ Isa Isa, you are my only treasure, must you leave me so lonely and forsaken. As the roses will miss the sun at dawning, every moment my heart for you is yearning…”
And yes it is, our hearts yearn for the time we had. To you all at Wananavu, how can we thank you for a time in our lives that will always be a treasure in our hearts? How can we explain to our friends the moments we all shared with you- without feeling sadness that we had to leave you all behind?
To Rachel and Ben, THANK YOU!!!! For without you both and your handpicked staff, we would never have experienced such a time.
To Nik and Mel, … what to say but we LOVE you with all our hearts. Thank you for sharing this precious time with us, you are and have always been VERY special to both John and myself.
To our family at Wananavu, our hearts are sad that we had to leave, we thank you for sharing with us your culture, your love and the love of God.
SOTA TALE (see you again soon), may God bless you all abundantly.
All our love and God’s blessings, John and Sue Leebeek