How to Get to Kuang Si Falls in Laos
September 13, 2017The Best Hotel for Business Travelers in Seattle
November 3, 2017Last September we got engaged in Positano and we immediately started brainstorming resorts all over the globe in search of the best wedding destination in the world. We had no desire to have a traditional wedding in a church, no desire to get married in shoes, and no desire to spend countless hours narrowing down a list of 300-400 friends and family members we wanted to invite. We wanted something unique. We wanted something for US. We wanted something beautiful, cultural, and memorable. After a bit of research, we selected Four Seasons Bora Bora. We had been longing to visit this destination together for years, so the idea of being able to get married here made us both giddy.
Obviously, this destination is not for everyone. If you want a church wedding or a wedding with 400 of your friends, this isn’t for you. If you’re not fond of beaches and don’t want to get married on an island, this is also not for you. However, if you’re looking for a destination wedding and you want to get married to your partner either alone or with a small group of family and friends, Four Seasons Bora Bora is the best wedding destination on earth.
The natural beauty in Bora Bora rivals, and likely surpasses any destination any in the world. We have been saying the island looks like someone turned the vibrance up on everything. The water is a shade of blue we have never seen. The trees and mountains are a green we only thought was possible to create in Lightroom. And all of this is contrasted by sand so white it looks like someone stripped all of the saturation out of it. In other words, Bora Bora defines #NoFilter.
We want to provide you all more detail than simply touting the beauty of Bora Bora and the Four Seasons located on the island. So here are a few reasons why we believe Four Seasons Bora Bora is the best wedding destination in the world.
-Bora Bora’s natural beauty-
Aesthetically, there are few places in the world that rival the beauty of Bora Bora. We have been all over the world and have never seen colors like that of Bora Bora. Rather than ramble, we will let the pictures in this blog speak for themselves.
-Tahitian wedding ceremony-
This was unlike anything we have ever seen at a wedding in the States. We had traditional dancers, musicians who wrote a song for us, and a series of traditional Tahitian sacraments we took part in during the ceremony. The ceremony was in both Tahitian and English, so we learned some Tahitian words as well.
Following the ceremony, we were boated back to the resort in a traditional Polynesian outrigger.
The whole thing felt like a dream.
-Overwater bungalows-
Overwater bungalows are like no hotel room anywhere in the world. Sure, there are more opulent rooms, but these bungalows are magical. Sure, other hotels on the island have them. But none have them sitting in the position of Four Seasons. We have boated around the entire island, and we can unabashedly state that they have the best location on the island. No other resort has water bungalows sitting in water that is this particular shade of blue, and no other resort has them positioned with such an incredible view of Bora Bora’s mountain. Being able to wake up and jump into this bright blue water directly from your bedroom is, by itself, worth the trip.
-Gallagher Island-
Well, we named the island we got married on, so we refer to it as Gallagher Island. Fitting, no?
If you choose Four Seasons Bora Bora as your wedding destination, you can get married on a miniature island (they call it the Sunset Motu) that’s just offshore from the island the resort envelops. Yeah, an island within an island. Island-ception.
The island provides views of the surrounding islands as well as the gorgeous overwater bungalows of Four Seasons.
-Best wedding photographer in Bora Bora-
Four Seasons enlisted the best photographer on Bora Bora to shoot our wedding. Check out Damien Gobron’s website and Instagram: Bora Bora Photographer and Bora Bora Photographer Instagram. All of the wedding pictures you see on this blog were shot by Damien, himself.
-Activities-
FS Bora Bora gives one the opportunity to partake in activities both on and off the property. On the property, guests can enjoy the beach, pool, basketball court, volleyball court, a ping pong table, gym, spa, and much more. Guests can also take out stand-up paddle boards and use snorkel gear for free and can rent jet skis and other aquatics gear.
FS also offers tours like the one we did with our new Polynesian friend, Timmy. We played with stingrays and swam with sharks and all kinds of fish before finishing our day eating a local lunch on a private island. Sincerely, this was one of our favorite activities we have done together while traveling.
-The best spa experience of our lives-
Want to watch fish swim while you get the best massage of your life? Yes, those glass floors in the suite are like a fish tank to the ocean. Want to bathe while you look out at the ocean and the mountains of Bora Bora? Want to enjoy a heavenly body scrub that will leave your body feeling softer than a baby’s butt? Ok. Come to this spa. That simple. We took some images, but not any that do the spa suite as much justice as it deserves. As such, we chose to use the above image from the Four Seasons website. We were a bit preoccupied with getting pampered before our wedding. This particular spa treatment and suite was called the Kahaia Haven Suite.
-Population density-
FS Bora Bora (as well as every other FS property we have visited) has some magical way of making you feel like you’re at a private resort, even when the resort is full. Yes, you’ll see other guests in the public areas, but you’ll also often feel like you’re on your own private island.
-Because Four Seasons-
We have written about this in length, but the Four Seasons needs its own category. It’s simply unfair to categorize Four Seasons and other 5-star resorts in the same bucket. 6 stars might suffice, but let’s be clear, Four Seasons is the gold standard for resorts. Top to bottom, head to toe, their resorts are perfection. The brand speaks for itself. They have the most beautiful properties in the world. They have the most hospitable and friendly staff in the industry (we literally leave every property with new friends, like our friends Timmy, Sophie, Claire, Thiery, Thibaut, Damien and Sadry from Bora Bora). Their chefs are some of the most talented on the globe – some Four Seasons restaurants (like Il Palagio in Florence) even have Michelin Stars. They also do an outstanding job of providing guests a cultural and local experience. Sure, the resorts are a bubble. You’re cut off from society when you’re on a Four Seasons property. That is one of the major reasons people choose to stay with Four Seasons. However, every property we have ever visited has done an exceptional job at providing careers for locals and creating experiences for guests that immerse us in the local culture. The resorts are often even created from local resources and filled with local art. There is simply no experience like the Four Seasons experience.
Read more about our experiences with Four Seasons on the travel blog.
-Accessibility form Los Angeles-
Those of us who live in So Cal are blessed when it comes to accessing the south Pacific. The flight to Tahiti is a simple 7.5 hours (generally overnight) and from Tahiti, one can reach Bora Bora on a short 45-minute prop plane. Once you arrive at the Bora Bora airport, Four Seasons staff will be there to greet you and then will transport you to the resort by boat. Gotta love a resort that is only accessible by boat!
-No better place to start your honeymoon-
Four Seasons Bora Bora is also arguably the best honeymoon destination in the world. Stay tuned for a honeymoon blog soon to come!
5 Comments
Thank you for sharing this awesome place. So beautiful.
Congratulations! Beautiful pictures! My husband and I got married on top on the Sleeping Bear Dunes in Northern Michigan. It was once named the “most beautiful spot in America” by Good Morning America. Although, Bora Bora would probably win the “most beautiful spot in the world”! Thank you for sharing.
I love when I discover gorgeous places that I’ve never heard of. Looks like Alex and I need to book a trip to Michigan ASAP. I’ve only ever been to the Detroit airport…so I need to get this on the calendar. Love the story! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Congrats! My fiancé and I are getting married at the Four Season Bora Bora in two weeks. Your make up look flawless and I wanted to see if you used the resort’s make up artist or did you do it yourself?
Thank you!
Irena
Hi Irena! Congrats, that is amazing! Yes, we used FS’ photographer and videographer (Damien and Sadry, respectively). You can find them on Instagram at: @BoraBoraPhotographer and @Sadry78