If the current COVID-19 pandemic is not enough of a hurdle to make wedding plans, imagine waking up to an unexpected heavy downpour and strong winds.

And if that was not harsh enough, the person who was supposed to help you with your traditional attire, does not show up.

These were some of the hurdles that newly-wedded couple, Sharneel Prasad and Anisha Devi, had to overcome yesterday.

However, all that did not dampen their spirits.

Yesterday, the couple donned traditional iTaukei wedding attires to tie the knot at the Marriage Registry at the Suvavou House.

According to Mr Prasad, they got so worried when they woke up in the morning and saw the bad weather.

“We were alone at the Grand Pacific Hotel and because of the weather, the lady who was supposed to come and dress us, did not come,” Mr Prasad said.

“So, we had to do our outfits by ourselves with the help of some of the hotel staff.”

Doing things differently is nothing new for Mr Prasad.

In 2015, he was featured in a Fiji Sun article titled, “A Patriotic Fijian’s Toyota Levin”, where he took his love for country to new heights by spray painting a Fiji flag on his car with number plate NI BULA.

“I have always thought of things differently. We are all Fijians and even though we are doing our Hindu style and Christian wedding, our wear should be traditional,” he said.

“We also connected with our families online during the wedding. And after the wedding we will frame our outfits as memorabilia.”

The couple had postponed their traditional weddings because of restrictions on social gatherings, but wanted their court wedding to be just as special.

The couple met six years ago online and have been together ever since.

They acknowledge their family for the support, the hotel staff who helped them get ready, make-up artist Nicky, photographer Shalvin Prakash and the woman who prepared their wedding attire, Neomai Vakarau.

Edited by Ivamere Nataro

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