Reia and Garrie – Muscat, Oman
Garrie, from Australia met Reia who grew up in Oman, fell in love and got married. Here’s how it all happened.
Reia and Garrie who live in Australia, celebrated their union with an intimate Catholic wedding and festivities at the grand Al Bustan Palace, a Ritz Carlton Hotel in Reia’s home city, Muscat in Oman. Oman-based wedding photographer Herbert Fernandes captured all the special moments.
How we met
Garrie is born and bred Australian and works as a dentist. I am ethnically Goan, grew up in Oman and was working there as a physiotherapist.
We spoke for the first time on the 14th of Febuary, 2015. Our parents introduced us. It was a lovely conversation but we didn’t really keep in touch after which was quite disappointing for both sets of parents.
Then Garrie had to travel to India on business and had a stopover in Dubai. Our parent took advantage of this situation and planned for us to meet there. I flew into Dubai with my mum and Garrie lengthened his transit time. My mum left us to get to know each other and since we had nothing planned we spent the day on the fly – from a coffee shop to the Burj Khalifa to a rooftop bar and finally the Palm Atlantis. We were instantly comfortable in each other’s company and towards the end of the night, Garrie told me how he felt about me before I boarded the plane home.
He’d promised to come to Oman in two months but couldn’t stay away that long. Three weeks later, on the 15th of March, he proposed to me at the Al Bustan Palace, Ritz Carlton.
Wedding Venue
We decided to have the wedding right there, at the Al Bustan Palace where he’d proposed and which will always have a special place in our hearts.
Roce
We had one function in the lead up to the wedding called the Roce (also spelled Ros). Literally translated, Roce is juice. It is a traditional Goan ceremony where the bride and groom are anointed with coconut milk and oil and then a hot bath. The Roce symbolizes purity, honours the last day of being single and is the last bath the bride or groom will take as a bachelor or spinster. A fresh start to married life!
Photo by Michael Desouza
Catholic Wedding
The theme for our Catholic wedding ceremony was wanderlust/travel as Garrie and I love to travel. Not to mention us being from different continents, having met in Dubai and having to keep travelling to meet in the nine months that led up to our wedding. The decor was personalized and I had a few friends help out. My bridesmaids wore three different shades of pink and purple.
My wedding dress was bought in Australia, shoes and accessories from Dubai and the rest from Oman and India.
The Wedding Makers
Wedding Photographer- Herbert Fernandes is based in Oman. He was great to work with.
Makeup Artist- Kez (aka Indie Nivarro) is based in Oman too.
Photos courtesy- Herbert Fernandes
