When Kiwi league star Sam Kasiano and his fiancée Sandra Samau were planning their dream island wedding, earthquakes, tsunami warnings and storms weren’t part of the programme.
But just hours before Sydney-based Bulldogs prop Sam, 26, is due to meet the love of his life at the altar in Fiji, he finds himself on top of a hill in the pouring rain along with his groomsmen and half of the guests, who have been evacuated from their beachside hotel due to a tsunami threat following a 6.9-magnitude quake.
Sirens blare as Sam and his groomsmen, including Bulldog players Tony Williams, Greg Eastwood and Frank Pritchard, follow the crowd to the evacuation point, their planned pre-ceremony game of golf forgotten.
“It was bizarre,” Sam recalls, shaking his head in an exclusive interview with Woman’s Day. “A part of me thought it could have been a sign! But I knew I was getting married that day, no matter what.”
At the Shangri-La, in a slightly safer part of the main island of Viti Levu, an anxious Sandra, 26, is getting ready, her bridesmaids helping her into her stunning Grace Loves Lace gown. She’s 17 weeks pregnant with her third child, but amazingly, the dress, which she ordered off Instagram without even trying on, fits absolutely perfectly.
More worrying than the nerves is the tsunami threat. Sandra admits, “A part of me thought I wasn’t going to make it down the aisle with everything going on. I just wanted to be married!”
But the bride is distracted when the song “Special Lady” by Fiji bursts from her hotel room, and a friend walks in with a note and gift from Sam. “That song was one of our favourites from when we were at school,” Sandra smiles. “I looked at the note and Sam had made sure that I had something old, new, borrowed and blue.
“Something old was the song, and something blue and new were these diamond earrings with a little blue stone in them. The something borrowed was a coin he’d borrowed from a random person because he forgot that part! It was really sweet. He’s normally not the most romantic person, so I really appreciated that.”
Eventually, the sirens stop, the clouds part and the aftershocks subside, so the wedding can go ahead, much to everyone’s relief. The sun even makes a welcome appearance as Sandra arrives at the resort’s chapel, albeit an hour and a half late.
“She definitely left me hanging for a bit,” laughs Sam. “I thought she’d jumped back on a plane!”
As “You Complete Me” by Nesian Nine begins to play, Sandra’s bridesmaids escort their two sons, Caleb, four, and Carson, one, down the aisle, with Carson carrying a sign that reads, “Daddy, are you ready? Here comes Mummy!”
Then Sandra appears on the arm of her dad Smith. Sam recalls, “All I could think was, ‘Wow!’ She was so, so beautiful. I was speechless, really. She put a tear in my eye and I don’t normally cry!”
Sandra, meanwhile, is focused on looking straight ahead and while she expects the tears to come, she remains dry-eyed. “Although Sam was bawling his eyes out,” she grins.
There are even more tears as Smith places his daughter’s hand into Sam’s, imploring his soon-to-be son-in-law to love and look after Sandra. Then the couple, who met at high school in Brisbane more than a decade ago, pledge their traditional vows, exchange rings and are pronounced husband and wife, drawing cheers from their guests.
“It’s the best feeling ever, being married,” beams Sam. “I’m just happy we’ve done it. And I’m really thrilled that it was the day Sandra wanted. I’m the happiest man in the world.”
The bride and groom with (from left) Tony Williams, Caleb and Romez Kasiano, Greg Eastwood, Frank Pritchard, Tia Ulima, Auddessey Timoti, Rachel Crombie, Rochelle Barrett and Valerie Crichton-Tauai.
The couple’s adorable eldest son Caleb.
Carson joins Mum and Dad for their first dance. “It was hilarious,” says Sandra. “It was to ‘Versace on the Floor’ by Bruno Mars. I didn’t know what the lyrics meant. I just liked the tune. I found out too late to change it.”
Sweet flower girls (from left) Alana Tartak, Mellissa Samau and Melloso May.
An emotional Sam with Sandra’s dad Smith.
The pretty cake, featuring a tier of chocolate mud beneath two tiers of vanilla sponge
Fragrant frangipani
Carson’s cute sign.
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