Jared Donkin, The Wedding Guys.
Island time” is a phrase often used in Fiji to describe the easy, relaxed, unhurried approach adopted by locals and tourists alike. And that’s exactly the vibe George FM radio host Leigh Dolbear – better known as DJ General Lee – got at his chilled-out wedding.
Standing at a floral beachfront arch, Leigh, 45, took a bit of ribbing from the guests as he waited for his bride Lee Gilmour to arrive.
He laughs, “The wedding party was on Fiji time, so they were 20 minutes late getting there. Everyone was like, ‘Oh, mate, she’s not coming!’ The celebrant made me look out to sea, then eventually he said, ‘Alright, turn now,’ and I saw Lee in her wedding dress. She looked amazing.”
Meaningful details
As Sam Smith’s acoustic cover of the Disclosure song Latch played, his partner of more than a decade walked down the aisle beside her mum Jean, making the absence of her dad Grant felt even more. Lee, 42, lost her father to cancer in 2014, while Leigh’s mother Joy passed away from multiple sclerosis in 2009.
The location was in part a tribute to Lee’s dad.
“Fiji has been such a special place for us over the years,” she explains. “I went there with my family when I was really young – my dad loved it – and Fiji was also the first place Leigh and I went on holiday together.”
Having kept their workplace romance secret for several months, it was from the islands where they hard-launched their relationship with a couple photo. Today, they’re known to friends as “Lee Squared” or “Boy Leigh and Girl Lee”, and they still work together, with Leigh part of the George FM breakfast team – alongside Beccie Barclay and Ben Searle – while Lee is senior marketing lead at parent company MediaWorks.
The dream dress
With two young girls, Gigi, seven, and Edie, four, plus a couple of businesses on the side, the pair admits they were so busy at times that they questioned their decision to get married this year.
Particularly as Lee was struggling to find the perfect dress. She admits, “I tried on so many, but nothing felt quite right. I didn’t want anything too heavy for Fiji but still wanted something supportive, so I designed my own.”
Dressmaker SY Stitching made the full-length, sleeveless, backless dress with a cowl neck – the perfect pairing to Leigh’s cream linen Rembrandt suit and loafers.
Lee says, “I was originally going to have two dresses, with a shorter one to change into later, but I love this dress so much that I wanted to wear it all night.”
The children’s wishes
The fact that they decided to get married is a miracle in itself, she continues. “We’ve done everything backwards. Weddings never factored into it for us. After losing my dad and Leigh’s mum, we were like, ‘A wedding is not a thing. Our families aren’t all there.’ We were each other’s world and that was enough.”
Then they started thinking about having their own family – a process not as simple as initially anticipated as Lee needed an operation before they could embark on IVF.
She shares, “It took three years to have Gigi, then another two years to have Edie, so it was a huge chunk of our lives just around kids. That was our main priority.”
But as their girls got older, Gigi and Edie became keen for their parents to wed, and on a trip to Denarau two years ago, Leigh dropped down on one knee and presented Lee with her mum’s engagement ring. Both knew in that moment that the next time they travelled back to Fiji would be to get married.
Anything but traditional
Booking a wedding package at the Sofitel Fiji Resort & Spa, their only wish was to have a chilled-out beach party, attended by 65 of their closest friends
and family. Both agreed they didn’t want a traditional bridal party.
Leigh explains, “I’ve often thought, ‘If I get married, I’m not going to have any best men because I can’t choose four or five guys,’ so we just kept it simple with no bridesmaids and groomsmen.” However, their daughters did get to fulfil their dreams of being flower girls.
After exchanging rings – Lee got Diamonds on Richmond to reset Jean’s engagement ring, while Leigh opted for a simple band with a diamond inset from the same jeweller – the register was signed by their sisters.
All about the music
Of course, the most important detail of all was their playlist. After sharing a first dance to Fleetwood Mac’s Seven Wonders, everybody hit the dance floor to boogie down to Leigh’s epic tunes.
“We wanted to keep people happy,” he says. “Our guests were from all walks of life, from five- to 65-year-olds. I knew they didn’t want to hear dance music and drum ’n’ bass!”
A seasoned wedding DJ, Leigh was also adamant their reception not be overrun by chat. “We didn’t need 20 speeches. They take too long. I’ve DJed more than 1000 weddings over the past 35 years and a lot of it just could be done quicker. I’m like, ‘Nah, keep it simple, punchy and fast!’ The best radio voice break is over in three and a half minutes, so that’s how long the speeches should be.”
Luckily, George FM alumni Peter Urlich got the memo. Instead of dedicating a speech to the happy couple, he broke into song, belting out a few of his hits and ending on Lee’s dad’s favourite tune, the Kiwi classic Bliss, which Leigh says was a real highlight.
“A lot of the hotel rooms had balconies that were looking over the wedding, and they were all dancing and singing along, getting a little private Peter Urlich show, which was really cool.”
The perfect start
Alongside Peter, Leigh’s former George FM co-host Tammy Davis and radio star Sharyn Casey “absolutely nailed it” as the wedding’s MCs, while George’s DJ
Grant Marshall was a hit on the decks in the final hour of festivities.
Lee, who’s keeping Gilmour as her surname to avoid any confusion, says she’s still pinching herself as to how well it all came together.
“The wedding on the beach, having everyone there and seeing how happy they all were was just amazing,” she grins. “The weather was perfect and we had a beautiful sunset. It was definitely a wedding weekend. It started on Friday night and carried on till Monday – four days of fun.”
Nodding, Leigh chimes in, “It was absolutely what we hoped it would be – everything plus more.”
