Ruci Ratudradra and Sekaia Niumataiwalu first met at a gathering of Fiji School of Medicine Christian Fellowship members.
But it wasn’t until Sekaia’s first year after graduation in 2018, when he joined the Victory Family Centre, that the couple started dating.
Ruci is from Natia, Viwa in the Yasawas with maternal links to Nauciwai, Yale, Kadavu. Sekaia hails from Nayau, Lau with maternal links to Dreketi, Vanua Levu.
“We started out as friends but as time went on we found confirmation regarding our growing feelings for each other and started courting,” Ruci told The Sunday Times.
“My first impression was that he was a very responsible person. I admired his love for Christ and how he portrayed that to people around him.”
The first stage of their relationship was spent on understanding and to getting to know each other. They discovered they shared many interests.
“It was also quite amusing that we were, at the same time, learning things about ourselves and how to make our relationship more fruitful.
“I recall telling myself and praying that before I ever started dating, my parents had to approve of him completely and that he would eventually be my husband.
“I had never truly dated anyone prior to this, if there was any chance of dating it was quickly declined by my parents whose opinions I held in high regard.”
However, this time it was different and after sharing her feelings for Sekaia with her parents, they quickly approved and explained that he was an ‘answered prayer.’
“That was the moment I knew that God had confirmed it to them as well.” Ruci and Sekaia courted for five years before tying the knot in marriage on November 25, 2023.
“In 2022, I kept asking when he would propose, little did I know he had already started planning and the proposal took place on August 28, 2022,” said Ruci.
“It was a Sunday and he didn’t come to church and we hadn’t met in person for a few days.
“My sister Elenoa and my niece Sera said for us to take a drive after church to Pacific Harbour and to have lunch there.”
When they arrived, a detour was taken to the Pearl Resort and Ruci was genuinely surprised once she realised what was happening.
“It was a beautiful sunny day and my husband had planned out an elaborate game similar to the amazing race with help from his friend Marcus, the girls and the resort team.
“It went perfectly; my husband picked a very beautiful engagement ring, and there was delicious food and a beautiful bouquet of tropical flowers which I adored. “It was more intimate and special than what I had imagined our proposal would be and I loved it.”
After deciding on a date and the logistics of the wedding in consultation with their parents and families, their special day came to light.
On a cool windy afternoon at 3pm, the official wedding ceremony was done in iTaukei at the Peart Resort with 200 guests present.
After the wedding service, a traditional ceremony known as the itautaunaki was carried out.
This was then followed by the wedding reception which had plenty of delicious food and great music.
“To be honest we were looking forward to the day after the wedding; organising a wedding is crazy and stressful.
“We felt more pressure leading up to the wedding than the actual wedding day itself.
“The night before the big day, we met and prayed together. We committed the day to the Lord so when the day rolled in, we had zero stress.”
While everything was not peak perfection, nothing was going to spoil their blessed day.
“We were looking forward more to the marriage than the wedding, we were finally going to begin our life together and the wedding was just the beginning chapter,” said Ruci.
