Gold Coast swimwear designer and influencer ties knot in white bikini
An exotic tropical island, intimate guest list and a day to remember. We go inside the wedding of Gold Coast swimwear designer Karina Irby as she reveals why she opted to elope.
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After Covid forced them to cancel their Gold Coast wedding plans twice, this couple threw it all in and eloped to an exotic tropical island in their beachwear.
Gold Coast swimwear designer Karina Irby, who is behind Moana Bikini, tied the knot with her partner of eight years, Ryan Jones, in an intimate celebration in Bora Bora on October 30.
Irby, who has 1.2m followers on Instagram, said it was an obvious choice for her to buck tradition and wear one of her designs on her wedding day, opting for a white two-piece.
They wed in front of only seven people in a Polynesian ceremony at sunset on a small island overlooking Mount Otemanu.
The formal part the day was officiated by a local priest and featured traditional music and dancing by members of the Bora Bora community. The party continued with a four-course beach dinner with a fire show and a fireworks display over the water.
How did you meet? On Tinder. We had met in passing previously as we lived near each other and had some friendship groups which crossed over. However, we were both very intent on being single at that time. But we matched on Tinder and couldn’t stop chatting all day and all night until we met about 10 days later. We have been inseparable ever since.
The proposal? Ryan: Karina had always said she didn’t want anything over the top or a big fuss made, she just wanted it to be us and our puppies in our beautiful home. I, however, attempted to make a fuss, taking a boat out to our favourite waterway, and setting up a picnic on our favourite beach. The boat got stuck on a sandbank and the picnic was interrupted at the crucial moment by some fans of Karina’s brand, Moana. So, in the end, Karina got her wishes, and I proposed later that night, on our bedroom balcony under the moonlight with our puppies at our feet.
Honeymoon? We would have loved to stay on in Bora Bora for a little longer. However, for e-commerce businesses such as ours, November and December are the busiest months of the year. We might take off for a week or two in early 2023, perhaps to New York and Hawaii.
Did you celebrate a hens/bucks party?
Karina: I was surprised by my close friends, with a slumber party at a beautiful apartment in Peppers at Broadbeach. We spent the night in our pyjamas with beautiful food, some fun, silly games, and a beautiful breakfast the following morning. Ryan has postponed his bucks and will be spending a couple of weeks on a yacht in North Sumatra next year with some of his close friends to celebrate a belated bucks and some of his friends’ birthdays.
What was the budget for your wedding?
Because we sneakily slid this on to the end of our latest Moana Bikini campaign photo shoot,
we were obviously very lucky that some of the larger costs were bundled up into the costs
of that job. However, the budget for the wedding elements was bout $15,000.
How and why did you choose your wedding venue? We originally booked a Gold Coast venue for a wedding in 2021. While we weren’t
going to have a huge traditional wedding it was definitely going to be a much larger event. However, Covid forced us to postpone the wedding twice and just as we were about to begin locking in vendors and suppliers, there was a third wave and that was the final straw for us. So, one of the very few bright sides of Covid for us was that it forced us to take stock of what was important and when it came to our wedding it meant doing things for us and creating an experience that we would both really look forward to and look back on fondly.
We are both huge ocean lovers and are always looking for an excuse to escape to the tropics. We were lucky enough to travel to French Polynesia five years ago for another Moana photo shoot and fell in love with the location. We have been dying to get back there and always talk about the immense and indescribable beauty.
How did you choose our wedding outfit?
Karina: Getting married on the beach and at the end of a campaign shoot for Moana Bikini meant there wasn’t any option but to get married in a Moana bikini! Travelling by outrigger canoe to the isolated island and being barefoot on the sand for the ceremony, a dress was always going to be overkill. My natural home is in bikinis and I wanted to feel comfortable, confident and carefree which I did. I changed into something slightly more formal for the reception, however I was still barefoot on the sand. The two pieces I wore are two of my favourite Moana styles. Our classic vee bottom and our tube top.
What was the standout moment of the day?
The whole experience was surprising and a standout! One of the most special moments, however, was when we were draped in a traditional Polynesian tifaifai. This is a precious quilt that symbolises affection, love, respect, and consideration. This was made custom for our ceremony and will be something we keep and cherish forever.
The Bride
Karina Irby, 32
Profession: Business owner Moana Bikini
Parents: Kim Deschamps and
Patrick Irby
Dress: Ceremony – Moana Bikini
Hair and make-up: Michael Huxley
Flowers: Four Seasons, Bora Bora
Engagement ring: Scott Rogers Designs. A three-carat softened, baguette cut tourmaline,
surrounded by a halo of diamonds.
Wedding planner/stylist: Four Seasons Bora Bora and ourselves
The Groom
Ryan Jones, 35
Profession: Operations manager Moana Bikini
Parents: Linda and Darrell Jones
Suit: Dressed by Rhythm (Gold Coast- based brand)
Entertainment: Four Seasons Resort, local musicians and dancers
Transport: Outrigger Canoe
Videographer: Sam Norwood
Celebrant: A local, French Polynesian Priest
Caterer: Four Seasons, Bora Bora
Cake: A simple chocolate, coconut cake with dark chocolate and gold leaf decorations.
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