Larry Emdur's wedding in paradise

Standing hand-in-hand in a spectacular chapel overlooking a pristine lagoon on the Tahitian island of Bora Bora, are TV host extraordinaire Larry Emdur and his beautiful bride Sylvie. When 45-year-old Larry looks into Sylvie’s eyes, he’s completely lost in the moment - nothing else matters.

Looking a picture of pure beauty, 42-year-old Sylvie’s long hair is adorned with a garland of gardenia flowers. In the background of this intimate vow-renewal ceremony is the sound of a lone ukulele being strummed. A Tahitian priest does a reading, first in Polynesian and then in English. Finally the bride and groom kiss, 15 years after marrying for the first time. All is quiet except for the sound of faint weeping coming from the back of the room. The witness, a manager from the Four Seasons Resort, is overcome with tears of emotion because he has never seen such a beautiful couple who are so in love.

Outside, as the warm trade winds waft through palm trees, the happy newlyweds stroll arm in arm past the tropical flowers which cloak the valleys and mountainsides. They head toward the glistening blue sea and take their seats for a silver service dinner for two on the soft sand. They toast their love with Champagne as the sun sets over the Pacific. It’s another day in paradise, and a rare treat for Larry Emdur and his gorgeous wife Sylvie.

The first scenes of their romance were set 18 years ago when a slightly dishevelled Larry spotted Polish-born Sylvie working as an air hostess on board an Ansett flight from Sydney to Melbourne. For Larry it was love at first sight, he says she was –and is – the ‘most beautiful woman in the world’.

But for Sylvie first impressions weren’t so earth shattering! Larry has been caught in a rainstorm, was run-down, tired and had been given the last-minute task of hosting the now defunct Tonight Show with Steve Vizard while the host was on holiday.

‘He looked like a wet dog,’ remembers Sylvie. ‘I went over and told him he looked terrible and asked him what was wrong!’ It wasn’t long though before he charmed her. Phone numbers were exchanged and Sylvie soon became wild about Larry.

Larry and Sylvie married in Sydney 15 years ago.

A second wedding in paradise is a dream come true for both Larry and Sylvie. They had hoped to celebrate their 10th anniversary in Tahiti five years ago. However, at the time, Larry’s beloved father David unexpectedly passed away, so Larry’s 15th anniversary surprise vow renewal is an extra-special occasion for the happy couple. Larry really wanted to spoil his stunning wife.

‘Sylvie’s always done the bulk of the work for our family,’ says the busy TV personality and father of Jye, 16, and Tia, 11.
‘This is my way of saying thank you for putting up with me. This is the first trip we’ve had without the kids, we just really want to spend some quality time together and fall in love all over again.

‘We’d seen picture postcard images of Tahiti in magazines and most recently in the movie ‘Couples Retreat’ and had marvelled at the beauty of these islands.’
As Larry looks out to the serene turquoise water he laughs and says the line from the movie about ‘being inside a screensaver’ is so apt.
‘It is so bright and blue, like Sylvie’s eyes,’ says a lovestruck Larry, who steals a kiss from his wife before playfully placing his hand on hers.

The feeling that they’d entered paradise was immediate upon their arrival in Tahiti. As soon as the couple stepped off their Air Tahiti Nui flight from Sydney they were enveloped by a warm breeze of tropical tiare-filled winds, and knew that their trip was a once-in-a -lifetime dream come true. The fairytale continued when the couple were whisked onto a luxury launch which deposited them at their very own overwater bungalow at the heavenly Four Seasons Resort in Bora Bora, known as ‘the pearl of the Pacific’. ‘It’s like something out of a James Bond movie,’ says an awestruck Larry.

It’s hard to believe Sylvie and Larry have been married for 15 years, they look like a couple who are in the first flush of love. They hold hands across the table, look deeply into each other’s eyes and trade compliments. It’s a love story that has been intensely romantic from the beginning. Larry’s marriage proposal involved a cavalcade of five Harley-Davidsons, each with a flag on the back spelling out ‘Sylvie, will you marry me?’ Larry was on the fifth motorbike with ring ready in hand. Their wedding day too was straight out of a fairytale book.

‘We hired a marquee in the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House,’ remembers Larry. The night ended with a blast of fireworks in the shape of a loveheart with the names Larry and Sylvie spelt out in the sky and 15 years later the romance continues. ‘The kids are always telling us to “get a room!” when we have a kiss or cuddle in front of them,’ laughs Larry.

It seems fitting that the couple would choose Tahiti to renew their vows, after all it’s known as being the perfect destination for love. Recently Eddie Murphy tied the knot here and couples Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban and Eva Longoria and Tony Parker chose it as their honeymoon destinations.

Celebrities visit Tahiti not only for the incredible atmosphere but also for the privacy. Well-loved and good-natured, Larry often has fellow Aussies urging him to ‘come on down!’ - his catchcry from the game show days of The Price is Right - while on holidays. While he certainly doesn’t mind being recognised and is happy to have a chat, he wanted this trip to be special, intimate. It’s a well-earned break for the couple, with Larry busy on television weekdays co-hosting The Morning Show and weekends on Weekend Sunrise.

‘This is the first trip we’ve had without the kids, we just really want to spend some quality time together and fall in love all over again,’ says Larry.
Larry was content to spend as much time as possible in the over-water bungalow, one of 100 dotted across the resort’s lagoon. The bure on stilts featured an indoor viewing window offering a view of a kaleidoscope of underwater marine life, but Larry preferred to lounge on the outdoor deck, the perfect platform for an early morning swim or late night dip.

Sylvie treated herself to an incredible spa treatment. ‘A glass-bottomed floor allows you to watch brilliantly coloured fish dance by as you are pampered into a state of pure bliss,’ she says of the over-water treatment room on the summit of the island. It’s no wonder this spa was voted best in the Pacific region by Conde Nast Traveler Magazine!

The couple enjoyed signature Bora Bora vanilla rum cocktails and dinner at the famous Bloody Mary’s restaurant. This place is a haunt for many a famous visitor from Pierce Brosnan to Marlon Brando, ‘I imagine there would have been some wild nights here,’ says Larry, ‘I keep looking at the door thinking Hollywood star will be coming in.’ Best of all, footwear is optional so they were free to feel the fine sand between their toes.

The newlywed-again couple enjoyed valuable time together snorkelling, paddling on surfboards, feasting at the resort’s restaurants and nightly cocktails by the pool watching the spectacular sunset.

‘It really is the perfect destination for a ‘fly and flop’ holiday,’ says Sylvie. The South Pacific's seductive siren is difficult to ignore, and Larry and Sylvie are under its spell. ‘The beauty of Tahiti is that by the second day, I felt like I’d been here for a week, I was that relaxed,’ says Larry. ‘I don’t think I can ever go on holiday again and not compare it to this, this is the peak destination.’

‘But there is only one problem with this heavenly holiday’, says Larry, who cheekily proceeds to divulge that, like many couples, he and Sylvie both joke that in a dream world they could each choose one major celebrity that each would allow them to have a one-night stand with.

‘My wild card is Eva Mendes,’ says Larry, ‘and mine is Castle star Nathan Fillion,’ continues Sylvie. As fate would have it, Sylvie’s dream celebrity is right here sunning himself on the deck of a nearby bungalow!

‘Of all the resorts, of all the bungalows in the world, he’s here!’ says Larry, nodding his head and smiling in disbelief. But he needn’t worry, a loving Sylvie leans over and tenderly kisses her husband before saying ‘don’t worry, you win hands down, you’ll always be my number one pick.’

By: Andrea Black

For more information on Tahiti and her islands, visit tahitinow.com.au or call Tahiti Tourisme on 1300 655 563.

FOUR SEASONS RESORT BORA BORA
Beach View Overwater Bungalow

• Cost from AUD$5790.00 pp twin share, ex Sydney

• Cost includes: Economy class international airfare with Air Tahiti Nui from Sydney to Papeete; pre-payable airport taxes; domestic flights between Papeete and Bora Bora; all share transfers between airport, hotels and piers; 2 nights at Radisson Plaza Resort Tahiti (Deluxe Ocean View Room); 5 nights at Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora (Beach View Overwater Bungalow, includes breakfast & dinner daily in Bora Bora).

• Cost does not include: Tahiti hotel tax of XPF150 per person, per night to be paid direct. (XPF150 = approx AUD$2.50)

• Valid until 16 Dec 2010. For more information or to book, visit youdeservetahiti.com.au or call Elegant Resorts & Villas on (02) 8270 4850.

Air Tahiti Nui
Air Tahiti Nui offers three weekly one-stop flights from Australia to Papeete. The airline’s Poerava Business Class and Moana Economy Class are supported by award-winning cabin service, which is underpinned by seven accolades for Best Pacific Airline in the Global Skytrax Awards for Airline Excellence. Bookings can be made by calling Air Tahiti Nui on 1300 732 415, or visit airtahitinui.com.au