Hawaii Wedding from Mango Muse Events

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October 26, 2012

The number of personal + meaningful moments in this Hawaii wedding by Mango Muse Events are endless. From the breathtaking oceanfront venue to the bridal party choices (mother of the bride and father of the groom!) to the couple's wedding bands which were created from bands of family members, the emotion is almost palpable in every image by Rachel Robertson Photography! Add in tropical florals by Flower Farm, Inc. and the result is pure wedding bliss! The pretty party continues in the full gallery.

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From Mango Muse Events... Stephanie and Michael are two young, outgoing people who are totally smitten with each other. She’s from Maryland and he’s from Missouri, but they both live in San Diego. They met through her brother one night and just clicked. They are super laid-back, casual, easygoing, people (you’d think they were originally from California). They are also very active and outdoorsy and enjoy everything from kayaking to surfing to rock climbing and hiking. So they picked Hawaii for their destination wedding because it embodied a lot of the kind of people they are. They are both immensely close to their parents and their families, so much so that Stephanie’s mom was her matron of honor and Michael’s dad was his best man. Of the two of them, she’s much more outspoken, but they are both totally smiley, happy people. They aren’t showy about their love, but you can see it in their eyes when they look at each other. It’s a really beautiful thing and I was so happy to have been a part of their wedding day.

We wanted to create an intimate, comfortable and homey outdoor destination wedding. They wanted it to feel relaxed and casual, but fun and lively. As their guests were coming from all across the country, they wanted to create an atmosphere for them to rekindle relationships and spend quality time together. The venue was our canvas and having something outdoors where they could enjoy the natural beauty of Hawaii was key, so we chose a private estate right on the beach so that the space would feel intimate and casual. Stephanie and Michael have a really cute ritual that I used to help to tell their story. Michael takes a picture of a flower and sends it to Stephanie whenever they are apart. Since he’s in the military and she travels for work, it’s a cute reminder that he’s thinking of her and loves her. We took the pictures they collected over the years, printed them on tiles (so they could use them in their home later) and displayed them (along with a little story about each) in the cocktail area so that their guests could share in their story.

The ceremony was short, but very sweet and we threw in some surprises along the way. Given the small group of guests and the natural tree formation on the property, we ended up creating a ceremony in the round. It fit perfectly in the area and allowed the guests to be really close to the couple. We also took advantage of the pathway to make the bride’s entrance a surprise. While everyone else processed from the grassy area, the bride came down from the beach. It was a fun way to give the guests a surprise and give Stephanie and her father a special moment together. The couple made their wedding rings from the wedding rings of family members — gifts passed down that they created something new from. I love the symbolism of that and the meaning those rings will forever have for them. The reception was kept casual with a couple of heartfelt toasts, which then lead into some great music by a classic rock band (their favorite type of music). The band played the couple’s happy first dance, a lively father/daughter dance, a sweet mother/son dance and finally a family dance. As I mentioned before, the couple is really close to their families. Stephanie has one brother and Michael has one sister, so we included the rest of their family in a dance, so that they could all be together as one. The rest of the evening was filled with lots of laughter, dancing, drinking and walks out on the beach. The weather for this Hawaii destination wedding had not been cooperating the days prior to the wedding day, but on the actual day the sun was out and the skies were blue. It was meant to be for Stephanie and Michael, and their love shined the entire day.