Makena, Maui Elopement from Wendy Laurel Photography
It's a fact -- Maui weddings are bound for pretty. Like postcard-perfect, "pinch me" sort of pretty. But add the ever so talented Wendy Laurel to the mix, and you've got a wedding that's officially off. the. charts. (food truck and all!) Join me for a swoon sesh of this sweet little "semi elopment" in the full gallery over here.
From Wendy... Kevin Chang married Shuinn Chang and there was no place better for them than Chang's beach in Makena, Maui, Hawaii! They semi- eloped... they brought just their immediate families and had a beautiful simple ceremony on the sand performed by the Rev. Laki (you might have seen him on Modern Family 2 seasons ago).
Through out their courtship, Kevin and Shuinn have flown kites. Just for fun. Neither profess to be an expert or very skilled. But they thought it would be symbolic to fly a kite after their ceremony and brought along a fun one. Despite not much wind, they were able to get the kite up in the air. Kevin's dad, who happens to be an engineer, might have helped a bit.
From the Bride... When Kevin and I were trying to plan a wedding the details and little decisions became overwhelming. We felt lost in a flurry of details and budgets that didn't feel like us. So finally, we cleaned the slate and decided we wanted to go somewhere beautiful and warm (we were planning in the midst of a Chicago winter), and just focus on our love and the bringing together of our two wonderful families. We picked Maui because we heard it was a fun place, and the choice of the venue was made for us when we found Chang's Beach (our last names are both Chang)!
After that, all our wedding planning became easy even though it was long distance- Laki Kaahumanu epitomized Hawaiian awesomeness, Liz from Maui Make Up Artistry made me feel like a princess, Flowers by Cora made beautiful and affordable bouquets and leis, and Wendy Laurel shoots the most vibrant and fun pictures, and on film nonetheless! The rest of our engagement could then be focused on strengthening our relationship, going on all the fun trips we wanted to go on, and being happily in love.
Even though our wedding was not traditional in any sense, it represented our fun-loving and chill personalities in the best way possible. Now we plan on going back to Maui as much as we can because it's given us so many great memories!
Through out their courtship, Kevin and Shuinn have flown kites. Just for fun. Neither profess to be an expert or very skilled. But they thought it would be symbolic to fly a kite after their ceremony and brought along a fun one. Despite not much wind, they were able to get the kite up in the air. Kevin's dad, who happens to be an engineer, might have helped a bit.
From the Bride... When Kevin and I were trying to plan a wedding the details and little decisions became overwhelming. We felt lost in a flurry of details and budgets that didn't feel like us. So finally, we cleaned the slate and decided we wanted to go somewhere beautiful and warm (we were planning in the midst of a Chicago winter), and just focus on our love and the bringing together of our two wonderful families. We picked Maui because we heard it was a fun place, and the choice of the venue was made for us when we found Chang's Beach (our last names are both Chang)!
After that, all our wedding planning became easy even though it was long distance- Laki Kaahumanu epitomized Hawaiian awesomeness, Liz from Maui Make Up Artistry made me feel like a princess, Flowers by Cora made beautiful and affordable bouquets and leis, and Wendy Laurel shoots the most vibrant and fun pictures, and on film nonetheless! The rest of our engagement could then be focused on strengthening our relationship, going on all the fun trips we wanted to go on, and being happily in love.
Even though our wedding was not traditional in any sense, it represented our fun-loving and chill personalities in the best way possible. Now we plan on going back to Maui as much as we can because it's given us so many great memories!