Maui Wedding from U Me Us Studios

M’dears, we’re back this afternoon with more sweet love from Evonne and Darren of U Me Us Studios and we’re starting to see why they work so well together—they’re surrounded by the utmost love. Linda and Truong have captured my heart because after reading their story, I’m convinced that if you stay true to yourselves, laughter and the best kind of happiness will follow. Head to the gallery for so much more!

From the Bride and Groom… Hawaii was the agreed upon “neutral” state to have our wedding since he’s from Texas and I’m from California….what could be better?! One of the unique experiences we had while in Hawaii was Tropical Storm “Flossie” (that name cracks me up) shortly after our wedding. Thanks to Flossie, we got to stay in Hawaii an additional 2 days, did I mention the storm blew over in only 2 hours? Best tropical storm EVER.

One of my good friends also got married in Maui, 2 days prior to our own wedding! They had already booked tickets to go to Maui for our wedding when she got engaged a month after us! I suggested we get married together! Her wedding was right ON the beach in Makena with only 10 people. Completely different feel from our wedding but same amount of love. Hawaii was special to me because my first trip was only a year prior to our wedding (Oahu) with Truong while we were dating. Ironically, the Texan had been several times, the SoCal girl had never been.

One way that we kept it personal was having our close friend Gerren officiate the wedding. We gave him free range and did he ever take it and run with it. I never would’ve never guessed that we would’ve been saying our vows over a couple beers. For my something “blue”, I wore the first pair of shoes that Truong ever bought me while we were dating… they were blue suede Jimmy Choo’s.

Our morning started with breakfast with friends visiting all the way from Taiwan, followed by some relaxation at the pool with childhood friends and family from near and far. It wasn’t until the afternoon that it really dawned on us that we were getting married in this fantastic location surrounded by our loved ones. To us, the gathering of friends and family was the “event”.

(Linda) The First Look was pretty memorable for me, Truong actually shed a tear!!! I went from goof ball to blubbering mess in a matter of seconds. (Truong) I would say the first look as well. As soon as I turned around, I saw Linda standing there beaming in her wedding dress and I admit it was a little emotional.

I am the most unbridal of brides. If you look at our wedding invitation (theme there was travel) to what we ended with (Great Gatsby), it was a hot mess. I’m so happy it’s over, never AGAIN. Did I mention that we were writing our vows on the plane ride over to Maui? Truong said, he wouldn’t want it any other way… it’s very “US”. Wedding planning was worse than shopping for the perfect pair of jeans, but everything came together in the end and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. It was building memories at our wedding amongst family and friends that made it that much more special. Everything far exceeded our expectations.

A couple of fun tips for future brides—have a fire extinguisher on hand in case your s’mores gets out of control! Oh, and have a back-up ring bearer in case the original decides to have a melt down minutes before show time.

Photographer: Evonne & Darren Photography | Wedding Planner: Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis | Florist: Country Bouquets Maui | Wedding Dress: Mori Lee | Ceremony Venue: Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis | Reception Venue: Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis | Bridesmaid's Dresses: Mori Lee | Caterer: Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis | DJ: Ron Tolbert | Wedding Favors: Honolulu Cookie Company | Groom's Attire: J.Crew | Groomsmen's Attire: J.Crew | Ceremony Music: Tatyana Shapiro-Leiste | Bride's Ceremony Shoes: Jimmy Choo | Bride's Reception Shoes: Badgley Mischka | Bride's Wedding Ring: Tiffany & Co. | Desserts: Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis | Groom's Ring: Tiffany & Co. | Groom's Shoes: Prada | Hair & Makeup Stylist: Maui Mira | Rentals: Opihi Love Wedding Planning and Design | S'Mores: Plush Puffs