Handmade details made this romantic wedding at Park Winters, captured by Anne-Claire Brun Photography. With the help of her family members, the Bride created the save the dates and invitations featuring beautiful calligraphy and pretty painted greenery, rustic mug favors, and agate stone name cards, and the Groom built the unique ceremony arch from scratch – a wooden teepee that was draped with leafy, green garlands. See more of the lovingly crafted details, right here.
From Anne-Claire Brun Photography… Andrea and Greg got married in Park Winters last fall. It was a beautiful day amongst rainy ones. I was having a hard time and they were my last wedding of the season, but just like their weather, they were a peaceful and happy break amongst the dark clouds of my everyday life.
From the Bride… Greg and I met through mutual friends. I was in pharmacy school at the time, and some of my pharmacy school friends had a close friend named Joe that worked at BioMarin with Greg. Joe was moving down to San Diego and had a going away party. During that going away party, our groups of friends merged, and that’s when I first started talking to Greg. I had lost my phone that night, but Greg insisted on getting my phone number, and we began dating after.
One day about three months after my sister Wendy had given birth to my niece, Abigail, my two older sisters and I all decided to go on vacation to Hawaii. My sisters and I love Hawaii, and we used the excuse “Abigail’s first trip to Hawaii” to plan a trip to Honolulu. In my head, this was a fun family vacation with my sisters, brothers-in-law, niece, and boyfriend. I had no idea what was going to happen!
One of the days there, Greg planned a day for just the two of us to go scuba diving and spend the day together. We planned to meet up with my family for dinner after our scuba adventure. Scuba diving was amazing! I am usually not too scared of adventures like that, but with coordinating how to breath and learning to use all the new gear, including huge flippers, I got a little nervous, but Greg was with me the whole time. After scuba diving, we had a little time before dinner, and Greg suggested we grab some spam musubis and hang out at the beach. He drove me to Makapu’u beach. The trek down to the beach was not the easiest, but the beach was beautiful and quiet. There were a few surfers in the water, but not too many on the beach. We were laying down eating when Greg said, “I got you something at the market last night.” I honestly did not think anything of it because he’s always doing sweet things like that. It was a little box wrapped up in cute wrapping paper. I was opening the box while laying down in the sand and Greg said, “sit up and open it – it might fall out!” Unsure as to why the panic, I curiously sat up and inside the box, the gift was covered with tissue paper. I slowly removed the tissue paper and uncovered a ring holder, and then I saw the ring! I was in shock. I could not believe it. I immediately started crying, and then Greg asked me to marry him. The more I thought about how special he made it, proposing in Hawaii with my family there, the more I cried. Of course I said yes, and I immediately called my mom and dad to tell them the good news, as well as asking them questions about when and how he asked permission, because I had no idea. We celebrated at dinner of course. It really was the perfect trip.
Planning was fun and exciting, but it did not come without its stressful times. Once we toured Park Winters, we said we would think about it and look at more venues just to be sure, but we really didn’t because we kept thinking about how beautiful Park Winters was, and it turned out to be the perfect location for us.
Choosing the wedding dress was a little stressful. It is so hard to commit to one dress so early on. I picked out one dress by Rime Arodaky, but I felt like I was rushed into the decision because of the ordering time frame (you’re supposed to order eight months before your wedding). I kept doubting myself until I came across another dress that I fell in love with immediately, Frankie by Made With Love. I knew I had to make the decision to buy it, and I was so much happier that I did.
Everything was coming along according to schedule until the two weeks before the wedding, when the weather started to go a little crazy. The forecast for rain kept changing day to day, from 20% chance of rain to 70% chance of rain, then down to 50%, and so on. We had not planned for rain, but our day-of coordinator, Sara, was amazing and helped me figure out a rain plan just in case. But when the day came, there was no rain! And I could not have asked for a more perfect day.
I would say my wedding style was simple and natural. The Park Winters venue has so much natural greenery with ornate white buildings that I wanted everything to blend together, and it did. I wanted to keep the colors natural, so I chose a lot of greens with white accents. I like having things in the same color palette, but with different textures, so within my bouquet, I had a lot of different white and off-white flowers, mixed with grayish green foliage made of different herbs. My florist did an amazing job with the garlands for the table. They were exactly what I wanted, and they tied in perfectly with all the candles.
I think my favorite moment was right after the ceremony when Greg and I had time to talk to each other after saying I do. It was a special moment for us to just talk with one another, laugh, smile, take in the fact that we were actually married, and not be surrounded by everyone else. Oh, and the sparkler exit was pretty great, too.
My advice for couples planning their wedding now is this: At the end of the day, everything will work out. Your family and friends are there to celebrate you! What I remember most about my wedding was that everyone had such a good time – they danced, made new friends, and let us know how happy the were for us.
Photography: Anne-Claire Brun Photography | Coordination: Curated by Grace + White | Floral Design: The Pollen Mill | Wedding Dress: Made With Love Bridal | Cake: Let Them Eat Cake | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Asos | Hair and Makeup: Jasmine Abilar | Lighting: Lights Up Productions | Groom's Attire: Tailors' Keep | Officiant: Brooks Potteiger | Venue: Inn At Park Winters | Linens: BBJ La Tavola | Music: BJP Entertainment | Photo Booth: Photobooth Bus | Rentals: Celebrations Party Rentals | Veil: Rime Arodaky