This VoluSpa Candle Inspired Their Signature Scent for This Couple’s Hawaiian Wedding Weekend

Lauren Megerdichian
July 5, 2020
Categories: Real Weddings, The Blog

From beginning to end, this tropical Maui wedding weekend planned by Couture Events is filled with rich traditions and thoughtful details. The bride and groom decided to celebrate their unique cultures, Italian and Filipino, throughout their day with meaningful touches – like delicious cold brew upon guest’s arrival and an all-Italian dinner menu. Mandy Grace Designs brought the tropical Hawaiian vibes to the floral design perfectly while Dmitri and Sandra Photography captured every can’t-miss moment. Head on over to the full gallery to see all the inspo!

From Eric Goldsmith, Couture Events… Veronica and Andrew flew across the country to celebrate their wedding with about 80 of their closest friends and family. This east coast couple (from Massachusetts) thought of every little detail for their guests. It was nice to work with a couple that was so thoughtful with their guest’s experience in mind every step of the way.

Scent

We thought, why not create an entire experience for them, keeping all five senses in mind?! Their signature wedding scent was VoluSpa’s Mokara and a candle was given to every guest in their welcome bag. The scent was tied into the reception where guests danced the night away amongst candles and tropical florals. It smelled wonderful! Now, every time they burn that candle, they will be reminded of their wedding night on Maui.

Taste

Coming from Italian (groom) and Filipino (bride) backgrounds, naturally, food and drink were very important elements. Veronica and Andrew both have a thing for coffee so guests were greeted with homemade cold brew (and POG- they were in Maui, after all) upon arrival. An Italian style dinner was served under a beautiful Sperry Tent overlooking the ocean and late night snacks of chicken and waffles were devoured! Did we mention that the entire menu was gluten and dairy free?!

Sight

The couple wanted to incorporate as many local elements as possible so naturally, tropical was the direction of the design. A custom cane bar was made for this event by Inspiration Event Rentals. Florals were important to the couple and so was family style service so we incorporated “risers” to elevate the food platters so the floral design was not compromised. Mandy Grace Designs created an abundance of florals and tropical fruits spilling out from under the platters and in between. We loved how it turned out- it created a dimensional look that was really fun.

Touch

Veronica and Andrew wanted guests to feel comfortable. We created many lounge areas for guests to escape to for a moment of relaxation. Some of the lounge pieces were handmade by local artisan, Jonas of Artisan Events Maui. He hand makes all of his furniture and it is stunning!

Sound

A live tropical foliage DJ booth was created in the original altar area of the Steeple House at Kapalua, so naturally, DJ Boomshot became “Reverend Boomshot” for the evening. OTHER SPECIAL DETAILS:

– Veronica graciously agreed to share some of her bridal boudoir images in addition to her welcome reception photos for this submission.

– He’s Italian and she’s filipino so naturally, food was important to them. They had an Italian grazing-style family dinner that was entirely gluten and dairy free under a sperry tent overlooking the ocean.

– Filipino traditions included a long veil, a custom made infinity cord (made with Hawaiian ti leaf) to illustrate their unity, coins (symbolic offering from the groom to the bride), and a money dance at the end of the night.

– To appeal to all 5 senses and improve the guest experience they chose VoluSpa Candle Mokara as their signature wedding scent. These candles filled the reception area and were given to guests in welcome bags so they had a scent that reminded them of their night in Maui.

– Their seating chart was displayed on their favorite wine bottles

From the Groom… Our wedding felt day so effortless – it was so important but it also managed to be so laid back, on island time, without a worry in the world. I just knew at the end of the day I was marrying my soul mate, and our families got to witness it. None of it felt rushed – slow, peaceful bliss all day, then energy and fun chaos at night. One thing that we managed to create was this atmosphere in which guests could feel like hosts – having different seating arrangements, and a prolonged dinner gave the opportunity for people to invite others to their “section”, to come into their conversation, to share their joys and observations, to pour each other wine or other offerings. This series of hosting and mingling provided an unparalleled opportunity for our families, separated by oceans and continents, to really feel a deep familiarity and connection to each other. Our planning process was rigorous, no doubt. We had to live up to the standard that our grandmothers, the matriarchs of our families, created – to try to satisfy everyone’s needs in excess until they feel completely pampered. For our family, this meant food, food, and more food. And of course, none of it would have been possible without Erica from Couture Events!

From the Bride… Working with Erica made planning feel effortless especially compared to family and friends who did not have a planner from the very beginning. We felt so lucky to have Couture Events! From long distance planning, our first visit in February, and to our 10 days in Maui for the wedding, we felt so taken care of, and that our vision was truly understood. Plus, she was generous and organized! She made our lives easier. We were able to achieve the “feel” of our wedding perfectly. Originally, it was inspired by photos of Andrew’s grandparents wedding in Italy – there are images of wine bottles on the table, people enjoying their food. There was movement and life captured in the still images – we wanted that. There’s an incredible photo of his grandmother and grandfather walking from the church to reception with their guests trailing behind. I wanted to recreate that in some way, so we took a group shot right after the ceremony, and it’s one of my favorite images of the wedding. Overall, it felt breezy, beautiful, and bespoke! We both wanted an elevated backyard wedding, and that’s exactly what we got. Our focus on good food is a choice we will never, ever regret. We still talk about our incredible wedding meal, and we wish we could re-create Chef Brian’s taro gnocchi and maple bourbon chicken & waffle bites. I loved that aspects of our wedding really bucked tradition. We went with a unique timeline – dinner before cocktail hour was so great. I loved that people could enjoy sunset with a glass in hand. We didn’t do much of the traditional aspects of weddings like a bouquet toss or even saying “I do” in our vows, and I’m so happy we went with what felt right to us because looking back, this wedding truly felt like ours. As the bride, I am so glad we use our photographers so much – the welcome luau, my boudoir shoot, and the wedding. Our photos have such good cohesiveness because the photographers worked with us on multiple occasions. If only, I could have them do my maternity shoot! A videographer is a must, in my opinion. It will be irreplaceable to be able to hear my dad’s voice wishing us love and happiness 30 years from now. If I could do it all again, I don’t think I would change anything – except maybe to get third helpings of the food! From having a signature wedding scent to having multiple events with our family and friends, it couldn’t have been better. Maui is pure magic. It will always be one of our sacred places, and I’m so excited for the day we can go back!

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