An Utterly Romantic Hawaii Destination Wedding
From the bride Zoe: essentially we sprinkled in a lot of details from our favorite video games and movies. We both loved Pokémon, Nintendo games (Legend of Zelda, Mario games, etc.) when we were growing up and that was a big part of our bonding when we first became friends in high school, and certain games, movies, and shows continue to be a big part of our shared life now, so we wanted to weave this in fun ways. So we hid plastic Pokémon and Totoro figurines throughout the flower arrangements (which of course the kids at the wedding found within moments and took, hahaha, and guests took some home too, which was so fun). Then we included a bunch of songs at cocktail hour that were references to our favorite games and animated films. For the seating chart, we chose locations from animated films and games, and then placed people at the tables who we thought would be most likely to guess the location or reminded us of that film or game in some way. The couple was from Texas and they hired their planner Stefanie from there as well. Zoe wants to make sure Stefanie gets a shout out because she was the reason it all happened the way it did, and she really went above and beyond to make the event so fantastic. Stef worked with Hawaii's top wedding/floral designer Debbie on the overall design. She made a trip to the island about 6 months before the wedding to visit with the rental company and attend tastings. Stefanie said: At the end of the day Zoe and Dan just wanted a day to spend with their family. The entire trip was all about family (and the friends that might as well be family) and spending time with the people who meant the most to them. He wanted mountains, she wanted the beach, and we landed on Hawaii as the destination and Kualoa Ranch on a mountain, overlooking the beach. But beyond that, the most important thing to them was making sure it felt like a gathering of family. Hence the family-style tables, family-style food, etc. Design-wise, she was inspired by alot of photos from Debbie's company, and so we pieced those together to make it reflect the color scheme we picked for her and the vibe of the day.
Zoe loves flowers and nature. Her Calla Blanche LA21115 Rosa gown could not have been more perfect!
Zoe + Dan wanted food that was not only Hawai'i inspired, but also made from local ingredients where possible. It was important to them that they felt like their wedding was benefiting the local growers in the area. And that's exactly what we found for them in Ke Nui Kitchen. Ke Nui took their desires seriously and not only made sure that the flavors were locally inspired, but that they sourced the items from the local community. The menu detailed which farms they gathered ingredients from.
The following details are provided by their florist Designs by Hemingway: Inspirations: Lush/ Romantic/ Botanical Theme : European/ Tropical Flowers: roses, hydrangeas, larkspur, lisianthus, phalaenopsis & dendrobium orchids Ceremony: we designed a lush blooming aisle of carnations appearing to grow from the ground, The lush garden aisle created a grand entrance for the bride leading up the a beautiful ceremony arch overlooking Chinaman’s hat in the Pacific ocean on the windward side of the island of Oahu . The aisle was designed ombre style with colors blending from a soft peachy blush fancy carnations at the aisle entry to feathered fancy white carnations at the altar. Bridal bouquet white garden roses, peonies , tweedia , stock and delphinium Reception - Dining Cabanas the head table dining cabanas were designed with a lush overhead floral installation of white orchids & botanical foliages and vines dripping over the tables. Reception - Centerpieces all the centerpieces were designed in ceramic white compote vases with lush blooms of white garden roses, lisianthus, stock, tulips, ranunculus , light blue hydrangeas and delphinium.
from their planner Stefanie: While I was attending tastings for catering, I also tasted at many different bakers. The bakery we settled on was Cake Works and they were the perfect balance of a moist cake without it being too sweet. Just like with dinner, they wanted the flavors to be familiar, but still new for their guests. We settled on layers of Strawberry Guava, Lilikoi Butter and Pistachio. Additionally, they had Ke Nui Kitchen provide small bites from their onsite bakery. Those consisted of Cream Cheese Brownie Squares, Poi Doughnut Holes, Butter Mochi Bites, Pineapple Upside-down Shooters, and Lilikoi Cheesecake Squares. Guests were sure to find something that they loved from this spread!
Ceremony music: "God Only Knows" by the Beach Boys
Groom & family walking down the aisle; "Only Time" on cello by Enya
Bride walking down the aisle: and "Itsumo Nando Demo" ( いつも何度でも) from Spirited Away
Reception music: For our dances, the bride and groom's first dance was "Digital Love" by Daft Punk; I then danced to "And She Was" by the Talking Heads with my parents; and Dan danced to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by Israel Kamakawiwoʻole with his mom. For the cocktail hour music, we did various string quartet adaptations of music from our favorite video games and certain movies — songs from Miyazaki films like My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, and Kiki's Delivery Service; the Pokémon theme song; "Dire Dire Docks" from Mario 64; and "Outset Island" from Legend of Zelda Windwaker.
Zoe had a dream of having a Contra Dance Lesson during their wedding reception. By definition, a contra dance event is a social dance that one can attend without a partner. Think circles of people weaving in and out of each other, potentially pairing up with partners, etc. They were hesitant because they weren't sure guests would be into it. But it was a dream and we were going to make it happen! We partnered with Christian from Honolulu Studio and he came out for a dance lesson like none of us had EVER seen at a wedding before. While we used traditional-style music for the lesson itself, when it was time to perform, we switched over to modern familiar songs, so guests could see how the beats were the same, even if the instruments were different. There was so much laughing. So much merriment. I think for many it was among the highlights of the evening. It got guests out of their seats and onto the dance floor in a structured way that was new to everyone! So everyone started at square one and learned together. It truly was one of the best things I've ever seen at a wedding in my 15 years as a planner.
We arrived in Hawai'i a few days before guests. This gave us time to meet with vendors one last time, but also to build out their Welcome Bags. We had tote bags printed with the silhouette of the Hawaiian islands on them and filled them with the following goodies: 1- Letter from the Couple 2- Sunblock Sticks 3- Turkish Beach Towels 4- Hawaiian Postcards 5- Assorted Hawaiian Snacks (drinks, snacks, etc.) 6- Honolulu Cookie Company Treat 7- Local Hawaiian Coffee
