A Hawaiian Take on the Bridgerton Aesthetic Done Perfectly at Loulu Palm Estate
Our vision was something that felt classic, timeless, elegant, and romantic, while still feeling “fun” and like “us.” We pictured a colorful, beautiful meadow that looked like something out of a fairy tale. I loved Joey King’s Mallorca wedding, and I love Bridgerton party scenes and decor. I had a few key pictures of inspiration that really came together perfectly in the end. Michael and I really hand-picked our vendors described our vision with those few words, showed them some of our favorite inspiration photos, and put our full trust in them! I loved their work and asked them to work on our wedding because I had full confidence in their vision pairing well with ours.
Our wedding colors were plentiful! We wanted a fairytale meadow feel paired with the bright colors that come to mind when you think of a beautiful Hawaiian sunset. We had coral, peach, pink, white, light yellow, light blue, and lilac purple. Our guests’ outfits and our florals were pops of color; while our linens, table settings, and hardware were neutral shades of tan and gold. For the dress code, we wanted people to wear bright, cheerful colors. We called it “beach formal elegance” on our invitations. We really wanted people to feel free to show up and show out. I also included a Pinterest link with inspo for our guests to be confident in choosing what to wear. For my bridesmaids, I wanted an effortlessly cute look and allowed my girls complete freedom to pick their dresses. They knew the vibe I was going for and our colors, and I loved what they picked!
Last June, Michael and I took our dream vacation to Italy. We started with 5 days in Rome, then did 5 days in Florence, and then 5 days in Cinque Terre. Michael and I met in college in 2015 and officially started dating in 2016. Since we had been together for so long, I knew we were going to get engaged soon, but I did not know how or exactly when. I didn’t think it would be on this Italy trip because I was the one who did most of the itinerary planning! On our 3rd day in Florence, we planned to get up early to beat the crowds. Michael and I had done this for a few of our days because we’re natural early birds anyway. We wanted to go to San Miniato al Monte before the crowds got there. It was a beautiful morning and when we got there, it was completely empty except for one guy who was drawing and had a big camera. I actually felt kind of bad because I thought we were ruining this artist’s moment. Michael and I were enjoying the view, and he set up our camera so we could take a self-timer picture. Then, the next thing I knew he was down on one knee asking me to marry him! I was completely blown away. It was absolutely beautiful. It was so quiet and peaceful except for the church bells ringing. Then the man with the camera came over and congratulated Michael by name! It was only then that I realized he was there to take pictures of our proposal! After taking some pictures we walked down to Piazza Michaelangelo. The streets were nice and empty because it was so early in the morning, and I was so giddy and excited that it felt like the most romantic walk in the world. We sat on a bench and I sent selfies to my family and best friends. Because of the time difference between Florence and Texas, I knew they wouldn’t see it until later. Then we were able to FaceTime Michael’s family, who were all gathered together at a family event. It was then that I got the most emotional because it finally felt “real!” After soaking that moment in, we walked back to our hotel and got breakfast. Next, we rented a car and drove to a winery in Tuscany for a tasting. The rest of the day was less “romantic”, but that was exactly what made it so special. Our day was exactly Gianni and Michael coded. We drove back to Florence and stopped to try some McDonald’s because it’s slightly different in every country. Then, since we had a car, we decided to drive to a laundromat do some mid-vacation laundry, and eat some chip flavors that we don’t have in the US. It was so fun and so perfect! We joked that people would think we were so weird for doing laundry as one of our first activities post-engagement, but that’s life! The best thing about Michael and I’s relationship is that we genuinely have fun doing literally anything together. We ended the night by freshening up and going out to a fancy dinner.
I had two wedding dresses and they were both my dream dresses. Both my dresses had a little bit of sparkle and lots of smaller details. I wanted them to give princess vibes, with the first one being more dramatic, big, and classic, and the second being party princess. My first dress was the Eclipse by Eva Lendel. I had such a fun time dress shopping in my hometown of El Paso with my mom, my best friend, and Maid of Honor, Jackie, and Jackie’s mom. I knew it was “the one” before I had even finished zipping it up! It was the 4th dress I tried on, and the first one I pulled from the rack. I walked out, and everyone started crying. I didn’t want to take it off. I kept the dress almost exactly as it came, but I changed the straps to fall off the shoulder. In complete honesty, when I tried it on, I accidentally had the straps down off my shoulder because I thought that’s how it went until I looked at the dress on the model online after buying it. We loved the sleeves after the shoulder, and it was giving me Taylor Swift's Love Story music video vibes, so I decided to have the dress altered to be that way. I knew I wanted a second dress because I LOVE wedding gowns, so I would’ve had as many as I could in the time allotted. I knew I wanted the second dress to still feel princessy, but have a more fun flair. I wanted something form fitting and something in me was saying… FEATHERS. I looked up a few dresses and then found the Jean by Liz Martinez at Idina Bride in Seattle. I saw it on the rack and said, “This is the one!” For this dress, I added an ivory lining underneath the full dress and added a corset in the back.
Our food and drink choices were a true act of trust and faith! Because of our busy schedules, we had to book our bar service and caterers before a taste test! I know. That is so scary, but spoiler alert: everything was delicious! We asked our incredible coordinator who she fully recommended, and she helped pick vendors who she had worked with previously who had stellar reviews: Memoirs for food, and Stir Beverage for drinks. Looking at the food menu and picking was so hard because I love to eat, so everything sounded so good! For our passed appetizers we had avocado toast, fried chicken sliders, crispy pork belly skewers, and loaded Okinawan potato cups. We got so many compliments on our cocktail hour food, and my friends were going crazy for the loaded potato cups! So many have told me that they are still thinking about them months later. For dinner, we had a choice of braised beef short rib, coconut-mac crusted catch, or kabocha pumpkin gnocchi. For the table, we had cornbread with honey whipped butter, and sea salt. Literally, my only wedding regret is that I didn’t order myself one of every plate for during the wedding, and one of every plate to-go for after our wedding. Dessert was a burnt apple tart with mascarpone and local honey, an Oreo cookie tart with vanilla ice cream, and strawberry shortcake madness with lilikoi and white chocolate. I am a sweets girl, so I loved that everyone got every single dessert. We had 3 signature drinks: one chosen by me, one chosen by Michael, and one “chosen” by our little dog, Winnie. My signature drink was a mango mezcal, which I picked because we love a margarita moment, so this was my elevated take. Michael chose a strawberry and basil mojito. We thought this would be nice and refreshing for a summer wedding Winnie’s signature drink was a “Baby Colada,” which was a coconut colada. Our Winnie girl is a super sweet and tiny white/tan chihuahua-malti-poo, and this drink was totally her! People LOVED it!
Once Michael and I nailed down the ambiance we wanted to create with our florals, we picked our florist with that in mind. We wanted to go with someone who fully understood what we were envisioning, and whose creativity and design we trusted. We went with La Flor because Vanessa has such a knack for her use of color. The way she designs her florals make them stunning and jaw-dropping from afar, and even more impressive when you notice close up details. After I had my call with her, I told Michael, “she gets it!” We showed her a few key inspiration photos and she took it from there. The only challenge we faced was my own apprehension that our color palette was too many colors. Michael assured me that it was going to come together perfectly, and he was totally right. I remember looking out from my bridal suite as they were setting up and getting emotional because I couldn’t believe that they somehow exceeded what I was envisioning in my mind. Another major piece of decor was our mirror welcome sign. I love a selfie moment, so we thought it would be the perfect photo opportunity for our guests as they waited for the ceremony to begin and during cocktail hour. Ashley, our coordinator, and Maddie, our signage creator worked together to position it perfectly so the background of the selfies was lucious beautiful palm trees. Our final bit of special decor was our DJ’s booth. DJ Troy’s booth front had an LED screen. We designed an image on Canva ourselves. It said “Michael & Gianni” in the middle in coral pink letters, then at the bottom it said “...and me too” with a little picture of our dog Winnie. This was our little way of getting to include her since she didn’t make the trip out to Hawaii with us.
I know this sounds really simple, but I said I wanted a PINK cake, and that was that! Michael and I both agreed we wanted strawberries and cream butter cake as our flavor, with a light pink cake, and simple white vintage piping designs. We adored our cake. We stayed in Oahu for 3 days after our wedding, and I ate cake every single day and night until we left for our honeymoon. When Michael and I were picking anything for the wedding, we followed our gut and always went with what we genuinely liked. If we liked it and stayed true to ourselves, then everything would feel natural and come together. I think our cake looked perfect next to our whimsical florals. It added another dash of tasteful princess fairy tale ending vibes!
I am a major Swiftie! I have been a fan since I was in 8th grade and the only album she had out was her debut. I knew I wanted to include Taylor Swift in my wedding without it being too much. I walked down the aisle to the string quartet playing “Enchanted.” This has always been a special song to me because Michael and I both agree that when we met, it was basically love at first sight even though I would have said I didn’t believe in that prior to meeting him. I think often about how we are from opposite sides of the world and still perfectly meant for each other. When I think about the odds of that happening, there is something so magical and enchanted about the way we fell in love. The music really set the tone throughout our day. The string quartet playing before the ceremony complimented our fairy tale, Bridgerton vision. After the ceremony we walked down the aisle to our DJ playing This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) by Natalie Cole, which I have dreamed of literally since I was a little girl obsessed with movies, particularly The Parent Trap. It was playing during one of my favorite parts of the day that Emily Choy, our photographer captured beautifully! We were at the end of our aisle, post-ceremony, and we literally were like “Oh my gosh! We’re MARRIED!” We both shed a few of the happiest tears of my life. After that, DJ Troy absolutely killed our cocktail hour music. He kept the energy up so much that some of my family started dancing already! Our first dance was Tears in Your Eyes by Majid Jordan. Michael picked it, and I loved it at first listen! During the reception, DJ Troy played music that kept people on the dance floor. I saw some of our guests dancing who I had never seen dancing before. I explained to him that we had quite a diverse crowd (my dad is from Trinidad, my mom is from El Salvador, Michael is from Australia, and our US friends are sprinkled all over!), and he somehow found a mix that made everyone happy. In true Swiftie fashion, our last song with all of our guests was none other than Love Story!
One of our favorite parts of our wedding day was when we did our anniversary dance and honored Michael’s grandparents and their marriage. Michael and I were both a little nervous about being the center of attention all day, especially during emotional dances. We decided to opt out of the traditional mother-son and father-daughter dances and do an anniversary dance after our first dance instead. The DJ invited all the married couples to get on the dance floor where we all danced to Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You by Frankie Vallie. Then people who had only been married a few hours got to sit down, A.K.A. US! Then people who had been married for 1 year, then 5, then 10, and so on and so forth until only Michael’s grandparents were on the dance floor. Everyone applauded their 62 years of marriage, and it was the cutest thing in the world.
One of our favorite moments of the day was actually unplanned. We entered our reception area to the song Me & U by Tems. We walked in with a little pep in our step because the song had us moving, and it turned into a whole moment where everyone got up out of their seats and surrounded us! Everyone was clapping and getting hyped together. I think it set the tone for the rest of the night.
