This beautiful wedding by K & K Photography is just the ticket for a Friday afternoon. Debbie and Chris’s event was a fun mix of beach chic and Miami glam.
Vendors:
Photography: K & K Photography
Venue: Deering Estate
Cake: Todo Dulces
Floral Designer: Suzanne Michael Catering and Events
Megan and Paul wanted to have a non-traditional wedding to reflect their own unique style, so they choose to fly from Seattle to Maui and get married, barefoot on the beach… just the two of them. At least that was the original plan. Once their family found out about their beach wedding they bought tickets to tag along!
Megan didn’t see herself making the grand entrance all by herself, so she and Paul walked down the “isle” together, as all their guests sung “All You Need is Love.” They went for Hawaiian-based vows, and, when it was time for the kiss, Megan surprised everyone by leaping into Paul’s arms.
Their wedding fashions were also as non-traditional as their wedding: Converse shoes, Ed Hardy slippers, a short bridal dress for Megan and a cool green tie for Paul. And the use of funky props for their wedding pics just topped it all off: a rainbow umbrella pulled from a trashcan, a bright yellow Jeep and lots of sparklers! The main prop, of course, was the couples’ obvious love (awwwww). And all of it captured beautifully by their photographer, Wendy Laurel.
Megan’s thoughts:
Did your wedding location and date hold a special significance for you?
We are a free spirited, fun loving, casual couple and love the mellow, laid-back lifestyle of the Hawaiian Islands. Getting married barefoot on the beach was just our style. It was beautiful, warm, breezy, stress free and perfect. We planned to get married the summer of 2010 and kind of just stumbled upon the date of 8/9/10 it just flowed… even though it was a weekday, it didn’t matter, we were in Hawaii… every day was a weekend!
Tell us about the details of the day.
We were staying just a few miles away from our wedding beach (Kapalua Beach in North West Maui) at the Royal Lahaina Resort. During our stay we rented a bright yellow soft top Jeep, this was our transportation everywhere and I never wanted to give it back. Our wedding day was pretty simple, I had an appointment to get my hair done in the morning, we got dressed, threw on our Chucks and were off to go get pictures. We met our wedding photographer, Wendy Laurel, at another beach just a few minutes away, took a bunch of fun pictures there with our Jeep, my bright yellow plumeria bouquet and even a few with a rainbow umbrella that I saw stuffed into a trash can! Why Not?! As soon as we were done there, we drove to Kapalua beach kicked off our shoes and walked down the warm sandy beach hand in hand towards our family, who (accompanied by a solo ukulele musician) were singing the chorus of “All you need is Love” by, The Beatles.
Our wedding ceremony was performed by Reverend Laki Ka’ahumanu. Laki was amazing and added those special Hawaiian touches that only a native Hawaiian could. We had a Ukulele player who played, “Better Together” by Jack Johnson and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow/Wonderful World” by IZ We exchanged leis, rings, kisses, and vows at sunset and even shed a few tears. After we were officially husband and wife I did a little impromptu run in place and Jumped into my new husband’s arms. Luckily he caught me! We shared a dance to “Stay With you” by John Legend, under a shower of sparklers, a champagne toast, a few photos with our family and walked down the beach to Merriman’s Restaurant to celebrate, with amazing wine and food overlooking the ocean at night and sharing laughs by the outdoor fire pit.
How was the wedding day?
Our wedding day was perfect, everything that a nontraditional bride and groom could have ever hoped for. I have amazing memories of looking back on what seems like a dream, and the best part is that I get to spend the rest of my life with my best friend in the whole world, my husband. One year later we are anxiously awaiting Baby Girl Reid, and cannot wait to return, this time as a family.
Do you have any advice for couples planning their wedding?
Don’t stress out, do what makes you happy and what you want to do. It’s your day and you want to look back and remember how blissfully happy you were that day. I love looking back at my wedding photos and getting lost back in those moments. Nothing was over the top, I was not worried about little details and it was celebrated with just our close family (8 people) and each other.
Any final thoughts?
If I were to go back in time to do it all over again. I wouldn’t change a thing.
Vendors
Photographer: Wendy Laurel
Wedding dress & Groom’s tie: Bellevue Bridal Boutique
Groom’s suit: Macy’s Men’s Clothing
Officiant: Reverend Laki Ka’ahumanu
Not to go all Beach Boys on you, but there is something about Southern California, isn’t there? The sandy beaches, blue skies, convertibles, sunny days… it all makes me doubly-happy that Spring is on its way! And, this session by Betwixt Studio is what I think of as a quintessential San Diego shoot – Lindsay and Blair first take an ocean drive in her dad’s Corvette, then a spin on their Cruiser bikes, and finish up, where else but, at the beach.
It’s a lovely engagement shoot, featuring a couple that looks totally at home with each other and in laid-back surroundings. So sit back, relax and enjoy a bit of sunshine…
Proud to say Betwixt Studios is a mywedding member.
Megan and Chris’ wedding can be encapsulated in just two words – Party. Bus. And maybe sunglasses. All right, throw in flamingos too. Let’s just say, their wedding (captured beautifully by Aregrayline Photography) looks like the ultimate beach holiday with friends and family. They have the white sandy beaches, the palm trees and tropical marine life, and, of course, the ultimate party bus.
And while they perfectly captured the beach wedding elements, their wedding also has an true elegance. The church where they were married is absolutely stunning, the attire beach classic, and the details Megan added, like the bridesmaid’s parasols, give it a splash of color without being over-the-top. Basically, it’s Aruba meets a very fun, tasteful couple.
Megan gives us all sorts of details on what it’s like planning a destination wedding below – her story about their wedding ceremony and their priest is priceless!
Tell us about any of the wedding details you did yourself.
Any of the details from the wedding I did myself. The name cards for the table were in the local language papimento. The high top tables on the cocktail hour side and cootie catchers with questions and answers about Chris and I. I ordered them on Etsy. I also put together welcome bags with sun tan lotion, literature about Aruba, candy, snacks, water, playing cards (with our wedding date) and little bottles of Bacardi. I used large canvas tote bags and had custom pins with our wedding date pinned on. I figured if we had them embroidered people would be less likely to re-use them. The pins they could just take off. I also included the itinerary and suggested adventures the guests might want to take part in.
Did your wedding location hold a specific significance to you?
Most people ask us if we got engaged in Aruba and that was why we chose the location. Really my husband Chris has traveled with his family to Aruba many times. The weather is always Sunny and 85 degrees. To me most importantly Aruba was the only Island that we could have a private wedding reception and a Catholic Church ceremony. The reception was on a private island a 5 minute boat ride from the hotel to the island. It was only our guests. Most destination weddings are held on public beaches- so people just walk through- I didn’t want that.
What was the most meaningful part of your day?
When I heard Pachebel Canon in D sitting outside of the church as the bridal party walked down the aisle. My father came out and said “it’s time!” As the church doors opened I saw Chris standing at the alter, he looked so happy, all my nerves dissipated and a feeling of happiness and overall calmness came over me. (sounds cheesy but it was so true- all day I was nervous running around like a chicken with my head cut off- then it all just came together.
Did anything funny or out of the ordinary happen?
YES! First the music for the church fell through. Chris was frantically running around the morning of the wedding trying to find a replacement. Everyone in Aruba has no sense of urgency- it’s all island time. Chris was super stressed and in the end we had to play music, no live music. With all of this stress and craziness Chris lost his tie. It matched the bridesmaids dresses perfectly and we found it in NYC after searching 15-20 stores. He ended up buying a new tie at the Carolina Herrera store underneath the hotel for $200!!!
Also the Catholic Church wedding was a debacle in itself. They did not want to marry us since they didn’t know us. Long story short we went over to the Church to beg the only English speaking priest to perform the ceremony. He was also on ISLAND TIME!! came late to the wedding and also forgot my name during the ceremony. He kept referring to me as Chris’ Bride. It was quite the experience! Also we did a trash the dress shoot with Erin and Fredrick on the day after the wedding. Chris got the Jeep stuck in the sand- so the shoot was cut short. It was crazy!
Tell us details of the events surrounding the wedding as well.
On Wednesday night all of the guests had arrived. We rented out a pirate ship, Jolly Pirate. It was a sunset sail with rope swing and a lot of Aruban Punch. Everyone had a BLAST, it was a beautiful setting. All those guests who weren’t adventurous enough for the pirate ship met us at Moomba beach. It’s a restaurant on the beach, where we ate dinner and welcomed all the guests. The following night was the rehearsal dinner. It was on a Boat (Tattoo). Since all guests were from out of town they were all invited to the dinner. That was also a lot of fun.
How did you know your partner was “the one”?
I’ve known Chris since I was 15 years old. We’ve been through a lot together. Chris has the ability to make me laugh and makes me so happy. At the end of the day having fun is the best.
Any advice you’d give new brides who are just getting started?
Have a long engagement. Everything goes by so quickly, stop and enjoy the planning. For brides interested in a destination wedding – DO IT! It was like a week long wedding party with all of our friends and family! it was great.
Photographer: Aregreyline photography. Erin and Fredrick were amazing!
Venue: Renaissance Island (Renaissance Hotel)
Dress: Custom- I sketched and had it made- I knew exactly what I wanted.
Shoes: Kate Spade coral sandals to add a pop of color and match the bridesmaid dresses!
Men’s Attire: J CREW light grey cotton suit pants and matching vest. We had custom shirts made white with coral on cuffs (matched bridesmaids’ dresses)
Catering: Renaissance Hotel – the food was amazing! Multiple guests came up to us to tell us it was the best food they’ve ever had!
Event Planning: Juney Jones was our wedding coordinator. He helped to arrange everything except for the Church. This was our biggest obstacle. We were so lucky to have a friend that grew up in Aruba (now lives in NY) to call and speak Papimento (Aruban language).
Flowers: Aruba Floral
DJ: DJ Tino
Oh, Nelly, we are feeling the love around here! With the engagement shoots we’ve been getting, every day is starting to feel like Valentine’s Day around here. Case in point, today’s engagement session from Daniela DeGrassi. Rose and Dylan are playful, stunning, and, yes, generate some serious heat.
And, what a variety of settings! (Full disclosure: I live in San Francisco so I have a bit of an affinity for the place). There’s the beach, the lake at the Palace of Fine Arts, foggy cliffs and, my personal favorite, the Jazz murals, where it feels like the portraits are almost a part of the shoot.
Make sure to keep reading after the photos as today we have something we don’t often have – the proposal from the Groom’s perspective…
Dylan talks about the proposal
The plan was…well, there were so many plans that got left in the planning room for one reason or another. Some of them were wildly original, while others were merely simple and sentimental. What finally transpired was a pared down version of something I thought of on a walk that she and I had taken more than a year ago to a place called Crocker Park. A quaint little neighborhood park, Crocker was the urban surbananite’s minimalist tribute to the outdoors, with its delightfully manicured rolling hills of green grass and tidily trimmed shrubs, neatly tucked in at the corner of Hampton Road and King Avenue in Piedmont. There is but a single park bench along the path that bisects the field of green which is where it was all going to go down.
I was going to coax her into going for a walk together one evening after work. That wouldn’t be hard because she loved doing stuff like that. Getting her to drive about 18 miles before taking that walk would be a challenge, but she always enjoyed a surprise. We would park the car and walk and talk and enjoy the majestic views and then take a break at the aforementioned green slatted wooden seat. It would be there that I would feign an untied shoe. Dropping to a knee to rectify that situation, I would produce something shiny from my jacket pocket and reach for her left hand as I looked into her eyes and began to speak. At precisely the moment when she would be overcome by emotion, I would have enlisted one of my co-conspirators, dressed in a black suit, and donning a ceremonial towel on one arm, bottle of champagne in one hand, and flutes in the other. I had even entertained the thought of having several of our other friends emerge from hiding to immediately offer congratulations.
Mother Nature and her tempestuous infant son El Nino had other ideas. It seemed to rain for 18 or 19 days straight. Meanwhile, I noticed that she was becoming visibly stressed out with wedding planning. Eager to bring back that million dollar smile that I adore so much, I knew that there was no more time to wait.
Thanks to the wonders of SMS text messaging, I was able to notify a friend discreetly while watching the game that Operation Ring was being put into action immediately. Weather did not permit the walk so I had to go with the element of surprise.
Cool and un-assuming, I stole off to the kitchen to do the dishes as she sat watching Niece Nash and the new cast of Clean House: Messiest Homes in America. When I got the text that my accomplice had reached our parking lot, I discreetly disappeared to the hall bathroom that just so happens to be adjacent to our front door. There I sat and waited patiently.
A little earlier, I had placed a bottle of Freixenet champagne and accompanying flutes on our porch. The doorbell rang as I sat patiently in complete silence. I could tell that she was trying to ignore it and wait for me to see who it was. When she realized that I wasn’t available to answer it she went to the door. Bathroom door still closed, I could not see what must’ve been a look of utter bewilderment on her face as our friend was standing there announcing his intention to help celebrate the good news, flutes and bottle of bubbly in outstretched hands. Still confused, she turned to look and see me kneeling behind her with a little red box sitting in my left hand, and being opened by my right…
At first glance, Lydia and Christian’s wedding (captured beautifully by Munroe Photography) looks like a traditional affair with gorgeous classic detailing. There’s the tuxedos, the elegant gown, the unstoppable veil… but pretty soon on, it throws a couple of curve balls.
First off, there’s the location, Locusts on Hudson, which features not only a beach and a picturesque barn, but also farm animals, country lanes and a wooden swing. Then there’s the sumptuous table settings featuring candelabras, stacks of bread and flower centerpieces, designed by Matthew Robbins Design. Finally there’s the couple themselves, who not only take beautiful photographs, but by evening’s end are smoking a couple of cigars out on the patio.
This is our kind of wedding.
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